Bode and Gabriela’s Fire Country love story has been a long, dramatic, and complicated one, but it isn’t over yet. Garbiela’s Fire Country season 4 exit means that, after years of turmoil, the show’s antihero Bode and his longtime love interest may not end up getting their happily ever after after all. Fire Country season 3’s brutal twists were heartbreaking enough without this addition, but the news that star Stephanie Arcila told ScreeRant she has “No idea” if Gabriela will ever return isn’t overly hopeful.
That said, this is hardly the first hardship that Bode and Gabriela have faced. If anything, the couple’s long and complex history of mishaps and disasters makes this shock exit hopeful in an unlikely way. Considering how much the pair have been through already, it is not hard to imagine them weathering this storm like they’ve put out so many fires over the years. A look back on the couple’s story so far proves there’s been no shortage of issues faced by the duo, meaning even Fire Country season 4’s seemingly inevitable Bode downfall could be avoided.
Season 1
Bode and Gabriela Meet, Bond, and Face Their First Hurdle
Bode and Garbiela’s doomed romance is the bedrock that Fire Country’s story is built upon, with their first meeting taking place back at the beginning of the series. As Bode attempted to escape Edgewater and his unplanned reunion with his past, he came across Gabriela’s broken-down car on the road outside Three Rock Con Camp. The pair soon bonded over their shared desire to start their lives over and undo their mistakes, but tragedy was in store for them.
Season 1 Episode | Bode and Gabriela Relationship Milestone |
|---|---|
Episode 1, "Pilot" | Bode comes across Gabriela's car outside Three Rock Con Camp. |
Episode 5, "No Good Deed" | Bode and Gabriela save each other after a disaster. |
As such, Gabriela and Bode’s obvious mutual attraction complicated their supposed “Friendship” throughout season 1. In season 1, episode 9, “No Good Deed,” it is revealed that Gabriela saved Bode when he fell in a river and almost drowned, only for Bode to then save Gabriela after the pair came across Meg, a dying hit-and-run driver in the woods. When Meg died during this ordeal, Bode was dropped from the Cal Fire program.
Season 2
Gabriela and Bode’s Future Falls Apart Thanks To Odin
Season 2 Episode | Bode and Gabriela Relationship Milestone |
|---|---|
Episode 1, "Something's Coming" | Bode returns to prison, ruining his relationship with Gabriela. |
Episode 10, "I Do" | Gabriela calls off her wedding to Diego at the last moment. |
However, trouble was not far off for the couple. Gabriela suggested that they wait before dating so they could work on themselves until Bode’s parole was up a year later. When Gabriela’s old friend Kyle asked her whether she was truly happy with this arrangement, she admitted she wasn't, and returned to Three Rock Con Camp with an alternative pros option for the show’s hero. Fire Country’s Bode and Gabriela kissed again and, using the security keys Gabriela borrowed, finally hooked up in one of the camp’s bunks.
At this point, it seemed like the future might be relatively rosy for the duo. However, catastrophe is never far away in the world of Fire Country, so it was not a great shock when Sleeper framed Bode by switching his clean drug test for a compromised one. Bode maintained his innocence but was blackmailed into making a false confession, resulting in his return to prison. Certain he hadn’t really relapsed, Gabriela told Bode she would stand by him and wait for his release.
Season 3
Bode’s Return Doesn’t Result In A Romantic Reunion
Tragically, Bode pushed Gabriela away while he was in prison, refusing to take her visits or answer her letters. Gabriela remained insistent that she would wait for him, but Fire Country’s Bode didn’t listen, and she inevitably ended up moving on when he made it clear that there was no way they could be together. Bode’s return to Edgewater in season 3 was a heartbreaking one as he was met by a resentful Gabriela who hated how he handled his return to prison.
At Three Rock Con Camp, Gabriela told Bode that the pair needed to let go of their past together. She revealed she was getting married to someone else, the EMT Diego Moreno. Gabriela and Diego’s whirlwind romance occurred in the seven months while Bode was in prison, but the pair were already serious enough to be engaged. As such, Gabriela insisted that Bode needed to move on, and Bode implied he had someone else he was seeing. Crushed, the pair parted on bitter but civil terms.
Gabriela’s Exit Makes The Pair’s Future Impossible To Predict
Bode and Gabriela’s romance seemed doomed in their last meeting, but this wasn’t necessarily the kiss of death for the duo. The pair have faced bigger obstacles before, and Gabriella canceling her wedding to Diego proves that she still carries a torch for Bode. However, Bode’s relationship with Audrey proved that the couple may not be endgame, and this was suddenly confirmed in definitive terms when Stephanie Arcila’s character exited the series at the end of season 3. This means that Bode and Gabriela’s love story seems to be finished unless her exit turns out to be temporary.
Season 3 Episode | Bode and Gabriela Relationship Milestone |
|---|---|
Episode 1, "What the Bride Said" | Bode's release from prison doesn't result in a romantic reunion with Gabriela. |
Episode 20, "I'd Do It Again" | Gabriela leaves Edgewater, presumably ending her potential romance with Bode. |
Gabriela’s exit makes a romantic reunion with Bode impossible, which is a major shock given how much screen time and story focus the show has devoted to the couple. Fire Country’s first two seasons appeared to imply that Gabriela and Bode would eventually end up together, but season 3 complicated this with Bode’s return from prison and Gabriela’s engagement. Although that fell through, Bode’s new relationship with Audrey means that the protagonist can’t be with Arcila’s character for now at least. As such, Fire Country season 4’s Gabriela exit may spell the end of this iconic fan-favorite couple’s love story.
