"Was always rooted": Gabriela's emotional goodbye to Bode in Fire Country Season 4 premiere addressed by EP

The Fire Country Season 4 premiere, which aired on October 17, 2025, picks up right where the previous season ended. If you forgot, the season 3 finale ended on a shocking and massive cliffhanger, where Bode's father, Vincent "Vince" Leone (Billy Burke), grandfather Walter Leone (Jeff Fahey), and mother Sharon Leone (Diane Farr) were trapped inside a burning memory care facility.

Now, the show finally reveals the fate of the three characters. While Sharon and Walter manage to make out, Vince couldn't, thus ending Billy Burke's tenure in the popular CBS drama. But Burke was not the only one to exit the series. Fans also bid farewell to Stephanie Arcila's Gabriela Perez, as she has taken on the new role of the fire department's traveling recruiter in the Fire Country Season 4 premiere.

Showrunner and Executive Producer Tia Napolitano sat down for an interview with Deadline in which he addressed Stephanie Arcila's exit. When the Deadline reporter Nellie Andreeva asked if Arcila's character taking care of Bode for eight weeks was just a gift for the fans before the cruel twist of her leaving the town, he responded:

"It felt like Bode and Gabriela’s journey was always rooted initially in longing and a forbidden love. He was incarcerated, there’s a lot of angst and longing, and it’s beautiful, but we wanted to see them literally hang out in their pajamas together, like we saw, we wanted to give them some domestic bliss where they just get to be. And yes, Vince died, but she’s feeding him, and they’re falling asleep on the couch. It really was a love letter to Gabriela and to Bode. We just wanted to enjoy them a little bit before we said the name of the episode, “Goodbye for Now.” It’s not goodbye forever for Gabriela."

What happens in the Fire Country Season 4 premiere?

The first episode of Fire Country Season 4 opens on a more devastating note as a fan-favorite character, Vincent Leone, played by Billy Burke, perished in the fire from the season 3 finale. Bode goes through a rough phase after his father's passing, eight weeks after the funeral. Now, after learning about Gabriela's new role, Bode has lost not one but two support systems in Fire Country Season 4.

When Nellie asked Napolitano whether Sharon and Bode would deal with Vince's death throughout the rest of Fire Country Season 4, the showrunner said that the two would indeed be dealing with their loss, saying:

"They will continue to deal with it throughout the season. The entire series, in small ways, we are still recovering from the death of Riley, and that was years ago. Now we’ve lost Vince, who is much more on screen in our lives. It’s a huge loss. That being said, the season does not wallow in grief there. There are consequences for the death of Vince, both emotional and action wise, but Fire Country, as you know and love it, will return to your screen this season. It’s just we both honor the death and are able to, life moves on."

Is this the last of Gabriela in Fire Country?

Gabriela's "exit" has Bodiela [Bode and Gabriela's relationship] fans worried, if actress Stephanie Arcila has left the CBS series for good. But Tia Napolitano put those questions to rest not once but twice at this point.

In the Deadline interview, when Nellie Andreeva asked Napolitano if she could reveal whether we will see Arcila return as her character in the upcoming episodes of this season, the showrunner responded that she can't reveal anything for now. She had previously addressed Gabriela's possible return in a TV Insider interview from September. When Napolitano was asked if Arcila completely exited the series, she simply responded, “Never say never.”

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"Goodbye for Now", the first episode of Fire Country Season 4, is accessible via streaming on CBS. Catch it before the second episode airs next Friday.

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