‘Fire Country’ Fans Take Sides Over Bode’s New Love Interest
This story contains spoilers from Fire Country season 3 episode 11, “Fare Thee Well.”
Fire Country just debuted a new romantic interest for Bode Leone (Max Thieriot) — and fans have major thoughts about it.
The hit CBS drama is airing new episodes of season 3 on Friday nights, and ever since the show first aired in 2022, folks have rooted for Bode to get together with Gabriela Perez (Stephanie Arcila). While Bode and Gabriela’s road to romance has been rocky over time, it looks like Bode may have found himself a new love interest in fellow “probie” firefighter Audrey James (Leven Rambin).
While the two’s chemistry has been teased throughout the new season, folks got to see sparks truly fly as Bode and Audrey made their feelings for each other official in the episode (titled “Fare Thee Well”) that aired on Valentine’s Day. After they assisted in a rescue at the local renaissance fair in Edgewater, viewers watched as Bode and Audrey shared their first kiss.
“Stop, drop & roll into Friday night’s all-new #FireCountry — and on Valentine’s Day, nonetheless 😏❤️🔥,” read the caption when preview photos of the couple appeared on the show’s official Instagram on February 13.
When fans saw Bode and Audrey finally admit their feelings for one another, some were excited to see Bode embark on a new relationship with someone outside of those who have seen his past as a prisoner at Three Rock.
“Unpopular opinion but I’m completely for Bode and Audrey,” one person wrote in the comments. “I was happy to see them finally kiss. Aubrey seems fun and interesting. Gabriella has too many issues,” another agreed. “Love the new love interest!!” a different follower added.
While some were thrilled about Bode and Audrey’s romance, others had high hopes for Bode and Gabriela to be endgame in the love department.
“Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!!! This is a bromance. Put Bode and Gabs back together,” one person begged. “Bodiela 4-Eva. Pumped them up for two whole seasons now it’s like….nevermind! BOO!” another exclaimed. “Gabriela & Bode have more chemistryyyy!!” a different viewer insisted.
While it’s unclear how Bode and Audrey will fare as they take their bond to a new level, we’re honestly not too mad about it. After all, Bode is in a different space in his life — and he should have the ability to be with whomever he wants. But since Fire Country loves to throw curveballs at fans, maybe there’s still hope for Bode and Gabriela in the future.
No matter the case, we need to tune in and see how this all plays out!
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Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Fire Country Season 3 Episode 12.
After burning a Ren Faire to the ground in the last episode, Fire Country takes it relatively easy this week. Eve (Jules Latimer) and Gabs (Stephanie Arcila) lead a family reunification day at the station, bussing in the children of Three Rock inmates to visit the fire station, make some crafts, and get to see the work their fathers have been doing. There are some hiccups along the way, but they make room for one Three Rock inmate to rebuild a bond with his estranged son.
Audrey (Levin Rambin), meanwhile, is only trying to get some laundry done but ends up having her own bonding day with Walter (Jeff Fahey). She gets a good history lesson about the Leone family, which only makes her more drawn to Bode (Max Thieriot). It turns out Walter isn’t that feisty when he has someone who actually listens to him around. However, it’s Bode and Jake (Jordan Calloway) who have the roughest day. They set out for Trinity National Forest and are forced into rescue mode to save a camper buried under a rock slide. The camper immediately endears himself to the two rescuers and makes a lasting impression on both men.
The guys at Three Rock have needed a break for a while. Eve feels great after the fire education program, and now she pilots having the kids of Three Rock inmates come to Station 42 to not only see their dads, but get to experience what station life is like. It’s an especially good day for Cole (Tye White), who has all of his daughters and his teenage son come to visit. While the girls were happy to hang with their dad, Cole’s teenage son Logan isn’t stoked to see his dad in lockup. After inflating a rescue boat in the storage room and trying to drive off in one of the trucks, Eve confronts Logan about his crap attitude. There’s a kid on the trip who traveled all that way and didn’t get to see his dad, so Logan is being selfish by ruining the day for everyone else.
It turns out that Logan’s misbehavior stems from anxiety about telling his dad that he is gay. Eve helps him through the tough conversation, and Cole responds with a beautiful, accepting speech. Cole even put Logan “onto some game,” teaching him how to flirt by showing an avid interest in his crush’s hockey passion. So, there were some hiccups during the event, but it’s overall a success. It has the potential to become a regular program, and it was another sign that Eve has really grown into her position as captain of Three Rock. Sharon (Diane Farr), for one, is a fan, and we could see it return in the future.
