It’s past time we admit what’s been evident for seasons: Bode Leone is dragging down Fire Country.
What began as a redemption story has devolved into a soap opera centered on his reckless ego, and the show is suffering for it.
The premise was promising — an inmate firefighter clawing his way toward parole, redemption, and a second chance.
For a while, we rooted for him. But somewhere along the way, the writers abandoned that arc.
Instead of growth, Bode has become the show’s biggest liability: irrational in rescues, brooding in downtime, and constantly hijacking ensemble moments with melodrama.
Every scene he touches loses tension, realism, and credibility. Bode is the single-most aggravating character on television in the last few years.
The last time I remember a character being this bad was back when Elizabeth Keen was on The Blacklist.
A show is supposed to make a viewer mad for all the right reasons, but with Bode, making us mad is his primary goal. I’m tired of this, and I bet you are, too.
Every scene he appears in promises to make us cringe with his childish behavior, which only gets more juvenile with every episode.
If he didn’t look like a grown man, I’d be convinced there was a child underneath, cosplaying as an adult.
Fire Country? No. It’s The Vexing Chronicles of Bode Leone
The character’s most significant impact on the show is reducing its entertainment value.
Every scene we’re waiting for more Bodeisms that don’t make sense and would definitely put someone at risk in the real world.
The show has stopped gunning for realism and instead opted to manufacture drama even in the least opportune moments.
Rescues are conducted without necessary safety precautions so that everyone gets an opportunity to argue with everyone else.
The biggest culprit? Bode. Every emergency spends considerable time running circles around his behavior.
Sure, a building is on fire, and people are in mortal danger, but let’s convert an incident into a day care because we have a child in our midst. It would be so embarrassing if it weren’t so disappointing.
If Fire Country is to survive, drastic action needs to be taken against Bode. At this point in the game, trying to change him might never work. It’s time to kill off the character or write him out.
And if someone’s concerned that his exit may affect the show, I agree. However, it’s the kind of effect it needs: a positive impact.
Fire Country Will Do Just Fine Without Bode
The beauty of ensembles in a TV show is the fact that it’s never about one person. It takes numerous characters to make a show pop.
A show needs a strong central character, but Bode isn’t it.
It wasn’t clear just how much of a liability he was until the Fire Country Season 2 finale, when he tanked his parole hearing to live out his undercover DEA fantasy.
Max Thieriot plays a significant role in this show’s existence and success, but there is a fine line between shaping its direction and pushing it off a cliff.
As it stands, Fire Country is headed down a horrible path, and everyone on the creative team is pretending not to see it.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Bode needs to go!
I don’t care how they do it as long as it gets done. I’d be okay with the character getting killed off as a consequence for his actions. If the show was striving for realism, Bode should be dead by now.
Between the unnecessary risks he takes and the laissez-faire attitude with which rescues are done, that’s the natural conclusion.
When The Blacklist felt Keene had become too much of a liability, the show killed her off, and life continued.
If Fire Country wants to keep the fire burning, it needs to use Bode as its fuel.
