It’s only been a week since Fire Country aired its season 3 finale, and boy did fans get bombshells they weren’t expecting!

In addition to a massive cliffhanger involving which member of the Leone family may no longer appear in season 4, viewers of the CBS drama got another shock after the episode aired on April 25. In an announcement revealed by Deadline, folks learned longtime series regular Stephanie Arcila would exit Fire Country ahead of the next installment. Not only was her character Gabriela Perez one of the key members of Station 42 at Cal Fire, her on-and-off love story with Bode Leone (Max Thieriot) had fans begging for them to be together once and for all.

So, what happened that made the show’s creative team decide to write out Stephanie’s role on Fire Country? As executive producers/co-creators Joan Rater and Tony Phelan, along with showrunner Tia Napolitano, shared with the outlet, the decision behind Stephanie’s exit was all about wanting to take the show’s storyline in a different direction.

“It really just comes down to what’s the best creatively,” Joan explained about the switch-up.

“There’s danger in this sort of job, so we wanted to honor that and really up the stakes,” Tia added. “You want the opportunity for that door to open, for someone to walk out of it, or for someone to walk into it. We’re really leaning into that aspect of the show as well as honoring the authenticity.”

Despite Stephanie leaving Fire Country ahead of season 4, don’t think this is the last time fans will see her portray Gabriela on the show. As the actress said in a separate Deadline interview, there’s always a chance to see the character come back and reconnect with all her loved ones.

“I never say never,” she noted. “Life takes us through so many avenues, and Gabriela is such a gift to me in my career, personally and professionally … As for the future, I’ve learned that these writers always surprise me, and I have no expectations, just excitement.”

As fans know, Gabriela’s (as of right now) last appearance on Fire Country saw her fighting off a former boyfriend who turned into a stalker in the final season 3 episodes. Folks also saw Gabriela bond with Bode’s girlfriend Audrey James (Leven Rambin), who was there to help her — albeit with major consequences — amid her stalking incident. And if that’s not enough, she watched Bode fall to his knees as the nursing home his grandfather was in collapsed into flames … while his parents were inside trying to rescue him from the fire.

Needless to say, we’re going to miss Stephanie next season … but we’ll have our fingers crossed she makes a return to Edgewater very soon!