'Fire Country' Boss Breaks Down Those Life-Threatening Winter Finale Cliffhangers
- - 'Fire Country' Boss Breaks Down Those Life-Threatening Winter Finale Cliffhangers
Megan VickDecember 19, 2025 at 10:00 PM
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Sergei Bachlakov/CBS
Fire Country loves a spectacle in almost every episode. But the firefighter drama always knows how to put people on the edge of their seat for a midseason finale. There’s another major fire heading for Edgewater, and it is Manny’s (Kevin Alejandro) first big test as Battalion Chief. It feels like he’s been preparing for this ever since he got back from his first training in Sacramento, but Manny’s aggressive approach to the fire rubs some of the other brass in charge the wrong way, and it’s unclear if Manny is being proactive or reckless when it comes to containing a potential Zabel Ridge sequel.
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While Manny struggles to maintain control of the incident, he’s also missing some key support. Jake (Jordan Calloway) discovers his half-brother Malcolm is also working the fire from the neighboring county. Their first interaction goes from frosty to terrifying when the rig taking them from the mountain to incident command flips over, leaving both of their fates up in the air as we head into the new year.
Jake isn’t the only one in trouble. Bode (Max Thieriot) and Tyler (Connor Sherry) are stuck together in the middle of the inferno after Tyler gets himself trapped while trying to run some radio batteries to firefighters on the scene. He went on the mission without warning anyone, and Bode has gone after him in a similar fashion, so they are facing the flames while no one knows exactly where they are. They need to hope that Manny’s plan for the fire pans out, at least until Greencrest can get another water drop in the area. However, Manny’s plan involves Eve’s (Jules Latimer) junior Three Rock crew to maintain the front line against the approaching flames. Manny’s career — and the fate of Edgewater — depend on these sixteen year-old juvenile offenders sticking together and becoming a real crew faster than they are ready.
If the events at the scene weren’t stressful enough, the Sacramento brass comes to town to question Landon (Josh McDermitt) about his involvement in the Zabel Ridge fire after Sharon (Diane Farr) feeds them Tyler’s tip about his stepdad. He’s definitely a suspect, but the cops don’t have enough to arrest him, so Landon is still free, and he’s looking for revenge against Tyler and Chloe for putting his back against the wall. Neither of them is safe as long as he’s free, and no one gets justice for the destruction he caused until this investigation is closed.
Parade talked to Fire Country executive producer Tia Napolitano about raising the stakes for the midseason finale and what fans can expect in the “meaty” second half of Season 4.
Related: ‘Fire Country’ Teases Epic ‘SEAL Team’ Reunion
Is Manny seeing things that other people aren’t, or is he overreacting and managing to cover his tracks?That’s the question we are left with in the finale. Manny is clearly under pressure. Is he cracking or thriving under that pressure? We’re not sure. It’s what we’ll examine in the midseason premiere with a microscope. We’ll definitely feel a way about Manny’s decision-making when we return. Nobody knows what leading is like except for the leader. You have every piece of that fire, and that fire is raging in your head. You’ve got a plan, and it’s all on you. There is not always time to bring everybody else up to speed. I think there’s a truth within Manny that we’re going to discover in the new year when we return.
This behavior seems to have come around after his training in Sacramento. Was the catalyst just what he learned there, or is there something else driving Manny to be this intense?Manny got the job in Episode 4. This is Episode 9. What we’re seeing build is how heavy is the head that wears the crown when it comes to Battalion Chief. Vince always wore the job like a comfy old sweater. He’d been doing it for so long, he made it look like no sweat. Inside, there’s sweat, and Manny is sweating on the outside. He’s new. He takes this responsibility very, very seriously. There are people who become casual in the middle of a hurricane. Manny is not one of those people.
While Manny is making questionable decisions, Bode has been on the up and up lately. Can you talk about how helping Tyler is helping Bode make more mature choices? I think it’s so interesting that Bode Leone has become someone that a young person would look up to. I think it is surprising to Bode, if it’s not surprising to the audience. What’s funny is his frustration with this troubled, wayward young person. He’s upset that Tyler snuck into a car, but it’s Bode. He held up a liquor store at gun point. That’s very comedic to me. His grumpiness towards Tyler is very Vince-like. It’s a sign of progress and growth for Bode.
