WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Fire Country’s Season 3 finale.
Fire Country is making big, shocking moves at the end of Season 3. Stephanie Arcila, who has played paramedic Gabriela Perez since the series premiere of the CBS firefighter drama, will not return for Season 4, Deadline reports. Nor will a second actor, whose identity is being officially kept under wraps for now, but is reportedly a "fan favorite."
Fire Country tends to go into breaks on a cliffhanger, and the Season 3 finale is no exception. “I’d Do It Again,” the second episode of the two-part finale, ended with three Leones — Vince (Billy Burke), Sharon (Diane Farr), and Walter (Jeff Fahey) — in mortal danger. The memory care facility where Walter lives gets consumed by wildfire, and while Vince and Sharon are in there trying to save him, the roof collapses, sending a giant fireball into the sky, with the three of them trapped inside.
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Will Vince die in Fire Country Season 4?
In an interview with Deadline, Fire Country’s executive producers confirmed that one Leone will die, but not who. “We are not going to confirm who we’re losing. There will definitely be a devastating loss for everyone that remains in our family,” showrunner Tia Napolitano said. However, Deadline reports that Burke will allegedly not return for Season 4.
Vince’s death would make the most sense creatively. And in retrospect, the show has been dropping hints that Vince’s story could be coming to an end. Vince has found some degree of forgiveness for and peace with his father, a relationship that has been a problem his entire life. Generally, that kind of reconciliation comes at the end of an arc. There has also been a lot of talk in the last few episodes about Jake (Jordan Calloway) transferring out of Station 42 because he wants to progress in his career, and Vince has no plans to retire anytime soon. That could be ironic foreshadowing of his fate. When Sharon and Vince are going into the burning building, she puts Jake in charge, telling him, “You wanted to be battalion chief, here’s your shot.” The job Jake wants is opening up under the most unfortunate circumstances.
We predict that Jake will not be leaving Edgewater for his new job in Butte after all, and will take over the job that Vince, his beloved father figure, trained him to be able to do. And Manny will take over his old job and Jake's current one as captain. So even though it’s not totally confirmed – and we don’t want it to be true because Vince is one of Fire Country fans’ favorite characters – he is probably the character who dies.
Related: Here’s How Jelly Roll Saved the Day on ‘Fire Country’
Stephanie Arcila as Gabriela Perez in 'Fire Country' Season 3Sergei Bachlakov/CBS
Gabriela's shocking exit
The producers confirmed that Stephanie Arcila is leaving Fire Country, at least for now. This is surprising, as there’s no indication in “I’d Do It Again” that it’s her last episode as a series regular.
In the finale, Gabriela and Audrey (Leven Rambin) get taken hostage by Finn (Blake Lee), who has been stalking Gabriela. When he realizes that Gabriela has a gun, he gets angry, and they wrestle for the weapon. In the commotion, Audrey gets the gun and shoots Finn in the chest. Gabriela’s father Manny (Kevin Alejandro) arrives and insists that they save Finn. Gabriela uses her medical training to put her feelings aside and treat him as her patient, and they stabilize him until they get him to an ambulance. The last we see of Gabriela, she’s watching the nursing home go up in flames with everyone else.
The choice to write Gabriela off the show is a creative one. Series main character Bode Leone (Max Thieriot) and Gabriela have had a will-they/won’t-they relationship, and the show has settled on a pretty definitive “they won’t” for now, with the characters establishing a friendship. as Bode is happily dating Audrey — though it remains to be seen what happens with her, as she gets arrested for shooting Finn — and Gabriela is working on herself instead of focusing on a relationship. They’re happy being not together right now, which is nice for them, but kind of puts a damper on their storyline.
“We felt like those two characters needed a reset,” co-creator Tony Phelan told Deadline. “We love Stephanie, and we are committed to saying that the Bode-Gabriela story does not end here, it goes on.”
Related: 'Fire Country' Star Stephanie Arcila Goes Inside Gabriela’s Stalker Storyline (Exclusive)
The producers' plan, however, is to bring her back to bring closure to Bode and Gabriela’s story at some point. “We hope to see her back very soon, to give her a proper not goodbye, but see you later,” Napolitano said. “In the epic love story of Bode and Gabriela, sometimes it’s very useful for a longing, to miss her, to miss them, to really crave seeing them on screen together, whatever they mean to each other. It’s part of long-arc, character-driven storytelling. We love her, and we’re all excited to see her on screen again.”
Arcila thinks that Bode and Gabriela could get back together someday, after they’ve both had time to grow.
“What the future holds for them, I don't know,” she told Parade before the finale. “I think that it is very healthy, though, for them to be seeing other people, especially if they haven't dated much in life. They get to know themselves through that, grow, mature, feel and then see where they're at in the future.”
For now, though, this is the last we’ll see of Gabriela as a crew member of Station 42. Fire Country returns for Season 4 on CBS this fall.
Related: 'Fire Country' Renewed for Season 4 on CBS
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