Spoilers for Fireplace Nation Season 3, Episode 18 are forward! Should you haven’t seen the episode, you’ll be able to stream it with a Paramount+ subscription.
Gabriela has actually gone by it this season. Her relationship with Diego ended, her dad went again to jail and confronted a thriller sickness at Three Rock, and her love life has had some main ups and downs. Talking of her love life, it confronted a serious bump in Episode 18, when it was revealed that the person she was beginning to date was stalking her. Nonetheless, it shortly got here to an finish, and whereas this improvement shocked Stephanie Arcila, the actress who performs Gabriela, she additionally informed me why it was a “huge wake-up name” too.
Within the final episode of Fireplace Nation to air on the 2025 TV schedule, it was revealed that Gabriela’s potential love curiosity Finn was a stalker. Contemplating every little thing she had been by this season, this improvement shocked me, and it stunned Arcila too. Nonetheless, she informed me why she appreciated the storyline, explaining:
Effectively, I used to be in shock. And on the similar time, I used to be like, ‘This sounds good.’ You recognize, it is good to deliver consciousness to those issues as nicely, as a result of so many individuals undergo this, ladies, males, , everybody can undergo one thing like this. And to have the ability to see the pink flags, or have the instruments and consciousness for issues like this, is so vital, ?
You will need to present that, and I appreciated how Gabriela and everybody round her dealt with the scenario. After studying about Finn, her Station 42 household was fiercely protecting of her, and she or he was fast to get away from the stalker.
Her mature and pretty calm response to all of it exhibits how good Gabriela is at dealing with troublesome conditions, and I feel it highlighted her progress this season. Serious about her romances with Bode and Diego, her one-night stand with Jake, her difficulties at work, and her turbulent-turned-healed relationship together with her father, she’s been by loads. Nonetheless, she’s additionally realized from all of that.
So, I requested Arcila how Gabriela’s progress this season helped her on this episode. Whereas she mentioned it had, she additionally famous that this example with Finn “was a giant wake-up name,” saying:
As a lot as she’d labored on herself, I feel it was a giant wake-up name of like, there’s a steadiness of being an excellent human and seeing the great in individuals, however of additionally having boundaries and taking issues sluggish, to have the ability to actually see the reality in individuals and people pink flags.
Shifting ahead, Arcila informed me she thinks Gabriela could have “a bit of bit extra of an armor up.” She defined that this was “a really teachable second” for her character. Now, because the firefighter strikes ahead, she’s going to probably achieve this with extra warning, taking time to evaluate every little thing that’s happening and trusting her intestine instincts.
Chatting with that time particularly, Arcila mentioned Gabriela’s naivety gained’t be as prevalent going ahead. She’ll stroll by the world a bit in another way:
So I feel the naive-ness that she sort of has, and far as she desires to see a lot good in people on the planet, I feel she’s gonna begin taking her time and assessing a bit of in another way now.
General, this example with Finn was terrifying, and I want Gabriela had by no means gone by it. Nonetheless, it additionally highlighted a difficulty many individuals face, and it served as an vital second of progress for this character.
Now, going into the final episode of Season 3, which can air Friday at 9 p.m. ET on CBS, I’m curious to see how this scary storyline helps Gabriela develop into an excellent higher and stronger individual.