The Best Relationship in ‘Fire Country’ Isn’t Bode and Gabriela
In preparation for Fire Country’s return this fall, the firefighting drama has been making waves on Netflix. The streamer has managed to introduce the series to a whole new audience, and with Season 3 in mind, we can’t help but meditate on the best relationship on the show. No, we’re not talking about Bode (Max Thieriot) and Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila). We’re not even talking about a strictly romantic pairing but rather the best friendship that the show has explored. Bode has plenty of friends and family in Edgewater, but his best relationship, by far, is with Freddy “the Goat” Mills (W. Tré Davis).
Bode and Freddy Have an Unbreakable Bond in ‘Fire Country’
From the moment we first meet Bode in the “Pilot,” Freddy is already by his side. As the pair join California’s Conservation Fire Program, they instantly flock together under the supervision of Captain Manny Perez (Kevin Alejandro), with Bode priming himself for “first saw” and Freddy earning his endearing nickname. While Fire Country centers itself a lot around romantic and familial relationships, sometimes friendships take the limelight. Bode and Freddy go through some of the most challenging trials together, between fighting fires, working to better themselves, and their hopes to get out of Three Rock and be reunited with their own respective families and loved ones. It’s this shared hope that binds the two of them and keeps them through thick and thin.
It would have been easy for Fire Country to isolate Bode at Three Rock. To give him Manny as a mentor, his parents as emotional support, and to instead explore his fractured friendship with Jake (Jordan Calloway), but that’s not what the show did. Bringing Freddy on board, even as a recurring character (who really should’ve been a part of the main cast), gave Bode someone to talk to who understood what he was going through. No, Freddy wasn’t actually a criminal himself, but he had also been incarcerated and misjudged like Bode had, and because of that, the pair forged a connection that seemed unbreakable. It’s hard to put into words the value of a good friendship, and in our age where any on-screen friendship offers the opportunity for fans to “ship” it to no end, Fire Country’s dynamic between Bode and Freddy is a breath of fresh air. It reminds us that, as the old biblical adage says, “a friend sticks closer than a brother.” In this case, that’s especially true.
Even when Sleeper Hadley (Grant Harvey) shows up at Three Rock and seemingly divides the pair, it turns out to be nothing more than a well-constructed ruse by Bode and Freddy, hoping to draw out the criminal’s true nature. Not even the potential promise of freedom could get Freddy to turn his back on his best friend, nor could any seeming betrayal convince Bode to be anything but Freddy’s best wingman. When it came to helping Freddy get back to his family — his soon-to-be wife and infant son — Bode didn’t let his own wants get in the way. At the end of the first season, at the heavy cost of his own freedom (and his potential future with Gabriela), Bode sacrifices himself to ensure that Freddy’s wrongful conviction case goes through. Unwilling to keep his friend from those who need him most, Bode admits to a wrong he didn’t do in order to clear Freddy’s name and exonerates his Three Rock partner. It’s a beautiful moment that only reminds us how close these two really are.
Three Rock Wasn’t the Same When Freddy Left
This is what makes Season 2 all the harder. Though the final moments of Season 1 end with Freddy lamenting that “they got Bode,” the second season (which was 12 episodes shorter than Season 1) picks up months later, and “the Goat” is nowhere to be seen. Having moved back to Southern California while Bode is rotting in prison, we can’t help but feel that this choice was a bit out of character. To make things worse, without his best friend to keep him grounded, Bode dives head-first into self-destructive patterns that nearly get him killed. To say that Freddy’s constant support and compassion towards Bode helped guide him throughout the first season would be an understatement. Sure, part of the reason that Bode worked on becoming a hero was because of his love for Gabriela, but there’s also something to be said that working alongside your best friend so closely, in life and death scenarios, inspires one to greatness.
Season 2 opted to replace Freddy at Three Rock with a newcomer named Cole Rodman (Tye White), who is a fun new addition but lacks the same lighthearted charisma as his predecessor. No matter what Bode and Cole have been through, we remember that Bode and Freddy have been through more and that these two have literally thrown themselves in the fire for the other. Fire Country just wasn’t the same without Freddy around to help ground and encourage Bode. Following the death of Cara Maisonette (Sabina Gadecki), Bode could’ve used Freddy’s support. Likewise, with the possibility that Genevieve (Alix West Lefler) was actually Bode’s daughter, Freddy’s own fatherhood experience could have been useful. More than all of that, we missed the easygoing dynamic that these two shared, which helped keep the show from feeling too much like a soap opera.
Season 2 Reunited ‘Fire Country’s Best Duo, but It Was a Bit Too Late
Thankfully, the Season 2 finale, “I Do,” brought Freddy back into the Fire Country fold, albeit for a single episode. Returning to Edgewater to celebrate Bode’s official release from Three Rock, the Goat returns at a crossroads in our hero’s life. Not only was Bode now free, but he had the opportunity to tell Gabriela how he really felt about her before she got married, a window soon coming to a close. It’s no wonder that Freddy encourages Bode to shoot his final shot with his old flame, and not to let anyone stop him from at least sharing with her one final time how he feels. Though it seems like Bode has left his chances with Gabriela behind, Freddy’s constant support for his best friend, even from afar, proves that their bond is stronger than however many episodes W. Tré Davis happens to miss.
If anything, watching Bode and Freddy together again proves that their friendship is foundational to Fire Country. It’s this sort of guidance, trust, and back-and-forth that the first season of the show thrived on. Between constant relationship drama and heightened tensions in the heat of battle, this friendship served as a cornerstone for Fire Country. If there’s one character who we wish hadn’t been written off so hastily, it would be Freddy, and while he shows not even a remote interest in returning to firefighting, his presence in Edgewater is something we could all use more of, Bode especially. Who knows, if Bode takes a job with Cal Fire that gets him out of Edgewater, we might get to see Freddy again sooner than we expected… Hopefully, the writers don’t wait an entire season to reunite these bros again down the line.
