‘Firebite’ Recap: ‘We Don’t Go Down’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Three of ‘Firebite’.
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We often tend to associate the abandonment of a dream, with failure and understandably so. After all, said dream should have brought the one that leaves it behind, joy and peace and fulfillment, and coming to understand that one cannot perform the duties asked of that dream, really is the only reason out there to walk away from what calls to us. But that is in fact, the wrong way to look at such a decision, simply because a great deal of factors can go into walking away from a genuine dream and it just so happens, that the AMC+ series, Firebite, takes the time to look at those specific reasons in its next episode, and that made, ‘We Don’t Go Down’, a fascinating and moving story. 

One that finally examined exactly why Tyson decided to walk away from the prospect of being a Bloodhunter, but not before showing us at his lowest. Because shortly after he and Shanika successfully beat down and defeated the vampires that the King left behind for them to face and buried the Last Bloodhunter… Tyson made it clear he wanted to run. A decision that confused and infuriated Shanika because the dearly departed made it clear, they could make a difference and that there was a chance her mother was alive and when faced with the reality that Shanika might go down below on her own, Tyson stepped up the plate and worked to prepare the both of them for an all-out assault on the vampire nest.

In fact, he even went so far as to work with Shanika to steal his old friend’s trailer, to get at all the weapons and intelligence present within it. But alas, just when it seemed as though Tyson was ready to step up and fight at last, he chickened out at the last possible second and instead buried himself in booze and girls and sorrow. All while Shanika managed to capture a blood sucker on her own and interrogate him and well, coming to learn that the girl he called daughter was that brave and that strong, alongside owning up to the fact that there were a great deal of demons hiding within his soul… motivated Tyson to finally open up and explain why he didn’t become a Bloodhunter, something we came to learn was a lifelong dream. 

But alas, coming to find that the Bloodhunters weren’t exactly the most noble of chaps, since Tyson was basically told to abandon Shanika in her hour of need while Tyson was training to join the troupe, changed his outlook on everything. In that, he really thought there might be a better way than how the Bloodhunters handle business, the way he operates in fact. And that, combined with a genuine understanding of how important life is and the need to have people there for us, motivated Tyson to walk away and try a go of it on his own. But alas, his admission on such matters fell upon the void, since Shanika was making her way into the depths of the nest, on her own, with a resurgent King pacing the tunnels. 

But while we wait to see if Tyson is going to finally answer the call and head down there with her and defend her from the wily and strong King Vampire, we can revel in the wonder of a magnificent tale. One that really did make it clear that sometimes… discovering the dream isn’t what we thought, alongside other priorities arriving, such as parenthood… can be fine reasons to walk away from what we want, provided we are okay with it, and that made for quite the incredible examination of the human condition and an oddly relatable tale. Since it really did provide us with some honest and raw humanity and well, this exploration definitely leaves us eager for more. So, we can finally see if Tyson is about to become a hero and forge his own path and happiness now that he’s confronted the skeletons in his closet. Until next time.

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