Gabriela Perez

**Gabriela Perez** is Edgewater's reluctant golden girl, a champion diver who "choked" at the Tokyo Olympics and finished 14th, for which she is celebrated in town. She is the daughter of fire captain Manny Perez, who is opposed to her giving up her dream of diving. Gabriela was in a relationship with Jake Crawford, and that coupled with the camaraderie and feeling of family she gets from being a part of Edgewater made her decide to stay and also join Cal Fire. She has an immediate connection with Bode Leone and befriends him, eventually developing feelings for him which leads her to end her relationship with Jake.

## Biography

### Early life

Gabriela grew up in San Diego, where at a young age, she began water diving with the support of her father. She spent many years training and, for a time, lived in Florida. A couple years ago, her father got divorced and moved to Edgewater. On the weekends with her dad, he would make Gabriela get out of bed, clear debris, and cut line.

### Moving to Edgewater

Gabriela meets up with Jake and Eve at Smokey's Tavern after her celebration ceremony at Town Hall for coming in 14th place in the Olympics. There, she expressed to Jake that she wanted more in her life, more than just diving and a casual relationship with Jake. She's considering staying in Edgewater, believing that she may be at the point where she's ready for the next stage in her life, which she hopes includes Jake, expressing that she loves him, to which he replies that she shouldn't move out to Edgewater and give up her career for him. Upset that he didn't say he loved her back, Gabriela leaves abruptly. However, Jake pays her a visit later to apologize and say that he loves her too. That night, Gabriela's car breaks down on the side of the road, and she crosses paths with Bode. Startled, Gabriela pretends to call Jake before pulling out her gun. With his hands up, Bode cautiously offers to fix her car, during which time, Gabriela reveals that she grew up in San Diego and that when her parents got divorced a couple of years ago, her dad moved to Edgewater.

Gabriela is standing outside of Smokey's when Vince pulls up and instructs her to shut down the bar, as they're evacuating the west side of town due to the Buckeye fire. She offers to help, but Vince instructs her to simply steer clear. Ignoring his advice, Gabriela and several town folk begin cutting line near Old Creek Road to prevent the fire from spreading. When Vince arrives, Gabriela explains that after her parents got divorced, on weekends with her dad, she'd help him with clearing debris and cutting line, making her more than capable. After the fire is subdued and Gabriela learns that Jake is safe, she informs her father of her plans to remain in Edgewater, where she felt as if she was a part of something.

Gabriela takes a job at the rec center as a diving instructor. Unfortunately, she's forced to cut her lesson short due to the dry lightning storms, at which point, she runs into her father and his crew. Rather than getting on the evacuation bus with the other civilians, Gabriela decides to stay behind and stop the fires encroaching on the rec. She joins her father's crew with a working emergency hose, much to his disapproval. Bode offers to assist, and the two of them douse the flames. Bode extends his gratitude, because without her, they wouldn't have water, but Gabriela wishes her father saw it the same way. They then discover the fire has jumped onto the roof. Fortunately, the engine pulls up with water and saves the center. Before long, Jake arrives, and they head to Smokey's to celebrate her having worked the nozzle. The overwhelming joy she felt fighting fire was a feeling she never experienced before. And so, Jake informs her that there's a Cal Fire recruitment event next weekend that she should check out.

## Relationships

### Manny Perez

Gabriela has a close bond with her father, who has supported her diving career since she was a child, even at the cost of bankrupt and homelessness; they used to crash a lot, as Manny would throw all of his money into her training, diving, tutors, and tournaments. He put her in classes at such a young age because he liked the idea of her being surrounded by water, which saves things, as opposed to fire. And he was very much against the notion of her giving up her career to stay in Edgewater, which was a source of tension for a brief time in their relationship. Not long after settling their differences, Gabriela revealed that she wanted to join Cal Fire, thus reigniting Manny's frustrations, which spilled over into their work life as Gabriela began to find herself in dangerous predicaments. But after realizing her commitment and dedication, Manny has become more receptive to the idea.

