Image via CBS
By
Jeffrey Harris
Published 9 minutes ago
Jeffrey is a freelance features writer at Collider. He is an MPA-accredited entertainment journalist and a Tomatometer-approved critic based in the LA area. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Radio, TV, & Film and a Bachelor of Arts in Theater.
Sign in to your Collider account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recapFire Country Season 4 brought some new changes to the series with some very mixed results. Sadly, one of the show's best characters, Vince Leone (Billy Burke), perished in the fire that ended Season 3. Also, Gabriela Perez (Stephanie Arcila) left the show, getting written out of the series and sent away on a recruiting mission in the Season 4 premiere, "Goodbye for Now." For three years, the writers constantly dangled the carrot of the Gabriela and Bode Leone (Max Thieriot) romance for viewers, only to jettison the subplot in Season 4. Yet, the writers confusingly made sure to leave the Bode and Gabriela pairing open-ended, with Gabriela confessing her love to Bode before she left Edgewater. Despite Fire Country's back-and-forth writing with the Gabriela and Bode romance, it's time to explore why this pairing does not deserve another chance at love!
'Fire Country' Leaving Things Open for Bode and Gabriela Comes Off as Emotionally Manipulative
Gabriela Perez and Bode Leone standing next to each other inFire Country Season 3.Image via CBS
In "Goodbye for Now," Gabriela departs from Edgewater after confessing her love for Bode. Bode was still in a relationship with Audrey James (Leven Rambin) at the start of the season, so nothing could have happened at that point. The confession came after multiple seasons of frustrating will-they/won't-they antics between Gabriela and Bode. The scene also came off as a cheap way for Fire Country to eventually revisit the Bode and Gabriela relationship at some point in the future, making the scene feel even more emotionally manipulative. If the writers are so big on Bode and Gabriela together and setting them up as the end game, why did she need to leave, and why write out Arcila from the main cast?
According to comments by series showrunner Tia Napolitano and co-creator Joan Phelan in an April 2025 interview with Deadline, Arcila's exit from the show was a creative choice and not because the actress wanted to leave. Phelan stated about the decision, "It really just comes down to what’s best creatively." Meanwhile, Napolitano said on Gabriela leaving, "There’s danger in this sort of job, so we wanted to honor that and really up the stakes. You want the opportunity for that door to open, for someone to walk out of it, or for someone to walk into it. We're really leaning into that aspect of the show as well as honoring the authenticity." Truthfully, the reasoning sounds like a flimsy excuse and a lazy way to allow Bode to re-enter the dating field without concern about him being unfaithful to Gabriela.
Frankly, all the drama about Gabriela leaving appears forced because it's not like she left the country. She's on a recruiting mission, so there's no reason she and Bode couldn't attempt a long-distance relationship. Moreover, how long do CAL Fire recruiting missions typically last? Sure, Gabriela could probably use the vacation and a breather after the whole ordeal with Finn (Blake Lee), but the recruiting gig also comes off as thin plotting to write the character out of the show. If Bode and Gabriela love each other and want to be together, her out-of-town recruiting mission doesn't seem like a major roadblock.
Bode and Gabriela Simply Don't Mix Well Together
Max Thieriot as Bode with Stephanie Arcila as Gabriela standing outside a fire in Fire Country Season 3Image via CBS
Gabriela Perez smiling while wearing her wedding dress in the Season 2 finale of Fire CountryImage via CBS
Stephanie Arcila as Gabriela Perez and Max Thieriot as Bode Leone in gear at a fire in 'Fire Country.'Image via CBS
Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila) takes part in her wedding ceremony with Diego (Rafael de la Fuente) in Fire Country Season 2.
Image via Sergei Bachlakov/CBS
Bode Leona and Gabriela Perez sitting in a red car together and both looking solemn in Fire Country Season 3.Image via CBSClose
Seasons 2 and 3 demonstrated pretty well why Bode and Gabriela do not work well together as a couple. It was difficult to root for the romance while Gabriela was engaged to Diego Moreno (Rafael de la Fuente), a genuinely nice guy. Granted, Bode did reject Gabriela and push her away when he went back to prison, but Gabriela could not stay away from Bode after he returned to the Three Rock Conservation Camp in Season 2. Later, during the Season 3 premiere, "What the Bride Said," Gabriela mistakenly injected another firefighter with allergenic medicine. Bode lied and attempted to cover up her mistake, a punishable offense that nearly cost them their careers. Gabriela feared that she and Bode were bad for each other and that dating each other could wreck their lives.
Honestly, Gabriela wasn't wrong, and Bode respected her decision at the time. However, the two still had an on-again, off-again romance in Season 3, with Gabriela starting to spiral and dealing with depression, leading to a drunken fling with her ex-boyfriend and fire captain, Jake Crawford (Jordan Calloway). Basically, all the melodramatic theatrics between Bode and Gabriela over the last two seasons became nauseating. As a romantic couple, they share a clear romantic attraction, but it comes off more as lust than anything. The love triangle between Bode, Gabriela, and Diego emphasized Gabriela's conflict between the "logical" choice with Diego over the "passionate" choice with Bode. However, the love triangle also reinforced that there's nothing genuinely likable or charming about Bode and Gabriela as a couple. Do they have romantic chemistry? Absolutely yes, they do, but together, they generally sow chaos.
Bode and Gabriela Should Never Continue
Gabriela Perez (Stephanie Arcila) & Bode Leone (Max Thieriot) sitting on swings together in Fire Country.Image via CBS
The way Fire Country treats the Bode and Gabriela pairing is strange. It's almost like Fire Country has its own toxic relationship with the pairing, which resembles the couple in the series. What's also frustrating is that Arcila did tease Gabriela's possible return to the series during an April 2025 interview with Deadline. Regarding a return to the show, she said, "I never say never. Life takes us through so many avenues, and Gabriela is such a gift to me in my career, personally and professionally." If the writers intend for Bode and Gabriela to pick up where they left off, they have handled it poorly because Gabriela's exit from the show generates mixed signals.
On one hand, the idea of Bode and Gabriela having a steady, long-term relationship could hurt the series from a drama standpoint. On the other hand, it appears the writers simply cannot let go of the relationship for whatever reason. What hurts the most about Gabriela's exit is the grain of hope that perhaps Gabriela will return, and she and Bode will finally receive their happily ever after. As a result, Bode will never be able to find true love or happiness with someone else throughout the show's run because his heart still belongs to Gabriela. Even if Gabriela does come back to rekindle the relationship, there's no guarantee the show won't lean into the need for shock value and kill one of them in a disaster episode, similar to the story lines with Cara (Sabina Gadecki) in Season 2 and Vince in Season 3. I would prefer for Fire Country to simply move on from Bode and Gabriela, because at this point, the relationship is beating the proverbial dead horse.
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Fire Country
Like Follow Followed TV-14 Drama Crime Action Release Date October 7, 2022 Network CBS Showrunner Tia Napolitano Directors Bill Purple, Dermott Downs, Eagle Egilsson, Gonzalo Amat, Kevin Alejandro, Max Thieriot, Sarah Wayne Callies, Marie Jamora, Kantu Lentz, Antonio Negret, Laura Nisbet Peters, Lisa Demaine, Nicole Rubio, James Strong, Anton Cropper, Erica A. Watson, Joy T. Lane, Jacquie Gould, Chi-Yoon Chung Writers Tia Napolitano, David Gould, Natalia Fernandez, Barbara Kaye Friend, Tony Phelan, Joan Rater, Dwain Worrell, Julia Fontana, Sara Casey, Manuel Herrera, Jen Klein, Anupam Nigam, Tonya KongCast
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Max Thieriot
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