(S05E03) "My daughter turned Amish on me - how is that possible?!" - Tommy

Even though after two stellar episodes this season is shaping up to be possibly Rescue Me's best yet, I'm going to pick on this episode regardless. Not the whole hour, but a fairly decent chunk, mainly because it relates back to almost all of what was bad about season four. In some ways, it almost felt like it was a leftover that Leary and Tolan decided to use anyway.

What am I referring to? The overzealous use of gratuitous humor that more often than not, was probably far funnier to those writing the jokes than it ended up being for viewers. This episode provided two perfect examples - Mike's decision to paint the bar all black and the chiropractors with "unorthodox methods."

Were both of these B-plots funny? Absolutely, 100% yes. But look closer at them and both instances really contributed nothing. The cowgirl, ride-your-back-til-the-pain's gone chiropractors were so absurd that it actually felt out of place - even for Rescue Me's often raunchy humor. And Mike's black paint job at the bar was so stupid that even he should have realized it was a bad idea. It just felt like these were ideas that got some mild laughter in the writer's room and they were folded into an episode anyway - much like a lot of the odd humor from season four. Remember Latrina? This is Latrina syndrome.

However, in the grand scheme of things, neither of those plots really do matter because the rest of the episode was near perfection. The highlight? Feinberg's anecdote about fighting in Vietnam. The way he recounted his memories of racism in the ranks was mesmerizing to listen to (the guy can tell a story). When he finally made his point about religions creating hatred, not God, it was like a smack in the face when he made his ultimate point - the fighting has been going on for thousands of years, so what's another two towers? Cynical? Sure. Negative? You bet. Hateful? No way. Feinberg is a realist and you can't really argue with his logic, especially since you know he's seen it all at this point. Kudos to Jerry Adler for an incredibly well acted scene - one of the best in the series to date.

A few more thoughts on "Wine"--

• Tommy's dedication to Colleen as a father has never been in question, and I love how he justified telling Colleen to sleep with Black Shawn. The scenario is hilarious and even Shawn's reaction to it was priceless - he's saving the good lovin' for wedding night. I won't give away what happens next, except to say that Tommy may have been on to something - just not in the exact way you're probably thinking.
• When Franco first mentioned the chiropractor to Sean, he said that it was near Alicia's (Susan Sarandon) apartment. Does that mean he's still sleeping with her while she raises Keisha? I can't figure out why else it would be worth dropping her name like that.
• I like the way Genvieve's examination of 9/11 is stirring up emotions amongst all the 62 Truck guys. The stand-off between Mike and Franco about conspiracy theories was a particularly tense moment. Franco's beliefs are going to get him in hot water though - wait'll you see how far he goes.

Tommy's beliefs played a big role, as well. Especially one he picked up from Black Shawn - saving sex for the right moment. I'm not so sure stopping short with Genvieve was the right move. Now he's lost her, Valerie booted him, and Tommy is back to using the firehouse as a temporary roof. He's almost back to where he started when things were rough and you know what that means - Tommy's three evils: booze, Sheila, and Janet. Next week's episode provides the final push when it turns out that 9/11 didn't go down exactly how Tommy thought it did.