The second season of The Baxters follows Kari coping with Tim’s loss, Ashley confronting her past, and the family dealing with a community tragedy. The second season is streaming on Prime Video.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Three months after Tim’s death, Kari focuses on raising her daughter and rebuilding her life. Day by day, she adapts to her new life.
When she decides to move on from mourning Tim, it initially fills her with guilt, but with her mother’s encouragement, she manages to do so.
The Baxters learn that Erin is moving to Texas with her husband, Sam, for his dream job, sacrificing her own job and life in the process.
Erin and Sam are not on the same page about the move; Erin does not want to be away from her family, while Sam is unwilling to give up his dream job.
As the couple faces problems in their marriage, Erin signs up for the ministry Kari has established for women struggling in their marriages. Erin confides her problems in Kari, who advises her to pray.
Miraculously, Erin’s prayers are answered: Sam’s company postpones the move, giving the couple a chance to resolve their issues.
As Ryan is in New York and misses home, Kari pays him a visit and takes him out on a date. The two of them grow close again.
A shooting takes place at the church, which sees Ryan returning home. John assigns Ryan and Kari the responsibility of building a memorial garden to honor the victims.
When it seems like Kari is willing to date him, Ryan decides to tell her about kissing Ashley on Thanksgiving, which upsets and angers Kari.
Since Ashley has stopped blaming herself for Colton’s death, she is now attempting to get her life together. She manages to get a job at an adult care home.
She is kind to the residents and easily connects with them, which does not sit well with the office manager, Belinda.
Belinda is rude to the residents, resorting to manhandling them at times. She does not let Ashley do anything that makes the residents happy.
Soon, Ashley discovers that Belinda has been stealing from the residents, leading to Belinda firing Ashley. Belinda lies to her boss, Lu, and says that Ashley quit without notice.
Ashley’s best friend, Erika, then convinces her to fight for her job, and Ashley meets Lu to tell her the truth. However, she fails to find any evidence to back her claims.
Additionally, Kari confronts Ashley about kissing Ryan. Kari is more upset about the fact that Ashley made a mistake and did not tell her.
Finding herself disappointing everyone again, including herself, for the first time in years, Ashley turns to God.
Later, Lu finds out that Belinda is indeed stealing from the residents and decides to not only rehire Ashley but also promote her to the office manager position.
Ashley will be in charge of running the care home now. Ashley then owns up to her mistakes and apologizes to Kari, who forgives her.
Apart from her family, Ashley’s relationship with Landon also changes after Landon gets injured saving a boy and is hospitalized.
The idea that Landon might not make it scares Ashley, and she ends up confessing her love to him when he is in a coma.
Surprisingly, Landon hears her and wakes up, only for Ashley to tell him that he misunderstood her. She tells him that she only loves him like a friend and breaks his heart.
Landon decides to move to California. He tells Ashley that he cannot be just a friend to her when he has loved her all his life.
However, when Ashley apologizes to him, he agrees to be her friend. The two of them spend a lot of time together as friends.
Meanwhile, Luke and Reagan are still dating. They are so serious about their relationship that they even consider spending the rest of their lives together.
Reagan introduces Luke to her father, who agrees to meet Luke’s family at the family’s church. The night before the meeting, Luke and Reagan end up sleeping together.
To hide it from her father, Reagan lies to him for the first time. She asks him not to come to her house and to head straight to the church.
Reagan’s father arrives at the church early, and that is when the shooting takes place. Both Reagan’s father and Pastor Mark are among the people who lose their lives.
This leads Reagan to regret sleeping with Luke. She blames herself and him for her father’s death, believing that they sinned and are now being punished.
Reagan no longer wants to be with Luke. She breaks up with him, moves to California, and ignores all his attempts to contact her and make things right.
Witnessing the tragic events in the church and losing Reagan causes Luke to question his faith as well as God’s existence.
Luke’s change in beliefs brings him closer to an atheist classmate, Lori, while driving him away from his family.
Ending explained:
Kari’s engagement
Initially, Kari is angry and upset about Ryan kissing Ashley, but she later realizes that the revelation did not affect her the way news of Tim’s infidelity did.
Kari comes to understand that she has always held a place for Ryan in her heart, and she knows him well enough to understand that the kiss with Ashley meant nothing to him.
She forgives Ryan and confesses her feelings to him, leaving the decision about their future in his hands. As Ryan has always loved Kari, it doesn’t take him long to give her an answer.
He proposes to Kari and intends to quit his job in New York to be with her and Jessie. Ryan and Kari then become engaged, much to the delight of the Baxters.
Ashley’s past
Ashley has never told anyone what happened to her in Paris, and the burden of her past prevents her from forgiving herself and accepting love.
Landon assures her that he will not judge her if she confides in him. Ashley finds the strength to do so only when her mother encourages her to let go of that burden.
Ashley tells Landon that when she was in Paris, nobody valued her art. Then, she met a successful artist named Adrian, who made her feel loved and valued.
However, Adrian was a married man. Despite Ashley’s attempts to avoid getting involved with him, he confessed his love for her, and she believed him.
When Ashley became pregnant with Cole, Adrian asked her to get an abortion. Ashley almost went through with it, a decision she regrets to this day.
Landon comforts Ashley and assures her that she did not let a man ruin her. Trusting Landon and sharing her past with him helps her forgive herself and grow closer to him.
Luke’s loss of faith
Elizabeth and John attempt to rekindle Luke’s belief in God’s plans, but their efforts only push him further away from them.
Luke even causes a scene before the inauguration of the memorial garden, feeling as though everyone is trying to gloss over the shooting.
An enraged Luke decides to leave his parents’ house and does not attend the garden’s dedication ceremony. He moves in with Lori, whom he is now dating.
While Luke continues to distance himself from his parents, Ashley regains her faith and attends the ceremony with her family.
Later, it is revealed that Reagan is pregnant with Luke’s baby and has no intention of informing him about her pregnancy.
Also Read: The Baxters season 1 (2024) summary and ending explained