Gabriela has been lesser and lesser like herself in Fire Country season 3. While she refused to talk with anybody worried about her, Gabriela slightly opened up to Jake in Fire Country season 3, episode 7, admitting she drank to numb her feelings and performed risky dives from the rocks to feel something. Jake, Vince and Sharon all tried to help her, seeing how differently she behaved, and even Bode worried, before Gabriela shut him out. Manny’s incarceration didn’t help, as Gabriela could put all the distance she wanted between them and he couldn’t do anything about it.
Fire Country season 3, episode 8 highlighted how badly the situation had gotten. Gabriela first siphoned gasoline from a car to give it to a family in need with whom she empathized and then left her crew in the middle of a call to run off from Jake’s questioning, even endangering herself after the road was blocked by fire. Gabriela is in no shape to date anyone in Fire Country season 3, especially someone who brought out her recklessness like Bode, making it imperative she focuses on herself and getting better given her problems.
Bode & Gabriela’s Short History Proves They Might Not Really Know Each Other
Fire Country always established Bode and Gabriela’s love story as the one at the center of the firefighting drama, with Bode even using it as his anchor not to waver while in Three Rock in season 1. However, Bode and Gabriela had only known each other mere months. Bode’s incarceration made it difficult for them to really get to know one another, and they spent the better part of Fire Country season 2 not speaking to each other after Bode shut Gabriela out upon returning to prison and Gabriela refused to speak with him once he returned to Three Rock.
Bode and Gabriela’s feelings inevitably felt big for them, enough to put all their focus on their future together, but the time they spent together wasn’t a lot. Coupled with the drama that seemed to follow Bode and Gabriela, it wouldn’t be irrational to assume they don’t really know one another, especially given how they either spent their time together being blindly in love and not focusing on the present, or intent on avoiding one another after their respective actions hurt them.
Gabriela & Bode’s Timing Is Always Off
Fire Country season 3 showing Bode and Gabriela getting the chance to be together and not taking it proved their timing was off even when external circumstances were in their favor. Fire Country already proved Bode was better off without Gabriela after their relationship became the cornerstone of his entire motivation to get out of the fire camp in season 1, as everything he hoped for depended on getting parole as that meant he could finally be with Gabriela freely. Their stubbornness didn’t help them, as the setback of going back to prison effectively prompted Bode to ignore Gabriela.
Bode’s return to Edgewater and Three Rock in Fire Country season 2 could have let Bode and Gabriela pick up where they left off, tentatively trying to form a romantic relationship based on some actual foundations. However, Diego’s presence and Gabriela’s rightful anger at Bode for cutting her out upon his return to prison made that impossible, once again stopping them from dating. Bode and Gabriela have finally no reason not to date in Fire Country season 3, but their different focus proves they need other things, making it a disservice to themselves if Bode and Gabriela start dating now.
Bode & Gabriela’s Approach Shows They Don’t See One Another As Partners
Gabriela and Bode have confessed their love for one another in more than one occasion, but it’s unclear if they actually see each other as partners, understanding the other’s wishes and needs, or just use their bond as an ideal. Indeed, instead of truly getting to know Gabriela, Bode spent the majority of Fire Country season 1 focusing on the future they could have together once he paroled, but his parole being granted wasn’t a certainty.
Similarly, Gabriela idealized her and Bode’s short relationship in Fire Country season 1, seeing it as a panacea for all her personal problems, like the ones she had with Manny. Gabriela did exactly the same in Fire Country season 2’s ending when she realized she had doubts about marrying Diego. Instead of thinking about the reason why she was unsure about marrying Diego, Gabriela focused all her energies on what kissing Bode made her feel, proving that it was less about the relationship she could build with Bode and more about the idea Gabriela had of Bode in Fire Country.
