Episode Guide
Episode 1– | Review Score – 2.5/5 Episode 2 – | Review Score – 2/5 Episode 3 – | Review Score – 3/5 Episode 4 – | Review Score – 3/5 Episode 5 – | Review Score – 3/5 Episode 6 – | Review Score – 3/5 Episode 7 – | Review Score – 3/5 Episode 8 – | Review Score – 3/5 Episode 9 – | Review Score – 3/5 Episode 10 – | Review Score – 3/5 Sweet Magnolias is going to be an acquired taste. Like marmite on toast, you’re either going to love this, or you’ll turn your nose up and throw it in the bin. Season 1 of this show essentially set the tone for this. It was a syrupy sweet, cheesy and slightly corny melodrama, clearly designed to be thrown on in the background for viewers to dip in and out of. With an injection of pace late on and a cliffhanger ending, everything here was left wide open for an exciting second season to slip in more drama and some intriguing character dynamics. Calling Sweet Magnolias Season 2 exciting though is akin to referring to a gentle boat ride as exhilarating. There’s nothing particularly bad about it, but equally nothing particularly great either. It’s a nicey-nice drama about a bunch of Southerners who pleasantly go about their lives, with a sprinkling of superficial drama or episodic squabbles to break things up. For some, that’ll be just what the doctor ordered. For others, it’ll be an absolute drag. And you’ll know after two or three episodes of this season if it’s for you. Because honestly, most of the season flatlines into inoffensive mediocrity. The story here picks up right where season 1 left off. Kyle and Nellie are taken to hospital following their car crash. Ty and Jackson end up in an argument, with the latter pushing Ty over and breaking his arm, subsequently ruining his summer plans for baseball. Meanwhile, Maddie and Cal get closer together. Dana has to choose between Jeremy and Ronnie, while Helen wrestles with big news and eventually has a choice of her own to make. The kids spice things up with their own subplots, including some personal drama, love triangles, crushes and the usual spats. And then there’s a couple of town-wide issues including a petition and Isaac’s birth mother but that’s about it. I mentioned earlier that this show is designed to be thrown on by those who watch TV with a phone in their hand and glance up every now and then to drink in the setting. The thing is, the story is so flatlined and lacking in genuine drama that even that will feel like a drag at times. Essentially season 2 feels like a string of subplots stitched together and stretched across 10 episodes. And the best part of the whole show is the food! Despite all of that though, the setting and the characters themselves are enjoyable enough to sit through and watch this. There’s a gentle rhythm to Sweet Magnolias that fans of the first season will lap up. If you’re looking for a simple show to switch off to without doing much thinking along the way, Sweet Magnolias will hit that spot. For everyone else after a bit of pizzazz, drama or excitement in their TV watching, you’re unlikely to find that here.
