The third season of Sweet Magnolias sees Maddie and Cal work on their relationship, Helen choosing between Ryan and Erik, and the return of Dana Sue’s diabolical sister-in-law. The season is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
The third season picks up the story from where the second season ended. After Cal loses his job at school, he is told that the prosecutor is not pressing charges, but there are other issues that he needs to deal with.
Maddie is there for him, but she does not like the fact that he hid his past from her. She wants them to communicate better and build a stronger foundation with him, so the two of them decide to be friends for the next two weeks.
They participate in a lot of activities and spend quality time together. This improves their relationship, and after two weeks, they go back to being a couple. During this time, Erik and the other men support Cal.
Cal starts working as a carpenter with Skeeter’s crew, and Skeeter hires him. Cal and Maddie even go to meet Cal’s ex-girlfriend, and Maddie makes it clear that Cal is over her and happy in his life.
The woman who arrived in Serenity at the end of the second season is Kathy, Ronnie’s sister and Dana Sue’s sister-in-law. She does not get along with Dana Sue because she believes that Dana Sue stole Sullivan’s from her.
Kathy gave her all to the restaurant, but Miss Frances told the bank that Ronnie and Dana Sue were trustworthy and she was not, so Ronnie and Dana Sue ended up getting the restaurant. Now, Ronnie wants his sister to leave his family alone and go away.
Additionally, Miss Frances left Dana Sue a huge amount of money because she used to be in love with Dana Sue’s father and considered Dana Sue to be like her daughter.
Dana Sue and Ronnie keep aside some of it to send Annie to the college of her choice. To continue Miss Frances’ legacy, Dana Seu decides to start a foundation, Magnolia Community Foundation, with her two best friends in order to use the money for the betterment of the community.
On top of that, couples’ counseling works wonders for Dana Seu and Ronnie, and Ronnie proposes to her to renew their marriage vows. The couple plans to use some of the money to have the ceremony that they always wanted.
Then there is Helen, who has to choose between Ryan, who has proposed marriage, and Erik. Helen tells Ryan about her miscarriage and Erik about Ryan’s proposal. Helen cares about Erik, but she has always loved Ryan.
The fact that Helen told Ryan that she will think about his proposal makes it clear to Erik that Helen wants to be with Ryan. He does not want to be weighed against another man, so he leaves Helen. He does not even want to be Helen’s friend now.
Helen and Ryan get back together, but Helen does not agree to marry him just yet. For their relationship to work, Helen wants Ryan to move to Serenity, and he agrees.
Initially, Ryan claims that he is ready to make a sacrifice for their relationship, but he soon realizes that he cannot stay in one place. They break up again, and this time, Helen tells him that she is done with him for good.
The relationship with Ryan not only costs Helen her relationship with Erik but also with her friends. A concerned Maddie had earlier asked her if she was happy with Ryan, and Dana Sue had assumed that she was not.
This resulted in an argument, and the trio was broken up for some time; Helen even left town for some days. It is only when Maddie wrote letters to her friends that the three of them apologized to each other and reconciled.
At the same time, Erik could not bear to work at a place where everyone knew what had happened between him and Helen, so he spoke to Dana Sue and took some time off from work.
It is at this time that Kathy approaches Erik and asks him to work at her restaurant. Erik does not know about Kathy and Dana Sue’s feud, so he starts consulting on Kathy’s new menu.
Kathy insists that he come and work at her restaurant, but Erik not only rejects her offer but also quits. It is only later that he finds out about the kind of relationship that Kathy has with Dana Sue.
He also meets a woman named Genevieve and eventually starts going on dates with her. Genevieve now works at the Magnolias’ spa, and she is not the only one. Noreen, who becomes a part of the community, also gets a job there.
Apart from that, Trent Lewis, the mayor of Serenity, resigns. Peggy tells Helen that he misappropriated the town’s funds and that she is investigating it. Trent’s whole family moves to Castlewood.
Annie tries to keep dating Jackson, despite his mother’s disapproval and the distance, but she gets tired of sneaking around and lying to everyone. When Annie gets into an accident, he chooses to hide instead of standing by her side when her parents arrive.
