Fire Country shocker: Stephanie Arcila (Gabriela) leaving; why?

We knew there was a chance entering the Fire Country finale that someone could be leaving — but Stephanie Arcila? Who saw that coming?

Even over the course of the final season 3 episode, there was no direct indication that Gabriela was poised to depart. After all, she remained unscathed physically after Audrey shot the man who has been tormenting her. We could have easily envisioned this character moving forward.

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Yet, in a new interview with Deadline, executive producer confirmed that Arcila is in fact departing as a series regular. This was the reasoning behind it:

It was really a decision that came out of the dynamic between Bode and Gabriela; we felt like those two characters needed a reset. We love Stephanie, and we are committed to saying that the Bode-Gabriela story does not end here, it goes on.

We’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.

Just from reading that alone, you can easily argue that we could be seeing Gabriela gain at some point, but is that a guarantee at all? Hardly. We mostly just remained shocked by this news due to the fact that she and Bode were established at one point as an endgame sort of couple. Typically if that is the case, you keep both characters around and do not write one of them out. If she never comes back, how does Fire Country pivot?

In the end, we have to be prepared for some radical shifts on the show moving forward.

Related – Who else is leaving Fire Country after the finale?

Are you shocked that Stephanie Arcila is leaving Fire Country after the season 3 finale?

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