‘Fire Country’: What Jordan Calloway Loves About Jake Asking Sharon for Favor

Family helps each other. That’s something we’ve seen on Fire Country again and again, and it’s what Jake (Jordan Calloway) wants to happen now, this time for himself. TV Insider spoke with Calloway about his character’s conversation with Sharon (Diane Farr) about his brother Malcolm (Dominic Goodman) and more in the Friday, May 1, episode. Warning: Spoilers for Fire Country Season 4 Episode 17 ahead!

When Malcolm’s timing during the fitness test isn’t fast enough for him to return to Drake County, he asks Jake about taking the Cal Fire test and joining 42. Jake seems hesitant, but agrees to pull strings and make it happen. He’s captain, after all. But when he talks to his battalion chief, Manny (Kevin Alejandro), the other man says there isn’t space and since he failed that test, he’s not ready. Jake then turns to Sharon and decides to use the fact that he’s family and they pulled strings for Bode (Max Thieriot) — and he’s never asked before — to get that yes from her.

Meanwhile, Bode has become the face of REMs and uses that to get word out about how other ex-cons who make it through Three Rock, like Cole (Tye White), who’s been struggling, deserve the chance to also get jobs as firefighters once they’re out. But with his face online, it also leads to someone accusing him of breaking into their house 10 years ago — and as Bode admits, he’s telling the truth. Holding up the liquor store was just the only crime he was caught for. Uh-oh!

Elsewhere, mechanic Alexi (Brett Tucker) stops by to fix 42’s rig after being a no-show for weeks, and Sharon realizes it’s because she forgot to pay his boss. The two bond over motorcycles, even heading out for a ride together at the end. Is this going where it seems to be?

Below, Jordan Calloway breaks down this episode, discusses Jake’s engagement, and more.

How much did Jake weigh whether or not to ask Sharon for that favor for Malcolm?

Jordan Calloway: I think at some point Jake got to the point where he realized he was like, “Yeah, he needs help.” And I also think it’s one of those things where he’s learning to step into a new responsibility or a new title of being a big bro. And it wasn’t so much exercising being the captain as much as it was standing up for family. He’s learning that. He’s learning what it’s like to have that not power, but the ability to help out family. So I think this is one of the things that he’s stepped into. He utilized that with Violet [Nesta Cooper] early on in the rodeo, but he’s getting a little bit more comfortable with it, and he’s doing it with the people that he has a lot of faith in, that he believes in, and wants to give them the opportunity. So I think it’s one of those things where, as a captain, as being the eyes and ears for 42, he’s also seeing, he has a good sense of who can handle responsibility, and he just wants to provide that.

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He also leans pretty hard on how they’re family, how she did it for Bode, how he’s never asked for anything, which is understandable given the situation, but he also knew exactly what to say.

Oh, he knew exactly. Oh, yeah. I mean, he’s seen it. Come on now. I mean, he’s seen it. So I mean, you can’t really fault him for being like, “Wait, hold up, no. Yeah, we’re going to pull this out of y’all’s own playbook.” So I loved when they wrote it in there like that because it’s not really crossing a line, but it’s holding someone’s foot to the fire. “Well, if you’re willing to do it for yourself, why is it not OK for me to do if we’re considered a family?” So I love that.

But does that play into Jake sometimes feeling on the outside of the family he shouldn’t? Because it also came up with Vince’s (Billy Burke) death a bit in the beginning of the season.

And I think that’s where we’ve seen the transition. I think we’ve seen that transition, not just for Jake, but for everybody, the Leones as well, where it’s, okay, we’ve said that we’ve created this family unit and family should be looking out for one another. We should be helping and supporting one another. And as many times as we’ve all gone to bat for Bode, even if it may cross some lines, we’ve all done that. I believe that the same pressure applies to, which is what Sharon is realizing. Bode seems to get it, and he’s on board right away. But I think that’s also the kind of thing that Eve [Jules Latimer] was trying to do with Cole. It’s not just blood-related family, it’s also extended family. And it also shows another layer of each of our characters of wanting to help, not just as first responders, but also as individuals who are trying to help people that are down and out.

It did seem like Jake kind of hesitated at first when Malcolm brought up 42 to him. What was going through his mind?

I kind of internalized that as that was Jake getting past that threshold of, it is OK to do this. It is OK to help family out. I’ve seen it done with the Leones. I kind of put in a good word for Violet, like we said, but I feel like, for this season, it was Jake really coming to terms with, how do I maintain my professionalism, but also help those that do need help, and that I can help? So, it’s a learning curve, and it wasn’t something that he just switched into right away. And I’m glad that you saw that because it was one of those things where it’s like he’s got to wrestle with it. It can’t just come easy. It’s got to be a little bit of an internal conflict that later on if something happens, then it’s like he can beat himself about it: “Oh, was this the right decision?” And that’s where we get drama, and that’s where we get good conflict for the characters, so I’m glad that you picked up on that.

