MAJOR SPOILERS for Fire Country’s Season 2 premiere are ahead! If you haven’t watched the first episode, you can stream it starting February 17 with a Paramount+ subscription.
Well folks, Fire Country is officially burning up the 2024 TV schedule, and after that red-hot premiere, there's a lot to talk about. After waiting months to find out how the Season 1 cliffhanger of Bode going back to prison would be resolved, we not only learned how he got back to Edgewater, but we also got to see his reaction to Gabriela’s engagement. He claims he’s happy, however, that had to have been a major blow for him. So, when I got the chance to chat with Max Thieriot and Stephanie Arcila about their characters’ relationship, I asked them if they were actually happy for each other.
So, to review, at the end of Fire Country’s Season 2 premiere, we see Bode back in Edgewater with Eve, the new captain at Three Rock. Then Gabriela bursts in to tell Eve that she’s engaged to Rafael de la Fuente’s new character Diego. Talk about the worst time to announce this news. However, Bode reacts in a civil way, and he tells Arcila’s character that he’s happy for her. But is he really? Thieriot doesn't think so, as he told me during an interview for CinemaBlend:
No, I think that Bode, as we know he does, because he either reacts and does things for other people selflessly or he just carries the weight of it and is willing to carry the burden and the weight around and would rather have somebody else be free. I think, even in that moment, of course, his heart is crushed. But I think that just because it's Bode, he's trying to he's trying to suppress that. And he's trying to be real and earnest in those moments, like he's trying to put on the put on a smile for something that really in his heart is is crushing him.
To me, this is a totally on-brand answer for Bode. He’s selfless to a fault, and even though he’s undoubtedly crushed by Gabriela’s news, he doesn’t want her to feel hurt. So, he puts on a brave face and claims he’s happy for her.
Meanwhile, Arcila saw the moment a bit differently. While this situation of her being engaged to a new man is awkward now that her ex is back in town, he told her to move on multiple times. Therefore, she believes to an extent Bode wants what’s right for everyone, and he is happy for her. She told me:
I think they both genuinely wanted each other to be happy, always, because they love each other so much and care about each other so much. As much as it hurts, I think they genuinely both want each other to be happy. Now, did they want it to be with each other? Obviously, like they wanted it to be with each other. I think Gabriela tried as hard as she could. And now they're fighting those feelings and those battles and what genuinely is right for everyone.
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Bode’s love life, and specifically his relationship with Gabriela, has been turbulent since day one. His circ*mstances – especially after he was sent back to prison at the end of Season 1 – are not ideal, and he wants to protect her from all of that.
So, in a way, I get what Arcila is saying. Bode has given Gabriela every out possible, and she finally took it, and now she’s happy with Diego. However, as Thieriot said, they still love each other a lot, so when he finds out she’s with another man, he’s crushed. However, he doesn’t want her to know that.
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As Season 2 of Fire Country continues, I’m looking forward to seeing how Bode and Gabriela’s relationship evolves. This engagement news is a serious wrench in it, and now a complex potential love triangle lies ahead. To see the fallout of this crazy ending to the premiere, you can catch episode 2 of the drama next Friday, February 23 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS or stream it the next day on Paramount+.
Riley Utley
Weekend Editor
Riley Utley is the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. She has written for national publications as well as daily and alt-weekly newspapers in Spokane, Washington, Syracuse, New York and Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated with her master’s degree in arts journalism and communications from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Since joining the CB team she has covered numerous TV shows and movies -- including her personal favorite showsTed LassoandThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She also has followed and consistently written about everything from Taylor Swift toFire Country, and she's enjoyed every second of it.
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