Sweet Magnolias is back, and the fourth season of Netflix’s charming romance will continue to make fans feel all warm and fuzzy, although it’s dragged down by pacing issues that take some of the bloom off the Magnolias. Despite this, it’s another wholesome treat, especially after delays in confirming a season 4 renewal led to fears that this would be another Netflix show that failed to make it past season 3. The Sweet Magnolias season 3 ending also felt like a comfortable stopping point, concluding with a beautiful vow renewal that brought the town together in a cliffhanger-free finale.

There are always more stories to tell in Serenity, though, and season 4 finds Dana Sue (Brooke Elliott), Maddie (JoAnna Garcia Swisher), and Helen (Heather Headley) as close as ever — which they’ll need to deal with everything this season throws at them! As usual, the show verges on soap opera at times, and steers heavily into meaningful (if slightly unrealistic) speeches, but that’s the joy of it. Despite some issues, Sweet Magnolias seems even more certain of what it is this season, embracing the fantasy of a small town where everything may go wrong… but everything will always work out.

Sweet Magnolias Season 4 Starts Out Overstuffed & Never Really Finds Its Feet With Pacing

The Biggest Issue With The Season Is Timing

Let’s get the biggest issue of the season out of the way – Sweet Magnolias season 4 doesn’t seem to know what it’s doing in terms of timing. Unlike season 3, which picked up moments after season 2 left off (a necessary move, given the cliffhanger ending), season 4 starts several months after the end of the season 3 finale. It’s actually unclear how long it has been since the last episode, which is just the start of the pacing problems.

In the first episode alone, it’s revealed that Dana Sue has stepped back to becoming a silent partner at Sullivan’s and is taking on a new role teaching vocational students how to cook, Helen is in a new relationship with an architect, and Maddie has not only published her book (and gone on a three-month book tour), but has been engaged to Cal for 6 months! It was enough to have me wondering if I had somehow missed an entire season, because a season’s worth of development seemed to happen off-screen.

It was enough to have me wondering if I had somehow missed an entire season, because a season’s worth of development seemed to happen off-screen.

It feels especially cruel to miss out on Maddie and Cal’s engagement, as their relationship has been such a huge part of the show so far, but season 4 seems impatient to wrap that up as quickly as possible. This becomes an unfortunate theme of the season, as several major plot twists and relationship shifts happen at a pace that doesn’t really give them room to breathe. It becomes clear in the end that the entire season takes place over only two months. This knocks the depth out of many of the big emotional storylines.

The Best Part Of Sweet Magnolias Season 4 Is, As Always, The Romance

Serenity Is A Shining Example Of Emotional Maturity

Although the pacing of the season is frustrating, it is more than balanced out by the romantic core of the show. This season, with both Dana Sue and Maddie in solid relationships, Helen is the one in the spotlight. After an absolutely brutal third season, Helen absolutely deserves some happiness, and season 4 delivers that in spades.

One of the highlights of the season is her Big Romantic Moment, and while it definitely sneaks over the line into cliché, it does so with enough gusto to pull the whole thing off. It’s not the moment itself that really makes the season shine, though (satisfying as it is); it’s the way that she re-tells it to Dana Sue and Maddie that had me squealing and kicking my feet.

It’s abundantly clear that Sweet Magnolias knows that this scene was over the top and chooses Helen’s retelling as a way to get a little self-aware. It has a whole lot of fun with romantic tropes, and it works, perfectly.

The season also continues to deliver what it does best — providing a perfect example of how people can deal with their emotions in a mature, thoughtful, and respectful way. The characters may seem unrealistic in how they process and express their emotions with such care for each other, but that’s the point. This is an ideal that isn’t based on perfect lives, but on people being able to deal with struggles in the best possible ways. And seeing Maddie set boundaries with her ex-mother-in-law is a scene to take notes on — once you are done cheering.

Sweet Magnolias Season 4 Is All About Moving Forward

A Balanced Season Created Space For The Show To Grow

One of the best things about Sweet Magnolias is that while romance is always front and center, it doesn’t push everything else to the sidelines, and the Magnolias’ careers step into the spotlight for season 4. It would be easy for a show like this to get stagnant at this point, to start recycling relationship drama or throwing in completely unrealistic situations (evil twins, anyone?).

But Sweet Magnolias steers away from that soap opera pothole by letting the women explore what they really want, and where they may want to go. It’s a beautiful reminder that while their love and families are central to their happiness, that happiness doesn’t depend entirely on them.

The rest of the characters also start to expand and to explore next steps. The kids are now starting to look at college options, and season four also sees the formation of the Mini Magnolias, which suggests that future seasons are going to focus more heavily on their stories now that they are moving into adulthood. The season ends with some major changes in the works, but the reassurance that the Magnolias will make it through, and that’s a deeply comforting message that will hopefully continue into seasons to come.

Sweet Magnolias season 4 is now streaming on Netflix.