“Rescue Me”

Last night it started in a very dark and horrifying way with a huge fire that killed seven children and a woman. The scenes showing the fire and the firemen seemed so real that I just sat there, sort of stunned as it all played out. Black Sean, the Probie, who took the other Sean’s name, worked closely with Tommy and actually saved his life. This will take them out of their contentious relationship for a while. After the fire, Tommy calls Janet who is screaming at their daughter, Kathleen, who is a little bitch most of the time. Tommy asks about the baby and Janet says he’s asleep – she gives him Benadryl so he won’t cry all the time. Janet seems to be sinking deeper and deeper into depression. She doesn’t love the baby, no one does, and he has no name as yet. After the disappointing phone call, Tommy reads from his AA book that he got from his AA counselor, Mickey Gavin, his cousin. Tommy doesn’t believe in God, but he reads this book sometimes. He’s reading a part about God and faith and one passage reads, “This faith you must pass onto your children who do not have the power to find it on their own.” Tommy has very conflicting emotions concerning God and religion. He seems to be searching for something while professing he believes in nothing. I worry about Tommy and his family, especially the no-name baby.

At the squad’s basketball game, Lou’s horny girlfriend, the ex-nun, is sitting in the stands and raising her skirt slightly with her legs apart for Lou to see . . . or probably anyone else. During the game, the team has a huddle and Lou draws a giant vagina on some paper. He tells them the reason they play sports is to meet girls, so they should look at that vagina and go score more points so they can all get laid and make more money! After the game, Lou meets the horny girlfriend in the hall with his squad standing behind him. He tells her they should break it off and she agrees. As she walks away, she says she needs to get her handcuffs, her whip and her leather lingerie back . . . also the box of edible panties. Lou says he ate all the panties and Franco asks if they were chocolate flavored. Apparently there were many favors!

Franco meets with Alicia who is back from Europe with his little girl. She wants him to move in with her and his daughter, so he tells her about being engaged to Natalie now. He goes home where he finds Natalie asleep in bed alongside her autistic, Tourette’s syndrome-afflicted brother whom she takes care of every day. Franco gets a beer and sits down and just sits. You wonder if he’s wondering whether or not he made the right choice.

Sean tells Mikey he broke into his house and the locked closet where he found pictures of Mikey’s gay parents. He says he thinks that’s why Mikey is gay. Mikey says he’s not and says just because you have gay parents doesn’t make you gay. But Sean tells him it increases your chances. He also tells Mikey he burned the house down by accident. Mikey doesn’t seem too upset about that. Those two aren’t the swiftest guys in the firehouse.

Tommy calls Sheila who mentions the “Baby Fire” the media is calling the fire where the seven kids died. He tells her the fire was awful – they were dropping kids out the window as the truck drove up. He asks Sheila if she still wants Janet’s baby. She offered before and said she’s the only one who loves the baby, and he loves her – he never cries with her. She says she does want him, but Tommy says he can’t do it and hangs up. He packs some baby stuff and takes the baby out to the car and starts driving. Mick, his AA counselor calls him and mentions the “Baby Fire,” which sets Tommy off on a rant about God and how he could let things like that happen. He says why don’t they call the fire a, “God doesn’t really give a shit about poor black kids’ fire,” type of fire rather than the other name. Mick and Tommy argue about God and Tommy finally says, “Nobody knows nothin’, Mick – not until it happens.” And Mick replies, “You’re wrong. Everything happens for a reason.” Tommy drives to the river and puts the baby in his car seat on a bench. As he’s standing by the railing, his dead brother, Johnny, appears and lists all the reasons Tommy should put the baby in the river even though they think it’s his own baby. He doesn’t think the baby has a chance with a mother who doesn’t love him and Tommy as a father. He says “Do it for me.” Tommy picks up the baby, and dangles him above the river. Of course, the show ends with that picture, and we’re left with a sickening feeling, wondering just what happens.

This show began on an ominous note and ended even more so. Tommy needs to get his act together and Janet definitely needs help. It seems as though nearly all of the squad has something going on that brings them down in some way. As far as I’m concerned, this was a cliff-hanger to end all cliff-hangers! I can hardly wait until next week.