‘Fire Country’ Writes off 2 Major Characters in Season 4 Premiere

Spoilers ahead for the Season 4 premiere of Fire Country.

Season 4 of Fire Country finally premiered on Friday, and it marked the end for two characters.

On the heels of the Season 3 finale in April, it was announced that Billy Burke and Stephanie Arcila would be departing the CBS drama.

The Season 3 finale set up Burke’s departure, as his character, Battalion Chief Vince Leone, was trapped in a fire at a care facility with Sharon (Diane Farr) and Walter (Jeff Fahey), and the episode ended without any of them getting to freedom. In the Season 4 premiere, “Goodbye for Now,” no time has passed, and it picks up exactly where Season 3 ended. As Bode (Max Thieriot) is being held back by Jake (Jordan Calloway) and other firefighters, even locking him in a rig so he doesn’t run into the burning building, Walter has to drag Sharon out of the building, even despite the fact that they can’t find Vince.

Sharon continued to plead with Walter to let her stay and look for Vince, noting it’s her job as Division Chief, but he wouldn’t listen. They’re able to get outside, and firefighters find Vince, but unfortunately, it’s too late. Of course, fans already knew that Vince would be the one dying, as it was confirmed in the official Season 4 promo, but that doesn’t make it any less heartbreaking. Vince’s death weighs heavily on Station 42, and Sharon benches them for several weeks. Meanwhile, Gabriela (Arcila) and Manny (Kevin Alejandro) tag-team to keep an eye on Bode and Sharon, respectively.

Once 42 is back in service, a new battalion chief comes in, Brett Richards, played by Shawn Hatosy, even though Vince hated him, and Sharon is not happy, but there is no telling what will happen. Meanwhile, that is not the only change that 42 is going through. Throughout the episode, Gabriela and Manny kept talking about Gabriela’s last day at 42, and at the end of the episode, she finally sat down with Bode and told him what was going on, admitting she didn’t know how to tell him with everything he was going through.

Gabriela brings up the Internet latching on to “the whole Olympian turned paramedic who saves her stalker’s life” thing, sharing that Cal Fire had an idea of her speaking at recruiting events, and the idea got bigger. Now, they want her to “make more young firefighters.” And that’s not all. Gabriela confessed her feelings, sharing that she loves him. “Love’s never been our issue, Gabs,” Bode replies. Before leaving, Gabriela gives Bode a token, which belonged to Vince. Vince gave it to Jake, and Jake gave it to Gabriela when she was a probie. It’s the Patron Saint of Firefighters. “I think Vince would’ve wanted it to stay here with you. To watch over you,” Gabriela says. It’s not goodbye forever, it’s just “goodbye for now.”

Since Gabriela is only saying goodbye for now, this probably won’t be the last time fans see her. Co-creator and EP Tony Phelan told Deadline in April that they’re “hoping that we can bring that character back, because we think that they have such great chemistry, and the audience is really invested in the two of them. But we felt, with everything that’s happening in the finale and moving on into the next season, that it was time for that character to discover what’s next for her.”

Fire Country is going to be hard to watch without Gabriela and Vince, and the impact of both absences will likely be greatly felt. Tune in to new episodes of Fire Country on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS following Sheriff Country to see what happens.