Audrey originally plans to skip the family day at the station to catch up on laundry, but when her apartment machine breaks down, and the station’s machines are taken up by uniforms that need to be washed, Sharon sends the probie over to her house to use the washing machine and hang out with Walter. Audrey’s arrival gives Vince (Billy Burke) a break from trying to reason with his old man. Things get immediately tense when Walter mistakes Audrey for Vince’s dead daughter, Riley (let’s also take a moment to acknowledge Vince’s gutwrenching look as he overhears Walter embracing Audrey). The firefighter is a pro, though, and doesn’t correct Walter, and he eventually figures out that he’s made a mistake.
In exchange for her kindness, Walter takes Audrey down Leone Memory Lane and walks her through each of the memories encapsulated by the photos on their dining room showcase. Vince is able to grapple with how sick his dad truly is, while Audrey gets a firsthand education about Bode’s entire family. When Sharon comes home from her shift, Audrey and Walter are playing poker and acting like old friends. The whole family ends up at Smokey’s, with Audrey serenading the bar with that beautiful voice of hers. It was a good day for most of the Leones — with Bode being the exception, of course.
It was supposed to be a chill, surrogate-brother bonding trip to Trinity National Forest to tag fire-risk trees to be deforested. It definitely starts out that way, with Jake interrogating Bode about his relationship status with Audrey. Bode pushes back by asking Jake when he plans to get back out on the dating scene. Our poor boy still isn’t ready. The duo manage to tag a total of three trees before they spot an unattended campfire not far off. The flames are put out, but then the boys hear a rockslide in the distance and go investigate for any people who are in need of rescue. That’s where they encounter Rafael, a pediatrician from Argentina who has been solo camping to process the recent death of a patient. Trapped under the rubble and unable to move, Rafael asks Jake and Bode about their thoughts on the afterlife as they shift rocks.
A second rock slide bruises up Bode’s leg, which leaves Jake to make the eight-mile roundtrip trek to get help for Rafael. Bode tries his best to keep Rafael’s spirits and hopes up, but the pediatrician is aware of the extensive damage his body had taken during the rockslide. His dying wish is for Bode to watch the stars with him and admire the beauty of the universe. He dies shortly before Jake can make it back with the rescue team. It’s been a hot minute since Fire Country has had a death on the scene, and this was one of the more crushing ones. Bode and Jake help carry Rafael’s body out of the woods, and then Jake is tasked with calling Rafael’s fiancé to tell her he’s dead and deliver Rafael’s last wishes to her. Bode, meanwhile, nurses a beer at Smokey’s as his parents wonder whether they should coerce him into talking about it.
Will we be heading back to the country?
I’m not trying to discredit how painful losing Rafael was for Bode. He was there with him the longest and had to sit there when the man actually passed away. Bode makes it obvious at Smokey’s that Rafael’s death reminded him a lot of his sister Riley, and that was a painful set of memories to dig up. No one says anything about how difficult this case is for Jake, though. He lost his own fiancée not that long ago when he wasn’t able to get a rescue crew to her in time. Rafael’s death hit very close for him as well, and if he was contemplating getting back out in the field at the beginning of the episode, it’s hard to say how Rafael’s death may have impacted those prospects. If Jake was truly part of the Leone family, then Vince and Sharon needed to acknowledge that both of their sons had a really rough shift. We’ll see how they bounce back from it.
Fire Country Season 3 continues Fridays at 9 PM on CBS. Episodes are available to stream the next day on Paramount+.
An emotional rescue hits hard for Bode and Jake in Fire Country Season 3 Episode 12.
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Warning! SPOILERS about Fire Country season 3, episode 12 ahead.
The events of Fire Country season 3, episode 12 are heart-wrenching on multiple levels, but the firefighting drama finally started unpacking the central tragedy underpinning Fire Country since its inception. Another episode without massive fires threatening the lives and livelihoods of Edgewater’s residents, Fire Country season 3, episode 12 continued Walter’s story, adding another layer to the Leones dealing with Walter’s diagnosis. However, while Sharon and Vince bickered over how long could they leave Walter at home alone and how to handle the practicalities of their new living situation, Walter and Audrey’s moment highlighted an unexpected heartbreak of his illness.
Vince’s behavior towards Bode and Jake in Fire Country season 3, episode 11 was out of line, no matter how hurt he was by their secrets.
Walter’s loss of independence had been the main focus of the discussion over his diagnosis until Fire Country season 3, episode 12, which highlighted how his confusion led him to mistake a character for someone else entirely, reminding him of the biggest Fire Country tragedy. Although Bode and Jake’s risk assessment trip seemingly gave them some respite from the family drama, their daring attempts to save Rafael also inevitably forced them to face who they lost over the years, reminding them of every Fire Country death, including the one with the most ramifications that happened before the show even started.
Riley’s tragic death after her 16th birthday was established early in Fire Country, but Bode earning his extraordinary conduct credits and finally getting out of Three Rock moved it to the background, especially after Bode and Vince had mended their relationship. However, Walter’s vulnerability due to his illness surprisingly brought Riley’s death back to the forefront when he mistook Audrey getting in the Leones’ house for Riley returning home from university. Walter often appeared in Fire Country, but he never would have accepted discussing something that made him vulnerable with his family. Still, Walter easily opened up to Audrey.