### Jake Crawford

Jake is Gabriela's ex boyfriend. They're together at the start of the series, meeting when she gave up her career as a professional diver to move to Edgewater, where she felt an overwhelming sense of family and community, and to be closer to her father. Their relationship seemed rocky at first with Jake not responding after she tells him she loves Edgewater and him. After seeing how that upset her, he later tells her he loves her, committing to being serious with her and even asks her to move in with him, but Gabriela was hesitant in doing so, claiming that she didn't want to ruin what they had by moving too fast. Jake voiced his disapproval of Gabriela communicating with his ex best friend Bode, to which she told him she can make her own decisions and that they are just friends. Their relationship seemed to improve once Bode ended his communication with Gabriela after seeing how it affected Jake. However, after Gabriela jumped off the Ledgewood Bridge to save Bode, it became clear to Jake that Gabriela's feelings for Bode had developed further. After speaking with a burn victim who encourages her not to wait for things in life. Gabriela tells Jake she has feelings for Bode, explaining that she didn't mean for it to happen, but can't be with him if her heart isn't fully with him and ends their relationship. After a brief period of tension and discomfort between them, they become friends, with Jake even being defensive of her relationship with Bode when he meets Kyle.

### Bode Leone

Gabriela's friendship with Bode started when they initially met on the main road outside of the Three Rock Con Camp after Gabriela's car broke down and Bode offered her a hand. With Bode in prison and Gabriela in a relationship with Jake at the time of their first meeting, their contact was limited, though they often interacted when responding to fires and other incidents. Further complicating their "friendship" was their mutually undeniable connection and unspoken feelings for each other, which became more difficult to ignore over time, especially as the two of them began calling each other, initiated by Gabriela who called Bode to vent about her issues with her dad and his disapproval of to her joining Cal Fire. This further deepened their connection as they bonded over learning to not care what others think of them, and their "dad issues" at that time. However, Bode put an end to their phone conversations when it became clear that it was "over the line" and bothering Jake, who Bode sought to avoid any further confrontation with. In spite of this, Gabriela's feelings for Bode remained, and she didn't hesitate to jump off of the Ledgewood Bridge into a rapid river to rescue him after he fell in while rescuing a kid from a teetering car.

As time passes Bode and Gabriela's connection continues to grow. Gabriela tells Bode she would be heartbroken if he did something that resulted in him being sent back to prison. Bode promises he wont, but breaks this promise after Odin sets fire to the Three Rock Camp, creating a rift between them. After Gabriela tells Bode she was hard on him, and that she too is trying to prove herself and find her own self worth, they kiss for the first time, though Gabriela stops the kiss, telling Bode that they should wait until he is paroled in a year, and in the meantime, they will continue to work on themselves for each other.

Gabriela tells Kyle, a friend from her diving days who is visiting Edgewater, that she is in a relationship with Bode, and is crazy about him, referring to him as her boyfriend for the first time, affirming their relationship status. But she expresses that she feels like she's been losing herself since moving to Edgewater. Kyle opens up about his feelings for her, but Gabriela does not reciprocate. He asks her if she is happy, because she deserves happiness, to which she admits she's not. Gabriela then goes to Three Rock and tells Bode that she'll be happy when they can be together and doesn't want to wait any longer, fearful of what could happen in life and due to the risks associated with their jobs. They kiss, and with the security keys Gabriela had taken, she and Bode enter one of the Three Rock cabins, where they sleep together.

## Appearances

### Season 1

* Pilot
* The Fresh Prince of Edgewater
* Where There's Smoke...
* Work, Don't Worry
* Get Some, Be Safe
* Like Old Times
* Happy to Help
* Bad Guy
* No Good Deed
* Get Your Hopes Up
* Mama Bear
* Two Pink Lines
* You Know Your Dragon Best
* A Fair to Remember
* False Promises
* My Kinda Leader
* A Cry for Help
* Off the Rails
* Watch Your Step
* At the End of My Rope
* Backfire
* I Know It Feels Impossible

## Trivia

* Gabriela was previously named Arabella Robles, as indicated in Stephanie Arcila's casting announcement. However, her name was changed at some point during production.

## Behind the scenes

* Gabriela Perez is portrayed by Stephanie Arcila.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Season 1, episode 1: ***Pilot***
2. ↑ Season 1, episode 2: ***The Fresh Prince of Edgewater***
3. ↑ ‘Cal Fire’: Diane Farr, Jordan Calloway Among Four Cast In CBS Pilot - Deadline