Stephanie Arcila Didn’t Know About Her ‘Fire Country’ Exit Until She Was Filming Season 3 Finale (Exclusive)

Fire Country star Stephanie Arcila revealed she didn’t know that Gabriela would be written off the show until she was already filming the season 3 finale.

“The minute that they told me [Gabriela wouldn’t return as a main character], I accepted it. I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to put Gabriela in this beautiful little drawer of fulfilled dreams and let the universe take over,’” Arcila, 35, exclusively told Us Weekly. “I respect every department in our industry, and I know that we all know what we’re doing and have a way with storytelling. It’s a collaborative process.”

Before filming the final episode, Arcila had “no idea” Gabriela’s story on Fire Country was coming to an end.

“It was a complete shock,” she noted. “But at the same time, I know that this is the nature of the industry that I’m in, and I have accepted the flow of release and acceptance throughout my journey and knowing that when one door closes, another one opens always.”

The actress continued: “We have this beautiful eternal door of revolving desires in what we love in life. I believe that if we put resistance towards that, sometimes it stops us from fulfilling other things that we love.”

When asked whether there was time for the cast to give her a proper celebratory farewell, Arcila told Us, “I got some messages. I didn’t really get to see everyone. Our schedules are all so different and toward the end, everybody wants to go back to their family. I completely understand that.”

Despite her departure, Arcila expressed gratitude for the friendships she formed on set.

“I have a lot of peace and in life things are not personal. You have to know that you’ve built the foundation of those relationships,” she continued. “I am just excited that a lot of us live here in L.A. so I get to see some people and then hopefully also continue working with them if it’s not on other projects as well.”

CBS confirmed in February that Fire Country would be renewed for season 4. That same month, the cast was wrapping up filming the season 3 finale, which hinted at several onscreen deaths. Arcila’s character, however, was set up to return until Deadline broke the news on Friday, April 25, that Gabriela was demoted. Billy Burke is also reportedly leaving the show after playing Vince for three seasons.

“I have no idea [where Gabriela’s story] would go from here, but you never know,” Arcila told Us of possibly returning to the series. “I would love to see Gabriela [in the future] in her bloom. Lotus flowers go through the mud, and she’s gone through the dirt. Gabriela has gone through the trenches and through the water.”

Arcila praised Fire Country for allowing Gabriela to evolve during her time on the show, saying, “I believe that in life there’s times where we’re treading water, and there’s times where we’re floating. Gabriela has been treading for a while. I would love to see her just float and bloom and own her power. She needs to own the incredibly resilient, smart, capable and worthy woman that she is.”

While it may not be in a full-time capacity, Arcila isn’t ruling out her character’s return on Fire Country — or on a spinoff. But for now, she’s looking forward to what comes next.

“Gabriela is the closest-looking character to me that I’ve ever played. I would love to go back into some of my character work that I used to do. I would play someone that looks absolutely nothing like me. I could maybe do theater — that’s my first love,” she gushed to Us. “I’m obsessed with anime so that would be really, really cool to be a part of an anime. I’m also open as a creative at heart, so anything that is thrown my way that feels in alignment in my heart — I’m open to receiving it.”

Fire Country is currently streaming on Paramount+.