Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Fire Country Season 4, Episode 8.Three Rock is finally back on Fire Country — but not how we or Eve (Jules Latimer) imagined it would be. No one is more excited about Three Rock being up and running than Manny (Kevin Alejandro), though, and that leads to its own problems in the penultimate episode before the winter finale. What this week’s episode proves is that we are gearing up for some fireworks (maybe literally) in the final episode of 2025. There’s whipping the new Three Rock recruits into shape, and Bode (Max Thieriot) has a lead on who started the Zabel Ridge Fire that can’t be ignored. He’s actually going to get kudos for how he handles that revelation, proving there is always time for a little holiday season miracle.
Three Rock Is Back, But Younger
Have I mentioned that Manny is super stressed about the upcoming fire season? Fire Country wants you to know that Manny is really stressed about the upcoming fire season. Eve’s plan for reopening Three Rock was to get her original crew back, or at least another set of adult inmates. That would take several more weeks, if not months, according to Sacramento, and that is time Manny doesn’t have if they want to save all of Northern California from being burned up. He pushes Eve to accept a crew of juvenile inmates, and the high school maturity is evident from the moment they step off the bus and into camp. The boys are fighting. They can’t communicate or follow simple instructions. There’s a lot of foundational work that needs to be done before they can be trusted working a fire.
That is obvious to everyone but Manny. He pulls rank and calls Eve’s fledgling crew to cut line in the episode’s major forest fire. He expects these neon-green recruits to cut half a mile of line at a breakneck pace, but they’ve never done it before. They’re not following the correct safety protocols. They’re fighting, and not only do they not get the field clear, but they cut a hose in the scuffle. Manny pushes them and Eve so hard that she snaps and yells, “These are not my guys,” which is the exact opposite of what the kids needed to hear to help them gel together as a crew.
So, Eve will start the winter finale being further back than when she started with this crew and getting them to come together. She has to prove they can trust her before she can actually start working with them, and that is an uphill battle after what she said at the scene. At least Manny is back in her corner after admitting they didn’t communicate well that day (I am side-eyeing the fact he didn’t apologize for mansplaining how to do her job). They have to lead by example, so there may be some hope for these kids after all.
Tyler and His Mom Bring New Revelations to Station 42
The Three Rock crew are not the only ones bringing teenage dysfunction to Fire Country. Bode has fully taken Tyler (Connor Sherry) under his wing when we join them in this episode. It turns out Tyler’s mom is Bode’s old math tutor from high school, Chloe (Alona Tal). She now teaches at the high school where Station 42 is doing a drunk driving demonstration. Tyler is picked to be one of the kids that dies in the fake incident, which requires Bode to tell his mom Tyler “didn’t make it.” It’s fake and designed to scare the kids into making more responsible decisions, but it really affects Chloe. She’s more determined than ever to find Tyler some help and to get to the root of why he’s acting out.
Bode is first in line to volunteer. He’s already got Tyler doing random stuff around the station because he sees a lot of his younger self in the troubled teen. Chloe is very grateful for the help, especially when the demonstration goes so far as to plan a fake funeral for Tyler that his classmates are invited to. That even gets to Sharon (Diane Farr), who is overwhelmed with grief for Riley and Vince after watching Chloe eulogize her son. Chloe does a great speech, but when Landon (Sean McDermitt) jumps in to say he also loves Tyler, the teen explodes in anger. It seems like we’ve found his trigger, but why does Landon bother him so much?
‘Fire Country’ Finally Reveals Three Rock’s Replacement Crew in New Images
Meet the new crew before the next episode of ‘Fire Country’ arrives on CBS this Friday.
We don’t have to wait long to find out! Bode drives Chloe home after she hangs around the station to formally ask for his help with Tyler (which he is already doing… but whatever, we needed an excuse for them to arrive at the house together). They hear an irate Landon yelling at Tyler when they get to the door. Bode wastes no time knocking it down and finds Landon in Tyler’s face, on the brink of hitting the teen. Bode throws Landon against the wall, but Chloe says that she can handle it. She starts tearing into Landon while Bode takes Tyler outside to cool off. And that’s when Tyler drops the bomb that Landon might be the one responsible for the Zabel Ridge fire.
Oh, so there’s a grown man bullying Bode’s protégé, at the very least emotionally threatening his former classmate, and he possibly started the fire that killed Vince? Honestly, I really wouldn’t have blamed Bode if he lost his temper on this one. However, he impressed me. He calls Sharon and tells her what’s happened, and informs her of Tyler’s tip. He asks her to reach out to the investigation team. He called for backup before doing anything rash! He’s turning information over to the proper authorities! This is GROWTH. Let’s hope it sticks. I am genuinely so proud of Bode, wow.
This maturity has come just in time. Prior to the Landon incident, Bode finished off his probie checklist, and Luke (Michael Trucco) signed off on it. That officially makes Bode a full-fledged Cal Fire firefighter. He has more to lose than ever, and it is such a relief to see him acting like it and protecting what he’s worked so hard to achieve. Go Bode!
Jake Breaks New Ground with His Family
Jake’s still figuring out how to best interact with his new extended family. He doesn’t listen to the warning to stay away from the family. Malcolm has blocked him, so he has no choice but to deal with the half-sister again, who still has no interest in helping Jake when Malcolm won’t talk to her either. But Jake doesn’t give up. Losing Vince is still very fresh, and with all three of them being firefighters, he knows that any call could end their chances to connect. So he leaves a letter with the half-sister and promises to stop pushing. He’ll be waiting when Malcolm and she are ready to talk and actually try to have a relationship. Let’s see if that goes down better than Jake’s awful voicemail.
This episode had some key revelations for Eve, Bode, and Jake, but it’s clear that it was the setup vehicle for whatever chaos is going to be unleashed in the winter finale. We’d better buckle up for what’s coming.
The Fire Country winter finale airs Friday, Dec. 19 at 9 PM ET on CBS. Episodes are available the next day on Paramount+, and the series will return in 2026.
