The survivors deal with Lou’s passing in their own way.
I think it’s fair to assume that all of us watching last week’s episode expected to see more than a few dead bodies in this week’s. The big questions are, of course, who the bodies are and how graphic it will be? Amazingly, looking at that church full of uniforms, it didn’t really seem to matter. All that matters, really, is that there are brave heroes all over this country who took a job that requires them to risk their lives and most of them will never be known to you or me.
It’s no surprise that Tommy (Denis Leary) survived as it’s clearly his burden in life to forever suffer from Survivor’s Guilt and to make matters worse, he is forced to take over for his fallen friend and expedite what paperwork and housekeeping needs to be done in order to move on. What chance does a guy like him have to get past something so horrific if he’s given such a short time to do it?
While the scene around the dinner table was a little on the nose, it perfectly illustrated what was always so amazing about Rescue Me. Even in the wake of such a horrible tragedy, the way these characters go off on each other in such a brilliantly hilarious fashion is truly brilliant. I’m sure I’m biased toward insult humor but the way these guys do it would make Don Rickles proud.
I really felt like the scene in the park was overdone. I get that Tommy will have a hard time adjusting to life outside of the firehouse but the over sharing Mom and the Dad with no concept of personal space were too unrealistic. As a parent, I can honestly say that I probably would have reacted the same way in the same situation.
I have seen plenty of scenes on TV where human ashes end up in someone’s face. So much so, that it’s definitely become overused. However, the way it was done in this episode was nothing short of brilliant. Seeing the entire car fill up with human remains and then watching them being shaken from an ass crack are images that will stay in my brain forever.
The ceremony was equal parts funny and moving and the fact that they replaced the remains with cake mix was something I would never have seen coming in a million years. It reminded of another reason I love this show. Every episode contains something unexpected. Just when you think you’ve seen these guys go through everything, Tommy has to deliver his own son on his own bed. Amazing.
When all is said and done, after all the talk about changing houses and retiring, everything pretty much stays the same. Which, I guess, is the way it always happens, isn’t it?
Some stats and info about Rescue Me, “Ashes”
TV SHOW – Rescue Me
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 7, Episode 9
AIRED ON – September 7th, 2011
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – FX
GENRE – Drama, Comedy, Office Culture
CREATED BY – Denis Leary, Peter Tolan
CAST – Denis Leary, Michael Lombardi, Steven Pasquale, Andrea Roth, John Scurti, Daniel Sunjata, Callie Thorne, Natalie Distler, James McCaffrey, Lenny Clarke
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.