Bode (Max Thieriot) has his freedom. Now what?
Fire Country’s season finale saw Bode make an important decision for his life outside of the prison camp Three Rock. Not only did he decide to leave Gabriela’s (Stephanie Arcila) wedding, but he ended up asking his not-very-popular uncle Luke (Michael Trucco) to help him become a firefighter … whatever it takes.
Elsewhere, big changes hit the community. Sharon (Diane Farr) told Luke that she is taking her job back, Eve (Jules Latimer) declined an offer for a big job in Sacramento, Jake (Jordan Calloway) found out an old friend (bad influence) of Bode’s is likely Gen’s (Alix West Lefler) father and Manny (Kevin Alejandro) was arrested for aggravated battery and reckless endangerment.
Entertainment Weekly spoke with Fire Country showrunner Tia Napolitano about the events of the finale, what’s next for Bode, why we didn’t actually see Gabriela get married, and more.
What does Bode going to Luke mean? They’re family but also everyone questions Luke’s motives.
TIA NAPOLITANO: The Bode-Luke relationship is very interesting to me because Luke seems to have always seen the good in Bode and Bode always sees the good in him. Bode is asking for genuine help and for Luke, it’s a breath of fresh air in an episode where people just keeping piling on him and telling him that he’s terrible. He’s like, “My nephew sees me, he knows I will help him to do good things because I’m a good person.” There’s an understanding between them.
Release was the goal from the start of Fire Country. We see a little bit of this in the finale, but how does reaching that goal open up new concerns for Bode?
We will see him struggle with the regularity of life. He was incarcerated at first camp, but there is a schedule and guardrails. He talks about it at the campaign fire. Now he has to just rely on himself, so that will be a challenge, but also he got himself this far. He’s learned what he can do and it’ll help him pursue that goal of being a firefighter even though it’s going to be a difficult path to walk.
So did Gabriela get married?
We did not see vows and rings exchanged.
There’s a world where Bode speaks up and tells Gabriela how he feels or one where she chooses Bode. Why was this the right ending for the season?
What you learn about Bode at that wedding is how much he is true to himself and his heart. He is going to go ask her the question, “Are you happy?” Then Manny bumps into Bode and answers that. Bode is always going to put her happiness above his and though it kills him, he sits down in that seat, which is such a huge character moment. He’s not going to interrupt the wedding, but he can’t watch it. It just seemed like Bode being true to who he is as a character.
With Bode out of Three Rock, what does that part of the Fire Country world look like moving forward?
Eve will still be there, so we’ll still have one of our people with a foothold at Three Rock. We will still see inmates on calls, Cole is still there, so Three Rock is part of the DNA of the show. We’re not going to lose that and Bode will feel a little bit of homesickness.
Could you give us an idea of how difficult Bode’s journey becoming a firefighter is going to be?
It’s very hard. You have to get your record expunged. You have to be extremely motivated to do this. It takes time, it takes someone at Cal Fire to say yes. People have feelings about the inmate program. It’s not an easy thing to do and we want to lean into the authenticity of that.
Cole has slowly cemented himself as a figure at Three Rock. He had that great scene with Eve.
He’s clocking what we’ll continue to see, which is the rise of Eve Edwards. She’s building her own legend there and it felt like a very satisfying bookend to where she started the season where she wasn’t getting a lot of respect. I’m excited to see where she’s about to go.
What did you want to explore with Manny in these last few episodes and how does his arrest shape what’s ahead for him?
Eve says it to Manny on the campaign fire. [He’s] the blueprint and that continues to be true, especially when he’s down. People look up to him. What is he going to do next? Is he going to dust himself off is a very important question for him, and we were really compelled to see if Manny can do it again and climb back up that hill. We root for him to do that.
Eve and Jake both had big seasons. What might the future hold for them?
We are going to further complicate Eve’s position at Three Rock. She still has inmates to lead and we will deepen her backstory and get to know more about her. Jake’s going to struggle with who Rick is to Genevieve and to get to know Rick and make his way through that situation. We will also get to know more about Jake’s backstory.
Sharon decides she wants her job back. Is she in for a fight against Luke?
We will see the process of her getting her job back and Cal Fire is going to take notice of these people trading jobs and positions as they see it. The Leones think they own the place, so I think that’s going to get them a little attention from Sacramento.
She’s been on this journey that started with her wanting to get back into the field. With this professional choice, what has this season been about for her?
Sharon goes through the growth of realizing when she said, “I want to hold the hose again. I don’t want my old job back,” that that was part of her healing. It was a decision made in hurt. She was fresh back from the campaign fire, she and Vince weren’t whole, she and Bode weren’t healed. [Sharon] was finding her footing again after Bode broke her heart and went back to prison. Now, it feels like mama’s back and she wants her power back, which is probably one of her favorite parts of the job. It should be a sign of Sharon being fully Sharon again.
Looking ahead at season 3, how does Bode’s freedom impact the stories you can tell with him?
That’s what we’re most excited about. It’s just pure wish fulfillment and it’ll feel so fresh to see Bode in his own clothes having fun like a normal 30-year-old guy. It felt so refreshing and we have these fun scenes of Eve, Gabriela, Jake all joking around. He can be there now, so we can dial up the joy and levity in season 3.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.