Fire Country Season 3, Episode 11 is a breakthrough episode for the blossoming relationship between Bode Leone (Max Thieriot) and Audrey James (Leven Rambin). After building up to the moment since Audrey debuted in the second episode of the season, the con campers-turned-probie firefighters finally had their first kiss in “Fare Thee Well.” This is a moment that could have major implications for a few different Fire Country characters.
The romance-heavy episode (airing on Valentine’s Day, appropriately) revolves around a fire that breaks out at a Renaissance faire, which Eve (Jules Latimer) was attending on her day off with Francine (Katie Findlay), her park ranger ex with whom she’d like to get back together. Eve and Francine grow closer while helping a guy whose girlfriend ran away when the fire broke out, leaving him trapped in the stocks. But Eve almost blows it when Francine realizes that Eve is keeping her nerdy love of the fantasy genre secret from her friends, which is the same kind of dishonesty that caused Francine to break up with her before.
Meanwhile, Bode and Audrey are competing to see who can rescue the most people. Audrey gets more saves, but Sir Bode of Edgewater earns extra points for slaying a fire-breathing dragon—a malfunctioning animatronic that he disables by cutting its head off with a sword. Their bout ultimately ends in a tie.
By the end of the episode, Eve proudly proclaims her love of fantasy to Jake (Jordan Calloway) in earshot of Francine, who sees that Eve is making an effort to change, and they kiss. And, at the very end of the episode, Audrey declares that they need a tiebreaker, so they pick up swords and playfully fight until Bode cuts his hand. As Audrey bandages him up, they get close, and look deeply into each other’s eyes. “You know what this means?” she says “You’re my patient. So I win.“ And then he leans in and kisses her. “Feels like I won,” he murmurs.
What’s next for Bode and Audrey?
If Bode and Audrey start dating, it could impact a lot of things at Station 42. There’s a chance they might want to keep it quiet, which would lead to some secrecy and sneaking around until it inevitably comes out. So their best bet is to own it. This will lead to some awkward feelings between them and Bode’s ex Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila). Gabs is trying to act like she’s cool with Bode and Audrey’s attraction to each other, and she sincerely would like to be, but her emotions are what they are. It’s going to be painful for her, especially now that she and Audrey are actually becoming friends. Is Gabriela still going to want to teach Audrey how to swim if Audrey is dating the man she loves? Will we see a scary moment where Audrey is floundering in the water and Gabriela hesitates to help her?
There’s also the issue of Bode’s own unresolved feelings for Gabriela. He’s been better about not feeling them than Gabs has been, but they’re certain to come back to the surface at some point. It may even just manifest in the way he looks at Gabriela, which Audrey will surely notice and not be happy about. Audrey may get tired of dealing with whatever feelings are still present between Bode and Gabriela and decide she can’t be part of it.
Fire Country might be heading toward a similar dynamic to the one between Bode, Gabriela and Diego (Rafael de la Fuente) in Season 2, a love triangle with everyone pretending everything is OK until they can’t anymore, just with Bode as the one in a relationship this time. We know how that one ended. The difference here is that Bode genuinely really likes Audrey, whereas Gabriela was trying to convince herself Diego was right for her when she knew he really wasn’t. The saga of Bode and Gabriela is the heart of Fire Country, and it’s about to enter a new, even more complicated chapter.
What else happens in Season 3, Episode 11?
Elsewhere in the episode, Vince (Billy Burke) continues to be in denial about his father Walter’s (Jeff Fahey) cognitive decline, to the point where he’s angry at Bode for taking Walter to the neurologist. But once he’s faced with the test results that show Walter is in the early stages of dementia, he admits that he’s just struggling with the idea that his father is not the invincible force Vince always made him out to be in admiration and resentment. His father is going to need his help, and that’s an uncomfortable position for both of them.
Manny (Kevin Alejandro) comes to terms with the fact that he’s not going to be paroled, which Gabriela has trouble accepting. She’s also reeling from the realization that she doesn’t have fun, so she’ll have to get in touch with her joy this season. And Gabriela and Eve agree to become roommates, as do Bode and Jake, which will surely lead to some scenes and dynamics we haven’t seen on Fire Country before.