The repeated refrain for Fire Country season 2 is that the focus is redemption but for Jordan Calloway's character, Jake Crawford, it's all about the heart. Last season, in the beginning, Jake ruffled the feathers of the the growing fandom because he was often at odds with Bode. However, as we learned more about him, he increasingly became fleshed out and his vulnerability, care, and kindness began to be seen to the point that fans who disliked him grew to love his character over time.
Yes, that's a testament to the writing but also to Calloway's acting particularly in character defining storylines like the one that saw Jake being put under the microscope as the presumed arsonist terrorizing Edgewater. There was a dynamism in the plot because it added the dimension of the perception of a firefighter changing by certain factors, in this case race. Jake's mother, Dr. Lilly Crawford (Karen LeBlanc), had to "check" Sharon and Vince, as Calloway put it, because they were not there for him the way they should have been.
Jake is Black; Bode is White. He doesn't get the same grace or understanding. It's not right, but it's a truth and failing of the society we belong to and the show recognizing that was important. Just like it's important to see Jake in a leadership position this season. Along with Eve, he was promoted to Captain, and it's affected the scenes he's a part of and how he operates within incidents while on call.
Calloway acknowledged the insecurity and lack of confidence that Jake exhibits at first, as can be seen in the season 2 opener, "Something's Coming," which is the opposite of how we met him at the beginning of the series. But, as we've seen, Jake is coming into his own in the position. Calloway described it this way:
"I think looking at Jake as an individual, he is on his journey of what it actually means to be a leader. What it means to not just be able to point and direct and say, hey, that needs to go out or that needs to be fixed, not even just like, oh that's wrong or this is right. I think him learning as a leader is, you know, I have to sit on this. I can't speak on this or now is not the time, but also just as in the captain role, [his] head is always on a swivel, looking for disasters or for any hazardous events."
We saw that in the premiere when Jake got his team out of the way of danger in the nick of time before an RV blew up. As well as in episode 3, "See You Next Apocalypse," when he had to make the executive decision to put himself and Gabriela on the roof of the fire engine to make room for the people they were evacuating. It was a risky call, but it paid off.
Jake is also making moves regarding his home life, which includes creating an environment where both Cara and Genevieve feel safe, loved, and cared for. It's been one of the best additions to the show because Calloway's gotten the opportunity to step into the role of a paternal figure on a series with a wealth of fathers who are all different and portray fatherhood in an array of ways.
"I think all of these things that we're finding that we're learning to love about Jake, while he's operating at 42, a lot of this work is being done in the home. A lot of this work is being done with Genevieve...our relationship has been one that is cinched up and been great which I think is wonderful for Cara's character. Her having that confidence, her seeing a male, strong father figure to Genevieve as well as being the support for her.
I think that's beautiful because now you have this home that Jake always wanted. He's always looked for that home with Vince and Sharon and in 42. Now he has that for himself. Now he has that to grow in and of itself."
Part of that security that's evident in every scene with this trio comes from Jake making heart first decisions. In the premiere, he knew he was the only one who could stop Bode from self-sabotaging. And he did that by giving him the hope of being a father, by giving him a purpose and making sure that Genevieve didn't suffer the same loss that Jake did as a child, the loss of her dad.
Jake has also been there for Genevieve and Cara every step of the way through the hard transition of dealing with the reality that they're mother and daughter and not sisters like Gen had been led to believe. Jake is their soft place to land as well as their rock, and that's clear in the way both characters interact with him. They're a family. A sweet one.
We don't know yet if Bode actually is Genevieve's biological father, but we've seen through Jake's actions that he is the father figure in her life and someone she can count on. So far that hasn't become a problem between the two best friends but that doesn't mean it won't be at some point in the season given Calloway's words on the matter.
"I think there will be drama probably between Bode and Jake. Maybe a bit of jealousy that's understandable. I mean, we're talking about a man that's being held captive for his wrongdoings, and he can't see his supposed to be daughter all of the sudden because he's still in prison and because Kara wants to be careful about letting him into Genevieve's life. You can't argue with that, right?
