An intense episode last week saw Sully lose his temper on Maggie’s step-father, Walter, causing Maggie to leave Sullivan’s Crossing and head back to Boston. Tonight’s episode shifted focus from Sullivan’s Crossing to Boston, as Maggie prepared for her deposition while attempting to fold back into her life in the big city. Meanwhile, the folks at Sullivan’s Crossing were reeling from her departure, not knowing whether or not Maggie would return.
Maggie’s initial return to Sullivan’s Crossing was a dream come true for Frank, Edna and Sully who thought they would never see her again. Now it is like the past has come back to haunt them. Maggie has left again and this time, she may not return. Sully is struggling in the aftermath of Maggie leaving and Edna is too angry at him for losing his temper and driving Maggie away, to spend much time feeling sorry for him. Edna tries to talk sense into Sully and tells him to call Maggie and get her back, but his stubbornness reigns supreme and he retorts that nothing he can say will bring her back, choosing to wallow further into his misery instead of making any attempt to reconcile with his daughter.
At first, it appears that Maggie is right back home in Boston, even referring to it as her home, but after having breakfast with her mother and Andrew, where he announced he would be taking the job in Boston and remaining there permanently, Maggie appeared to grow uneasy. The awkward family breakfast demonstrated how controlling Phoebe is over her daughter and highlighted just how much Andrew doesn’t know about Maggie's life. After Maggie overhears some staff from the hospital gossiping negatively about her upcoming deposition, she becomes panicked and runs out of the restaurant. Andrew follows her and reassures her that no matter what happens with the case, they’ll get through it together. Maggie agrees, but she does not appear convinced. Andrew isn’t understanding how much the lawsuit is affecting Maggie. It isn’t something she will just be able to move on from. no matter the outcome.
As Walter assists Maggie with her deposition, he tries to get Maggie to detach herself from feeling sorry for the deceased’s mother. Instead, he tries to get her to believe that it is the mother’s fault that he died in the first place, because he was driving her car. Walter is a cunning lawyer, devoid of empathy and it shows. Maggie, however, genuinely cares about her patients and their families and is put off by Walter’s suggestion. Although Maggie keeps saying that she is happy to be back in Boston, it clearly isn’t agreeing with her. Her anxiety is at an all time high and nothing seems to be going right for her. Being back in the city has forced Maggie to come face to face with her problems and she is realizing that things in Boston weren’t as wonderful as she had convinced herself they were.
Back at Sullivan’s Crossing, Cal is preparing to head on a camping trip, but he can sense that Sully isn’t doing well with Maggie’s departure. He tries to engage him by offering to help him tend to some projects he’s been meaning to get to, but Sully isn’t interested in doing anything other than wallowing in his misery and he asks Cal to spend some time with Roy instead. Roy may be struggling health wise, but he still has his wits about him and is extremely perceptive. He tells Cal that he and Maggie make a cute couple and although Cal denies that they are anything more than friends, it is apparent from his inability to get Maggie out of his mind that he is feeling a lot more than that. Lola invites Cal to stay for supper, during which she confides in him that Sully took her and her mother in when her mother was going through Cancer treatment. Everything about Lola’s actions at dinner felt like there was an ulterior motive. Lola already seems to enjoy that her bond with Sully is much stronger than his bond with his own daughter, and now it appeared she was trying to make the moves on Cal as well. Regardless of Lola’s motives, Cal only has one person on his mind- Maggie. After dinner, he attempts to text Maggie. Unfortunately, the text is intercepted by Andrew, who jealously deletes it from Maggie’s phone.
Although Cal is struggling with being apart from Maggie, it appears that she hasn’t given him a second thought since she’s been back in Boston, even engaging in a love making session with Andrew that surely had viewers rooting for a Cal and Maggie happy ending, experiencing some nausea.
Despite Maggie reconnecting with Andrew, he isn’t top of mind as she heads into her deposition. Feeling stressed, she is in need of a friendly voice and calls Cal. He calmly reassures her and reminds her to find her centre, which is just what Maggie needed to hear. Unfortunately, Maggie’s deposition takes a bad turn, thanks to a sworn affidavit by the head nurse during the night of the accident, stating that Maggie missed a crucial step in her examination. Maggie is
badgered by the opposing lawyer and begins to lose her cool. During a much needed break from the interrogation, Maggie practices the grounding exercise that Cal taught her. She goes back into the room much calmer, until the deceased’s mother lashes out at her and brings her right back into a panic.
After the deposition, Maggie calls the outpost at Sullivan’s Crossing to fill Edna in on what happened, but Sully answers. Although he is relieved to hear her voice, he can never seem to find the right words to say. He ends up upsetting Maggie and she hangs up on him. Frustrated with himself and convinced that he has ruined any chance of his daughter returning home, Sully heads home and drowns his sorrow in alcohol. Feeling defeated, he ends up painting over the tree on Maggie’s bedroom wall, the last reminder of Maggie left in his home.
Meanwhile, Maggie is stunned when Andrew gets down on one knee and proposes to her. It is apparent she is not at all excited about the proposition. She almost appears relieved when her cell phone rings and instead of ignoring it and staying in the moment, she answers and announces to Andrew that she is heading back to Sullivan’s Crossing as something bad has happened. The details of what happened were not made clear to viewers but it has to be something big to make her decide to go back. Whatever the case may be, going back will hopefully help Maggie find some clarity about what she really wants in life. Hopefully she will realize that her and Sully need each other and that Sullivan’s Crossing is where she belongs.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the episode. What do you think happened to cause Maggie to return to Sullivan’s Crossing? Will she finally make amends with Sully? Will she realize that her heart is happier with Cal than it is with Andrew? Share your thoughts below and follow me on Twitter @MiddleofCanada.