They are now stuck in the middle of this fire together. How does that change their relationship in the back half of the season?They are two dudes stuck in a fire shelter built for one in the middle of a wildfire. No one knows where they are. We loaded up the stakes and jammed those characters in there. We’re going to have to see how and if they get up out of there. We threw Bode off a bridge in Season 1. We go big for the midseason. What’s interesting is how they come back emotionally from these big disasters.
Bode almost went full vigilante mode on a Zabel Ridge arsonist suspect earlier in the season, but he’s being really restrained when it comes to Landon, even though there’s more reliable information that Landon is involved in the fire. What has allowed Bode to find that restraint and let the investigators handle this the way it needs to be handled?Manny pre-deploys everybody. It gets Bode in the station…He’s kind of forced to show restraint because he has to work. The work is there for him. Moving forward with that story, an arsonist is an actual bad guy. It isn’t nature versus man. It’s man versus man. Landon seems so scary and hateful. We will watch Bode continue to struggle, and to win that struggle to restrain himself, and do things properly. He still wants to take care of business and fight for good over evil. It’s part of what we can really enjoy about his character growth and root for in the back half of the season.
How does having a human villain affect everyone at Station 42, who all want to avenge Vince?The town is also very mad. They’ve worked so hard to get themselves back, to provide for each other and pull this community together. Then they learn that someone among them is the reason for all this devastation. It’s infuriating. People have pitchforks, and that is an interesting conflict. It’s very emotional, and it honors the way the story started.
Jake and Malcolm are also in danger at the end of this finale. It’s ironic since Jake said they could end up on a call that cuts off their chance to have a relationship at any time, and now they are on a call together that could end that chance. Why put them both at risk like this?Our characters are always striving for what they want. Jake has wanted to know his brother since Season 1. We’re always throwing obstacles in their way and making them fight for it. He fights through Eleanor, who doesn’t want to let him through to Malcolm. Then here is his brother served up on a platter, and then the fire could kill them both together. The first thing they do together as brothers is nearly or potentially die. It’s poetic, in a way. If they do make it through and Jake gets what he wants, which is to know his brother, it’s in a very complicated way that feels more delicious when we head back into the season.
Eve is also fighting for a relationship with the new Three Rock. What does that look like, especially with them on the front line of this fire now?You’ve got to root for Eve to make a crew out of these kids. They’re funny. They’re sweet. They are fun to watch, but are they firefighters? Are they a crew? They have beef with each other. It is a tall ask for Eve that I think we are really rooting for her to pull off. We’ve seen her be harsh with her old crew. We’ve seen her be comfortable. This is a whole new kind of challenge and I think we are enjoying them so much. We’re hoping she succeeds, but we’re not sure how.
Christine Lahti isn’t in the finale, but we have to assume she’s coming back. What can you tease about Sharon and her relationship with her mom?Ruby comes back and we’ll start to see glimmers of why Sharon might want a relationship with her mother. Ruby starts to find ways that she can do things for Sharon in ways that I think are very fun to watch, as opposed to them fighting all the time. So Ruby will be back for a couple more episodes this season.
Processing the loss of Vince was the major hurdle for the first half of the season. What is the engine for the second half, especially with Landon still in the picture?There’s a lot going on. The midseason premiere, which is Episode 10, comes with a very big twist at the end of it that will have a huge impact on Bode. That is kind of the engine for the story moving forward and you can see where this is going. We also have the lovely Alona Tal as Chloe. We’ll be spending more time with her. We’ll be spending more time with Ruby. We have a huge crossover coming your way. It’s a very meaty back half of the season.
Fire Country returns withnew episodes in 2026 on CBS. Episodes are now available to stream on Paramount+.
Related: ‘Fire Country’ Spin-off ‘Sheriff Country’ Renewed For Season 2
This story was originally published by Parade on Dec 20, 2025, where it first appeared in the TV section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
