‘Fire Country’: Stephanie Arcila Talks Gabriela’s Feelings for Bode, Finn’s True Colors Are Exposed & More

It’s a tough episode of Fire Country this week, as Bode (Max Thieriot) learns that there are consequences for your actions when you try and take down a massive chemical company without understanding their leverage. Oxalta becomes aware of Bode’s intentions to get the guys at Three Rock to flip their NDAs and immediately brings the hammer down on Vince (Billy Burke) and Sharon (Diane Farr), threatening to push the bank to foreclose on Smokey’s if they don’t get Bode in line.

Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila) is far more concerned about what could happen if Bode and Manny (Kevin Alejandro) go forward with their plan, but she doesn’t have too long to dwell on it before her own troubles take front and center. Gabs believed that Finn (Blake Lee) got the hint when she stopped replying to his aggressive texts, but that was just round one. The photographer ups his game to full-on stalking at the beginning of the episode, putting Gabriela in the crosshairs of a very dangerous situation. Meanwhile, Jake (Jordan Calloway) contemplates breaking my heart by considering a job offer at a different fire station in the neighboring county. The move wouldn’t only make him captain of the new station, but it would be a clear path to becoming battalion chief. Vince needs to fix this before I throw my laptop at the screen. Jake deserves better, but Fire Country can’t lose him.

It’s Oxalta Battle, Round Two in ‘Fire Country’ Season 3 Episode 18

The presence of an Oxalta attorney doesn’t scare Bode, but it does scare Sharon and Vince, who immediately start shoring up their finances so they can protect themselves from Bode’s reckless decisions. The threat only encourages Bode to fight harder against Oxalta, so he and Manny head to Three Rock to convince the guys to also flip on their NDAs. They think it’ll be easy to convince the guys to join them, but Oxalta’s attorney, Meriweather (J. August Richards), has already gotten to a few of the inmates’ families, and they are too scared to push the issue any further.

Without the Three Rock guys on their side, Renée’s (Constance Zimmer) case is dead in the water. Both Bode and Manny refuse to go further if they can’t promise protection for the Three Rock families. With no extra witnesses ready to join Renée’s lawsuit, Bode has to go back to Vince and Sharon with his tail between his legs. They have no case, but the Oxalta pressure isn’t letting up yet, leaving the Leones with their backs against the wall and no additional leverage against the chemical company.

Manny tries to apologize to Sharon for taking things too far, especially when they can’t get further. Meriweather refuses to meet with him or Bode so they can smooth things over, leaving Sharon to clean up the mess they’ve created. It seems as though she’s managed to get the original deal back on the table until Renée and Manny crash the meeting with some input of their own. Thank god Sharon is aware they’re going to show up. She records the conversation with Meriweather, which included him admitting that he and Oxalta are threatening innocent people and blackmailing the Three Rock guys into staying silent. Renée and the crew threaten to put the recording on social media. The incriminating tape leads to Meriweather getting fired and Oxalta having to face the court of public opinion. With the original deal still in place, it’s a huge win for Manny and the rest.

Gabriela Has a Stalker in ‘Fire Country’ Season 3 Episode 18

The call of the week brings Station 42 to a small house where a pan has been left on the stove. Jake and Eve (Jules Latimer) are shocked to discover Finn inside with a hurt back. He acts shocked to see them there, but I am not that dumb! Finn obviously injured himself and started the fire to get Gabriela’s attention after she refused to answer his texts. God, this dude is so pathetic. He gets his wish when Gabs jumps in the ambulance with him after the fire is under control. He apologizes for being so rude to her over text and asks for clarification on why she ended things with him. The kiss was good, right? Poor Gabs falls for the charm offensive and explains why she was freaked out, but continues to ride with him to the hospital. If Aubrey (Levin Rambin) had been there, she would have screamed about Finn’s red flags, but Gabs is so desperate for a good vibe that she lets herself get taken in again.

Aubrey can’t be there to warn her BFF, though, because she’s still at Finn’s house, chasing down some remnant smoke. She and Jake find flames continuing in the walls, which means they need to go check out the basement, which they radio to the entire team. Anyone wondering why Finn would invite Station 42 to his house, when we all know he had to have a stereotypical stalker wall, must have groaned when Finn started to panic at the announcement. He isn’t expecting anyone to go downstairs and see the evidence of his creepiness! The cliché of it all is downright annoying, to be honest.

“Who padlocks a basement door?” Jake asks ominously before he and Aubrey break into Finn’s stalker den. They find the additional fire and the dozens of photos Finn has of Gabriella all over his basement. Jake radios to Vince on the backup channel that he needs to get Gabriella away from Finn immediately. Vince charges into action and gets the ambulance carrying both of them to pull over, but Finn has already realized the gig is up. He threatens Gabriella with a scalpel and snaps when she calls for help, then runs out of the back of the ambulance, knocking Vince to the ground.

The team calls the sheriff for backup, but Finn is in the wind with a scalpel as a weapon. Aubrey and Jake manage to get the rest of the fire out, even though there’s a mini-explosion. Enough of the basement is intact for Gabriela to come back and see the evidence that Finn has been stalking her. The whole incident puts Gabs in a dark place about her own instincts, but both Aubrey and Manny have her back. However, we should be worried, as Manny ends the episode by asking Gabriella where her gun is. Finn is still out there and still a massive danger as the show heads into the Season 3 finale.

Jake’s Ready for a New Chapter in ‘Fire Country’ Season 3 Episode 18

Jake decides to tell Vince about his job offer just as Vince is trying to figure out how much leeway he’ll have if he and Sharon miss a payment at Walter’s (Jeff Fahey) memory care facility. So Vince is not in the best headspace to hear that Jake wants to leave, especially when Jake mentions that the job will let him move up the ladder. Vince congratulates him on the offer, but Jake wants his surrogate dad to fight for him to stay.

In the end, it’s Eve who talks some sense into Jake. She doesn’t think he needs to give up the job in Butte, but he needs to decide what he really wants. Either he wants to go to a station that will let him grow, or he stays with his family at 42. Whichever he decides, she’ll be proud of him. That puts Jake in a calmer mood when he has another sit-down with Vince at Smokey’s at the end of the episode. Vince congratulates him again on the job and emphasizes that he’s loved watching Jake grow up at his station. He wants Jake to stay forever, but he can’t give Jake a timeline for when the Battalion Chief job will be open, which pushes Jake to decide he’ll take the job offer after all. At least he and Vince will part on good terms.

Fire Country continues Fridays at 9PM on CBS. Episodes are available the next day on Paramount+.