By my count, Rescue Me is one of the longest running shows I’ve ever watched. I’ve become deeply entrenched in the word that Denis Leary and Peter Tolan created, a bizarre, dramatic, traumatic, flaming version of New York City and the FDNY.
From Leary’s character, Tommy Gavin, a struggling alcoholic, who despite all his flaws is a top firefighter, to his family, his dead cousin Jimmy Keefe, Jimmy’s wife and son, to all the guys in the firehouse, each character contributed something amazing to an incredible cast.
At the core of this story is Tommy Gavin’s fight between himself, alcohol, drugs, women, and his need to fight fire. He becomes the ultimate survivor, hero, and asshole, all in one.
Watching the series finale of the show last Wednesday night, I was in tears 3 seconds in, and alternating between laughing and crying for the rest of the episode. That’s an essential part of Rescue Me, humor balancing out the tragedy the characters see in their every day lives.
I wish we had been shown Jimmy Keefe’s final moments, the audience will never know how he died on 9/11, which is fitting in a way, as the deaths of most 9/11 victims are only know by general details or are total mysteries. I wish that Tommy and Janet had gotten divorced, I wish that Tommy had ended up with Kelly, Maura Tierney’s character, who I still say is Tommy’s only true female match on the show.
And while I was satisfied with the ending, of Lou’s death, which had been coming really for several seasons, I think the best ending would’ve been if the entire crew had died in that final fire, except Tommy. He is the ultimate survivor, the ultimate firefighter, he pulls himself out of every situation he finds himself in. To have to live on after his crew died, to have to carry on at the firehouse, would’ve capitalized on his ability to continue moving forward while still stuck in the past.
headphones are on 