Fire Country Season 3: Episode 11 Proves Something Important About Vince Leone

Contains spoilers for "Fire Country" Season 3, Episode 11 — "Fare Thee Well"

Tough emotions come to the forefront during "Fire Country" Season 3, Episode 11, "Fare Thee Well," mainly for Leone patriarch Vince (Billy Burke), who has to cope with the fact that his wife and son have gone behind his back to get his dad Walter Leone's (Jeff Fahey) memory problems diagnosed. He ends up behaving in a passive-aggressive manner toward Sharon (Diane Farr) and Bode (Max Thieriot) as the truck tries to tamp down a fire at a Renaissance Faire. But it takes working in the field to alert Vince to his mistakes.

Vince finds himself triaging one of the Faire's hapless knights, and the man won't give Vince his real name as he tries to pry a sword from his chest. The knight explains that he wants to die a real hero on the field of battle, and that being who he is in real life is unbearable compared to who he wants to be. Vince sees this as total nonsense, encouraging the man to be himself and face down the horrors of reality. This realization — that it takes real bravery to be who you really are and see the truths in life, even if it's hard — makes Vince realize he's acting like a horse's behind toward his wife and son.

Vince Leone has always been a solid, level-headed patriarch with a dreamy eye pointed toward mild musical ambitions. That doesn't mean he's a perfect man, but he's always been a great dad to Bode and his late sister, and a loving, supportive partner to Sharon. Since he feels betrayed by his family's actions, it's understandable why he would act the way he's acting toward them.

But having to pry a knight free of his armor wakes up Vince to his bad choices, and reminds us he's the same father figure we all know and love. He finally apologizes to Sharon, explaining that hearing his bulwark of a father might have memory issues was a hard blow to deal with, causing him to confront both his dad's mortality and the fact that one day he won't be the strong lion he remembers from his own childhood. 

Sharon and Vince reaffirm their status as the best "Fire Country" couple, with chemistry fans can't get over, by working through their differences like adults. Their conversation is interrupted by a call from Walter's neurologist, announcing his memory issues are a sign of dementia. No doubt we'll find out soon enough how the Leones adapt to this revelation.