Warning! SPOILERS about Fire Country season 3, episode 20 ahead.
The cliffhanger ending of Fire Country season 3’s finale hints at a tragedy for the Leones, which is made even worse by Billy Burke’s praise for Fire Country’s cast and his coworkers. The threat of the Zabel Ridge fire had loomed over Edgewater since Fire Country season 3, episode 19’s beginning, being temporarily overshadowed only by Finn’s threats to Gabriela and his actions that caused a filling station to catch fire. This meant the call in Fire Country season 3, episode 19 was relatively regular, unlike the multiple difficult situations the Leones had to face in season 3, episode 20.
While Fire Country season 3 ending with a major cliffhanger left the fates of Vince, Sharon and Walter Leone unexplained, one character is inevitably more at risk of not returning than others. Indeed, Deadline reported how two original Fire Country cast members wouldn’t return, Gabriela’s Stephanie Arcila and Vince’s Billy Burke. Fire Country showrunner Tia Napolitano confirmed the former, even expressing hope in her future return to continue Gabriela and Bode’s story, but refused to comment on the latter. Burke’s exit would already be unfortunate because of Vince’s importance to the story, but his comments make it even more tragic.
Billy Burke Has Nothing But Praise For His Fire Country Co-Stars
Story-wise, Vince’s contributions to Fire Country are undeniable, given his character’s centrality. Burke’s positive comments about the Fire Country cast nonetheless offer an insight into their bond behind the scenes, painting a picture of a close-knit group. In a Television Critics Association press tour panel in 2022, where Fire Country was first presented ahead of its release, various key Fire Country actors answered questions about the show, their characters and the experience. Billy Burke profusely praised his coworkers (via TVMeg.com) on that occasion, showing what kind of group they had built.
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Fire Country season 3’s ending subtly set up Vince & Gabriela’s departures, which will have major consequences for Fire Country season 4.
Burke’s kind words showed the group’s dynamic, revealing how Diane Farr, who plays Sharon Leone, made the acting easy and interesting. The panel also revealed Burke’s happiness if he “feels like there’s something happening there,” along with the biggest of praises, after Burke admitted how Fire Country’s cast was the best he’s worked with in a long time, to the point that working with them makes things “a whole better” even after he sometimes arrives on set grumpy due to working in the early morning.
How Close The Fire Country Cast Seemed Makes Burke’s Exit More Difficult
Burke’s comments being made in 2022 makes the situation even worse, as it means the Fire Country cast only grew more united and close-knit before Burke’s exit and inevitable separation from them. With Burke’s exit being due to wanting to “be exciting storytellers” that don’t let the audience “ever feel complacent,” as the unfortunate announcement after Fire Country season 3’s cliffhanger specified, there is no external reason to motivate Burke’s exit. Instead, the exits have to do with shaking up the story and characters, making everything more realistic by showing first responders having “dangerous jobs with life-or-death stakes.”
How Fire Country Season 4 Can Write Out Vince Leone
Vince Dying Is The Only Possible Way For Fire Country To Write Him Out
Burke playing Vince Leone, father of the protagonist and an important member of Edgewater’s community, makes setting up his departure very difficult and necessarily tragic in Fire Country season 4. Were Vince and Sharon on the rocks, a divorce and a move away could potentially justify his disappearance. However, Vince and Sharon’s relationship couldn’t have been better in Fire Country season 3, with the two supporting one another through Walter’s illnesses and problems with Bode, making Burke’s exit coincide with something like Vince and Sharon breaking up essentially impossible in Fire Country season 4.
[Dying protecting his wife and father] would let Vince go out in a blaze of glory, also delivering a massive change in Fire Country season 4’s story.
This leaves only one outcome for Vince in Fire Country season 4, which would match the Fire Country characters’ greatest worries in season 3’s cliffhanger. Between the centrality of Vince’s role and his being presumed dead in Fire Country season 3’s ending, Vince dying to protect his wife and father would be the only possible outcome that could justify Burke’s exit. This would let Vince go out in a blaze of glory, protecting his loved ones, but would also deliver a massive change in Fire Country season 4’s story, thus achieving what its showrunner and EPs set out to do.
Sources: Deadline, TVMeg.com
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