The return of Fire Country with its season 4 premiere makes the resolution of several key storylines imperative, but its reported focus on Gabriela causes one question about the Leones to become much more significant. Fire Country season 3’s cliffhanger ending endangering Vince, Walter, and Sharon didn’t reveal who bore the brunt of the accident, with them all in jeopardy.
Assuming that the untimely demise would involve Vince was straightforward after it was reported that Stephanie Arcila and Billy Burke would exit in Fire Country season 4. However, who dies following the Zabel Ridge fire engulfing the Buena Vista facility remains just an assumption until its confirmation, and not knowing makes that the biggest mystery of Fire Country season 4.
Fire Country Season 4’s Premiere’s Focus On Bode & Gabriela Risks Delaying The Leone Tragedy
The need for someone to die was simultaneously established by Fire Country season 3’s ending framing the three Leones being in mortal danger as its most fundamental development, and by Fire Country showrunner Tia Napolitano’s comments about wanting to highlight how real firefighters face serious threats that can’t be easily solved. Passing such a message makes a significant death necessary.
It’s unclear how Fire Country season 4’s premiere being titled “Goodbye for Now” can deliver that, especially given that Napolitano told TV Insider that it focuses on Gabriela, functioning as a “love letter to the character” and making it a “beautiful send-off for now.” Fire Country season 4, episode 1 addressing Bode and Gabriela’s bond necessarily undercuts the Leone tragedy.
Arcila’s exit having been public knowledge since April 2025 makes tackling Gabriela’s departure sooner rather than later necessary, particularly in light of wanting to keep Bode and Gabriela’s relationship a possibility in Fire Country’s future. However, doing so to the detriment of what Fire Country season 3’s finale framed as the most important development feels odd, to say the least.
There is nevertheless a way for Fire Country to make Gabriela’s send-off work without necessarily hurting the message it wanted to pass about the real difficulties of firefighters’ lives. Indeed, by delaying the news about who dies among the Leones until Fire Country season 4, episode 1’s ending, the focus would be entirely on the tragedy in the following episode.
How Season 4’s Premiere Unusually Airing Before Sheriff Country Can Help The Leone TragedyFire Country season 4, episode 1 airing before its spinoff Sheriff Country’s premiere on October 17 grants the Leone tragedy a chance unlike any other. While it’s clear that Fire Country’s usual timeslot was moved up to organically introduce Sheriff Country after Fire Country, before letting them go back to their normal timeslots, that can also help the Leone tragedy.
This is especially true if Fire Country season 4’s premiere were to reveal who dies in its last moments. Sheriff Country’s connection to Fire Country relying on the Fox and Leone families can make the Leone tragedy even more important for the franchise by partially addressing it in its series premiere, especially if one or more Leones were to appear.
Such a development would let the Leone tragedy reverberate in both shows, letting Sheriff Country season 1, episodes 1 and 2 tackle it first marginally before Fire Country season 4, episode 2 goes at the heart of the matter. This way, it would effectively establish the Leone tragedy as a turning point for the whole universe, well beyond Fire Country.
