Jared Padalecki makes his Fire Country debut on Friday, November 15, in the episode “Edgewater’s About to Get Real Cozy.” He plays Camden, a SoCal firefighter who comes to Edgewater to train Bode in his third stage of firefighter training. Contrary to other trainers before him who have been trying to tame the worst instincts in Bode, Camden seeks to encourage them. This will not make him popular with different characters who think he’s doing the wrong thing, but he doesn’t appear to be someone who cares. The logline below for the episode teases the development of this storyline. CBS released a sneak peek video from the episode that features Camden’s debut.
“Station 42 and Three Rock jump into action when an airplane makes an emergency landing outside of Edgewater. Jared Padalecki guest stars as Camden, a SoCal firefighter who immediately recognizes Bode’s raw talent.”
Edgewater’s Not About To Get Real Cozy in Fire Country Season 3, Episode 5.
The video above begins with Camden choosing a song from a slot machine as the camera pans to reveal the character. “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” by Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers blasts as Camden looks around the bar as if expecting someone to say something. Indeed, someone does notice him but does not take issue with the song choice. “Dodger fan in NoCal? You gonna get your ass handed to you,” Audrey, who is in the same bar, tells him. “Maybe. But not as bad as the Giants are next season,” Camden responds. The duo is not interested in hashing out baseball rivalries, but this might not extend to other patrons in the bar.
This introduction teases an unorthodox character who is not afraid to make his opinions and stances known bar the consequences. In later scenes, Camden does get into a fight, but he does the ass-handing. A promo video courtesy of TV Insider reveals that Camden has an agenda, and it is to make Bode a great firefighter, even if people might not agree with his methods. Bode himself might disagree with Camden’s method when he suggests Bode should end things with Gabriela. “I see a lot of things pulling your focus—parents, high school buds, girlfriend. You could be excellent. But you have to choose,” Camden warns him. Camden will face a lot of opposition, but the sneak peek above affirms that he doesn’t care. Showrunner Tia Napolitano teased this attitude, saying,
“[Camden] has very unconventional tactics when it comes to firefighting, when it comes to Bode, when it comes to what rules are meant to be broken. And I think it’ll be fun. He’s not a villain by any means, but it’ll be fun to see our people have this new real alpha guy in their midst.”
Watch Camden’s debut when “Edgewater’s About to Get Real Cozy” airs on CBS this Friday, November 15, at 9 p.m. Past episodes are available to stream on Paramount+.