‘Fire Country’: Jules Latimer on Eve’s Tense Family Reunion and ‘Devastating’ Fire Fallout (Exclusive)

The fall finale of Fire Country brought an intense Edwards family reunion, and Jules Latimer spoke to PopCulture.com about the aftermath. In “Promise Me,” Three Rock and 42 had to get a handle on underground zombie fires that threatened Edgewater. The kicker was that Eve would have to talk to her estranged father, whose ranch was a big source of the fires.

Eve is not close with her family and the reunion was anything but warm with her father, played by Phil Morris. Not only that, but the episode ended on a bit of a cliffhanger that saw several characters in danger and the ranch up in flames as the fire got worse. Latimer told PopCulture all about the reunion and what’s next following that cliffhanger. (Interview has been edited for length and clarity).

PopCulture: When Eve found out that she would have to talk to her father because of the fires, she was really surprised about it, and she was even very much against doing it, even if it meant saving the town. What do you think was going through her mind when she first heard about it?

Jules Latimer: I think the thing that if someone were to ask you to do it, you’d say, ‘Hell no,’ regardless of whether or not it would save planet Earth or not. It’s that thing. It’s the sore spot. It’s the open wound. It’s the thing that she hasn’t taken the time to resolve for herself. And now she either does her job, or people lose their homes. And it’s an ego thing. Right? How do I get myself out of the way in order to do my job? And I don’t think she actually really thought about the fact that, like, if she went down the path of being a firefighter that she would actually have to be a firefighter for her family. It’s like being a nurse. You don’t ever think, like, ‘Oh, my family member’s gonna get sick or get cancer or whatever.’ And the impossible happened, and now she has to deal with it. I think she feels trapped.

PC: We find out that it’s been six years since Eve has been back at her family’s ranch. And when she met with her father, who was less than thrilled about the whole situation, it was clear just how bad things were between them. Was it hard dealing with those emotions throughout the episode?

Latimer: It was, but it’s also a dream to be able to have to wrestle with all of those things. I was saying earlier that it’s so weird because you have to bump up and do the thing and when she gets out of the carrier, goes to see her dad and she’s looking at Elroy. And then it’s like, we have to talk about the fires that are coming, but the things that were happening in my brain were like, ‘Oh my god. He’s gotten gray.’ It’s been six years. We’ve both changed so much. I think throughout the whole episode, there are so many things that she’s having to wrestle with. And I think she even got to the point where she was just like, ‘I don’t even know if I can do this. I don’t know because of having to wrestle with the personal and the ever-present fire.’

PC: It was fun seeing Eve and her father deliver a foal from the horse that Eve had delivered years ago. Just from her expression it was clear that she was missing being on the ranch or at the very least missed the horse. Do you think that we could be getting more of that ranch background and meeting more of her family members like we did with her cousin in the episode?

Latimer: That’s my hope. Yeah. I would love that. I would love that because I don’t think there’s so much to mind there. Especially we have this fall finale, and then we see the premiere on the back end. I think these characters are so textured. The history is so rich that it’s really important for us to see what these people do outside of being very dedicated firefighters. The fact that she’s a horse girl and loves the horses and loves being on the ranch. It only allows the audience to fall in love more with the characters.

PC: Throughout the episode, Three Rock and 42 were trying to save the ranch with the backburn, but unfortunately, things changed with the weather and with the wind and the barn does end up catching on fire. Do you think Eve feels guilty at all even though there is no way of controlling it? It was clear that her father very much put the blame on her.

Latimer: She feels extremely guilty even though we all know that it’s not her fault. But she feels guilty because she wanted to show him that she’s the firefighter in the thing she left the ranch for. She’s amazing at her job, and she just showed that she’s not so good at it. And what she predicted to be true and professed to be an expert at didn’t come to fruition, which I don’t know. When you’re a kid, you wanna show your parents, like, ‘Look at this thing that I did and now look. I’m just out here trying to make you proud.’ And the absolute worst thing, I am burning down the thing that my father built for me. And yeah, it’s pretty devastating.

PC: Along with the barn, there are a few other intense cliffhangers at the very end. What can you tease about the midseason premiere and how the aftermath will look like?

Latimer: I’m gonna save that damn ranch. I think if Eve doesn’t save the ranch, I don’t know whether or not she’ll continue as a firefighter.

PC: Going off of that, what are you most excited to explore with her in the New Year?

Latimer: I really hope that she finds space to not just be a firefighter. I think it’s important for her to have a personal life. I think it’s important for her to have something to look forward to. Like, she’s fighting so hard every day for other people. I think of Eve as the ultimate people-pleaser.I’m very much looking for her doing something for herself, which I think in the season after these episodes, we get to see that in her.

New episodes of Fire Country return on Friday, Jan. 31 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.