Why Manny’s Arrest on Fire Country’s Season 2 Finale Isn’t His Rock Bottom

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Fire Country’s Kevin Alejandro Doesn’t Think Manny’s Arrest Is His ‘Rock Bottom’ — Yet (Exclusive)

Kevin Alejandro is weighing in on Manny’s future after Fire Country‘s season 2 finale threw Us all for a loop with his arrest.

During the Friday, May 17, episode, Manny returned to Edgewater after evading his arrest warrant to walk daughter Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila) down the aisle. Manny wasn’t even allowed to remain at the altar because officers were waiting for him to surrender outside of the church.

Alejandro, 48, exclusively told Us Weekly that he wasn’t sure whether this would be Manny’s wakeup call.

“I think there’s a little more rock bottom that could come. But definitely, for this season, it is definitely a rock bottom in this situation,” he explained. “But our writers are really good at creating [and] recreating rock bottoms.”

Alejandro didn’t rule out Manny pushing boundaries even more in the future, quipping, “I don’t really know what season 3 looks like. But I just have a feeling there’s gonna be more of, ‘Oh, Manny. What are you doing?’”

Manny started out running Three Rock but was demoted after Bode (Max Thieriot) made a false confession and accepted responsibility for drugs being at the fire camp. As a result, season 2 saw Manny trying to adapt while still missing his position at Three Rock.

Sergei Bachlakov/CBS
Alejandro related to Manny’s experience as he adjusted to the story line changes.

“I got so close to the Three Rock Boys in the first season. We became, like, a legitimate squad. So that made season 2 a little more difficult because I wasn’t with them as much. It was absolutely art imitating life where I would look over and watch Jules [Latimer] having the fun that I had with all these guys,” he recalled. “But it was a good challenge for me.”

Manny’s problems got even worse when he punched Luke (Michael Trucco) for trying to shut down Three Rock. Charges were pressed against Manny, and evading his arrest warrant could result in some prison time. Despite not knowing what season 3 will bring for Manny, Alejandro is excited about the possibilities.

Alejandro specifically was interested in Us‘ theory about Manny returning to Three Rock — this time as an inmate.

Justine Yeung/CBS
“It would be interesting to see the Manny that we imagined. Because he went to the program, he succeeded and became a captain. Now we get to visualize what he looked like in orange and what he looked like in that world. I think that’s an interesting take,” he told Us. “I’m not sure exactly all the rules on how you get to enter Three Rock or if it even makes sense. But I would be really interested to see if that story line were able to be told.”

While Manny has made some mistakes throughout the seasons, Alejandro stood by his character’s arc, adding, “I never judge Manny. I try to relate to Manny with what I think they’ve written through nothing but heart and love in making his decisions. So I never judge him.”

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Alejandro is already looking ahead at where Manny’s story goes from here after Fire Country was renewed for season 3.

“I really do believe that [Manny] does represent redemption. Especially now that he has the opportunity to correct a big mistake. I really hope that they take him on that road and continue that path of redemption,” he continued. “We’re gonna fall down and we’re gonna make mistakes a hundred million times in our lives. But correct them by adding a certain strength to yourself that gets you over that next level.”

Fire Country has been renewed for season 3 on CBS. All episodes are streaming on Paramount+.