Walter’s confusion opened the floodgates, prompting him to tell Audrey about the time he spent teaching Bode and Riley how to play poker or teaching Riley baseball, describing the Leones as a happy family at last.
Walter spending his day playing cards with Audrey also let audiences in on what the Leones did before the tragedy hit them and destroyed their family. Walter’s confusion opened the floodgates, prompting him to tell Audrey about the time he spent teaching Bode and Riley how to play poker or teaching Riley baseball, describing the Leones as a happy family at last. Walter mistaking Audrey for Riley thus put a spotlight on Riley’s tragedy at a time when they can finally face it together as a family in Fire Country season 3.
The immediate aftermath of Riley’s death was first shown through flashbacks in Fire Country season 1, episode 8, “Bad Guy,” when a car crash got Bode and Vince to act unprofessionally to save two teenage siblings stuck in a car over a bridge. The situation brought Vince and Bode’s minds back to a difficult time, when Vince faulted Bode for Riley’s death, despite the crash being nobody’s fault. Riley’s death effectively destroyed the Leone family as it was, prompting Vince to send Bode away, resulting in Sharon and Vince going from two kids to none in a matter of days.
Riley’s death had a bigger impact beyond her immediate family, as Eve and Jake were also greatly affected by her death, because of their close bonds and how it led them to become even more part of the Leone family.
Bode’s return to Edgewater after years in Fire Country season 1 forced all these complicated feelings to surface, as Sharon quickly discovered it was Vince’s fault that Bode had run away after Riley’s death. However, as Sharon, Bode and Vince got progressively closer together in Fire Country, Riley’s death became less central, with the three instead preferring to focus on their being back together again and on Bode’s path to earn back his freedom. Walter’s mistake forcefully brought the tragedy to the present, prompting the Leones to start facing having lost Riley together.
Walter showing Audrey all the happy pictures of the Leone family also revealed how they stopped taking family pictures after the tragedy. With Riley’s death effectively scattering the Leones all over, they never had a chance to grieve Riley together, and they couldn’t have done so in the immediate aftermath of the car crash anyway, as angry at themselves and one another were Vince and Bode.
Fire Country season 3 has been hinting at Walter’s serious problems for some time, but the Leone way always stopped Vince from truly facing them.
Bode being there for Rafael’s final moments and listening to his poignant speech on the differences between giving up and letting go also inevitably brought him back to losing Riley, as she was the first Bode couldn’t save. Between Walter’s day with Audrey and Bode’s heartbreaking call, Riley’s tragedy re-entered the Leones’ lives at a time they are finally equipped to face her death, making Fire Country season 3 the perfect moment to grieve Riley after Walter’s illness forced the Leones together for a prolonged period.
Episode #
Title
Release Date
1
What the Bride Said
October 18, 2024
2
Firing Squad
October 25, 2024
3
Welcome to the Cult
November 1, 2024
4
Keep Your Cool
November 8, 2024
5
Edgewater’s About to Get Real Cozy
November 15, 2024
6
Not Without My Birds
November 22, 2024
7
False Alarm
December 6, 2024
8
Promise Me
December 13, 2024
9
Coming in Hot
January 31, 2025
10
The Leone Way
February 7, 2025
11
Fare Thee Well
February 14, 2025
12
I’m the One Who Just Goes Away
February 21, 2025
13
My Team
February 28, 2025
14
Death Trap
March 7, 2025
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Fire Country season 3 airs new episodes every Friday at 9pm on CBS.
We want to hear from you! Share your opinions in the thread below and remember to keep it respectful.
This thread is open for discussion.
Be the first to post your thoughts.
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|
Episode # |
Title |
Release Date |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
What the Bride Said |
October 18, 2024 |
|
2 |
Firing Squad |
October 25, 2024 |
|
3 |
Welcome to the Cult |
November 1, 2024 |
|
4 |
Keep Your Cool |
November 8, 2024 |
|
5 |
Edgewater’s About to Get Real Cozy |
November 15, 2024 |
|
6 |
Not Without My Birds |
November 22, 2024 |
|
7 |
False Alarm |
December 6, 2024 |
|
8 |
Promise Me |
December 13, 2024 |
|
9 |
Coming in Hot |
January 31, 2025 |
|
10 |
The Leone Way |
February 7, 2025 |
|
11 |
Fare Thee Well |
February 14, 2025 |
|
12 |
I’m the One Who Just Goes Away |
February 21, 2025 |
|
13 |
My Team |
February 28, 2025 |
|
14 |
Death Trap |
March 7, 2025 |