So I think Jake will get the brunt end of that just because he is the father figure in her life. However, I think Bode and Jake's relationship is too strong...I think it would only be right if we were explore that drama that happens between the two of them, but I think there will be resolution."
The actor also knows this because, as he pointed out, there are only two times that we've seen Jake breakdown in the series thus far. Once with his mom when he couldn't donate his kidney to Sharon. And the second during that debacle with the arsonist and Jake opened up to Bode about why he'd started that fire when he was a kid.
Calloway described Bode as Jake's "road dog" and that the potential conflict between the two could come to an understanding that "if my daughter were to be in another man's, or somebody's care, I would want her to be with someone that I know and can count on" because that's obviously who Jake is to Bode and that's what we've seen.
Much of this season for Jake has been joyful. It's been about love and taking care of his famiy because his whole heart is in this relationship with Cara and building a home with her for Genevieve. Calloway shared how he conceptualizes their romantic bond.
"Every man, when we come home to our woman, we want to just be held. When you're a shield, when you're meant to be the first and last line of defense, like the only thing supporting us is that one behind us right? That one that's got our back holding us up strong. I've been blessed to be able to see that with my parents, so applying that in the fact of Cara is his solace. Cara is his safety net. That's who he falls back to."
In episode 3, "See You Next Apocalypse," Bode warned Liam that he wasn't going to break his family and, honestly, that's the vibe I get from Jake and Cara. They're good over there, not a thing is going to break them up, and it's great that we've gotten to see that with and for Jake because it's introduced more layers to him as a character.
That's the sweet spot that the Fire Country writers hit again and again. Yes, this is a high octane procedural with amazing special effects, and daring dos, but it's also at its core and heart a family drama. At the tail end of our interview, while speaking about my appreciation for the masterful balance between action, family, and community which has made the show such a success, Calloway gave what I can only describe as a Word. So, I'll leave you with this uncut gem:
"This the thing where you have the Aristotelian method of storytelling. With Aristotle, the whole form of stortyelling was characterization, character development. The last thing that matters is spectacle, the explosions, the action, all of that. You're saying that is important because we're coming into people's homes after a long day's work.
You can give them spectacle or they can go to a movie theater and get all spectacle. But to be able to track with a family, to be able to track with a story where you're seeing these characters develop and grow, the whole point of Aristotle and the philosophers' reason for questioning was in order to better the city state, the polis, the community. That's the job of cinema, that's our responsibility as storytellers.
So to have Max, Tia, Joan, Tony, CBS, JB TV support a character driven show, that's what matters. That's the thing that is going to bring the audience back because God knows there's so many other different firefighter shows out there, other different police shows, you can get your pick. Let's be honest, keeping it 100, right? You've got all of that. But if you're not connecting with your character, or if you're not seeing or being questioned and having a question asked of yourself to better yourself or where you can see yourself in this, it doesn't matter because it's those reasons that people are rooting for characters.
That's why people are rooting for Bode. "Come on, Bode. Get out." Redemption. That's what our show is based in. It's redemption. We're showing incarcerated individuals in a better light. We're showing them not just in the light that the court system might have put them in. We're showing them in the light that this is a human and they have opportunity. They don't just stay there.
And I love the fact that we're doing it with not just White incarcerated, not just Black incaracerated, but Asian, Hispanic [incarcerated people]. We're showing heroes that are Black, White, Asian, Hispanic.
Let's keep going. Let's help a new generation of kids be like, "Ooh, I want to be that. Ooh, I see myself there." And let's also give those kids that whose parents are incarcerated. "Yeah, my dad is that or my mom can do that." One of my favorite quotes is "Don't let your past paralyze your future."
I think this show does a great job of making sure we show individuals that are on a journey of bettering themselves. That's what we really want. If you want to better yourself, then you'll end up bettering the community."