‘Tacoma FD’ season 3 episode 3 review: Gross outs and mostly uninspired humor

It’s the annual chili cook off on Tacoma FD but the Chief’s emergency surgery puts the event up in the air.

September 30, 2021

On the previous episode of Tacoma FD, Lucy went through the final days of her probationary period, aka Hell week. She was easily a step ahead of her peers when it came to pranks but also benefited from being a blood relative of both the chief and captain. At least those two took the kid gloves off and gave her a humiliating and humbling experience. What kind of nonsense will Lucy get into now that she’s a full-fledged member along with the rest of the station?

Well, the gang are ready to hold their annual chili cook off and this week it’s Granny with the big head as he keeps reminding everyone that he’s the two-time defending champion. Furthermore, he tries to goad the station GOAT, Captain Penisi to come out of retirement and challenge him this year. Unfortunately, the whole culinary competition is up in the air when the tasting judge, the Chief, has to have emergency oral surgery and have his wisdom teeth removed.

The comedy in this week’s Tacoma FD fell flat. It could be because I had my wisdom teeth extracted earlier this month and the memory is still fresh in my mind but none of the gags with regards to McConky’s procedure resonated. There’s an uninspiring gag mimicking the popular magic trick of pulling handkerchiefs out your mouth but instead using bloody gauze. It’s more gross out than humor.

They also try to play with the viral videos of people still doped up on anesthesia after the surgery. It shows McConky acting a fool but it’s not nearly as funny as what’s already out there. The only good thing to come out of the thread is Lucy’s missed opportunity once she is locked out of her social media account. It’s quite a commitment to a bit but there is some payoff.

From the cooking side of things, Tacoma FD does a good job representing a TV culinary competition. There is some intensity and franticness as the contestants move around in the kitchen preparing their dishes. The Chief also has some harsh Gordon Ramsey type criticisms and zingers. The trash talking and back and forth between Granny and Penisi is pretty good and enjoyable as well but too bad they can’t back it up. A dark horse candidate takes the trophy in the end and it’s a little satisfying since they don’t always get recognition in general. Nice they have a nice moment of glory.

“The Big Chili” has some pleasant moments but much of humor falls flat.