Bode and Gabriela’s Secret Comes to Light in Fire Country — Will It Cost Them Their Jobs?
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Fire Country Season 3, Episode 2, “Firing Squad,” saw Bode and Gabriela make the kind of mistake that could cost them their future as firefighters, and Episode 3 “Welcome to the Cult” sees the pair fail to cover it up, leaving Jake to punish them for it or not. And at first, it seems like Jake will give them a chance after the two come clean when confronted.
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But things get a little dicey. Jake turns his sights on Bode instead of Gabriela, seemingly more upset about the coverup than the mistake, and though he doesn’t turn them in right away, he does ask Bodie to earn his trust. It seems like a doable ask, and Bode is trying – he just didn’t count on the complication of his grandfather, who volunteers information about the test he’s taking, which leads Bode and partner Audrey James (Leven Rambin) to complete the test.
Jake, however, sees through him, and Bode comes clean right away about having inside information – which leads Jake to kick him out of CalFire for good. It feels unnecessarily harsh, considering this is the lesson Bode should be learning, but Jake is Jake, and that particularly applies when Bode is concerned. Later, we learn Bode was just protecting Audrey, who decided to use the information Bode had, which very much tracks.
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The reason we’re here is that in Fire Country Season 2, Episode 2 “Firing Squad,” Gabriela and Bode are helping Station 42 firefighters who got caught in the blast after fuel from a helicopter crash ignited. The two help an injured firefighter, Gilmore, but in the adrenaline of the moment Gabriela injects him with atropine to stabilize his heart rate, even though Gilmore disclosed he was allergic to it and had a necklace with the information on it. Gabriela then performs an emergency tracheotomy and saves his life, but when she panics about the consequences of the mistake, Bode takes the necklace off Gilmore and the two make a pact to not tell anyone what happened.
Later, of course, Jake finds the necklace and Bode and Gabriela’s future as firefighter ends up in his hands. But once Bode’s kicked out, the lesson Jake wanted him to learn seems to set in deeper, as Bode tells Gabriela he wants to come clean to Gilmore. The two do just that, and after Gilmore seems content to let matters go – Bode and Gabriela did save his life – Jake seems satisfied that Bode has learned a lesson and tells him he’ll see him tomorrow for training.
It was, overall, a close call, and proof that Bode really needs to start thinking of himself first. At one point early in the episode he tells Jake he would have done it for him as well, and it feels like just lip service, but considering he does the same thing for Audrey, who isn’t the woman that he loves, it’s fair to say we can take Bode at his word. He really will go out of his way to protect everyone, even to the detriment of himself.
Perhaps that’s the lesson for Bode going forward in Fire Country. Not just honesty or “accountability,” as he stressed in this episode, but self-worth. He’s no longer in Three Rocks. He’s no longer a convict. The transition is sometimes hard, but it’s not just about being free – it’s about feeling worthy. And Bode clearly still has a way to go in that regard. But he at least still has the tools and the people around him that will support him as he gets there.
Fire Country is available to stream on Paramount Plus.
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For more on Fire Country, check out the cast’s real-life families and children.