‘I Think This Has Been Coming’: ‘Fire Country’ Star Stephanie Arcila on Gabriela’s Spiral (Exclusive)

Ever since the beginning of Season 3, Gabriela has been on a downward spiral, and Stephanie Arcila spoke to PopCulture.com about what’s been going on with her, especially following the events of last week’s episode. Arcila’s firefighter was initially supposed to get married in the Season 3 premiere, but not only did the ceremony get interrupted by a helicopter crash, but Gabriela didn’t even say “I do,” and not because of the crash.

Since then, she’s been going off the rails and in Episode 7, “False Alarm,” Gabriela was continuing to spiral, between working long hours, hiding injuries, and making rash decisions such as hooking up with a former flame. Arcila told PopCulture just what has been going through Gabriela’s mind and how it’s been exploring this new side of her. (Interview has been edited for length and clarity.)

PopCulture: It seems like ever since the wedding, Gabriela has been going off the rails. In the latest episode, it was clear just how bad she was doing between drinking, the overworking, and the mess in her trailer. What can fans expect from her as the season goes on?

Stephanie Arcila: I think this has been coming. I think, you know, some of the fans are like, ‘What is happening? Why aren’t you with Bode?’ I think all of this is obviously a surprise for me as well because we read the scripts as we go as well. And I love surprises. But this is life. Right? Like Gabriela’s, when you don’t process things, it ends up in either a catastrophic mind spiral, and it reflects in everything else in your life. You know, her trailer or everything else that she’s doing, her reckless behavior, all of that. It’s just a cry for help and love. So I think her in these stages and maybe in the future, obviously, it’s such a small town, everyone notices everything, everybody talks, and hopefully as a community, they will help Gabriela and Gabriela will be open to being helped.

PC: What has been your favorite part of exploring this new side of her or the most challenging?

Arcila: That’s a great question. My favorite part about it is that she’s not perfect. She’s human. And we all are. I think society builds us up to these high standards that we all try and meet and all try, especially with social media and everything. Everything is perfect. But it’s really not. We’re all human. We all feel. We all go through our own process. So I think that’s my favorite part, and that’s my hardest part, too. Because Gabriela and I are similar and not at all as well. But we’ve all been there. I’ve had a room before where I haven’t been in my best mental state going through things, and it reflects in your room. It reflects in the stuff. And I’ve had my friends come and lift me up and help me. And I think that’s really beautiful when you have community as well.

PC: Kind of going off of that, I did like seeing Sharon trying to get through to her even if she didn’t really want to talk. What was it like playing out that dynamic with Diane?

Arcila: I think it’s turned into a mother-daughter thing almost. You would prefer going into her room and everything. And it was fun. I think there were emotions that our characters had to explore before that were a lot of fun. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Gabriela fully agree. I think there is a level of her emotions, and she always has had a lid on them. And that lid is kinda starting to pop open.

PC: It’s also heartbreaking to see how bad her relationship has gotten with her father, especially since Gabriela and Manny always seem to have a great relationship. How hard has it been to play that strained relationship with Kevin?

Arcila: Kevin is amazing, first off. I adore him, but I think for the audience and for me as well, I love that they’re doing this because it kind of magnifies the importance of communication with parents. The importance of having a safe space, growing up in a safe space where you’re able and feel free to talk to your parents. And sometimes you don’t grow up with that, and you have to try and build that at an older age. And I think that’s where they’re at. They’re trying to build something that they’ve never had, and they don’t know how to. And it’s really heartbreaking because they love each other so much that they’re all they have. I think that’s the hard part that I feel Kevin so much in these scenes, and he feels me and our heartbreak, and then I’m like, ‘Okay. You can hug.’

PC: Gabriela’s relationship with Bode is always a complicated one, more so than ever after the wedding. What can you tease about what’s next for them, especially now that Bode has officially joined 42?

Arcila: I think that sometimes, and it’s gonna sound maybe corny, but if you love someone and you guys are both in maybe a state that is not the healthiest and are trying to figure yourselves out, it’s really hard to love someone and be there for someone when you’re not even enough for yourself. So I think that right now, they’re both in their process of getting to know themselves in these new dynamics, in these new environments that they’ve been put in. And who knows what’ll happen once they discover themselves and that healing side where they can truly have the energy to pour into each other’s cups.

PC: Speaking of healing, Gabriela is not the only one that’s been going through a lot as Jake is also struggling after Gen left. At the end of the latest episode, the two of them were bonding over their struggles and kind of rekindling what they used to have. Could there be more to this relationship again or is this more just like a rebound thing between them?

Arcila: I was just as surprised as the audience when I read this. I had no idea. And I still don’t know what the writers have in store for us, so we shall see. But I think it was something that when someone’s mind is spiraling, you don’t think logically always. And I think this is one of those shocking moments for Gabriela. And what will happen from there, I shall see. I shall see as well with you all.

PC: There have been a lot of surprising revelations with Gabriela this season. What has been the most surprising to you while reading the script each week?

Arcila: I think, definitely, Jake was one of them. I mean, in my discoveries, in breaking down what she’s going through psychologically is the core of what we all go through. We’re either acting out of fear, or it’s a cry for love. And I think the most shocking part was her isolation, pushing everyone away, which is I think it’s really important for an audience to see that because a lot of us do isolate when we go through stuff. And isolation is not the best thing for us. That this is why we have community. We have numbers that we can call as well. So I think it was surprising in a pleasant way. I know a lot of the audience is stirred up, and a lot of them are like, ‘What is going on?’ And a lot of them are not happy, but I also encourage everyone to see the human inside of all of this.

PC: There is still one more episode left to air this year. What can you preview for the fall finale?

Arcila: I think after her big spiraling, Gabriela is gonna be confronted with having to speak whether she likes it or not. I could tease that we’ll probably be left wanting more and thinking more. So we’ll have to wait till after vacation. And that there’s gonna be some health stuff going around as well.

The fall finale of Fire Country airs tomorrow, Dec. 12, at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.