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Fire Country just made Bode and Gabriela’s romantic future even more unclear after introducing a shocking hookup.
During the Friday, December 6, episode of the hit CBS series, Bode (Max Thieriot) and Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila) were both dealing with the ramifications of their split — but in two very different ways. Bode threw himself into work as he prepared to graduate from the Cal Fire training program. Gabriela, meanwhile, continued her downward spiral and to the concern of Sharon (Diane Farr).
Bode ultimately passed the program and officially became a firefighter, celebrating the news by cooking dinner for him and newly single fellow cadet Audrey (Leven Rambin). The pair got very flirty, but stopped short of taking their relationship any further. Instead, the final moments of the episode focused on Gabriela hanging out at the bar with her ex, Jake (Jordan Calloway).
“Everything with me has been too much these days,” Gabriela admitted to Jake about her recent emotional turmoil. “Working, drinking so I couldn’t feel and then cliff-diving so that I could feel something — even if it was just the smack of the ocean. Maybe I am too much.”
Jake, for his part, admitted that he was dealing with his own issues.
“I am losing [my late girlfriend’s daughter] Gene to [her biological father] Rick,” Jake revealed. “Rick called and Gene wants to stay in Idaho, she wants to enroll [in school] and she wants me to ship her stuff. I keep telling myself that it will make it real but I think I really want to stay in shock or I might just lose it.”
After Jake urged Gabriela to “change the subject,” the paramedic brought up their romantic history, saying, “Can you believe we were here not too long ago at this bar and I said I love you? It seems like a million years ago. We had good times though.”
The episode ended with Gabriela and Jake having sex in his car outside of Smokey’s Tavern. While fans were concerned about Bode’s budding friendship with Audrey, it’s safe to say that no one saw Gabriela and Jake’s reconciliation coming.
In season 1, which premiered in 2021, Gabriela formed a connection with Bode while dating Jake. Gabriela ended her relationship with Jake to wait for Bode until he was released from the California Conservation Camp Program. Bode broke things off when he was sent back to prison, and by the beginning of the second season Gabriela was engaged to Diego.
Season 3 quickly wrapped up Gabriela’s relationship with Diego before they got married — but that didn’t mean she was ready to be with Bode.
“There will always be love and you will always feel that,” Arcila, 34, exclusively told Us Weekly in October regarding Bode and Gabriela’s new dynamic. “Most relationships — most long-lasting relationships — start off with friendships. You get to know each other and build that relationship outside of it. This is going to be a great opportunity for them to get to know each other in a different place in their lives.”
Arcila went on to defend Gabriela’s decision not to rush into anything with Bode.
“It’s important for anyone in any relationship — and for people seeing it from the outside — to see the battle between your mind and your heart and what should be and what shouldn’t be. All of that is so human,” she said of Gabriela’s conflicting feelings. “Society has built these fairy-tale stories, especially for women. The fact that people get to see Gabriella question things and not know where she’s going is a beautiful part of the story.”
Arcila continued: “A lot of people are angry and a lot of people are like, ‘Wait, what’s going on? What are you going to do? What is this?’ But at the end of the day, we’re just all perfectly flawed humans. … There’s going to be lots of changes. This is a season that definitely shows her imperfections, which I’m so excited for because we’re all human. We’re not perfect. We make mistakes and we all deserve forgiveness and redemption. So, this is a story about redemption.”
Thieriot, 36, meanwhile, didn’t rule out a Bode and Gabriela romance — eventually.
“It’s about finding that [storytelling] balance. You don’t want to have total instant gratification … [we’re] trying to stretch some of that out and earn those moments. It was easy to do that when he’s at camp and there’s only so much they can do. Now that he’s free, that’s been one of the challenges,” he explained to Us that same month. “Figuring out how to stay in a little bit of that gray and fight through their relationship as opposed to just totally open the floodgates and have it become a thing.”
Fire Country season 3 airs on CBS Fridays at 9 p.m. ET.
