‘Fire Country’: Kevin Alejandro Explains Manny’s Major Decision — Will He Make Gabriela’s Wedding?
On the one hand, we can understand why Manny does what he does after Kevin Alejandro‘s explanation. On the other hand, it’s still not a smart move!
The penultimate episode of Fire Country Season 2 sees Manny worried for most of the episode—while fighting a campaign fire!—that his actions upon learning Luke (Michael Trucco) recommended Three Rock be shut down (he punched him and accidentally started a fire) would cost him his job. They didn’t. However, near the end of the episode, Vince (Billy Burke) calls him to inform him there’s a warrant out for his arrest, for aggravated battery and reckless endangerment. He says he’s talking to Mickey (Morena Baccarin, who will be leading the Sheriff Country spinoff) and they’ll call in every favor, but Manny still goes MIA, last seen walking down a road and not answering his daughter Gabriela’s (Stephanie Arcila) calls.
Below, Alejandro explains Manny’s decision, discusses his latest actions, and teases the May 17 finale.
Congratulations on Season 3!
Kevin Alejandro: We did it. We knocked it out. Biggest season yet, and we’re like, whew, how are we going to do this? But we did it.
There’s a warrant out for Manny’s arrest, but he’s going MIA. Why? What led to that decision?
I think he’s going through his own sort of turmoil and not really taking responsibility for his actions in what happened in Episode 8 with punching Luke in the face, even deep down inside, he knows it was the wrong choice and still battles with his temper and his control issues. And I think at this point in the story, he has one thing on his mind, and that’s to walk his daughter down the aisle. So that’s what leads to yet another decision, whether it’s the right one or the wrong one to go MIA, so that he can have the opportunity to see his only daughter walk down the aisle.
Where’s he going?
Honestly, this is what I envision: Manny drives an El Camino, and he’s camping out in the back of his El Camino waiting for the moment to come back.
So he is thinking that he’ll be able to attend this wedding? Even though Edgewater is a small town, the cops are going to know he’s there. Is he thinking that he can walk Gabriela down the aisle then they’ll take him into custody?
Yeah, that’s what he’s hoping will happen. Honestly, he wants that final moment to see her in her dress and tell her how proud he is of her, how much he loves her, and to give her the confirmation that he will always be there, no matter how difficult it may or may not be. That’s really all he wants is just that final moment, that “I love you, mija” moment.
Vince tells Manny that he’s talking to Mickey, that they’re going to help, but he still leaves. Why can’t he trust that will work out?
Because it just leaves too much uncertainty, I think, to piggyback off of what you said about it being a small town and Vince ultimately is not in charge and there are rules, there are laws that have to be followed and whether he says yes or no, it’s not his decision. And I think Manny within his own self wants to guarantee his opportunity to spend with that final moment with her.
How would Manny feel knowing he missed being there for the news that Bode’s (Max Thieriot) coming home?
Yeah, I think that could be another thing that he struggles with for the next season probably. Manny’s tortured and flawed and he makes decisions led by impulse. And those are unfortunately and fortunately real impulses that we all have as human beings, which is one of the reasons why I think Manny’s one of my favorite characters because they don’t shy away from his struggle to deal with his own decisions, take in responsibility for those choices. But Manny is definitely going to be torn up about it—he’s like his son, he calls him mijo at the end of the last season, and you don’t get that term of endearment unless there’s genuine love there.
Manny acknowledged that he shouldn’t have hit Luke, but in that moment, could he have thought about what it could cost him, given what Three Rock means to him?
Yeah, he absolutely could have, but because he cares so passionately about Three Rock, that’s all he has in mind. That’s all he wants. And the betrayal is what got him. And in my culture, betrayal is unforgivable sometimes and that’s where he led from and it’s all heart and it was all led from love. It wasn’t the right choice. We did a couple of takes where I was like, he’s been through what he’s been through and has been in prison and has gone through the system, I think his impulse would’ve been headbutting him in the nose. We actually did a couple, but that was a little brutal, so they went with a simple punch, which I still embraced. But yeah, that’s where he leads from. And I think anyone who has grown up in a culture of survivalists and trying to make themselves seen understands that impulse of, here I am, do not ignore this fact. And that’s where Manny comes from a little bit.
Do you think it’s also because he’s been a bit sidelined when it comes to Three Rock and distanced because he’s no longer a captain there, so there was only so much that he could even try to do to help?
Absolutely. He is sidelined, and he’s dealing with that, too, having to figure out his role again because for a minute, he thought he had it all figured out and once again because of one of his choices, he lost it. And the whole season he’s just going through kind of, “Who am I? Where do I fit again? What can I do to gain back the trust and love that people once had for me?”
This was a rough episode for Manny and Gabriela. What’s coming up for them in the finale?
Gabriela is going through a lot of her own questions, as we know. I think her own inner turmoil is going to sort of overshadow what she feels about her father. It’s a big day for her and she knows him. She knows where he comes from and how he raised her, how she essentially raised him as a single father. So no matter how upset, I think, that we get with each other, there is a genuine sense of understanding the impulse, and the trick and the guidance of how to accept them and make different choices is the real dynamic between them of pointing out the flaw and then trying to get on the right road to not be stuck in the same situation if that opportunity shows itself again.
Manny just had that reunion with his ex (Paola Núñez) and might be seeing her again at the wedding. How does he feel about Roberta?
Yeah, there was a great line that was changed and it says it all, though. And the line was Manny was talking to Eve [Jules Latimer] at the bar after Gabriela’s mother asked him to get him a drink and he goes, “I have a history of addiction and now she has me ordering drinks for her. I have to stay on the wagon,” kind of thing. And the actual line was, “I have a history of addiction. Well, she is my first addiction,” which I think sums up everything. So there is a sense of being addicted to her love and her compassion because it was obviously something deeper than just the physical aspect of everything because we decided to have a child together. I think she is his first true love. I think every time she walks into the room, he’s going to battle with that addictive sort of love for her. And to have Paola Núñez come in and encapsulate that human being made it so easy to know, to feel their past.
What else can you preview about the finale and where it leaves Manny to set him up for Season 3?
I can tell you that the finale is being presented, in my opinion, more like a giant poem. They’ve done such a great job with writing this entire episode that it ends beautifully tragic emotionally and it’s being orchestrated by an orchestra and it’s just going to be a beautiful piece of television that I think the audience is really going to love. Like I said, it’s beautifully tragic but leaves so much open for where we’re going to take Season 3, which I don’t know how it’s going to happen, but it’s going to be even bigger.
What are your hopes for Manny in Season 3?
My hopes for Manny in Season 3 are that he finds a sense belonging again and finds a sense of who he truly is and never shies away from his responsibilities as not only a firefighter, but as a father and just as importantly as a friend. And I hope that he gets some sense of who he was. When we first met Manny, he was so in charge and so it felt like he just had it figured out, and I would love to see more glimpses of his strength.
Have there been any conversations yet about you directing again?
There have been, yeah. We don’t know which episode that will be, but I will definitely be directing. It’s another passion of mine, and our show is very difficult to make because of the elements and how big it is and the amount of time that we’re given to make it. And for some reason, as stressful as it is, I thrive in those circumstances and I’m kind of addicted to it. I’m just very lucky and fortunate that people trust me to go in there like they trust Max to take the reins and put together hopefully another great episode.
