Sweet Magnolias finally comes to life in its fourth season

In an unexpected move for the Netflix drama, Sweet Magnolias picks up a year after we last saw our beloved residents of Serenity, South Carolina, bringing us back into their lives just before Halloween with major changes afoot for just about everyone in the ensemble. After three seasons of adapting to and healing from the challenges that life has thrown their way, the titular trio—Maddie (JoAnna Garcia Swisher), Helen (Heather Headley), and Dana Sue (Brooke Elliott)—are moving forward with fresh outlooks and positive mindsets, embracing the uncertainty of life with the support of their family and friends. Despite being several years deep into the series, the fourth season is a beautiful fresh start. More importantly, it feels like the show—the characters, the stories, and even this idyllic town—has finally come to life. Some spoilers ahead.

With so much to catch up on, it takes a moment to regain your footing in this world and fully understand the evolution that has taken place within this little town. Dana Sue has taken a step back from the restaurant to focus on the Magnolia Community Foundation and finding a new direction or passion. Cal (Justin Bruening), Erik (Dion Johnstone), and Isaac (Chris Medlin) have taken up Dana Sue’s frying pan and are preparing for the grand reopening of Sullivan’s and Friends. Peggy (Brittany L. Smith) has officially been installed as Serenity’s new mayor, as the disgraced Trent Lewis (Paul Rolfes) sits in prison following a trial and subsequent conviction regarding his outrageous misconduct. Helen has a new beau named Alexander (Leland B. Martin) and steps into a temporary role to assist Peggy in saving the town from a seemingly inevitable bankruptcy and collapse.

Finally, Maddie has published her children’s book, co-written with Katie (Ella Grace Helton) and illustrated by Paula (Caroline Lagerfelt), and used her talents to market it without a publisher (successfully, to boot). But, in a surprising turn of events, we return to Maddie and Cal having been engaged for several months already — a move that is a bit disappointing given the importance their romance has played in both characters’ journeys. However, Maddie’s biggest challenges and changes begin after the start of the season, involving some pretty enormous spoilers. How she approaches these allows us to see her best attributes and outstandingly depict how far she’s come as an individual. It’s also quite interesting to see the new normal in her relationship with Cal, who has moved in, and Cal finding his place in their family.

Ultimately, moving forward is a major relief after back-to-back seasons rehashing the same or similar stories. (Like Pretty Little Liars’s extra-long senior year, but with fewer episodes and more years in between.) Although it has been thoroughly enjoyable thus far, it has never been without its issues. The third season felt particularly stagnant, revisiting Helen’s ill-fated romance with Ryan Wingate (Michael Shenefelt) and raising and repeating the same issues in both Dana Sue and Maddie’s respective relationships with Ronnie (Brandon Quinn) and Cal. The central conflict of the season, putting the Magnolias at odds for multiple episodes, felt awkward and forced due to the circumstances under which it came to light and didn’t do much to push the story or the characters forward.

Sweet Magnolias’s use of the time jump is magnificent, opening up and exploring different avenues while showcasing the character work done in the first few seasons. Unarguably, this is the best the series has ever been. We come to understand the characters better as different sides are put in the spotlight. For instance, a somewhat fiery side of Noreen (Jamie Lynn Spears) rears its head and works surprisingly well, offering something more from a character that has been rather one-note over the years. Best of all, Helen is happy (albeit still stressed) for a spell.

For the first time, Sweet Magnolias feels real and impassioned. With both a major death and a devastating hurricane creating issues for the town, and the ongoing story about Serenity recovering from Trent’s misdeeds and mismanagement of town funds, the fourth season is somewhat taxing, emotionally, but it works well and provides the most poignant material to date. The show begins to tackle difficult topics and the heartbreaking realities of life that are, believe it or not, actually relatable, taking the time to thoroughly explore the mess of emotions at play, even for characters outside of the trio.

This is what the series should be, rather than the idealized, unattainable, and unmoving depiction of small-town life with a dusting of powdered sugar on top and dialogue pulled straight from the Walmart rack of cheap artwork featuring inspirational quotes about life, love, and Jesus. That said, it’s still the Sweet Magnolias and Serenity we have come to love, only with a bit more perspective. How this tight-knit community reacts to the events that transpire, individually and as a group, and how they come together to support one another is inspiring. The fourth season still finds hope at every corner, but this time amidst darkness akin to the real world; it feels real, not manufactured.

After watching all ten episodes, I’m curious to see how this story will continue, should it be renewed. For a hot second, I was worried Sweet Magnolias was gearing up for this to be its final season, but the season ends on a note promising many more changes in store and potentially even another time jump. Hopefully, many more seasons follow over the next few years, especially after life was finally breathed into Serenity and elevated everything already working well and even some things that weren’t. Lastly, though there has never been any shortage of or difficulty in showcasing the beauty of the titular friendship, their margarita nights throughout the latest season are the most impressive and enjoyable depictions of the friendship yet.