Rescue Me – Is Tommy going to die in the end?

The fact that Tommy Gavin wrote letters to be read by his friends and loved ones in the event of his death — which Lou almost immediately distributed so everyone would know that Tommy’s not a complete knucklehead and, in fact, has a loving, albeit damaged tender side — started me thinking about how Rescue Me‘s going to end.

With only two more episodes left, it certainly seemed as though the writers were laying the groundwork for Tommy to meet his maker. His letters made peace with those whom he cares the most about. He has remained sober. He has forced himself to face that deep grief he’s shouldered for a decade about surviving 9/11. And he’s preparing to greet the birth of his child as a brand new, better version of himself … all of which means he’s gonna die, right?

“I’ve got a whole new set of priorities,” Tommy said when he handed Lou his real in-case-I-die letter, which Lou read as soon as he could. And it wasn’t the fake-out letter like last week’s. It was a simple, heartfelt, and lovely expression of his feelings toward his best friend.

In addition to these “new” life priorities, Tommy told Janet that he’d try to attend one AA meeting a day until Colleen’s wedding, and said he’d show up at their rehearsal dinner “sober as a judge.” He was on a quest to prove that he can handle all of this emotional pressure without turning to alcohol, lest he be dis-invited from his daughter’s wedding.

His family is justly skeptical of his claims that he’s cleaned up his act, as he’s been down this road many times before, promising to remain sober only to lapse, and lapse ugly. But what changed everyone’s mind and convinced them that Tommy was on the level this time were those when-I’m-dead letters that loose-lipped Lou handed out, prompting folks to look upon Tommy with misty, moony eyes when he appeared at the rehearsal dinner. “Everybody’s happy, so you can thank me later,” Lou said by way of explaining the premature deliveries.

Couple all of this with the fact that Tommy’s now been cornered into quitting his job, as Janet wants him to do, and it seems as though we’re being set up either for Tommy to die heroically in the line of duty, say, on his last day of work, or for him to be killed, ironically, in a non-fire-related situation. I’ve read news stories where Rescue Me‘s executive producer has said that he wants the series to end darkly, and what could be darker than having Tommy get his life together, attempt to make up for all the wretched things he’s done, and then die?

Other observations from this episode:

The contrast between Lou’s highly emotional performance with Sheila — where he showed her photos of people who would otherwise be dead if Tommy hadn’t saved them and then Lou lit those photos on fire with a flaming shot glass — and his ill-fated performance with a skeptical Janet — which was ruined by the fact that Lou set the counter and items in the sink on fire — was classic. The first scene tugged at your heart, and the second one made you laugh at the insanity of it all, that Janet, pregnant out to there, had to be the one to grab the fire extinguisher and douse the flames while fire lieutenant Lou scrambled around ineffectively in the midst of the fire he caused.

The baseball analogies, which were threaded throughout the episode, were also well done: Arrogant Franco — in his crisp blue shirt, being an unnecessary stickler about firehouse rules and then completely screwing up by charging into a scene without thinking — was A-Rod. Lou — who runs a loose firehouse, is personally undisciplined with his eating habits, but is normally calm and thoughtful in the field (his setting the fire in the Gavins’ kitchen notwithstanding) — was Jeter. Tommy was Mickey Mantle. “You’re A-Rod, he’s Jeter,” Tommy said after Lou declared that Franco’s reckless behavior put an unceremonious end to his brief tenure as acting lieutenant. “You go for the glory, he goes for the win.”

Lou’s later statement regarding Tommy (“If I’m Derek Jeter, then he’s Mickey Mantle. He’s the great home run hitter. He’s the maniac, the golden bad boy who’s gotta turn it around before it all ends”) only added to my suspicions that this is all foreshadowing Tommy’s demise. Of course, after Tommy learned that Lou had already given out his “death letters” in direct violation of his express wishes, Lou went from being Jeter to Judas, and though that was just Tommy’s trademark temper talking, it raised the issue of his death again. If Lou is Judas, Tommy is Jesus, who sacrificed his life for others….

Who else thinks Tommy’s going to die in the series finale?

Clacked by Meredith O'Brien
on Aug 25, 2011 @ 12:55 EST5EDT