Sweet Magnoliasis back for an emotional, drama-filled season of television. Based on the book series bySherryl Woods, the stars of the hit Netflix drama -JoAnna Garcia Swisher,Brooke Elliot, andHeather Headley -return as their characters and continue to traverse through heartbreak and challenges in their lives and their small town. Every character in Serenity has their own complicated storylines inSeason 2, but a core theme that impacts each of them is forgiveness, whether they extend it or receive it. Forgiveness isn’t just a tool in order to heal: it’s the means by which these characters can begin to move forward.
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The series itself begins in the middle of a mediation between a couple torn apart by infidelity. Bill (Chris Klein) slept with Noreen (Jamie Lynn Spears) and she became pregnant with his child. Maddie spends the first season trying to figure out life for herself and her children. How does post-divorce life work? What does finding new love while finalizing a divorce look like? This is the focal point of Maddie’s arc, going from unsure and broken down to confidently running a new business and in a healthy new relationship. However, in these moments of triumph for Maddie, we don’t see her express the anger that stays hidden within her.
So in the new season, Maddie has to be told she needs to slow down and start evaluating this for herself. In the past, she has written off Noreen’s attempts to make amends; the betrayal was still fresh so it never stuck. Now that Noreen’s daughter is here, Maddie is finally ready to move forward for the sake of their blended families. She accepts Noreen’s apology and introduces Noreen to her loving community who supported her last season. This doesn’t mean that Noreen will be invited to margarita nights, but it opens the door for a potential friendship.
Sometimes when we hold back mercy from another, it tends to do more damage to ourselves rather than the other person. Cal (Justin Bruening) could see how this was happening to Maddie towards Bill, especially since she vowed at the beginning of Season 2 that she wouldneverforgive Bill. Cal reminds Maddie of the goodness in her and what could happen to that goodness if she continues to let her anger harden her heart. After Bill confesses to Maddie that he is Isaac’s birth father and apologizes again for the pain he’s inflicted, she is ready to let go of Bill. Maddie forgives Bill and wishes him the best for his path moving forward. They will always be connected to each other because of their children, but now this means they can move forward towards healing and one day, mutual respect for each other.
Another aspect of forgiveness that’s explored in Season 2 is how it’s never too late for forgiveness. Imagine you’re Isaac (Chris Medlin): you moved to a new town in search of your birth mother, and after 22 years of wondering, you finally find her and she initially walks away from you. Peggy (Brittany L. Smith) was overwhelmed coming face to face with the son she was forced to give up as a teenager. Ignoring her mother’s commands, Peggy meets with Isaac and wants to reconcile the time they’ve lost. Instead of being angry and demanding to know why she let him go, Isaac lets her in and begins to build a connection with his mom.
When it comes to his birth father, however, the healing may take a little longer. Bill being Isaac’s birth father throws a wrench into his living situation. Isaac knows the hurt and damage he’s caused in both Maddie’s and Noreen’s lives; he’s now the latest of Bill’s casualties, just by being born. While Maddie already knows the truth and offers her support to him as he navigates these waters, his newest roommates are unaware. Isaac’s new roommates are his dad’s ex-girlfriend, who is close in age to him, and his new half-sister. There’s a great deal to untangle from that alone, but Isaac also has to figure out if he even wants a relationship with Bill. He’s already confided in Erik (Dion Johnstone) that his relationship with his adopted dad is icy, too. Will the truth about Bill prompt Isaac to extend an olive branch to both of his dads? If it does, the road to forgiveness will take more time.
Speaking of couples who’ve dealt with infidelity, let’s look at Dana Sue and Ronnie (Brandon Quinn). Ronnie cheated on Dana Sue, so she kicked him out of the house. At the end of Season 1, he returned to help Dana Sue clear up her financial woes; he sticks around to make amends with his wife. The moment Ronnie re-entered Serenity, the question lingered whether or not Dana Sue would let him re-enter her life and home. While the chemistry remainedverystrong between these two (strong enough to scar their teenage daughter), there was an issue of trust. Could Dana Sue trust that Ronnie has changed and can she trust herself to try? Ronnie spends the majority of the season proving to his wife that he has changed to be the man their family needs him to be; he even takes the initiative to seek out counseling with Pastor June (Tracey Bonner). After a season of deep reflection and the realization she needed to be willing to change too, Dana Sue forgives her estranged husband and allows him to move back in with her and their daughter.
Forgiveness is a two-way street that requires trust on both sides. For the Sullivans, the roadblock they needed to come over was the shattered trust between them. It’s not something that heals overnight from a steamy makeout session; for Dana Sue and Ronnie, it took digging into the uncomfortable, painful problems of their marriage and separation. Once they were honest with each other about where they stood, they were able to heal and rebuild what was broken.
How can you forgive the people that change the entire trajectory of your life? Like mother like son, that’s the question baseball superstar Ty (Carson Rowland) wrestles with over the course of the season. During his fight with Jackson (Sam Ashby) at the hospital, he breaks his arm and is unable to play baseball all summer. He carries plenty of anger towards both Jackson and his brother Kyle (Logan Allen); remember, if Kyle hadn’t taken his car and gotten into the accident, Ty wouldn’t have been at the hospital and gotten his arm broken. At the beginning of the season, his relationship with Kyle is understandably strained. However, the anger thaws over time as the injury forces him to think about life outside of baseball. He loves his brother and eventually forgives him, deepening their brotherly bonds.
Forgiveness takes time. Just look at years of rivalry between Ty and Jackson. They spent years competing with each other in the classroom and on the baseball diamond. Jackson broke Ty’s throwing arm, wrecking his summer plans. Over the course of the summer, Jackson undergoes his own transformation through his budding relationship with Annie (Anneliese Judge). He sees that he can be a better guy than just the arrogant partying athlete he projects himself to be. While Ty is skeptical at first of his intentions, he does notice his efforts; when Jackson formally apologizes to Ty for breaking his arm, Ty forgives him. They turn over a new leaf, and it looks to be the start of a real friendship between these former enemies.
This season ofSweet Magnoliasis bookended by forgiveness. At the start of the season, Maddie vows she will never forgive Bill for the pain he’s caused her and their family. At the end of the season, the question whether or not Helen will forgive Ryan (Michael Shenefelt) lingers. He walked away from wanting a family with Helen, even before she knew she was pregnant with his child. When she later miscarries the child, Helen carries deep wounds yet strong dreams to have a family of her own one day. She has listened and counseled her best friends as they wrestled with their own journeys of forgiveness; now, she faces a similar dilemma. Ryan has returned and claims that he wants a family and a future with Helen. It certainly doesn’t help that she has moved on to a new relationship with Erik, who’s working through his own PTSD. Still, Ryan is her first great love and still profoundly cares for him, so when Ryan proposes, Helen is left with a life-changing choice. Regardless of whether she accepts, can she forgive Ryan? That remains to be seen.
