A tender kind of storytelling that is perfect for these winter months. For any season really, but I rewatch of this series each winter, if only to cuddle me for the season. We are three seasons deep and in and so far, all seasons are so good. It’s a simple premise, set in a small town, cast of diverse characters, familial storylines run into each other, tragedy at the heart of the community and how they come together.
It centres around three best friends Maddie, Helen and Dana Sue. Maddie has been through a divorce with a husband that is aptly played by Chris Klein and SO EASY TO HATE and his baby mama with whom he cheated on his wife, played by Jamie Lynn Spears, again another character easy to hate. She is the nurse in his practise, and he is the town doctor. Klein plays this role so damn well I cannot tell you how perfectly cast he was. PERFECT.
Dana Sue runs the best restaurant in town, she is divorced with a teenage daughter who is not as annoying as teenagers tend to be but is going through some teenage angst issues as is Dana Sue in her own age iteration. There are business problems and head chef problems that she has to deal with and let’s not forget the farmer WHO WAS MY PREFERRED FOR HER, I have a thing against women going back to their ex-husbands when said men do not deserve it. I don’t think he crawled hard enough for her forgiveness… but maybe that’s just me.
And then there’s my girl Helen, a lawyer about her business, and the one who rallies the community together. She is the rich aunty vibes in the small town, the one who left and came back, fell in love with the son of the richest family and his grandmother still loves her. Helen’s roots bring her back to Magnolia and she plants them there. Eventually there is love on her cards, from the past, said boy and the present Chef…
This is a seesaw of drama that is perfectly captured in the small town where it is set; can you please let me know why every small town looks so idyllic and I want to visit? Season 1 left us on a cliffhanger and season 2 picked up right where it left off angsty teenagers and moody mothers with pasts that have come to light. Coach Carl! But I love how grown up and somewhat resolved season 2 was. It put things in its place from the previous season but in that vein created a new section of drama for us to invest in. I cannot say I like all the teenagers all the time, but they are the least annoying ones on TV so I’ll pick my battles.
CHARACTERS; I love all my three magnolias, they will always have my love and sympathies and I will always keep cheering them all. I love how the writers did not try to play one more than the other, all three women have their own share of dramas to deal with, each other going through it; there is a serious character development with Helen; I am glad she was not stuck playing mammie to the other characters as they threatened to do with early episodes of season 1. Her series of storylines develop so well and so fully and I loved how they took us back to the roots of her.
Chef; I don’t know that I am rooting for chef. For goodness sakes! Why can’t he just… I don’t know. I wanted more from him. I suppose I am not being fair to him, I do not like soppy characters of any kind. I am bored of him.
Maddie’s daddy; I didn’t want Dana Sue to forgive him I wanted her to be with Farmer Jeremy, but here we are I suppose true love wins the day.
Isaac’s Mama; we suspected this from the moment this storyline was revealed, but I have an odd affinity for her character, I love that she is a bitch and the glimpses into her family, but damnit Bill! How many times does Maddie have to deal with the nonsense???
STORY; there is real meat to the bones of the stories; angst driven teenagers, secrets and scandals apt for a small town but big enough to translate on screen and given the space to thaw and breathe. Also, the death of a beloved character tugs at our hearts but moves the story along nicely. The magnolias taking on the Mayor and the unravelling of coach carl. This is a perfectly encapsulated series that brings the children into the fold of drama too, I am all in.