Here we are again. Another week and another miserable episode of City on Fire. Just to let you know, there’s an amazing movie called Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse screening right now at your local theater. I can guarantee you that that is far better than today’s episode of the worst adaptation of one of the worst fiction books that has been written. That movie has drama, action, romance, anarchy, amazing music, and, you know, things that this pathetic show claims to have but doesn’t. So, if you respect your life, your time, and your money, go and watch Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy’s saga. If you are still here, well, let’s briefly recap what happened last week and then get on with today’s slog. Sam’s dad got the memo that she was going to die. William did the whole “purification by water” trope and learned that Nicky Chaos was on Amory Gould’s payroll, and Gould was using Chaos to clear out an entire neighborhood so that he could expand his (metaphorical) tentacles. We got a little flashback about why William walked away from his family. And while the detectives got CCTV footage of Gould coming from the area of the NYE shooting, Charlie found out that Ex Nihilo had built a bomb.
Spoilers Alert
William And Regan Talk About Her Illegitimate Child
Sam is physically in a coma, but in her mind, she’s always in an Ex Post Facto concert. That is worse than death. Yes, Sam loves (or hates) the band. But once their masks were off, even she started to hate them. Can you imagine that your personal purgatory is populated by William, Sewer Girl, Nicky Chaos, DT, and Sol? I would’ve come out of the coma and told the nurse to pull the plug and save me from my misery. Anyway, Joe Yeung keeps saying that Sam’s eyes are moving, while we see that Sam can hear Joe’s voice but can’t do anything about it. That’s conveyed to Joe, who reluctantly leaves Sam in the care of the nurse. The NYPD turns Ex Nihilo’s headquarters upside down, and they find nothing. We do learn that the detectives still don’t have a warrant to look into Amory. So, they continue the search while the most annoying terrorist group in the world plans to install their handmade bomb in Amory’s office.
Sewer Girl shows some resistance by pointing out the fact that the building they’re about to bomb is filled with blue-collar workers as well. But she’s outvoted, and they go ahead with the bombing. In the meantime, Charlie proceeds to visit Sam and apologizes to her for every mistake he has possibly committed while Sam hilariously panics in her purgatory. Once he’s done, he goes to sleep next to her. The narrative then shifts to the Hamilton-Sweeney house, where Mercer motivates William to talk to Regan because the last time they met, they were at each other’s throats. What does William do? He goes and reminds her about her illegitimate child that he found out about from Amory’s files. I just want to point out that this rom-com, sibling bonding, nephew bonding type of tone is so insanely jarring because, at the end of the last episode, all of them were mourning the loss of Bruno and the fact that all of William’s work has gone up in flames. So, what the hell is up with this nonsense? Are they over it? Then why be so dramatic about it back then? The answer is simple: all of this is the result of absolutely idiotic writing.
Charlie Reveals That Ex Nihilo Is Targeting Amory Gould
Amory learns that Bill Sr. is refusing to sign some kind of legal document that will allow him to walk away from the charges that have been leveled against him. All he has to do is admit that he has actually committed all the crimes he has been accused of, which sounds insanely dumb. Yes, Amory is banking on Bill Senior’s deteriorating mental health and trying to stow him away so that he can do whatever he wants to do while using the Hamilton-Sweeney name. Nevertheless, it’s so stupid. We are supposed to think that Bill seeing through the facade, is so smart of him. But if anybody tried to swindle a toddler like this, even they would be able to notice they were being fooled. And we should believe that Amory is some kind of genius? In what world? Do you now see why City on Fire infuriates me? Do you want more proof? This scene is followed by Mercer, William, and Regan dropping off Will and Cate at their school. Why?! Does no one here care about consistency in terms of tone?
When the show changes gears to Bill Sr. and William’s reunion after years, am I really supposed to take it seriously or get emotional about it? Amidst all this, Keith finds Charlie at the hospital and helps the police nab him because he’s a wanted man. Keith is taken to the station as well. At the potential scene of crime, the most annoying group of terrorists return to their van after planting the bomb while saying such pretentious stuff that it will make you want to punch your screen. They find out that Sewer Girl is missing. After some not-so-intelligent deliberation, they just leave. This is followed by what has become a common affair in this godforsaken show—an expository recap—where the characters reiterate everything that has happened in the show. I’m not kidding. Mercer, William, Bill Sr., and Regan just waltz into the station and start recapping everything from episode 1 to episode 7. I don’t know if that makes my job easier or harder. It is what it is, I suppose. The scene tries to pretend that its most revelatory piece of information is the location of the Ex Nihilo bomb, but we already know that; it’s Amory’s office. However, the two new things that we do learn from this exhaustive ordeal are that Keith used to work for Amory because he promised to pay off his debts (not surprising, though) and that Bill Sr. was faking his mental illness with this whole team so that it’d be easier to catch his enemies. Astounding stuff, right here.
Did Charlie Find The Bomb?
Amory learns about the bomb threat and leaves. He’s confronted by William, Mercer, Regan, and Bill Sr. It ends with William trying to threaten Amory with a knife and then getting stabbed by Amory’s guard. Charlie tracks down Sewer Girl at the bomb site, who is there to die in the bomb blast because she’s too guilty of being a part of such an unhealthy endeavor. But then, she also shows the location of the bomb, which is on one of those gondola lifts used to clean the outside of buildings. So, Charlie makes a heroic jump, which doesn’t feel heroic at all because of the garbage-level wire work. At the end of City on Fire Episode 7, a massive blackout cuts off all the power in New York City, including Sam’s ventilator. However, since the nurse is committed to keeping Sam alive for Joe, she uses a manual oxygen pump on her. And that’s where the showrunners thankfully chose to conclude this torturous affair.
I don’t know if there’s any real explanation for all the things that transpire in these 48 minutes since it’s a collage of nonsense. I’ll say this, though: the way Charlie’s jump and the blackout are cut together, it’s made to seem like Charlie or the bomb caused the blackout. However, we all know that Charlie isn’t Electro, and the bomb isn’t an EMP (because Nicky is a pyromaniac). So, it’s weird that they cut it together like this. Also, why didn’t they introduce this blackout aspect of the plot earlier in the show? Then there would’ve been a sense of urgency to get justice for Sam before she died. Up until now, it has seemed like everyone has been going at their own pace. With just one more episode of City on Fire left, the blackout causes no tension or fear. Well, at least after the next week, we don’t have to talk about the series again, and that’s a massive win.
