Fire Country Season 4 Can Make Its Controversial Cast Exits Work With One Simple Change

The two major cast exits ahead of Fire Country season 4 can be implemented in the story through one straightforward fix. The reports of Stephanie Arcila and Billy Burke exiting Fire Country before season 4 posed a question over how the firefighting drama would tackle their exits, as Fire Country season 3’s cliffhanger ending didn’t explicitly set up their departures.

Indeed, while Fire Country season 3’s finale hinted at Vince, Sharon and Walter Leone being doomed after the Buena Vista building roof collapsed with them still inside, it put them all in danger, not making one demise likelier than another. Similarly, Gabriela went through several challenges, but she never gave any sign that she’d want to leave it all behind.

A Time Jump Would Solve Fire Country Season 4's Cast Exits Problem

Time Passing Can Explain Their Departures More Efficiently In Fire Country Season 

It’s unclear whether Stephanie Arcila and Billy Burke will return in Fire Country season 4 to set up their characters’ departures. Although Fire Country’s showrunner Tia Napolitano refused to confirm who will exit, apart from Arcila (via Deadline), the report mentioning Burke’s name alongside Arcila’s, whose exit was confirmed by Fire Country's showrunner and EPs, gives it even more credibility.

Moreover, Arcila told ScreenRant in an interview about her Fire Country exit that she doesn’t know whether she’ll appear in season 4’s premiere. This makes it entirely possible that Gabriela’s departure and Vince’s likely death will be established by the rest of Fire Country’s characters and their stories rather than by showing the end of Vince and Gabriela’s storylines directly.

Arcila and Burke not being part of Fire Country season 4’s new footage would nevertheless only work along with another change from season 3. Were Fire Country season 4 to employ a substantial time jump, it could easily explore both departures without showing Gabriela and Vince except for flashbacks, which could work to tell both stories.

Gabriela's Departure Can Be Explained More Easily After Some Time

A Time Jump Makes Gabriela's Departure Seem More Organic

Gabriela’s story in Fire Country season 3 has been a sequence of challenges, with the showdown with Finn being the worst possible ending of an already difficult year. With Fire Country season 3 ending with Gabriela safe, but looking at the Buena Vista roof collapse with preoccupation, it would be difficult to assume why she would go and leave immediately.

This would nevertheless only be a problem if Fire Country season 4 were to pick up where it left off. If some months were to pass between the events of season 3’s finale and season 4’s premiere, it would be easy to justify Gabriela’s departure, as not being the immediate aftermath of the tragedy would give her time to ponder.

With a time jump, Gabriela would have all the time to reflect on what her next steps would be, and it wouldn’t let her decision seem like running away. In this context, Manny updating audiences about Gabriela’s whereabouts by talking with other Edgewater residents would work perfectly, as it wouldn’t be forced as an immediate departure after season 3’s finale.

A Time Jump Can Let Fire Country Season 4 Focus Immediately On The Leones' Grief

Not Showing The Direct Aftermath Of The Tragedy Goes To The Heart Of The Story

A time jump would also work for Bode and, more generally, the Leones. The story starting right after the events of season 3’s finale would focus too much on the mechanics of what happened, whether it’d be the victim’s funeral or the time at the hospital for those who survived.

Instead, some time passing between the tragedy and Fire Country season 4’s start could benefit the story, going to the heart of the problem, by showing the remaining Leones coming to terms with their grief.

A time jump going into Fire Country season 4 would effectively bypass the tragedy’s organizational aspects, immediately showing the Leones trying to get used to living without their loved one, making Fire Country’s story more interesting.