'Fire Country' Producers Explain Season 2 Finale Cliffhangers
Max Thieriot as Bode Leone in 'Fire Country' Season 2
Fire Country Season 2 came to its thrilling conclusion in Friday’s episode, “I Do.” The season finale found Bode Leone (Max Thieriot) getting freed from prison and returning home. But his joy was short lived, as he immediately began missing being a firefighter to the point of depression and obsession. He went to Gabriela’s (Stephanie Arcila) wedding intending to talk to her about their still-burning love for each other, but ultimately decided not to, a choice that showed how much Bode has grown as a person over the course of two seasons.
Showrunner Tia Napolitano felt strongly that Bode should not disrupt the wedding. “You're expecting him to break up the wedding. It's the TV thing to do,” she told Parade. “And it's just such a character moment for Bode that once he bumps into Manny (Kevin Alejandro), who says, truthfully, she's so happy, Bode is never going to take that away from her. If that's true, and him breaking up the wedding could only bring her complicated anxiety, he can't do it. He can't put his own needs above her happiness. Which felt surprising and inevitable, which is the way you want to end a season of television.”
Instead, he went outside of the church during the ceremony and asked his uncle Luke (Michael Trucco) to help him get into Cal Fire.
“Firefighting is my first healthy addiction I’ve had in my life,” Bode said. “I’m ready to claim my legacy as a Leone. As a firefighter.”
Related: Is 'Fire Country' Based on a True Story?
What’s next for Bode?
Bode being free is a huge, show-altering development, but the show’s executive producers felt it was time to shake things up and give Bode some new opportunities. “We wanted Season 3 to have joy and relief and to have fun with Bode, and it seemed fresh to see him outside of prison in these new sets, hanging out with his friends, able to do things a normal 30 year old could do,” Napolitano said. “It felt really exciting and like the space that we wanted to play in.”
Co-creator and star Max Thieriot is excited for Bode’s journey toward becoming a full-fledged firefighter. “You know, making that leap to try and join Cal Fire and what that looks like, and the hurdles and obstacles that are in his way,” Thieriot said.
He added that the longer Bode is in Three Rock, the more predictable the show would become, so he’s excited to tell stories from the camp in a different way now that Bode’s not there. “Those are a huge part of the show, and really something that makes it unique, so I'm looking forward to figuring out how to do that,” he said.
There’s a good chance that his journey will take him away from Edgewater. While most of the action will always be in and around Edgewater, the reality is that Bode will probably have to go somewhere else to become a firefighter. “I think it's much easier for former inmates to work for Forest Service and join shot crews and stuff like that,” Thieriot said. “So I think that it could be fun to open the world a little bit, but obviously still have it be centered back at home.”
Bode being away would also put him and Gabriela on the backburner for a little bit, which would allow that will-they/won’t-they story to keep going for longer. “We've brought them together and apart so many times, and I think there's only so many times you can do that and really have it be effective,” Thieriot said. “I think that the separation can be interesting for a minute, just to really sort of make you want it that much more.”
Sergei Bachlakov/CBS
Will we see Freddy again?
A nice part of the episode was Bode reconnecting with Freddy (W. Tré Davis), his friend from the camp in Season 1 who he helped free. Freddy followed his dream of opening a food truck and is doing great. And Napolitano and Thieriot both said that they hope to see more of Freddy in Season 3.
“My favorite thing about seeing Freddy is, you know, our show is so about redemption. Freddy didn’t need to be redeemed. He was wrongfully incarcerated,” Napolitano said. So what you still want for him is for him to get his happy ending that he deserved earlier than he got it. But just to hear he got the truck, he has [his girlfriend] Cookie, he has his baby. Things are good. He looks great. He got dreads. He's just the heartbeat of joy. So I hope especially with Bode out that we have an opportunity to see Freddy some more.”
Thieriot said it was great to have to work with Davis again. “I know everybody loves Tré, and I love Tré. He's just such a presence, and the humor and lightheartedness that he brings to the show I think is so important.”
Related: Everything to Know About the 'Fire Country' Spinoff
What will happen with Rick?
Freddy wasn’t the only old friend Bode reconnected with in the finale. He ran into Rick Stengler (Adam Aalderks), a friend from high school who was back in town. Rick had been a bad influence on Bode, and it turns out he had done some time himself for drug charges. Everyone was very wary when Rick helped Bode get a construction job, knowing their history. And the job didn’t work out, as Rick accidentally caused an explosion and Bode accused him of being high on the job, not knowing that Rick is in recovery and has been clean for two years.
Rick and Bode are a lot alike, and it will be interesting to see how their stories parallel each other. But Rick is not back in town for Bode. The real reason he returned to Edgewater is because he found out he’s Genevieve’s (Alix West Lefler) biological father, and he wants to meet her.
Napolitano said that we’ll pick back up from that cliffhanger with Rick, Genevieve and Jake (Jordan Calloway) very quickly in the Season 3 premiere. “I just loved Jake's face when he looked back at Genevieve. He’s so heartbroken, like ‘oh kid, it's about to get so much harder for you,’” she said. “And Jake's just grown so much. He seems like the dad everybody wants. And I think Rick will surprise you. We'll go on a surprising little journey with Rick as well.”
Thieriot said that Bode will honor his promise to Cara (Sabina Gadecki) and keep looking out for Genevieve’s best interests whatever they may be, even if that means getting perhaps overly involved. “There's definitely potential for Rick to sort of have to win Bode over and get his approval to be a father,” he said.
Sergei Bachlakov/CBS
Is Manny doomed?
The last big story of the finale is Manny getting arrested for battery and reckless endangerment after what happened at the Firefighter’s Ball in Episode 8 (though it wasn’t Luke who pressed charges, it was the governor’s aide who got lit on fire when Manny inadvertently knocked him into a serving table).
Manny made it to Gabriela’s wedding after all, and gave her a family heirloom bracelet to wear. But when the police found out he was there, they showed up to take him into custody. Sharon (Diane Farr) and Vince (Billy Burke) negotiated the terms of his surrender, and he was able to walk Gabriela down the aisle before turning himself in. The episode’s title, “I Do,” comes from Manny saying he understands his Miranda rights, not from Gabriela and Diego’s (Rafael de la Fuentes) vows, which we did not see.
There’s a lot of anxiety in Manny’s future. “We're going to live in the real-time events of what happens after he gets arrested for having punched Luke at that event,” Napolitano said. “So we're not going to get the answer right away of how this is gonna go for him. And I think that's a very anxious place for a person to be, especially a person who was incarcerated at one point.” Manny got himself out of that situation and rebuilt his life, and now here he is again. “I think we will worry for Manny and really root for him to redeem himself again,” Napolitano said.
The writers are already hard at work on crafting stories for Fire Country Season 3, which will return to CBS this fall.
Fire Country is available to stream on Paramount+.
