Major spoilers for Fire Country Season 3, Episode 7 are ahead! If you aren’t caught up, you can stream the CBS series with a Parmount+ subscription.
Man, Fire Country really decided to turn up the heat right before Season 3’s mid-season finale drops on the 2024 TV schedule in a way I really didn’t expect! Following Bode and Gabriela’s falling out (among other personal issues Stephanie Arcila’s character is having), she made a seriously unexpected decision with her Season 1 ex, Jake.
Yep, in Episode 7, Jake and Gabriela hooked up after they both had royally bad days, and I’m shook to my core over it.
So, here’s the breakdown of what led to this moment. Gabriela has been spiraling all season, however, we hit a breaking point in Episode 6 when Bode broke things off with her, and at the end of it, it seemed like she might do something questionable with Camden. That didn’t happen. However, Jared Padalecki’s character returning her ID from that night to Sharon did get Gabs in trouble, and that only added to the already terrible headspace she’s been in.
Meanwhile, Jake is still mourning the death of Cara and he’s struggling to parent Gen. After Rick (her biological father) came into her life and she found out she had half-siblings, she’s spent a lot of time in Idaho with them. In this latest episode, he revealed that she wants to stay there too. So, that’s been the ever-present issue on his mind.
At the end of Episode 7, the two wound up in the same spot and were lamenting about everything they’d been going through. Then, in a moment of spontaneity, they decided to hook up, and the episode ended with them in a steamy car.
As Gabriela admitted, it feels like she and Jake were together “a million years ago.” Honestly, I forgot that they were a thing considering Stephanie Arcila’s character has been with Bode, engaged to Diego, then back with Bode since then. So, reigniting this relationship is bound to have some serious implications on Gabs, Jake, Bode AND THE WHOLE FIRE DEPARTMENT, because – ahem – literally all of them work there.
There is no universe where I can see this relationship being a good thing or lasting. In fact, I’ll be even more shook if that’s how this plays out.
Up to this point, it has felt like Max Thieriot's, Arcila's and Calloway's characters were all in a good spot, and they’d put their past behind them. Jake also seemed to totally accept his best friend and ex dating. However, this most recent development is bound to topple these semi-healthy dynamics they had built.
Not to mention, Jake is a captain at Station 42, and both Gabriela and Bode work there. So, the issue of workplace romances and being with a superior (assuming this hook-up goes further than just a one-night thing) will create drama that will likely involve Vince, Sharon and the rest of the department too.
Overall, I think this was a wild choice on Fire Country’s end, and I’m having a hard time comprehending Gabriela and Jake sleeping together. I get that this spontaneous choice was made because both their lives have been shaken up dramatically. However, it’s still hard to fathom the implications and drama this choice is bound to cause, because odds are it will impact everyone they love in Edgewater.
However, I’m excited to see how everyone reacts to this fling on the show, and we’ll likely get to find out soon as Fire Country continues to air on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.