Warning! Big, fat Sweet Magnolias Season 2 SPOILERS are sprinkled throughout this article! Be sure to head out for some margaritas, then come back after you’ve binged the whole shebang!
Well, lord a’mighty. I don’t know if any of us has ever seen as much drama as what we got in the Sweet Magnolias Season 2 ending before, but I can bet you loved it just as much as I did! The Netflix hit came in with a bang and kept delivering all of the shocking twists, heartfelt emotions, and complicated romance that fans have been craving since the first season, and still managed to up the stakes in a major way should it be granted Season 3 (And it better!)
As promised, we finally found out that it was sweet Nellie Lewis who jumped into the car with Kyle on prom night. They were both hurt in the accident, but while the kids, thankfully, recovered, the events of prom night and the aftermath of that car crash ended up doing a number on Helen, Dana Sue, Maddie, and many of the town’s other inhabitants, which set off a chain of events that brought us to that surprising finale. So, let’s get into the details about the Sweet Magnolias Season 2 ending!
Maddie, Helen, And Dana Sue’s Lives Are Still Quite Messy At The End Of Sweet Magnolias Season 2!
Considering what our favorite trio went through in Season 1, we knew there'd be lots of ups and downs for Maddie, Helen, and Dana Sue in the second season of Sweet Magnolias, and everything ended on very surprising notes.
Maddie spent the bulk of the episodes trying to help Kyle recover from the accident, and get through to him about what led to him jumping behind the wheel of Ty’s car. They did finally have a breakthrough, but Maddie’s relationship status with still new-ish beau, Cal, took several turns. Maddie finally admitted she loves Cal, but was then faced with new reveals about his anger management problem.
Dana Sue, meanwhile, managed to do a lot of work with Ronnie so that they could reunite (I already miss adorable farmer Jeremy!), and she saw her money troubles at Sullivan’s relieved. First by Cal when he bought Micah out as her silent partner, and then when Miss Frances left her a buttload of cash in her will. But! Now someone who’s very mad at Dana Sue has returned to give her hell!
Helen… Lordy, lord! Poor Helen went through a lot in Season 2. Not only did she lose her (and Ryan’s) baby shortly after prom night, but she decided to undergo IVF treatments just as she and chef Erik were getting closer. Like, smoochably closer. To top it all off, that damn Ryan showed back up! Speaking of…
Ryan Proposed To Helen!
A lot of Sweet Magnolias fans probably had nothing but pure hate for Ryan after he got back with Helen in Season 1, only to reveal he still didn’t want kids right when she was (once again) looking forward to a future with him. I, however, tried to see how both of them were foolish in attempting to date after roughly two decades of an on / off romance, and was just glad Helen finally set her tender heart on the town’s most suitable love interest, Erik, after her prom night heartbreak. But then Ryan’s aunt, Miss Frances, died, and he returned to Serenity and had the absolute gall and gumption to tell Helen that he now wants kids. Then, that ass dared to propose to her, leaving Helen shocked to her very core in the final seconds of the Season 2 ending.
Cal Got Fired! And He Might Have Been Arrested!
Mary Vaughn is nothing if not vengeful and totally honest about it. She’s been pissed with Cal since Season 1, for not playing her son, Jackson, more in their baseball games and favoring Maddie’s son, Ty. But, after the team loses at the state championship (and Maddie, Helen, and Dana Sue start a campaign to have her husband, the mayor, recalled) Mary digs up dirt on Cal and his past with serious anger management issues.
That got Cal fired from the high school, which led to his simmering anger being triggered big time, and he physically attacked a (obviously disturbed) fan of his in Sullivan’s, which may have gotten him arrested!
Maddie Knows Bill Fathered Isaac!
Everyone who figured that town hotshot reporter Peggy was Isaac’s birth mother was correct when seeing this story become a full-blown plot, but instead of Ryan being the father, that title went to the gold medalist of the Serenity Screw Up Olympics: Bill. Once Peggy told him and introduced him to Isaac, Bill felt the need to tell Maddie, and she (rightfully) read him the riot act for how he’s selfishly treated so many of the people in his life.
Dana Sue And Ronnie Are Fully Back Together!
Dana Sue spent the first few episodes going back and forth between Ronnie and Jeremy, not knowing whether or not to give her cheating husband another shot, or throw her full love lot in with the charming farmer. Unfortunately for Jeremy, she decided to give it a go with Ronnie again, and after a lot of hard therapy, they were fully back together by the end of Season 2.
Kyle And Nellie Can’t Date!
You remember how Mary is pissed at the Sweet Magnolias and super into revenge, right? Well, without knowing that her kids had been courting two Magnolia offspring, she forbade Jackson and Nellie from having anything to do with either Annie, Kyle, or Ty. Kyle had just figured out how much he liked Nellie and asked her on a date when this happened, so Nellie accepted his date offer… only to be forced to turn it down upon her mom’s order. But, she did plant a kiss on Kyle when she told him what Mary said, so I have hope they’ll work something out eventually.
Annie And Jackson Are 100% Dating!
Nellie’s brother, Jackson, was not so easily cowed by Mary’s words, though. Not only did he directly tell her he wouldn’t stop dealing with Annie, Kyle, and Ty (which Mary figured was a disrespectful joke and gave him a stern lecture over), but he later promised Annie that he wouldn’t let their parents keep them apart (goodbye Annie and Ty…for now). Annie thought his declaration was “pretty hot,” but I got some hints of possibly dangerous parental defiance in his words, so if we see Season 3, it’s going to be a roller coaster with these two!
Ty Quit Baseball!
Ty had a lot of free time in Season 2, seeing as how his post-car accident fight with Jackson led to a broken arm and zero baseball for him. In the finale, he told Bill that he didn’t think the sport he’d spent his whole life trying to perfect was right for him anymore, and noted that he mostly took to it because it came easy to him, and Bill liked that he played. What this will mean for Ty in the future, we’ll have to wait and see!
Dana Sue Has Someone From Her Past After Her!
This was probably the most unexpected factor of the finale. Toward the end, a mysterious blonde stopped Annie, asked if she was Dana Sue’s daughter, and then inquired if the older Sullivan was “still busy wrecking people’s lives.” Later, Ty showed the Magnolias a post on the Serenity gossip Instagram, which was a video of the same woman stabbing the tires of a Sullivan’s delivery truck. It was clear that Dana Sue, Maddie, and Helen all knew who the woman was, but we have no clue what her connection is to our beloved chef or when things went down with her and Dana Sue!
I don’t know about you, but I am now way more eager to see Sweet Magnolias get Season 3 on Netflix! While we await word on that, you can see what other upcoming romantic TV shows are on the way soon, and take a look at everything coming to TV with the TV premiere schedule and 2022 Netflix TV schedule!
