Season 4 of CBS’ Fire Country picked up moments after the Season 3 finale ended when the roof of the Edgewater memory care facility caved in amid the massive fire with Vince (Billy Burke), his father Walter (Jeff Fahey) and his wife Sharon (Diane Farr) inside. Walter and Sharon found themselves separated from Vince, and Walter had to carry Sharon out kicking and screaming as she was determined to stay and search for Vince at the cost of her own life.
Outside, Bode (Max Thieriot) had to be locked in by Jake (Jordan Calloway) and other fellow firefighters to prevent him from running into the burning building. When Bode was later told that his father didn’t make it, he was devastated.
In an emotional speech at Vince’s funeral, Bode promised to “spend the rest of my career protecting my father’s town, my father’s station, my father’s mission.” At the reception that followed, he and Jake got into a fight over who should succeed Vince as Station 42 battalion chief, with Bode calling it his “birthright.” Division Chief Sharon suspended 42 from active duty, and an old foe of Vince, Brett Richards, played by Shawn Hatosy, showed up. By the end of the episode, he was named interim battalion chief and promised to “reinvent” the station.
Gabriela (departing series regular Stephanie Arcila) helped Bode through his grief, taking care of him for eight weeks before he found out about her new job as a traveling recruiter for the fire department.
“I don’t want to say goodbye to you,” Bode said, speaking for all fans. After the two parted ways telling each other, “Goodbye for now” — which also is the title of the episode — Bode was seen going for the bag of pills in his locker.
Sharon was stoic during the funeral and kept it together in the weeks after until she broke down when Walter came to her house.
There were some positive developments for Audrey (Leven Rambin), as Gabriela mentioned that the stalker Audrey had shot pulled through, effectively taking attempted murder charges against her off the table.
During the suspension, Bode led 42 in helping the firefighters filling in for them in a mill fire. There was a precarious situation involving massive logs that trapped a firefighter, with Gabriela risking her life to save him on her last day. Gabriela’s father Manny (Kevin Alejandro) was reinstated and Eve was back at 42. She has her work cut out for her, with bureaucracy making the restoration of Three Rock a tedious prospect.
In an interview with Deadline, Fire Country executive producer/showrunner Tia Napolitano addressed Gabriela and Bode’s “goodbye for now” and if there is a plan for Arcila to return this season. She explained whether Vince’s death was a foregone conclusion and its impact on Bode and Sharon. Napolitano discussed the Jake-Bode face-off to replace Vince as battalion chief, Brett’s appointment, his plan is for 42, and how long can we expect Hatosy to stay on the show. She revealed the theme for Season 4 and Audrey’s status, teased Three Rock 2.0 as well as how many crossovers with spinoff Sheriff Country we can expect.
