When Fire Nation Season 2 ended, fans finally got what they’d always wanted – Baldur’s freedom.
Bode is out of jail, but does that mean he’s out of the fire too? For two seasons, we saw Bode as a member of the NorCal Fire Department. But that’s because he’s in the Sanyan Prison Protection Camp.
Since Bode’s affiliation with the fire department is tied to his status as a California Department of Justice inmate, would he still be a firefighter as a civilian?
Baldur was born to go into fire
It’s a strange world – Bode Leone gets out of prison and becomes a construction worker instead of fighting fires with his family and friends.
But that’s exactly where we left him at the end of the all-too-brief and busy second season. With a legacy like Bode’s, it’s zero shock that his narcissistic hero complex leads him into life-threatening situations.
Even if he doesn’t exist in an official capacity.
When we first met Bode during his freshman year, he was new to the fire camp but unfamiliar with the area. We soon learn that Bode is an Edgewater native who has the misfortune of being placed in a fire department run by estranged family and friends.
It didn’t take long for us to discover that Bode was a complete firefighting genius.
It really must be genetic – Chief Vince (dad), former precinct chief Sharon (mom) and current precinct chief Luke (uncle), not to mention retired firefighting grandfather.
But it’s not just his family who are involved in this dangerous profession. Ironically, his two best childhood friends – Jack and Eve – are also members of the same firehouse with whom he must work closely.
Especially when there’s so much history between the trio – much of it dark and heavy.
Bode’s past remains his future
It’s not lost on this viewer that Bode’s best friend Jack – often a partner in Bode’s impulsive heroic antics – dated two very important women in Bode’s life before he was imprisoned.
As a result, both of them died.
The death of Bode’s sister (Jack’s high school girlfriend) resulted in Bode being sentenced to prison. He later recovered from his drug addiction.
He replaced that addiction with the adrenaline rush of playing a hero.
When Bode and Jack repaired their relationship in season 1, we saw a beautiful friendship develop. Without Jack and Eve, Bode’s personal growth might have been very different.
But the writers seemed to be working toward Baldur’s bromance, because in Fire Nation season 2, Jack got engaged to Baldur’s ex-girlfriend, who has a teenage daughter.
and an unknown absentee father.
Uh, uh, uh.
Jack uses the news that Bode could be a father to manipulate him into not becoming a killer.
So we spent much of season two immersed in Bode’s baby daddy drama, with uncle-turned-stepdad Jake adding an extra layer of tension.
Bode undergoes a major change in his character, growing into a more mature man ready to take on his responsibilities.
Only to learn that his possible daughter was not his. OK Too bad.
But maybe not, because there’s more Jade Brother drama here. After Carla died, she spent her last moments begging Bode and his family to raise her daughter.
So Bode will probably play the dad anyway. But while he was incarcerated, Bode’s parents were granted custody. Dad Jake is back to playing the role of uncle to a teenager who wants to make his own choices about his future.
She wants to live with Jack instead of Bode. So now Bode takes on the role of uncle, and Jack is the father of orphan Gene.
Yes, we’re a little lost in Jerry Springer-Murray’s love triangle drama, too.
It took a while for Bode and Jack to come to an agreement about Gene’s future. We’re not blaming any of them. Maybe they could co-parent, since both of their relationships seem to be terrible.
All Bode’s relationships are complicated
Now that we’re on the subject of failed relationships, let’s discuss Bode’s dislike of taking work home.
The story begins with a budding romantic relationship with Rebecca, a female fire inmate who is responsible for helping Freddy, Bode’s best friend from season 1, get out of prison early.
Before the relationship could really begin, Rebecca died in a dangerous fire accident. Those were three women who loved Bode to death.
Then he met firefighter Gabriella Perez.
Bode spent the rest of the first season mired in drama involving a near relationship with the daughter of the prisoner of war camp fire chief. Things were looking promising until Bode threw jet fuel on a match, ruining any future chances because he thought he was going back to jail.
In one of the worst series premieres of the year, FC writers proved that Bode’s return to prison would be an abandoned storyline.
He escapes after quixotically saving the man he planned to kill. Then we’re back to POW camp fireman mode, with a huge sense of superiority and a new boss complication.
Bode’s primary flaw, his hero syndrome, is his lack of respect for authority, which is as deeply ingrained as his entitlement.
His best friend is his boss, his ex-boss is his mentor and his ex-girlfriend’s father (possibly a felon who ended up as a concentration camp inmate in season three), and his ex-girlfriend is his ex-girlfriend.
We say “married” rather than “married” because we see a wedding taking place. But we never witnessed the couple exchange vows, so it’s still possible the marriage never happened.
Or will it happen? Maybe there’s a groom this time.
A man who had been released from prison, wearing that gorgeous orange jumpsuit. Now we’re solving the puzzle left behind by the Season 2 finale.
Although Bode is finally free, his recent maturity means he pretends to be happy that his ex-girlfriend is marrying her care partner, which limits the damage of his messy reintegration into society.
Bode has worked with a paramedic before. In a horrific ambulance crash, Diego witnesses Carla’s dying plea for Bode to become guardian of her child.
They may interact in the future if Bode plans to find a way back into CFD. After all, they are in the emergency services.
We have to wonder what their work boat will look like after the wedding.
Will Bode find his way back to fighting fires?
But the biggest question next season is how Bode will return to firefighting instead of working in construction with the possible real father of Kara’s child.
Given Bode’s less-than-stellar criminal record, what’s next for him if he can’t join the fire department?
Even if he’s not affiliated with a government organization, people don’t believe he’ll stop playing hero.
It will be interesting to see if “Fire Country” plans more trips to other parts of California, perhaps for another campaign fire or for Bode to participate in official firefighting training.
We know he’ll meet Southern California surfer and maverick firefighter Camden (Jared Padalecki), who will form part of the third series of Fire Nation: Surf.
It will eventually join the Morena Baccarin-starring Sheriff Country to form the Fire Nation trio universe.
Hit up our comments section and let us know what you think of the chaotic life of heroic and sexy Bode Donovan Leone and his fellow Northern California firefighters.
Are you excited to see Bode’s life outside of prison?
Or do you think we should keep him locked up a little longer to allow us to devote more attention to Three Rock Fire Camp?
Season 2 almost ended thanks to Bode’s uncle Luke. His selfish behavior affected not only the prisoners of the concentration camp, but also their fearless leader.
This fan is even more excited to see Manny’s future after being escorted from his child’s wedding in handcuffs. I’m ready to pay for his legal fees because Luke totally deserves to be slapped in the face.
There is more. Be sure to tune in to the Fire Nation Season 3 premiere on October 18 to join our favorite California firefighters for a chaotic short season.
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