Fire Country EP Unpacks Fall Finale Cliffhangers: Is Manny To Blame For [Spoiler]'s Accident? Plus, Get An Exclusive First Look At The Midseason Return

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Friday's "Fire Country" fall finale.

Friday's "Fire Country" fall finale left us dangling off of a few cliffs — metaphorically and, surprisingly, literally! 

Bode ventured into the middle of a fire to rescue Tyler, and just as he found the teenager, the two ducked for cover as flames threatened their safety; Jake and Malcolm got into a brutal accident when their fire engine tumbled down the side of a cliff; and the Zabel Ridge fire remained an unsolved mystery. 

At the center of it all was the station's new battalion chief: Manny. He's the one who decided to respond to the fall finale's catastrophic fire, which wasn't in 42's jurisdiction at all. It was burning through a neighboring county, and was already being responded to by their crew when 42 showed up. 

Is Manny's job in jeopardy now that two of his crew members' fates are unknown? Will Bode and Jake survive their respective catastrophes? First, check out our exclusive first look at Jules Latimer's Eve Edwards in the midseason return above, and then keep scrolling to find out what "Fire Country" showrunner Tia Napolitano has to say about these finale questions. Plus, get scoop on a shocking twist that Napolitano says will "blow everyone's minds" when the show returns on Friday, Feb. 27. 

TVLINE | I want to start with Manny. Did he make the wrong call by responding to this fire that was actually in the neighboring county, given the cliffhanger endings regarding Bode and Jake?
TIA NAPOLITANO | People are going to ask that. We explore it in depth in the midseason premiere. You really feel a way about the decisions he made, but the midseason finale was really designed to tell a story of "heavy is the head that wears the crown" for Manny. We leave these decisions with him, both big and small. It's all on him. It is a very tough job, and he is new to the job.

TVLINE | Is he crumbling under this newfound pressure?
It's clear that Manny is under pressure, and you see that cliffhanger saying, "Is he crumbling or thriving under it?" We're not sure yet. 

TVLINE | How much will Alona Tal's Chloe be involved in the next half of the season, given that her son is at the center of the cliffhanger with Bode?
Chloe and Tyler have significant roles in the back half. We're going to see a lot of them. We'll see an ease between Chloe and Bode, with them having known each other when they were younger and being in the same small town. There's definitely more of Tyler and Chloe to come — and Landon.

TVLINE | Will Chloe and Bode's relationship be affected by Tyler's predicament, being stuck out in the middle of a fire? Will she blame Bode at all for the situation her son is in?
I don't think Chloe will blame Bode. Tyler snuck into that truck. It was Tyler's decision, and I think that's very obvious, and I think she's accustomed to seeing Tyler do risky behaviors.

TVLINE | Fans have previously had strong feelings about Bode's romantic life with both Gabriela and Audrey. What can you say about Bode's romantic future, and is that future with Chloe?
Bode's romantic life is always going to be a big part of the show. We want romantic happiness for him, but it's also fun to see these stories of longing and long arcs, and Bode and Gabriela have always sort of been Romeo and Juliet. They've always had these obstacles between them. Audrey had a lot of connection with Bode over their shared incarceration and shared trauma. Chloe's connection to Bode is different than either of those things. They knew each other when they were younger. They had crushes that were never able to be acted upon for one reason or the other. It's a lot of hoping for a wish fulfillment. It just feels really fresh and different while also not shutting the door on any loves that we've seen in the past because nobody's dead.

TVLINE | Yes, nobody is dead. Will any of Bode's prior love interests be returning to challenge his budding romance?
Not sure!

TVLINE | Jake and his half-brother Malcolm were trying to see if they could forge some kind of relationship just before they got into this serious accident. Will they make it out of this alive, and will the experience bring them closer together? Should we expect a casualty?
That's the question. They have to survive it first, right? So presuming the two of them do survive, it's a hell of a meet-cute. It's a hell of a first thing to do together as brothers. They sort of exchange not the kindest of words on that lookout, and then there is that window of vulnerability, where you see maybe there's a path forward here if they ever get the chance to have it. What does them falling over the side of a cliff in a fire engine do to that? 

TVLINE | It all happened so fast, but what was going through each of their minds as their truck tumbled down that cliffside?
It does make you go, "Hey, life is short, and if I have a brother out there, don't I want to get to know him? And what if I lose that chance because one of us is going to die out here?" I think there really is that flash moment of, "What's it worth to me to continue to hold this wall up?" Also, people are stubborn, so you never know.

TVLINE | The Zabel Ridge fire also didn't reach a conclusion. Landon has been accused of starting it, and he was acting quite aggressive in this fall finale. What can you tease about where this storyline is heading in the second half of the season?
When it stops becoming "nature did this," and when it starts becoming "a person did this," it feels like you really have a bad guy and someone to root against and someone to blame, which in a lot of ways feels satisfying. That'll come with its complications and twists and turns. It's really designed to show Bode's growth and his restraint, the Bode that is no longer incarcerated and is a full firefighter. He's no longer the kid who's going to go rogue, or color outside the lines. He's still going to fight for what's right and fight for good over evil, but what does that look like now in the face of such a bad guy?

TVLINE | The people of Edgewater are dealing with a lot right now. They have their firefighters fighting this out-of-control fire. The sheriff's office over on "Sheriff Country" is under siege. What kind of place is Edgewater to live in, and how is the community dealing with all of this?!
[Laughs] You know, I think in all seriousness, when a lot of things get thrown in a community, they can break, and that's not Edgewater. They are Edgewater strong. They're going to build back their community. They're going to pull each other through. 

TVLINE | How will each fall finale emergency on "Sheriff Country" and "Fire Country" be felt across the other show? 
We try to cross over even in the tiniest of ways so that there are Easter eggs acknowledging what's going on on the other show, week to week. There is a huge crossover event coming in the middle of the back half.

TVLINE | Is there anything else you want tease about what's coming up in the winter premiere?
We have a twist at the end of the midseason premiere that I think is going to blow everyone's minds and offer a lot of questions and really indicate where we're going with the story. 

TVLINE | This twist that you've just thrown out: Is this a professional twist at the firehouse? A personal relationship kind of twist? Who's involved in the twist?
All I can say for now is it is a twist that will greatly affect Bode.

What do you think is coming for Bode in the midseason premiere twist? Plus, what was your reaction to all the fall finale cliffhangers? Grade the episode in the poll below, then hit the comments!