The Romance in ‘Fire Country’ Has Become Very Stale — but Here's How the Show Can Fix It

Editor's Note: This article contains spoilers for 'Fire Country' Season 3, Episode 17.

There are will-they-won't-they romances, and then there's keeping a couple apart for narrative reasons in a way that forces viewers to suspend disbelief and starts to harm the show. Unfortunately, Fire Country has been suffering from the latter throughout its third season, as it continues to find new and outlandish reasons to keep Bode (Max Thieriot) and Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila) broken up. While they were previously separated by Bode, who felt like he was holding her back when he was going back to prison, and Gabriela, who felt hurt that he had left her, the reasons became much weaker during Season 3.

Now, Fire Country is nearing the end of its third season, and here is where the show's romances stand: Vince (Billy Burke) and Sharon (Diane Farr) are still happily married (obviously). Eve (Jules Latimer) is back together with her ex-girlfriend, Francine (Katie Findlay). Bode is in a relationship with Audrey (Leven Rambin). Meanwhile, Jake (Jordan Calloway) and Gabriela have both been dating people whom they met on calls: Violet (Nesta Cooper) and Finn (Blake Lee), respectively. When it comes to Bode, Audrey, and Jake's new relationships, though, it's time to face the fact that the romance in Fire Country has gotten very stale.

'Fire Country's Focus on Bode and Audrey is Uninteresting

From the moment that Bode and Audrey became friends during their training, it was clear that Fire Country was planning to go in a romantic direction with their characters. There was hope that the show would just let them be friends instead, but sure enough, they have now been dating for several episodes. In spite of telling Gabriela that he would stick around at the start of the season, the moment she pushed him away while struggling with depression, Bode let go of her and immediately moved on with Audrey.

Bode and Audrey's dynamic is generally just playfully competitive. Her way of flirting with him is to compete with him, usually when they are on the job together. The main example of this was at the Renaissance Faire, when she competed with him over saves, which ended in them having their first kiss. Beyond that, their relationship just doesn't have much substance. It felt forced when she randomly bonded with Papa Leone (Jeff Fahey), and the conflict of her feeling like a concert was too serious for their date didn't make sense either. Audrey has not been properly developed, try as Fire Country might, because it's likely that she will just leave the show when Bode and Gabriela inevitably get back together.

'Fire Country' Made the Right Choice with Gabriela and Finn's Romance

Gabriela's new romance is even less developed than Bode and Audrey's relationship, but Fire Country leans into this in its most recent episode. After befriending Audrey, Gabriela started to think about her own lingering feelings for Bode, but she tried to just put them aside. In the wake of Luke (Michael Trucco) pointing it out, though, Gabriela finally talked about it with Eve and Jake. She then got "closure" with Bode by apologizing for the end of their relationship and clarifying what she had been going through at the time. Since then, she has developed a connection with Finn. Audrey encouraged this, but as of Finn's latest turn, she encouraged Gabriela to step away from him.

There is nothing special about Gabriela's relationship with Finn. They met on a call and were very flirty for a while. For the last few episodes, Fire Country has been hinting at Finn's creepiness and unsettling nature. Gabriela first met him when he was breaking into the house of Estelle, a woman (Brenda Matthews) he claimed to know. Then he showed up at the fire station multiple times to see Gabriela. He also randomly appeared at Smokey's at one point, and he even bought Gabriela a brand-new phone before they ever kissed. In the most recent episode of Fire Country, Finn accompanies Gabriela to work to take photos of 42 in action. However, he makes a weird comment about their wedding after their first kiss, then sends her a number of controlling texts afterward. Gabriela is definitely done with Finn after this, but he will likely become a villain for the remainder of Season 3.

'Fire Country's Jake and Violet Relationship Feels Forced

Jake's new romance, too, just does not have any spark to it. This is more than just the show's problem that is specifically related to Bode and Gabriela, and it also goes to show how Fire Country has been lost with how to handle Jake this season. After having Gen (Alix West Lefler) leave Jake to go live with her biological family, the show has had Jake flailing. Some examples of this have included a backslide with Gabriela, and most recently, a fight with Vince about the nepotism in the firehouse, which seems to be building up to Jake leaving 42 for a while.

Violet was introduced on a call as someone whom Jake had chemistry with, and then they became serious very quickly, but their relationship just doesn't feel very exciting. She was involved in the Three Rock storyline due to her job with Oxalta, but that seems to have already been resolved as of last week's episode. Violet put her job on the line to do what was right and for Jake, but their relationship and her character both feel forced. This feels like Fire Country's way of just trying to push past Jake's grief over Cara (Sabina Gadecki), and as a result, this relationship doesn't feel earned.

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Bode and Gabriela Can Save the Romance of 'Fire Country'

Ultimately, Fire Country is very obviously moving back in the direction of Bode and Gabriela eventually, and it has just been using their separation for drama and other storylines this season. The problem is that by doing this, the show has hurt this relationship. Mainly, it feels dishonest to this pairing to have Bode abandon Gabriela instead of supporting her when she was suffering from depression. Even with the amount of focus given to Audrey, it's hard to feel anything for her character, partly because it's so forced and partly because she is obviously just a means to an end for this pairing to reunite.

Now that Bode is out of prison, and Gabriela is doing better, the only thing keeping them apart is the fact that Bode is with Audrey. That relationship is not built to last, nor is it particularly interesting to watch. Bode and Gabriela will likely get back together at the end of the season, and while this could lead to an excellent reconciliation scene, the waiting is becoming very frustrating. As it stands, Bode and Gabriela's connection is so strong, that keeping them apart is just hurting Fire Country. In the meantime, maybe the show can develop a proper romance for Jake and not kill his love interest off this time.

New episodes of Fire Country are available to stream on Paramount+.