'Fire Country' Boss Previews Fallout from Gabriela and Jake’s Hookup in Winter Finale (Exclusive)

Liam Mathews

12 December 2024 at 1:00 pm·3-min read

This week’s episode of Fire Country, “Promise Me,” will address the fallout from Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila) and Jake (Jordan Crawford) hooking up in the previous episode. In this exclusive clip from the Season 3 midseason finale, the exes discuss how to proceed after their drunken indiscretion, which occurred at the end of a difficult day for both of them when they each needed to hit the pressure relief valve.

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They both agree that this was a one-time mistake that won’t ever happen again. But they don’t agree on whether or not Bode (Max Thieriot), Gabriela’s ex and Jake’s best friend, needs to know about it. Jake wants to tell him, but Gabriela does not feel the need.

“I’m not in the habit of telling an ex I slept with someone else,” she says.

But Jake is disappointed in himself for sleeping with his best friend’s ex, and he doesn’t want to act out because he’s in pain anymore, which means taking responsibility for his actions. “I lost Cara, then I lost Gen. And that other night is how I know I lost myself for a minute,” he says.

Gabriela is insulted by this, but he tells her it’s not about her. “I slept on my integrity when we chose to do what we did in my truck,” he says. “I’m just trying to own it.”

“Do what you need to do,” she says as she leaves the room. “I’m good.”

Gabriela didn’t do anything she feels bad about or has to explain, so whatever happens will be between Bode and Jake.

There are different ways this could have gone for Gabriela and Jake. They could have decided to keep it a secret from Bode, or they could have realized they still had feelings for each other. In an interview with Parade, Fire Country showrunner Tia Napolitano explains why it went down the way it did.

“We just thought that was the most interesting way to do it,” says Napolitano. “To really show two consenting adults taking safe harbor with each other after really terrible days in both of their lives and recognizing it as a mistake, having the emotional maturity to recognize it as a mistake. And from Gabriela’s POV, she says, ‘I'm not in the habit of telling my exes who I sleep with,’ which makes a lot of sense."

"Bode, from Jake's POV, there's bro code, you know?" she continues. "And that's his best friend still, and it's a little bit different. So I think the stakes are different for both of them. But we didn't want to have Gabriela flip-flop and have feelings for Jake again. It really just is two single young people blowing off steam.”

Napolitano also says that there’s a lot of exciting stuff in store for the winter finale. “We're gonna get to learn a lot more about Eve, which I think everyone's really craving. We have awesome fire, just the classic Fire Country wildfire out there. It's beautiful and sweeping. The cinematography is wonderful. I think everyone will be shocked at the final moments of the finale, and then they'll have to wait all through the winter break to come back to the premiere, which is kind of the idea. It's very adrenaline-fueled.”

Fire Country’s winter finale airs Friday, Dec. 13 at 9/8c on CBS and streams on Paramount+. Come back to Parade after the episode for more with Tia Napolitano.

Next, Diane Farr Reveals She Lost Her Voice Due to Anxiety While Directing Fire Country.