Recap / Eureka Friendly Fire

Not-so-friendly fire.

Carter: So, we have a fireball on the loose and no way to track it, that's great.
Parrish: Actually, I prefer the term "firefly". Its mobility is its defining characteristic.
Carter: ...Great.

Everyone deals with the fallout of the kidnapping of the Astreus mission. Dr. Parrish's fire suppression system gets out of control.

Tropes

• Call-Back: Jo mentions that her house is almost rebuilt... again.
• Five Stages of Grief: Ordered to attend grief counselling, Fargo sarcastically asks the counselors if they have "a pill that can speed me through the five stages of grief." They don't have a pill, but in his next scene Fargo is acting very strangely due to an experimental trauma patch. First he doesn't remember Holly or notice he's on fire (denial), then aggressively spits insults at people for no reason (anger).
  Depression!Fargo: Maybe we should just bow down to our new fireball overlords while we still can. Maybe they'll spare us.
• Fuzz Therapy: At Fargo's grief counselling, the counselors try him on "bunny therapy," which is exactly what it sounds like.
  Fargo: Seriously?
  Grief Tech#1: Bunny therapy has been rigorously tested. It's proven beneficial in 64 percent of trauma cases.
  Grief Tech#2: We tried it with kittens, but there were... injuries.
• Heroic Fire Rescue: Jo saves the kids when SARAH is hit by the firefly.
• Living Macguffin: Everyone who was in the matrix has altered brain activity, causing the RF interference that disrupted SARAH and made the fireflies go haywire. At the end of the episode, it's not yet clear why.
• Pet the Dog: Parrish and Fargo remember Holly together and play DnD.
• Ship Tease: Subverted. After the matrix, Zane and Allison keep thinking about how Jo and Carter could be a couple, and the episode does show how well they work together, but also emphasizes that Jo and Carter do not think of each other that way. In the end, Carter and Allison are firmly together and Jo and Zane decide to work out their problems together, as well.
• Shout-Out:
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan Fargo at one point says, "Big surprise right guys? Another Isaac Parrish experiment failed? Must be Tuesday!"
  • Carter and Jo in firefighter gear are compared with the Ghostbusters.
• Tempting Fate: Jo should really watch what she says.
  Jo: Well, maybe it's not so dangerous. [Alarm sounds]
  Carter: You had to say it.
  Jo: I know, I know!
• Trash the Set: SARAH is destroyed with fire after the fireflies end up there. Kevin and Jenna barely escape with their lives and SARAH's interior is burnt to a crisp.

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