What Happened to Bode in Fire Country?! His Next Move Just Might Irreparably Shatter Your Heart
Ever since the Season 2 cliffhanger, viewers have had endless questions as to what happened to Bode on Fire Country and whether the days of Max Thieriot’s character could be numbered now that he’s back in jail.
Fire Country is CBS’ drama series following Bode Donovan, also known as Bode Leone, a convict with a troubled past who hopes to redeem himself and shorten his prison sentence by volunteering for the California Conservation Camp Program, in which prisoners assist the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, also known as Cal Fire, as a way to seek redemption. In Season 1, Bode ends up getting assigned to his hometown in Northern California, where he must work alongside his fellow inmates as well as his former friends to put out fires across the region.
Since its premiere in October 2022, Fire Country has become one of CBS’ highest-rated drama series, with more than five million viewers tuning in each week. Fire Country Season 1 ended with a cliffhanger as Bode — after months as a somewhat free man, fighting fires with Cal Fire and putting out flames both in his job and in his personal life — finds himself back in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.
So what happened to Bode in Fire Country and what’s next for Max Thieriot’s character on the CBS drama? Read on for what’s happened to Bode on Fire Country so far and how his actions have changed the course of the series forever.
What happened to Bode in Fire Country?
What happened to Bode in Fire Country? The Fire Country Season 1 finale, “I Know It Feels Impossible,” ended with a cliffhanger as Bode Donovan confessed to a crime he didn’t commit and finds himself back in prison. Right before his confession, Bode was told by Mel, who works for the state’s attorney’s office, that he was under investigation and was the reason Freddy, another inmate that enlists in Cal Fire with Bode, was caught up in the system.
Mel — who believes Bode is the real kingpin of Three Rock and has been running a drug operation from the camp — tells Bode that he wants Freddy to be free, he needs to confess to dealing drugs through Three Rock. And so, when Bode takes the stand at his hearing, he lies and tells the court that he relapsed and is responsible for the drugs at the camp. The Season 1 finale ends with Freddie’s release from prison and bode taking his place.
What what happens to Bode next in Fire Country? In an interview with Parade ahead of Fire Country Season 2’s premiere, executive producers Tony Phelan and Joan Rater explained why they sent Bode back to prison. “We wanted to show this: What was Bode like in prison?” Rater said. “He made that big sacrifice for Freddy, and now he finds himself back in the general prison population,” Phelan added. “What is his North Star? What is he living for now? How is Bode going to survive in there? How is he mentally and physically keeping himself together, and I think for all of the fans, how can he get back to Edgewater?”
Rater continued, “One thing we talked about in the writers’ room was that we wanted to remind ourselves that Gabby, before she was a firefighter, was an Olympian. She was used to being on top. We talked about getting back to some of that bad-ss girl who wants to rack up the medals.”
Phelan also explained the effect Bode’s imprisonment had on other characters in Fire Country. “I think Sharon is grappling with not only seeing her son go back to prison but really questioning, ‘Did I have something to do with this? Is the way that I and Bode interact, and the way I treat him, and the way I’m so obsessed with him and his safety—did I help him by doing that, or did I hurt him by doing that?’” Phelan said.
Phelan continued, “In episode 1, everybody’s job and personal life has been thrown up in the air and has come down in a different place. And so I think all of those character interactions are going to be somewhat different because a big event happened at the end of last year and we see the fallout from it.”
Max Thieriot, who plays Bode in Fire Country, also told TV Insider in February 2024 about how much darker Season 2 was because of Bode’s return to prison. . “He let down a lot of people, and I think he felt terrible about this difficult decision that he had to make and about what he told his parents,” Thieriot said. “Clearly, there’s a lot of making up to do and putting all the pieces back together really with everyone.”
He also teased Bode’s relationship with his father, Vince, in Season 2. “[Vince has] found a way to look beyond what his son has done and the past and all that they’ve gone through, and I think that the guilt that he carries as a father is pushed forward and forcing him to set aside all those feelings that he had and realize that the last thing he wants to do is to really lose his son,” Thieriot said
He also explained Manny’s reaction to Bode’s imprisonment. “[Manny] sees Bode’s mistakes really clearly and understands the decisions that he’s making, like his decision last season,” Thieriot said. “It’s hard for him to watch this guy who has these opportunities and who he knows is a good dude at heart self-destruct a little bit because I think he sees the good in him and knows what it takes to be a free man and the line that you have to walk. And so it’s a fine line for Manny of being encouraging but also really frustrated with Bode constantly.”
