Warning! SPOILERS about Fire Country season 1, episode 18 ahead.
Bode’s parole has been the focus for most characters in Fire Country, but Bode’s fears and his history with parole hearings risk jeopardizing the new hearing and Bode and Gabriela’s relationship simultaneously. Throughout CBS’s Fire Country season 1, Sharon’s chronic illness has been a driving factor behind Bode’s (Max Thieriot) need to be out on parole to her and his father, Vince. However, the many steps forward taken by Bode were as much of a consequence of his family’s as his experience at Three Rock’s Fire Camp under Manny (Kevin Alejandro), making the chance of leaving it a potential trigger of Bode’s worst impulses, like in the past.
Bode’s relationship with Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila) made him focused in Fire Country season 1, and although they could only be friends as long as Bode was at Three Rock, their chemistry was undeniable since they first met in the woods by chance. While the inability to explore their feelings was initially due to Gabriela and Jake being together, the only thing keeping them apart is Bode’s service at Three Rock’s inmate fire camp. Bode’s parole hearing in 60 days after the events in Fire Country season 1, episode 18, could really be life-changing for him and Gabriela, but only if Bode continues staying the course.
Fire Country’s Bode Risking Parole Could End Him & Gabriela Before It Starts
Whether because of Gabriela’s past relationship with Jake or Bode’s incarceration, Bode and Gabriela’s relationship always had the two fully embodying the star-crossed lover trope in Fire Country season 1. Bode’s recently-confirmed parole hearing could not only change Bode’s life by letting him finally be close to Sharon as she deals with her chronic kidney condition but also be transformative because it could mean he and Gabriela could finally be together romantically. After all, no matter how inconvenient the relationship could have been right after her breakup with Jake, Gabriela always felt drawn to Bode in Fire Country season 1.
Bode’s insecurities about his parole hearing made him disobey Manny’s orders in Fire Country season 1, episode 18. If Bode continued jeopardizing his chance at parole by not following orders or the fire camp’s rules, Gabriela would be just as much a casualty of the negative outcome as Bode and his family. After all, Bode and Gabriela could have already started a secret relationship in Fire Country season 1 but decided against it as it could have sent Bode back to prison and threatened Gabriela’s job with Cal Fire. A negative parole hearing outcome for Bode could effectively end his relationship with Gabriela before it even started.
Bode Paroling Would Mean His Life Changing & Uncertainty In Fire Country
Although Bode’s parole was always the goal, given that it would have let him return to his old life and reconcile with his family, what he obtained at Three Rock changed Bode for the better. Without meeting Manny and working under his leadership, Bode would have never become the person he blossomed into in Fire Country season 1. Three Rock and the friendships Bode made there gave him structure and when needed, and he didn’t have it from anybody else.
Bode’s parole would mean freedom but also losing his crew and Manny as his superior, guaranteeing uncertainty in his life. Given how following Three Rock’s rules and structure made Bode a person he’s proud of in Fire Country season 1, losing it might very much send him off the deep end. Whether Bode’s parole happens or he remains an inmate firefighter even in Fire Country season 2, the hearing outcome will undoubtedly have significant consequences for the Leones and the whole of Edgewater.
