In the first season of Fire Country (now available for streaming on Netflix),

the show wasn’t afraid to pull any punches. Characters came and went,

and the firefighting show proved to itself and its audience just how

dangerous the job can really be. For the inmates of Three Rock Conservation Camp, this becomes clear early on, perhaps most notably with the death of Rebecca Lee (Fiona Rene). First introduced in the fourth episode, “Work, Don’t Worry,” Rebecca appeared in only five episodes before her untimely death, and out of all those featured in Fire Country‘s first season, she deserved a more thoughtful ending.

‘Fire Country’ Killed Off Rebecca Too Early

When we first met Rebecca, it seemed as if she was going to be a foil of sorts to Bode’s affections for Gabriela Perez (Stephanie Arcila). Not only was Rebecca on the inside of Three Rock with Bode, but she had plenty of backbone. Rebecca challenged Bode from the get-go, and unlike his aspirations for a relationship with Gabriela — which were both unfounded and out of reach — something could actually happen between these two. So when the pair finally kiss at the end of Rebecca’s second appearance, “Happy To Help,” fans thought that maybe, just maybe, Bode could learn to move on with someone else. Maybe he would stop looking at what he couldn’t have and focus on what was in front of him. Sadly, he never quite learned that lesson.Not only did Bode sort of lead Rebecca on, but he used her skill with the law (she was a lawyer before being sent to the fire camp) to help Freddy (W. Tré Davis) with his wrongful conviction case. While Rebecca was happy to do so, it seemed like their arrangement was always predicated on her interest in Bode in the first place. And why wouldn’t it be? But when Rebecca was soon discarded, only to be noticeably absent for a half dozen episodes, everyone knew her demise was imminent. When it finally did come in “False Promises” (a fan-favorite that truly lived up to its title), fans were rightfully distraught over the development. Sure, Rebecca went out like a hero, but we didn’t have to like it. To justify the decision, executive producer Tia Napolitano told TV Insider ahead of the episode’s premiere, “We have life-or-death stakes baked into the show and we’ve been gentle with the death side of that coin.” This time, they weren’t gentle at all.