Netflix’s charming series was easy to adore in its debut season, but Sweet Magnolias Season 2 elevates the show’s heart in a way that makes it even more lovable. It’s a vast improvement on all fronts, making it a standout series for friendships and romance. The noticeable journey the show allows the characters to go through makes them more fleshed out and intriguing. If there was anything in the first season that you felt was a bit too dense, the second season proves otherwise.
It picks up right where it leaves off by solving the mystery of who was in the passenger’s seat. One revelation leads to another showcasing the benefits of when people choose to confide in other people instead of taking matters into their own hands. It’s times like this where I’m often thankful for a 10-episode series because, in dramas such as Sweet Magnolias, the show tends to tread downhill during the second half of the season, allowing the third to pick up the pieces in a way that tends to be a mess. It’s what happened with Hart of Dixie, and considering this show fills the void the other left, it’s worth noting back to for my own personal sake. That said, because this doesn’t follow a 22-episode lineup, it allows its characters organic storylines.
What makes Sweet Magnolias special first and foremost, will always be the friendship between Brooke Elliott’s Dana Sue Sullivan, Heather Headley’s Helen Decatur, and JoAnna Garcia Swisher‘s Maddie Townsend, which in an unsurprising turn of events, is even stronger now than ever before. The challenges each of the women face individually and together bring to the surface facets of strong women in different forms by making it clear that a singular definition doesn’t define strength. Instead, strength is something we see through tireless perseverance, and more importantly, kindness when it’s hardest to bestow.
Shows that elevate kindness as an unremitting theme are far and few, and in this house, it’s something we’ll always appreciate—something we’ll yearn for no matter how much time passes. If it were up to us, shows like Ted Lasso could pave the way for more kindness on our small screens. And Sweet Magnolias is another like it by seating its women front and center to vocalize the trials that are challenging to exhibit. And that’s without question, the best part of it. Life doesn’t end or begin with motherhood, and Sweet Magnolias Season 2 brings to life all angles by allowing the women to showcase their flaws while showing us the moments of growth that come from unfortunate circumstances.
We’re always here for a romance, and while shows like this tend to tussle the edges of relationships through needless drama, for the time being, Sweet Magnolias is getting it right. It gives the women plenty of hurdles to cross through, barriers to break, while simultaneously allowing them chances to be soft—to fall in love. It allows the three women to find their footing and romance while keeping them grounded through friendship. Judging by the final few moments of the episode—Season 3 is coming in hot with challenges more prominent than ever before, but everything they cement in Season 2 tells us that they can handle it. They can get through it with grace in their hearts, margaritas in hand, and the necessary zeal for every occasion.
Further, what Sweet Magnolias Season 2 does impressively is how it handles the teenagers. They likely left us all frustrated in the show’s first season, but this time around, they’re given chances to not only mess up but to work around their crosses. The inclusion of therapy in the season allows them to better handle what’s necessary while still having organic moments of teenage angst. Where I thought the series would frustrate me, it instead manages to surprise me, and sometimes, that’s the best thing we could ask for.
Sweet Magnolias Season 2 gives us plenty to think about, episodes worth re-watching, and character arcs to be proud of. It also allows ample room for development wherever the show decides to go forward. The storyline with Isaac’s birth parents, everything about the mayoral recall, and the idea of changing our dreams when it seems they’re no longer in the cards for us.
What are your thoughts on Sweet Magnolias Season 2? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to check back in for highlights from every episode.
Sweet Magnolias Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix