There’s Only One Thing Keeping Me From Getting Excited About Fire Country’s Latest Addition… Bode

I know what you’re thinking, and no, this isn’t another Bode hit piece.

But this is about Fire Country landing a new addition to Station 42 come next season, and while on the surface that should be exciting news, the wariness comes in how they’ll handle her.

Olivia Thirlby will join the cast as a new city-slicker firefighter, CJ, and there’s a genuine fear that the series could botch this because of its bad habits.

One of the first issues I already have with the character is that she sounds like an amalgamation of common tropes that first-responder shows, and even law-enforcement ones, have relied on heavily as of late.

As an urban firefighter from the big city, landing in a small town or city, CJ already sounds like any combination of Roxy from 9-1-1: Nashville to Andrea from Marshals.

We’re anticipating a city-dweller serving as a fish-out-of-water in a different town wherein they learn to fall in love, but not without some culture shock.

It’s a common enough trope on its own.

But for Fire Country specifically, CJ already highlights that the series still hasn’t quite figured out what to do with female characters who aren’t Sharon and sometimes Eve (when they aren’t stuck babysitting delinquents-turned-upstanding citizens of all ages).

Since Gabriela’s exit, and arguably since before then, they’ve had a hard time landing a female character with real presence who can not just hold her own but also resist the likes of Bode Leone.

One of the things that made Audrey interesting for a while was that she actually did give Bode a run for his money.

It wasn’t another story of a woman falling head over heels for that mussed hair and those baby blues. And then it was because the cardinal rule for Bode seems to be that women can’t pass through Edgewater without falling for him.

From Gabriela to Audrey, there’s been something missing from the series since their respective departures. And Fire Country makes a valiant effort to recapture some of what they brought to the table.

They haven’t managed that with Chloe, but at least they have the spirited Camille, who has some of that spark and spunk that Chloe lacks.

But that’s more of a reason I’m wary that newcomer CJ could be the next woman who starts off compelling and gradually loses all of that when the series inevitably makes her Bode’s next love interest.

Chloe doesn’t quite feel long for this series, especially since most viewers saw through the attempt to reignite the passion of SEAL Team shippers, and thus Bode and Chloe’s romance has backfired, especially because of her ties to Vince’s death through her son.

There’s something about Chloe and Bode that screams temporary. Because ultimately, as much as he loves a damsel in distress to cater to his hero complex, he’s drawn to women who challenge him.

CJ offers up the best of both worlds.

The character description reads as:

Cecilia Jade “CJ” Ryan, a quick-witted, fiercely independent, blue-collar, decorated urban firefighter who bolted her station house and city for mysterious reasons. After six months on the road, trying to outrun whatever had happened and herself, fate strands her in Edgewater, where she crosses paths with Bode.

Despite having no experience fighting woodland fires, Bode believes CJ has something to offer Station 42. And despite the serious culture shock, this fish out of water comes to believe rural Edgewater has something to offer her.

Her fierce independence and big-city vibes suggest she’s potentially bullheaded and fiery, not unlike Gabriela and Audrey were.

And she adds the extra layers of a mysterious past and of having experienced something that has her fleeing her former life and finding respite in Edgewater.

It gives her an edge, something that Bode can easily connect to in some capacity, as so much of the series revolves around him overcoming his own dark past.

And there’s something about the lack of experience she has in woodland firefighting, but her confidence in her abilities, that teases a bit of “Chick Bode” too.

It sounds like CJ could be another way for Bode to reconcile with his own past, reflect on how far he’s come, and help CJ come into her own.

And yeah, it’s another way to spotlight his heroism.

But another issue with the series going down this route is that the series never allows Bode to “save” a woman without falling into a relationship with her.

Given the series also had a bad habit last season of becoming Love in Edgewater and not much else, it’s reason enough to worry that they’ll fall into that same pattern with Bode and CJ.

If Chloe is still around, does that mean we’ll get a pesky love triangle?

The optimist in me hopes that when faced with someone who could very well be a female version of himself, Bode will find more humility and work on the flaws that have often plagued this series and irked many of us.

But the wariness stems from the show’s pattern of putting Bode in the same situations, especially in his love life.

CJ on her own can be an exciting addition. CJ’s potential connection to Bode? Well, that’s a whole other story.

Over to you, Fire Country Fanatics. How do you feel about this new addition?