“Rescue Me” finale provokes tears, laughter

By Tom Comi

(Note: This article contains spoilers about the final episode of “Rescue Me.”)

The biggest compliment a fictional television show can receive is being embraced by the very people it purports to represent, and no show in recent memory embodied that endorsement more than the popularity of Rescue Me with firefighters across the country.

Ever since the hit FX show premiered in 2004, the intent of star Denis Leary and his fellow producers was to shed light on a dangerous profession we all tend to take for granted. That made it even more fitting that last week’s brilliant series finale — which drew an impressive 2.3 million viewers — payed homage to the real-life firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11.

Leary’s Tommy Gavin was a mess personally, but he was one of the best firefighters in all of New York City. He was not afraid of fire, but he respected its power. And despite all of his flaws, Tommy first and foremost respected the profession and his colleagues who lost their lives in the line of duty.

In the last scene of the finale, Tommy stood before a memorial with the names of all of the firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11 and delivered a powerful message to incoming recruits about living up to the high expectations:

“If you’re lucky, one day soon, you’ll be able to run into a burning building while everybody else is running out. And you’ll take the stairs, two at a time, with steel in your eyes and ice water in your veins. And you’ll come back down with a civilian on each shoulder, and instead of puking or crying or pissing your pants, you’ll wipe your brow and run right the hell back in. That’s the day, that’s the moment, you’re going to find out if you’re a real firefighter or just one more asshole who bit off more than he can chew.”

The brilliance of Rescue Me is that it took you a roller coaster of emotions each week, and that was certainly the case with the final episode. We found out that character Kenny Shea (referred to as Lou due to his rank) was the lone person killed in a fire that injured but spared the rest of his crew. The vastly underrated John Scurti played Lou, a lovable, overweight man who most likely would have died of a heart attack had he not died in a fire. Fittingly, he went out as a hero.

The writers wouldn’t allow us to mourn his death too long, though. On the way to the ceremony to spread Lou’s ashes over the water, the top to the urn opened up and a breeze through the open windows of the vehicle blew his remains all over Tommy, Mike (Mike Silletti), Franco, (Daniel Sunjata), Sean (Steven Pasquale) and Black Shawn (Larenz Tate). They were forced to stop at a store to clean up and replace the ashes with cake mix.

And therein lies the beauty of a show that could literally make you cry from sadness and laughter all in the same episode. Dramas like Rescue Me don’t come around very often, which is why I feel fortunate to have had an inside view of the fictional Ladder 62/Engine 99 firehouse. Mike summed up my thoughts best about the show’s witty banter when he said to his fellow firemen in the kitchen:

“You know what, guys, this is what I’m going to miss, this right here. Us busting each other’s balls around the table. You know, these are some of the best times, guys.”

________________________

© Jeffrey Neira/FX