'Fire Country': Max Thieriot Discusses Season 2 Premiere and Bode's Prison Consequences (Exclusive)

Spoilers ahead for Fire Country Season 2, Episode 1 ("Something's Coming")

Following the shocking Season 1 finale of Fire Country, there was no telling just what was in store for Edgewater for Season 2. The premiere picked up six months after the finale, with Bode isolating himself in prison and an earthquake hitting Edgewater.

The earthquake was not the only thing to rock the town. From baby truth bombs to engagements and much more, Fire Country turned up the heat for Fire Country Season 2, and it's only the first episode. In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, co-creator, executive producer, and star Max Thieriot weighed in on the events of the premiere and how prison life changed Bode and the town.

PC: When Season 2 picks up, we find out that it's been six months since the events of the finale. What has Bode been through in that time while in prison?

Thieriot: I know Vince has been there, but it's a lot of solitude. It's a lot of reflecting, it's a lot of... Even though there's the chaos and the danger of being in prison, there's just a lot of loneliness and isolation. And I think the biggest thing is when he was at Fire Camp, he got to at least see his world a little bit. And I think when you're in a place we find him now, I think he's so removed from that that it's hard because your life suddenly stands still, and nothing is changing in there, but everything is still moving outside of you. It's like your world has continued to spin, and you're just stuck, and you're not moving. And also the feeling of just being completely helpless, knowing that everything that's going on is completely out of your control.

And as we know, with Bode, not that he wants to control everything but impulsively, he always acts to help people and do things in situations. So right now I think it's almost easier for him to not know what's going on and to not talk to anybody because he knows he can't do anything. So he just blocks out the world.

PC: How do you think isolating himself from his loved ones not only affects him but them as well?

Thieriot: Majorly. And I think that's one of his blocks. I think that he leans so hard into doing things that he thinks is the right thing to do, that he doesn't think about the consequences of his actions of what doing that he takes things really... Also, literally, he says to somebody, "You're better off without me. Just this is where I need to be, and you need to live your life and move on." And I think that because he believes that's the best thing for them, he lives by it, and it definitely might not be the best thing, obviously, as we will come to see. The reason why he got there is because of Freddy and he felt like this guy had an opportunity and had a baby and all these things that you just couldn't bear to see taken away from him. But I think the hard thing is he didn't know the devastation that it would cause. He was really in a lose-lose situation.

PC: Also, in the premiere, in the spur of the moment, Jake tells Bode that Gen could possibly be his daughter before he fights Sleeper. What do you think was going through his mind at that moment since he was so ready for the fight and then he gets this big news that changes his entire life?

Thieriot: I think the biggest thing is it gave him a reason to live. I think that Bode was at a point where he felt like so much had been taken away from him, whether he did it himself or not. And he was just a product of the system, and he didn't think that he was self-deprecating and just destroying himself in this way that I think without that I think he would've been fine knowing that he probably wasn't going to live much longer because I think he really just didn't feel like his life had purpose. And I think it gave him some purpose, which is a valuable lesson. I think you can find purpose in a lot of different things. It doesn't have to be specifically that, but I think when people feel like they don't have any purpose is when people struggle.

PC: We do find out in the end of the Season 2 premiere that a month has passed and Bode is back at Three Rock. And it parallels the opening of the pilot in a way with him returning to Fire Camp. Since he now knows what to expect, and with Eve taking over for Manny, how different will it be this time around for him?

Thieriot: I think it'll be very different. I think he's had a lot of time to reflect on the things that he did and the things did wrong there. And I think he has a new outlook on how to carry himself at Fire Camp and what he needs to do and not do to really walk the line. I think, at the same time, this potential information that he's received has consumed him to a point where that's really the only thing that he can think about. And I think it's something that is helping change him. Maybe for the first time ever, I think that he felt like he was changed, but really, at his core, he was still self-destructive. I think that this is that thing that maybe is finally pulling him out and allowing him to become the person he was before he was incarcerated.

PC: What also happened at the end of the episode, he unwillingly found out that Gabriela was now engaged. What can we expect that aftermath to be like?

Thieriot: Full of drama. I think it's tough because I always say Bode looks out for everybody else's interest before his own. And so I think that will just weigh heavily on him, and you'll see him breaking inside but not wanting to be the catalyst to cause negativity or somebody else to be heartbroken around him. He would rather have his heart completely crushed than have anybody else shed a single tear.

New episodes of Fire Country air on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET as part of CBS' 2024 spring schedule.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.