How Fire Country Fans Really Feel About Gabriela Perez

Contains spoilers for "Fire Country" Season 3, Episode 9 — "Coming in Hot"

After spending most of Season 3 spiraling out in response to the breakdown of her engagement to Diego (Rafael de la Fuente) and the debt their failed wedding left her with, Gabriela Perez (Stephanie Arcila) finally let her dad Manny (Kevin Alejandro) have it. Trapped in a forest fire and desperate for water after she stormed off without her equipment during a fight with Jake (Jordan Calloway), she becomes furious at Manny for leaving his prison fire detail to rescue her. A lot of emotions regarding their relationship come pouring forth, and she realizes how badly she's been treating him and her friends. When they're finally rescued she has a new outlook on life, though it may come too late to salvage things with Bode (Max Thieriot).

New leaf or not, fans posting about "Fire Country" on its dedicated subreddit were less than pleased with Gabriela's behavior. Their patience has already been tested with tiresome love triangles featuring her and Bode, and this was the final straw for many. "Can gabi get fired already? What firefighter is keeping their job after storming off without a radio into an active fire?" said u/AKBearmace, and u/AppointmentWest7911 agreed, writing: "I was really hoping they were going to kill Gabriela's character off. She's consistently been the most selfish, self absorbed, reckless, hypocritical, and manipulative character in the show." There are still some fans who are willing to give Gabi the benefit of the doubt, though that herd is slowly thinning out.

While it's easy to hate a character for their actions, it's important to remember that the actor portraying them can only do so much. At the end of the day, the buck stops with the writers, and many fans are of the opinion that the people penning the show are doing Gabi a disservice with the direction they've taken her. "It's clear that she's going through a crisis, but the way the writers are going about it is all wrong," noted Redditor u/jhumph88, and they weren't the only one to take this stance, with u/AquariusRising1983 writing: "The actors are doing the best they can with the trash heap the writers have given them."

Could there be more to this than meets the eye? Some fans think the writers might be foreshadowing Gabriela having bipolar disorder, which would go some way to explaining the decisions they've taken for the character. "For some people, it can develop later in life, and she's been showing many of the symptoms," wrote u/PlayMaker95. "I'm just saying it's possible." While it's a compelling theory, others are doubtful that it's true. "This implies that the writers are capable of writing something with nuance and depth, and based on the other s*** we've seen this season I have my doubts about that," u/AquariusRising1983 replied.

"Fire Country" already fumbled its big Season 3 storyline by having Gabi sleep with Jake, and things are on a knife-edge as it stands. Both Bode's relationship with Gabi and Gabi's ultimate fate remain up in the air. At this point, she's unpopular enough to leave one wondering what can be done to fix the character and make her likable again. Perhaps now that she's on the road to recovery things will finally turn around for her. Will "Fire Country" stop failing Gabriela? Only time will tell.