‘Fire Country’: Kevin Alejandro on Directing ‘Several Big Incidents’ for Winter Premiere and Manny and Gabriela’s Emotional ‘Therapy’ (Exclusive)

Fire Country Season 3 finally resumed tonight after its hiatus, and series star Kevin Alejandro, who directed the episode, spoke to PopCulture.com about some of the biggest moments. In “Coming in Hot,” the fall finale cliffhanger continues with the growing Chezem Valley fire that saw many in dire situations. One of those cliffhangers included Manny going off on his own after hearing that Gabriela walked off into the fire.

Between the raging fire and personal moments for all, it was an intense way to start the second half of the season and Alejandro broke it down for PopCulture. (Interview has been edited for length and clarity).

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PopCulture: You directed the winter premiere of Fire Country. Even though you’ve directed in the past, how different was this one, considering all of the cliffhangers from the fall finale and navigating those stories?

Kevin Alejandro: Just working on it, it felt like I had had every incident that’s been in our show, a version of that condensed into just that episode. I was like [gasp], it was so flexible, so action-oriented, and just so much emotion that it was usually, you know, for the last couple of times, I had a big incident. But in this one, I had several big incidents. Sharon and Vince getting into the accident, getting stuck in the wood, Manny running off the job, trying to find this girl, surrounded by fire, being trapped in this big fire.

I’ve got Bodie and the kids trying to save their parents, trying to save this barn. I got Jules dealing with her character’s father. It was just so big and I actually consider myself probably the luckiest of all the actors to have gotten that episode. Because I don’t know how they’re gonna top that. The writing, the script, I think it was awesome.

PC: What would you say is the most challenging part about directing that episode?

Alejandro: Everything. I think the most challenging part of directing the episode was just balancing the time and making sure that I had the time to devote to every scene and not just big scenes. I’ve never worked with horses before as a director and I’ve seen these challenges from the actor’s perspective of what the crew and what the directors actually had to go through with the eagles episode. So, I was a little intimidated to wrestle with the horses, but it ended up being a team effort, obviously. My whole crew stepped up, and we all figured it out together, and I think it turned out pretty nice.

PC: Speaking of the horses, did you and the cast actually get to ride the horses in the episode, or is that all stunt?

Alejandro: Absolutely. Yeah. We got to trot, and the stunties got to do all the big riding, for great reason, too, because you can’t really tell whether they show we do a really good job of hiding the weather, but it was rainy. It was mushy. It was super dangerous, slippery. And we have horses, trying to run to a stop to hit a mark and slide into you, slide off the path. So, it was a pretty dangerous situation. But you can’t have horses and then have someone as cool as Max Theriot and not play one. It’s like the world wants to see him riding a horse. And all the guys could have done the job, too. They could have ridden it because they were confident enough. Right? It’s just the whole safety of it all. We needed to take care of our people.

PC: Manny, like any good parent, immediately fled when he heard that Gabriela went off on her own, didn’t care about the risk with staying in prison longer or the risk of the fire. What do you think was going through his mind when he heard that his daughter was in trouble?

Alejandro: The only thing that I think any parent would relate to is her. That’s the only thing. I will find her. I will get her. I don’t think he thought about the consequences. I don’t think he thought about anything else other than just, ‘I wanna be hugging my daughter right now, and I’m gonna make sure that she’s okay.’

PC: Luckily, Manny did end up finding Gabriela after she scattered some items to leave a trail. And when they were holed up in a restroom, Gabriela finally opened up about everything that had happened since the wedding, what she’s been feeling, and how she’s been dealing with Manny, basically giving her the cold shoulder. What was it like not only acting in the scene, but directing it since it’s so raw and emotional?

Alejandro: It was great. You get Stephanie [Arcila] on the other side of you as an acting partner. It’s easy. She already naturally has so many colors and depth to what she brings to the character. It’s easier to react off of her. I feel like in real life Stephanie and I actually have a pseudo sort of, older figure, younger girl, sort of respect she likes to meet for her advice. I try not to be like, ‘Man, what I told you.’ Not that kind of person. But I love having her back. I feel like she kinda has a daughter aspect to me. I care for her that way. She spends time with our family. So it’s easy to be there for her.

When Stephanie wears her heart on her sleeve, when she’s sad or crying, you feel it, and you feel for her. And that’s all I did in that scene was feel for her and I thought they did such a great job with writing it. Manny genuinely not knowing that he was doing that to her and that being the moment for her to make him to open up his eyes, like, ‘Oh, s—. I didn’t realize I was doing that to you. I’m so sorry.’ I wish I could take more credit, but, really, it was right in the script. The script said it all. All we did was say the words. They did such a great job.

PC: Going off of that, Manny and Gabriela had a complicated relationship over the years, especially in the first half of this season. How has it been portraying that different side of Manny and having him act this way towards his daughter, not knowing that he was doing anything wrong?

Alejandro: It’s kinda heartbreaking in a way to live as a person who’s kinda living in darkness. But it’s awesome, and I think it’s necessary to be slapped in the face to wake up. And that’s kinda what Gabriela is doing in these moments, is slapping him in the face. ‘Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. See what you’re doing?’ It’s a challenge because nobody wants to affect someone they love in a way that breaks them. And that’s where Manny progresses through these emotions throughout the season, he leads with that. ‘I don’t ever wanna do that again. I can’t believe that I was blinded when all I ever cared about is her feelings. I was with her mom, and the most beautiful thing that happened was her.’ And, what’s happened throughout time does not compare to the love that he has for her. So it’s heartbreaking to watch him f— up, so to speak.

PC: Towards the end of the episode, Gabriela visits Manny at Three Rock, and Manny points out that this is the first time that she’s visited him like this. They finally have their long-awaited reconciliation, so what can fans expect from them moving forward for the rest of the season?

Alejandro: That was just an icebreaker. It was therapy. So I think by the end of it, they both have just sort of laid it all out there. And it’s almost like they can start fresh and kinda breathe with each other as other circumstances arise throughout the season. But it’s definitely opened up the doors to a healthier relationship.

New episodes of Fire Country air on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.