‘Tacoma FD’ season 3 episode 2 review: Probie no more

The Tacoma FD crew get ready to haze Lucy during her Hell week.

September 23, 2021

The firefighters of Tacoma FD returned last week for an all-new season. That means new unusual and funny calls to respond to along with more foolishness back at the station during down time. In tonight’s episode, the crew prepare to induct one of their own as a full-fledged member.

Lucy’s probationary period is coming to an end but first she needs to go through the titular “Hell Week.” During the whole process so far, the Chief has been protecting her requesting the others to take it easy because she is his daughter not to mention the captain is her uncle. However, for these final days, the kid gloves are off and Granny, Andy, and Ike have almost no limit to their hazing.

The episode of Tacoma FD does a good job setting up Lucy’s rise and fall. She becomes cockier with each passing prank, though to be fair, the guys’ attempts are either predictable or weak. Lucy even has the audacity to retaliate against her coworkers with some of her own. It’s fitting that the very people who were protecting her earlier are the ones that bring her ego back down to earth. Also, it’s interesting to look at gender within firehouses because it’s such a male dominated occupation. Seeing how most of the pranks the guys come up with in the past deal with a man’s junk shows how limited and unimaginative they are.

For McConky, his daughter’s Hell week is a rite of passage in various ways. First, she is close to finally joining the brotherhood of firefighters that he’s a member of. But in letting the station haze Lucy unimpeded, he’s ready to allow his baby girl to finally grow up. He feels she’s ready to stand on her own and that’s why, on the family side, he wants her to move out and find a place of her own ushering the next stage in Lucy’s life.

Meanwhile, Terry’s misadventures in finding a new office chair are an amusing distraction from the main story. It seems robustness is the main trait to look for in a replacement since he manages to break every single one he tries out. We get it, McConky is heavy. At least actor, Kevin Heffernan is being a good sport with everything. The chair saga also reinforces how devious Eddie can be because he has ulterior motives on why he’s helping out. But it’s for the benefit for the whole station so it’s okay.

In “Hell Week,” Lucy has an entertaining and humbling rite of passage into adulthood both professionally and personally.