FIRE COUNTRY Season 2 Finale Post-Mortem: Tia Napolitano Breaks Down Gabriela’s Wedding, Bode’s Big Decision, and More Changes in Season 3

[Warning: This post contains spoilers for the FIRE COUNTRY season 2 finale.]

FIRE COUNTRY’s Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila) made it to the chapel in the season 2 finale…but fans are going to be wondering all summer if she actually got married.

In the sophomore season finale, Gabi opted to power through with her wedding—despite the fact that her dad, Manny (Kevin Alejandro) was MIA and wanted by the cops for an assault and her ex, Bode (Max Thieriot), was newly released from his prison sentence.

As she prepared to walk down the aisle, Gabriela was stunned to see Manny, who came to support his daughter and gave her a family heirloom. She was visibly thrilled, telling her father, “You just made this the happiest day ever.”

Bode, meanwhile, was contemplating making one last attempt to win Gabriela over when Manny exited the bridal suite…and Manny warned him away.

“Bode, she told me today is the happiest day of her life,” Manny said. “I never saw her smile so big. And I know why you’re here, but she’s happy. Like really happy.”

“It’s about to start,” he added as he started to walk away. “You comin’?” And Bode ultimately opted to not see Gabriela and let the wedding go on as planned.

But Bode couldn’t exactly sit there and watch her marry someone else, so mid-ceremony, he bolted, going to his uncle, Luke (Michael Trucco), and requested his help to pull strings to help him fight fires now that he’s free. “Firefighting is the first healthy addiction I’ve had in my life,” Bode insisted. “I’m ready to claim my legacy as a Leone. As a firefighter.”



So what comes next? FIRE COUNTRY showrunner Tia Napolitano shares a few teases with Give Me My Remote…

In theory, we don’t know whether the ceremony actually concluded. What led to the decision to follow Bode’s exit and how much of the rest of the wedding might we see in the season premiere?
I wanted a cliffhanger! Bode’s ending is propulsive and aspirational and goal-oriented. But, also, we’re left with questions about that wedding. We don’t know how it ended, which is very intentional. We’ll get all of our answers in season 3. I think those answers will surprise you. And it’s only going to get more complicated and messy as we keep going.

How realistic is his goal to pursue firefighting as a civilian?
It’s not an easy road. We’ve teased out a little bit in the show: You have to get your record expunged. It’s a whole process and he is going to have to fight for it and really stay committed to that fight if he’s going to get what he wants.

Are you planning on picking up basically where we left off? Or are you planning, potentially, another time jump to start season 3?
I don’t ever want to repeat myself too much. So no, no giant time jumps. You’re gonna get really satisfying answers.

Manny had to turn himself in after walking Gabriela down the aisle. What will these legal problems mean for him going forward?
We’re gonna walk the whole road with Manny. So I think we won’t get the answer immediately. And we’re gonna live in that anxiety of, “What’s it going to look like? Am I going to get off? Am I going to go back to prison? Am I going to go back to Fire Camp? What is this going to be?” We will live in that with Manny and experience that with him.

Bode and Manny had that potentially life-changing conversation before Gabriela walked down the aisle. What does that mean for their relationship?
What Manny misinterprets is she’s so happy in that moment that he’s able to be there, that he gives her the bracelet. But her happiness really is the relief of, “My dad’s here and I’m gonna get this memory.” She’s not specifically talking about the romance or the man she’s marrying. But Manny takes it that way. Then the misunderstanding goes all the way to Manny deliver[ing] it to Bode—and Manny is thinking, “Don’t go in there and ruin my daughter’s happy day,” because Manny believes she is happy.

And Diego is a great guy. And his family is great. And it would be a strong marriage. So Manny is not one thousand percent off the mark. And Bode was going to ask her, “Are you happy?”—he gets his answer from her father. And he’s always gonna put Gabriela’s happiness above his own, and it changes his whole trajectory.

We’ve seen Bode make decisions, inadvertently, for Gabriela by trying to protect her. How will this latest thing impact them?
I mean, she also didn’t fight for him. I think she’s a consenting, thinking adult, also, who’s saying, “I’m gonna decide to do this wedding.” And I think, in his mind, he’s thinking, “I’m listening.” When people show you who they are and what they want, listen. [Laughs.] And I think he’s like, “She kissed me. That was probably a mistake and she’s getting married. I’m gonna listen to this woman and not ruin her wedding day.”

There was a lovely scene with Gabriela and Eve (Jules Latimer) as they were talking about their big life decisions, with love and work. What went into crafting that moment?
I love that age, approaching 30 or hovering around 30, where every decision is so big. It’s like you could take a job that could change your entire life. You can move and never come back to this small town that you know. You could marry the right or the wrong guy. You could cancel an entire wedding. And conversations at that age among friends are like, “What’s the rest of our lives going to look like?” And it’s very much that and I love it. Gabriela, as big and as angsty as she is, and as big as her decision is, also honors [the friendship] and is like, let’s talk about Eve’s thing, which is also big. It’s just a fun time in a young person’s life.

Eve did opt to turn down the potentially life-changing job and stay at Three Rock. What does that mean for her going forward?
She’s come so far at camp from when we saw her top of season, Cole gives it to her: “I’m going to be talking about you when I leave here.”

I want to see her invest even further in the inmates, to get to know more inmates. And that’s going to lead to us knowing more about her backstory, and, of course, folding her deeper into our world with our people now that Bode is out and all of the young people can go have a night at Smokey’s together. I also don’t want to forget how funny and fun Eve can be and really make sure she’s a part of the fun.

Speaking of jobs, Sharon (Diane Farr) has decided she wants her old job back. What does that mean for her and Luke, who currently holds it? And how much will Vince’s (Billy Burke) health issues impact what she does next?
We’re intending to put Vince’s health issues to bed and let them be physically and emotionally healthy in that marriage.

I love that Sharon thinks she can snap her fingers and get her job back. We’re gonna see what that looks like or what the consequences of that are—especially complicated by [the fact] Bode just asked Luke to use that position of power to help him. So do we maybe want Luke to stay there even though we want Sharon to get her job back? I just love Sharon coming back and being herself again and saying, “I want my power.” Which I think is so much of her personality. I think Vince is very comfortable taking orders from his wife. [Laughs.] So I kind of feel the natural order is about to be restored. But we’ll see how that process goes.

It appears we may have met Gen’s bio-father. How much will that storyline play into season 3?
I mean, we’re gonna have to land the plane on that story and really get to the heart of what’s going on. We’ll get to know Rick a little bit more in ways that will surprise us. I think any more complications to that young person’s life is just so heartbreaking. And no matter what, Jake and the entire extended family are going to do right by her, best they can, to just support her and make whatever is supposed to happen, happen for her.

Looking to season 3, how does Bode being out change the overall group dynamic of the show and what kind of stories you’re able to tell?
It’s so exciting. I mean, he can go without special permission to his parents house to have a meal, to Smokey’s. He can hang out at Jake’s apartment like a normal 30 year old. All these things that we might take for granted if we’re not incarcerated or you take for granted as storytellers…All of that stuff will feel like a breath of fresh air simply because he hasn’t been able to do them. So we’re really excited about it.

FIRE COUNTRY, Fridays, 9/8c, CBS

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