Maddie becomes friends with Pastor June, who introduces her to new things. Additionally, CeCe’s parents are moving away, but CeCe wants to live in Serenity for her senior year, so Helen decides to let her stay with her and be her local guardian.
In Erik’s absence, Isaac manages everything efficiently and proves his worth. At the same time, he continues to be there for Noreen and her daughter. It seems like something is going on between Noreen and Jeremy.
Someone keeps leaving flowers for Kyle, and he believes that they are from Nellie, even though she has moved to Castlewood with her family. A girl named Lily takes him to Castlewood to do the same for Nellie, only for Kyle to find out that Nellie has a boyfriend and never left flowers for him.
Bill now feels lonely and tries to be a part of his children’s lives, but it is not easy. He also starts seeing Kathy. A conversation with Isaac makes him realize that he has made his choices and needs to learn from them. He apologizes to Maddie and promises to be better.
Erik’s rejection enrages Kathy, and she trashes the kitchen at Sullivan’s. Ronnie knows that it is his sister’s work, but he cannot prove it. He also knows that, like every other time, she is in town because she wants money.
For his family’s sake, Ronnie gives Kathy money to leave town, but he does not discuss this with Dana Sue beforehand. Dana Sue does not agree with his choice, but she understands why he chose to pay his sister.
However, what Ronnie does not realize is that due to this, he and Dana Sue can no longer afford to have a vow renewal ceremony. Helen and Maddie are not ready to give up yet. They then convince Dana Sue to let them plan a small ceremony.
Sweet Magnolias season 3 ending explained in detail:
Does Erik return to work at Sullivan’s?
Dana Sue wants Erik to make her cake, but she has not spoken to him since he left, and he has not hinted at coming back to work. Dana Sue decides to take her chances and meets with Erik.
She asks him to make a cake for her vow renewal ceremony and return to Sullivan’s. However, Erik now knows about Dana Sue and Kathy’s relationship. He confesses to Dana Sue that he betrayed her. Dana Sue lets him know that he can still come back to his friends but leaves the choice to him.
Finally, Erik comes up with the idea to make a tower of cupcakes for the ceremony, but Dana Sue will only allow him to do so if he returns to his home — Sullivan’s. Erik agrees, much to Dana Sue and Isaac’s happiness.
Does Kathy change?
Kathy is leaving town, but Bill makes her understand the importance of apologizing. She comes to meet Dana Sue and Ronnie on the day of the ceremony. She gifts them her grandmother’s tea set that Ronnie always wanted.
Kathy apologizes for taking things away from Dana Sue and gives back the one thing that she can. Despite everything, Dana Sue tells her that she will pray that Kathy finds peace and happiness. Kathy and Bill then leave the town for some time.
What happens to everyone else?
Annie breaks up with Jackson because she realizes that he is selfish. She wanted a sister, as she yearned for the friendship that her mother shared with Helen and Maddie. There is a possibility that Annie might form a similar bond with Lily and CeCe.
Led by Kyle, the children are on a mission to restore the Ash Grove playground to its former glory. They grow close to each other, and Kyle starts dating Lily, as she was the one who had been leaving him flowers.
Tyler is being tutored by his classmate, Olivia, and decides that he does not want to go to college because he wants to continue exploring his options. At the vow renewal ceremony, he is seen holding hands with Annie.
Helen wants Peggy to run for mayor. She is even ready to run Peggy’s campaign. At the same time, Maddie is going to write a book with her daughter, Katie, and her mother, Miss Paula, who is going to live with a recently divorced Jimmy, will be drawing the illustrations.
Dana Sue and Ronnie’s vow renewal ceremony is a success. A lot of people contribute to it without charging a fee because they want to repay Dana Sue’s kindness. So many people come to celebrate with them, but it still remains within the budget.
It is evident that Helen and Erik still like each other. After the ceremony, Helen catches the bouquet, and Erik starts walking towards her but then stops. While the future of Helen’s relationship with Erik is uncertain, Maddie and Dana Sue are happy with their partners.
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