‘Fire Country’s Latest Bode Reveal Doesn’t Work

Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Fire Country Season 2.

The Big Picture

• Bode is revealed to not be Genevieve’s father on
  Fire Country
  , leading to uncertainty about his role in her life.
• Gen deserves to know her biological father, even if it’s not Bode.
• The reveal feels forced for the sake of drama, disappointing the audience with a soap-like twist.

In Fire Country‘s sophomore season, Bode Leone (Max Thieriot) has been challenged in a way he never would have expected — namely with the possibility that he might be a father. In the first five episodes of Season 2, the CBS firefighting series has kept us on our toes as Bode waits for the results of the paternity test that will either confirm or deny that he is Genevieve’s (Alix West Lefler) biological father. But the latest episode, “Alert the Sheriff,” reveals the sad truth that Bode is not Gen’s father. While this might seem like a bold or brave move for the show, it comes across as underhanded and underwhelming.

Bode Is Not the Father on ‘Fire County’

Last season ended with a cliffhanger revealing that Cara’s (Sabina Gadecki) sister was actually her daughter all along, with the identity of the father up in the air. As Bode fights for his life in prison, Jake (Jordan Calloway) tells him he might be a father, causing him to view his life differently. Instead of killing himself in mortal combat with Sleeper (Grant Harvey), he strikes a deal that ends with him back in Three Rock trying to make good on his inward promise of bettering himself for Gen. But now that his role as her biological father has been stripped from him, what exactly should Bode’s role in Gen’s life be? It seemed that both she and Bode wanted to be loved deeply by the other, making this revelation devastating for everyone involved. It’s certainly been a big pill for viewers to swallow.

Of course, Bode, Vince (Billy Burke), and Sharon (Diane Farr) all resolve to still love and adopt this young girl into their family, which is admirable. Bode ends “Alert the Sheriff” with his desire to be a father to Gen still intact, hoping to make good on his promise to Cara that he would watch out for her. Of course, Cara dies believing that Bode is likely Gen’s father, so it makes sense that she would ask him to watch out for her. But now that we know that isn’t true, how exactly does Bode fit into all of this? Until this point, Jake has been a better father figure to Gen, partially because he’s the one who’s able to be present and because he made a concerted effort with her. But even then, he’s always referred to as her “Uncle Jake,” nothing more. Just as she was warming up to Bode being her father, we learn the heartbreaking truth.

More than likely, there will be some drama between Bode and Jake as they duke it out over who is best fit to look after Gen. On one hand, Jake is the obvious choice since he isn’t incarcerated, has a stable job, and was in a loving relationship before Cara passed (he was even about to propose to her). However, Bode was tasked with looking after Gen by Cara on her literal deathbed. That, combined with his heroism at Three Rock and a stable family life (despite his past mistakes), gives Bode a fighting chance. Of course, the problem is that neither man is really Gen’s biological father, and while family certainly doesn’t end in blood, it does still begin there.

Gen Deserves To Know Who Her Father Is on ‘Fire Country’

Bode might not be Gen’s father, but she still deserves to know who is. Cara conceived Gen at a time when she and Bode were on-again/off-again, meaning she had other sexual partners in her wild teen years that could fit the bill. Whether Gen’s biological father is someone we’ve been introduced to already or have yet to meet is unclear, but it’s likely that person is still out there––completely unaware they have a teenage daughter of their own. Even if Gen decides to stay with the Cal Fire family in the end, Fire Country owes it to her to let her discover who her biological dad actually is. If he’s anything like Bode, he’ll be a stand-up guy elated at the opportunity to love his child.

But selfishly, it looks as if that won’t be a part of Gen’s journey. Sure, Fire Country‘s entire mantra is that found families are just as valid––and they certainly are. No doubt it’s also a massive reason why the series took this step, which feels very much in line with the familial culture created at Station 42. But that doesn’t mean blood relatives should be thrown out the window, especially if they never get the chance to make an effort. Gen has a father out there who deserves to know he’s a dad, and likewise, she too deserves the truth, and shouldn’t keep hoping that Bode is her father after all. As it stands right now, she has no idea that Bode isn’t her father, and it looks like Vince and Sharon are hoping to keep it that way as long as possible. It’s been over a month since Cara’s death, and Gen has settled well into her new life with the Leones, her would-be grandparents. While that’s a good thing, we can’t help but feel like it’s a little disingenuous, especially now.

Of course, the biggest issue with Bode not being the father is that now he doesn’t have any real rights to Gen as a parent. We all know that Bode was bettering himself long before Gen came into the picture, and with his heart set on being a good guy for her, that process has only skyrocketed. But now that Gen is not Bode’s child, it’s hard to see how he has any real claim to raising her at all. “Alert the Sheriff” ends with Bode explaining to his folks that he still wants to be there to look after Gen, but what gives him the right to think that he should? Aside from his promise to Cara, it seems a little arrogant to think that an ex-con should be the one to take care of this newly orphaned teenage girl, no matter how much he’s grown in the process. Beyond the questionable nature of that, legally, it seems like an even bigger hoop for Bode to jump through, one that may actually prove impossible for someone like him.

This ‘Fire Country’ Reveal Feels More Like Forced Drama

The way Fire Country has treated Genevieve thus far has been more like a piece of luggage than an actual person with real emotions working through all the surrounding death. If Bode had been her father, then the narrative turns like Cara’s death, Gen moving in with Vince and Sharon, and Bode’s continual growth and development would have really meant something to both the characters and the audience. But now, it almost feels as if the whole thing was a massive waste of time, constructed simply to generate more steamy firefighter drama for network audiences. Case in point, showrunner Tia Napolitano told Entertainment Weekly just after this shocking reveal that they were “[more] interested in, what does Bode go after when this paternity goes away?” Yes, Bode is Fire Country‘s main character (and forever underdog), but that doesn’t mean every character should suit his needs or fit his emotional arc at all times. Cara was already tossed aside, and it feels like Gen has been too.

This speaks to a bigger issue that Fire Country has had since Day 1: it tends to get a bit too soapy when the writers want to push the story in a new direction. Of course, we all wanted Bode to be Gen’s father. Everyone in Edgewater seemed to. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to the writers that fans are understandably disappointed in the results, and we (like Bode) feel sort of played by how it all turned out. Thankfully, Bode is taking it relatively well, which is a testament to how much he’s grown since the pilot, but disappointment still abounds. While the decision might be fun for actors like Thieriot to wrestle through on the screen, from an audience perspective, it all feels like too much to put this young girl through for the sake of “Bode drama,” which already has plenty of other interesting facets to explore outside of wrecking his potential as a father. Long story short: making important character decisions just for drama’s sake isn’t a good look, and Fire Country does this a lot.

With only a few episodes left in this shortened season (and another already on the way), it’s anyone’s guess as to what’s going to happen next. It’s a good thing that the Leones have taken Gen in. Whether she’s Bode’s daughter or not, that’s honorable, and well worth celebrating in light of her not being their grandchild. Despite that, it’s easy to still feel disappointed that Bode’s potential as a father will never be fully explored with Gen the way we hoped. While it’s likely that Bode will continue to try and fill that void in Gen’s life, it does leave the possibility open of another father figure who might be revealed down the line, one who might love Gen more than Bode ever could. Wherever the show goes next, we hope that Gen is fully and completely loved the way all children deserve to be––and that Bode will one day become the father he hoped he was.

Fire Country airs Fridays on CBS and is available for streaming on Paramount+.

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