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Review: Rescue Me, S7, E6 – “344”

  • By

  • August 17, 2011

  • 6 mins to read

Airdate: Wednesday, August 17th, 10:00 pm ET/PT on FX

Rating: ★★★★★

“344” is rife with dramatic dialogue which rivets me to my seat, intently listening to each conversation. While there aren’t as many comedic scenes as usual this week, that’s ok. Rescue Me is, after all, a very dark show. Tommy is extremely affected by a visit to Ground Zero, which manifests itself in several different ways.

Tommy, Feinberg, Lou and Needles during a visit to Ground Zero

The episode opens at Ground Zero with former Chief, Sidney Feinberg (Jerry Adler), explaining to Tommy (Denis Leary), Chief “Needles” Nelson (Adam Ferrara), and Lou (John Scurti) how to really memorialize heroes. Feinberg knows because he’s visited the Viet Nam Memorial in Washington, DC where the names of three men who served under him are inscribed. It’s a very heartfelt monologue that has you sitting there holding your breath, waiting for the next pearl of wisdom to roll off Feinberg’s tongue. For once, the guys are silent and I’m hoping they understand the point Feinberg is trying to make.

Tommy’s tortured soul manifests itself twice during “344” — first when he hallucinates wheelchair-bound Damian (Michael Zegen) is standing there directing him to Sheila’s (Callie Thorne) bedroom to find a letter she told Tommy about years ago. It’s a very personal, very private letter Sheila received from her now-dead husband Jimmy (James McCaffrey) she kept hidden from prying eyes. When Sheila returns home and sees Tommy reading the letter, he snaps out of it just about the time she loses it. I don’t blame her for being so furious with him, not only for crossing an extremely emotional line by reading the letter but for not remembering she had told him about it years ago.

“Yes I mentioned the letter to you…Five years ago, when you had seven whiskeys in you and we had that insane night of sex on the beach. Remember, I had the lavender mini skirt and the almost see-through top on? Anything? Hello? Of course not. The sex you don’t remember, the see-through shirt and the moonlight, but somewhere in that dark, dense, tangled mangle of a shit storm you call a brain, you remember the letter? Right? Because it pertains to you and what you need right now.”

Tommy sits in his car near the subway entrace at Ground Zero hallucinating about 9/11

I found myself feeling sorry for Tommy when he starts hallucinating again while sitting in his car near the subway entrance outside Ground Zero. It’s awful to relive the events of that tragic day, not only for Tommy but for me as well because we hadn’t yet heard from my nephew, whose office was inside the World Trade Center. I remember watching TV, seeing everything unfold before my eyes with a box of tissues next to me. I couldn’t stop crying as one horrific scene after another played out. I can’t imagine having to experience that over and over, as Tommy does when he sees Jimmy carrying a lifeless body out of harm’s way. I hope Tommy finds peace before Rescue Me ends but with the sharp writing of this series, I have to wonder what the writers’ version of “peace” will be — especially since Leary, as Tommy, said at the 2011 TCA Conference, “there are no happy endings” (paraphrased).

I must give props to the writers for peppering some funny dialogue into this very emotionally charged episode when Lou asks Tommy to take a look at a lump he can’t reach on his back.

Lou: “Ah, do me a favor will ya? I got this thing in the middle of my back, not sure if it’s a boil or this really huge, volcano-sized zit. I mean I think this thing should be listed on some geological survey somewhere, but I can’t quite see it. Do me a favor, just look and tell me what it is.”

Tommy: “No.”

Lou: “Come on, you’re my best friend!”

Tommy: “Alright. Lift your shirt up. Holy shit!”

Lou: “What? Boil?”

Tommy: “Tumor. It’s gonna involve pus at some point and probably some lancing.”

Lou: “Uck. Thank you.”

Tommy: “Hey listen, on the best friend front?”

Lou: “I’m not blowin you.”

Tommy: “This is why we’re never gonna get our own reality show.”

Tommy not only takes Feinberg’s advice at Ground Zero to heart, but also Sheila’s explanation of how important Jimmy’s letter is to her now that he’s gone. This has a huge effect on Tommy. So much so, he writes a slew of letters to his family and the guys, which he asks Lou to deliver in case he dies on the job. They end up having an awful fight, however, because Lou is disgusted with Tommy’s maudlin attitude. I was shocked when Lou tells Tommy to just kill himself now, bringing the total number of firefighters lost on 9/11 to an even 344.

Franco (Daniel Sunjata) comes down hard on Lou for forgetting to turn in Black Sean’s (Larenz Tate) honeymoon vacation request to HQ. Well, now Franco will see exactly how difficult the Lieutenant’s job he covets is as Lou hands him the “keys to the kingdom.” Let the betting begin! No one thinks Franco will be able to handle the job. But Franco is very pleased with himself, until he steps into the Lt.’s office. Franco’s comment, “Shit,” about sums it up. With Franco having five days to prove himself, I can’t wait to see what happens. I’m figuring we’re in for some hysterically funny scenes.

Speaking of funny scenes, the funniest one of “344” happens when Emily (Cody Horn) reaches for a cigarette after having sex with Sean (Steven Pasquale). As the camera pans back to Sean, he’s lying there with a gas mask on his head. I almost choked on my drink when I saw that – too funny!

Tune in to Rescue Me, Wednesdays at 10:00 pm ET/PT only on FX. Remember, there are only three episodes left until this wonderfully written and acted dark comedy leaves our screens forever.

All photos © 2011 FX Network. All rights reserved.

Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!

Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!