Sharon says she’ll see what she can do. So, what can you say about what’s next? And how does Jake feel about potentially working alongside Malcolm?

Oh, I think he’s beyond excited about it. I think he’s really excited about the idea of building this relationship with his brother that he’s not had. I think it also has to do with being able to step into that position of being able to be a teacher. Remember, he looks at Vince as his surrogate father, and Vince was always a teacher to him. So for him to be able to impart that into Malcolm, that’s a dream come true. I think that’s really what’s getting him excited.

And he’s getting married. That’s also something to be excited about.

That’s also something.

CBS

This proposal was better than the last one, over the radio to his girlfriend as she was dying… So what can you say about what Jake and Violet’s future looks like? Why is he optimistic about this relationship? Because he has not been lucky in love.

Oh, no, Edgewater has not been a good place for him when it comes to love. That’s funny. But I think for him, it’s more so the character development that he’s gained. It’s his growth. It’s his perspective on what he actually wants, what he wants to create, what he wants to build. I think he’s much more zeroed in, one, obviously with his career, but then also with building a family. Genevieve added a huge part to that. And I think over the course of time, now he’s had this time to mourn that loss, but then also really decide, no, he does want that. He wants to build a family.

And Violet, for him, has been sort of a safe place for him. I think she’s pulled out other qualities about him, i.e., the relationship between him and Malcolm, because let’s be honest, she is the one that spearheaded that, and it was an uncomfortable situation, but look at the fruit that has come from it. So I think he really much appreciates that, and that’s what you want in a partner, somebody that’s going to draw out the best in you. This is also stuff that I’ve learned from my own maturation as well in my own personal life, but I think that’s some of the stuff that he is coming to grips with and just appreciating more so.

Then there’s also the cliffhanger with Bode revealing that he broke into Danny’s house at the end of this episode. By the way, he did something else …

But are we surprised? [Laughs]

What can you say about what’s next day and how are we going to see Jake being there for Bode? Also, the Jake, Bode, and Eve scenes lately have been so good.

Yeah, I know. It’s been so nice being able to have that and see the three musketeers back together, seeing that friendship, that bond, the things that really created the three of us, and explore that. And it gives a lot of explanation, too, why certain things have happened in the past or things that have been on calls or coverups, whatever it may be, being there and supporting. I think a lot of that only really takes more weight or pays off more when we do see the relationship that the three of us have. Eve being like a sis. I mean, Jules literally is, she’s like a little kid’s sister to me. I love her to death. And Max, he’s just the type of number one that you always want to go to bat for, and is just a great guy and just selfless, very selfless.

So I would say that with the three of them and then the whole Danny [thing], it’s one of those things where it’s like, I feel like for Jake, speaking personally, Jake has gotten to the point where this is your past. That’s not who you are. I had a bad rap as being a ladies’ man back in high school. And so Jake had to get past that. And then who was there that had his back? Bode, Eve. And the same thing applies for Bode. And it’s like we know he’s had a troubled past. I was there through it when we were playing baseball, when it came to the pills, when it came to drinking, substance abuse, and we all just wanted the best for him. And we see this road to redemption that he’s continued to be on and that he’s navigated so well with its bumps, but you don’t just count somebody out. So when the past gets brought up to you or skeletons come out of your closet, I think it takes the family and the unity in your camp to remind you who you are now, not who you were in the past.

One of my favorite quotes, my grandfather, he would tell me was, “Don’t let your past paralyze your future.”

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It kind of seems like Fire Country might be setting up a new love interest for Sharon with Alexi there.

It looks like it.

Are we going to be seeing more of him and more of him around 42, and maybe interacting with everyone else? And Jake has to have something to say about this because he’s part of this family.

Yeah. Yeah, I know, right? And I would love to see how that does play out, especially with Bode and Jake being very protective of Sharon. I feel like Eve would just be like, “Hell yeah, let’s go for it!” But it is going to be interesting to see how this all plays out. I would love to have more scenes and to see how that relationship goes. However, we’re always going to love Vince. Billy, he is always missed. He could hopefully come back as maybe a ghost or something. I don’t know, Patrick Swayze type-ish. [Laughs] but we’ll see.

Fire Country, Fridays, 9/8c, CBS