‘Fire Country’: Bode and Gabriela Finally Get Back Together

Ultimately, Fire Country is very obviously moving back in the direction of Bode and Gabriela eventually, and it has just been using their separation for drama and other storylines this season. The problem is that by doing this, the show has hurt this relationship. Mainly, it feels dishonest to this pairing to have Bode abandon Gabriela instead of supporting her when she was suffering from depression. Even with the amount of focus given to Audrey, it’s hard to feel anything for her character, partly because it’s so forced and partly because she is obviously just a means to an end for this pairing to reunite.

Now that Bode is out of prison, and Gabriela is doing better, the only thing keeping them apart is the fact that Bode is with Audrey. That relationship is not built to last, nor is it particularly interesting to watch. Bode and Gabriela will likely get back together at the end of the season, and while this could lead to an excellent reconciliation scene, the waiting is becoming very frustrating. As it stands, Bode and Gabriela’s connection is so strong, that keeping them apart is just hurting Fire Country. In the meantime, maybe the show can develop a proper romance for Jake and not kill his love interest off this time.

‘Fire Country’s Focus on Bode and Audrey is Uninteresting

From the moment that Bode and Audrey became friends during their training, it was clear that Fire Country was planning to go in a romantic direction with their characters. There was hope that the show would just let them be friends instead, but sure enough, they have now been dating for several episodes. In spite of telling Gabriela that he would stick around at the start of the season, the moment she pushed him away while struggling with depression, Bode let go of her and immediately moved on with Audrey.

Bode and Audrey’s dynamic is generally just playfully competitive. Her way of flirting with him is to compete with him, usually when they are on the job together. The main example of this was at the Renaissance Faire, when she competed with him over saves, which ended in them having their first kiss. Beyond that, their relationship just doesn’t have much substance. It felt forced when she randomly bonded with Papa Leone (Jeff Fahey), and the conflict of her feeling like a concert was too serious for their date didn’t make sense either. Audrey has not been properly developed, try as Fire Country might, because it’s likely that she will just leave the show when Bode and Gabriela inevitably get back together.

‘Fire Country’ Made the Right Choice with Gabriela and Finn’s Romance

Gabriela’s new romance is even less developed than Bode and Audrey’s relationship, but Fire Country leans into this in its most recent episode. After befriending Audrey, Gabriela started to think about her own lingering feelings for Bode, but she tried to just put them aside. In the wake of Luke (Michael Trucco) pointing it out, though, Gabriela finally talked about it with Eve and Jake. She then got “closure” with Bode by apologizing for the end of their relationship and clarifying what she had been going through at the time. Since then, she has developed a connection with Finn. Audrey encouraged this, but as of Finn’s latest turn, she encouraged Gabriela to step away from him.

There is nothing special about Gabriela’s relationship with Finn. They met on a call and were very flirty for a while. For the last few episodes, Fire Country has been hinting at Finn’s creepiness and unsettling nature. Gabriela first met him when he was breaking into the house of Estelle, a woman (Brenda Matthews) he claimed to know. Then he showed up at the fire station multiple times to see Gabriela. He also randomly appeared at Smokey’s at one point, and he even bought Gabriela a brand-new phone before they ever kissed. In the most recent episode of Fire Country, Finn accompanies Gabriela to work to take photos of 42 in action. However, he makes a weird comment about their wedding after their first kiss, then sends her a number of controlling texts afterward. Gabriela is definitely done with Finn after this, but he will likely become a villain for the remainder of Season 3.