Bode's Fire Country Season 3 Cliffhanger Has Already Been Spoiled (& It Isn't Good)

The Zabel Ridge fire ravaged Edgewater’s community and endangered three main characters in Fire Country season 3, episode 20, but its cliffhanger ending’s strength was inevitably dampened by the news about Fire Country season 4’s cast shakeups. Fire Country season 3’s two-part finale was jam-packed with threats. From Audrey and Gabriela’s confrontation of Finn to Three Rock’s inmates having to defend their camp with hand tools and no support, everyone risked greatly in Fire Country season 3’s ending. However, nobody risked as much as Vince, Sharon and Walter, who were still in the Buena Vista center when the roof collapsed.

Fire Country season 3 ending with Bode being kept from entering the building engulfed by flames by Jake highlighted how defeated Bode felt, believing his family had all died. The lack of certainty over Vince, Sharon and Walter’s fates in Fire Country season 3’s last moments ups the stakes, as no answer would be available for audiences and characters until Fire Country season 4. However, updates about Fire Country season 4’s cast, external to what happened onscreen in season 3, undercut the impact of the shocking cliffhanger after two original cast members were revealed they wouldn’t return in season 4.

Vince Leone's Fire Country Season 3 Finale's Fate Is Confirmed By Billy Burke's Future

Billy Burke Not Returning For Season 4 Decreases The Worry For Sharon & Walter

Indeed, on the same day of Fire Country season 3’s finale airing on CBS, Deadline reported Stephanie Arcila and Billy Burke wouldn’t be returning to play Gabriela Perez and Vince Leone respectively in Fire Country season 4. Arcila’s exit as a series regular was confirmed by Fire Country showrunner Tia Napolitano and co-creators Tony Phelan and Joan Rater, but they chose not to comment on whether Burke was the other original cast member exiting the firefighting drama to keep audiences guessing. Still, the fact that only those two names were mentioned points to a degree of certainty over those exits.

Billy Burke not returning for Fire Country season 4 can only mean Vince Leone died in Fire Country season 3’s ending. The strength of Fire Country season 3’s cliffhanger ending was based on Vince, Sharon and Walter being equally in danger of dying in the fire, but Burke’s exit effectively decreases that danger for Sharon and Walter, as it would be wholly justified by Vince’s death. Between the high stakes of Fire Country season 3’s finale and the fact that Vince would never abandon Bode and Sharon, especially after reuniting as a family, Vince’s death is the only possible outcome.

What Losing Vince Means For Bode & Sharon For Fire Country Season 4

Bode & Sharon Will Have To Deal With Their Biggest Loss Since Riley's Death

The Leones had their fair share of heartbreak as a family, losing Riley in the car crash before Fire Country’s timeline and drifting apart as a result of the tragedy, given how Vince faulted Bode for the accident. It took more than a Fire Country season for the Leones to reunite happily as a family and deal with their grief, only being able to face it together after Bode’s return to Edgewater. Vince’s death coming after a brief moment of peace for the Leones means dark times ahead for Bode and Sharon in Fire Country season 4.

Vince’s death would not only mean more heartbreak for Bode and Sharon, but it could also upset their dynamics, as Fire Country season 3 proved the ease with which they got dragged into fights where they can’t see each other’s perspective. The loss would give Bode and Sharon the chance to grieve Vince together, something they couldn’t do with Riley. However, the circumstances of Vince’s death could also lead to Bode and Sharon feeling guilty or faulting one another for the tragedy, given they went in without the right equipment, making Fire Country season 4 particularly challenging for their bond.