CBS Sets Up Fire Country Season 4 To Be Bode's Worst Year Yet

Bode’s journey hasn’t been easy since his first appearance in Fire Country’s series premiere, but Fire Country season 4 has what it takes to depict the worst year of Bode’s life to date. Bode’s unwitting return to his hometown in Fire Country season 1 quickly revealed why he didn’t want to set foot in Edgewater, despite joining Three Rock being his dream come true. Bode’s terrible relationship with his father Vince, who had sent Bode away, was one of his biggest hurdles in season 1, especially as Sharon didn’t even know everything that had transpired between them after Riley’s death.

Bode’s problems also materialized in his path as an inmate firefighter. From Sleeper getting into Three Rock and sending him back to prison, a future Bode chose so that Freddy could be freed, to Three Rock risking closing down due to the residents of Edgewater complaining against it, Bode fought off several different obstacles. Fire Country season 3 even saw Bode and Manny take on a corporation like Oxalta to do right by Three Rock. However, the aftermath of Fire Country season 3’s ending can kickstart Bode’s worst year yet due to the two characters not returning in season 2.

Bode Will Lose 2 Of The Closest People In His Life In Fire Country Season 4

2 Main Original Characters Won't Be In Fire Country Season 4

The events of Fire Country season 3’s finale put all of Bode’s loved ones in danger, from Gabriela and Audrey being threatened by Finn, to Eve and the inmate firefighters protecting Three Rock alone, to his immediate family unable to leave the Buena Vista building as the flames engulfed it. How quickly everything happened didn’t really let Bode make peace with the consequences of the life-changing events in the two-part Fire Country season 3 finale, making it extremely likely that the weight of it all will hit Bode in season 4.

Fire Country season 3’s ending didn’t clarify how Bode will lose two of the characters closest to him, but Deadline reported on the day of the Fire Country season 3 finale’s release that Stephanie Arcila and Billy Burke, playing respectively Gabriela and Vince, wouldn’t be series regulars in Fire Country season 4. Given what Gabriela and Vince faced in Fire Country season 3, episodes 19 and 20, the most plausible explanation for their absences would include Gabriela leaving Edgewater after everything that happened to her there in season 3, and Vince sadly dying, based on the Buena Vista roof collapse.

Why Losing Gabriela & Vince Is Worse Than Anything Bode Has Ever Experienced

Losing 2 Characters Who Mean The World To Him Simultaneously Will Unsettle Bode

Fire Country season 3’s cliffhanger ending guaranteed that nobody would know who were the Fire Country characters that died or those who survived until season 4. However, with Vince being among the three characters whose fate is unknown by Fire Country season 3’s ending and Burke reportedly not returning in season 4, it would be safe to assume that Vince is the one who will likely die following the Buena Vista roof collapse. Vince dying and Gabriela moving away to process what happened nonetheless mean that Bode will lose two people who were always there for him seemingly overnight.

Such losses will be difficult to come to terms with for Bode, as he has never lost several loved ones at once. Losing Riley scarred Bode, especially as right after that, he had to build a new life away from Edgewater, but at least Bode had time to process that before being kicked out of Edgewater. Instead, in Fire Country season 4, Bode would lose one of the characters whose love mattered the most, and the character on whose support Bode would have relied after the tragic loss. This effectively makes it difficult for Bode to deal with the hurt.

Surviving These Losses Will Be Very Difficult, But It Can Make Bode's Story More Compelling

Fire Country Season 4's Events Can Make Bode The Strongest Version Of Himself

These losses coming at a time when Bode was finally thriving, having paroled, having become a firefighter just like he always wanted, and even having fought fires alongside his family, risk endangering his journey. Considering how Fire Country season 3 had already toyed with Bode’s relapse after he lost Rafael and had obtained pain meds from his former coach before letting Bode affirm how well he felt feeling the pull to take them and choosing not to, it wouldn’t be too big of a stretch to fear that the Leone tragedy might set Bode’s sobriety and overall healing journey back.

Given how Fire Country season 3’s ending set up Bode’s downfall, it could mean that season 4 will go down that road. Whether Bode hits rock bottom or handles it better than expected after the Leone tragedy, Bode will still have so much work to do on Fire Country season 4 to get to the point he was, professionally and personally, at the beginning of season 3. Hopefully, this means that Bode will be stronger as a result of overcoming all these hurdles after Fire Country season 4.