Warning! Spoilers ahead for Sullivan's Cross season 3, episode 2, "Out of the Blue".
Cal Jones and Maggie Sullivan’s relationship is finally starting to become real in Sullivan’s Crossing season 2. Quite soon, it became clear that Cal's past wasn't the real obstacle, but Maggie's emotional walls and indecision were holding them back from a relationship.
Still, while Maggie has familial roots in Timberlake that Cal doesn’t, they are both drawn to the healing nature of a slower-paced life. Timberlake, and particularly the campground of Sullivan's Crossing, represents a fresh start for Cal. Though we knew quite a bit about Cal before Sullivan’s Crossing season 3, primarily that he left his law practice after the death of his wife and that his childhood wasn't easy, fans always knew there was more to Cal’s childhood backstory that would eventually surface. Sullivan’s Crossing season 3, episode 2 finally gave us a peek at his dark childhood, and it's sure to impact him this season.
Cal’s Rigorous Search & Rescue Training Resurfaces Memories Of His Abusive Father In Sullivan’s Crossing Season 3, Episode 2
Cal’s Father Put Undue Pressure On Cal To Be Strong Enough To Their Family
Training to become part of the Timberlake Search and Rescue team has brought a lot of meaning and purpose to Cal’s life. Firefighter Rafe Vadas (Dakota Taylor) had been running training in a way designed to make people feel encouraged, but Sullivan’s Crossing season 3 introduces a shift in tone with the arrival of Captain Cooper (Steve Lund), whose military-style leadership quickly changes the team dynamic. His hard edge is sharpened by a personal grudge—his introduction to Rafe is catching him in flagrante delicto with his girlfriend, Sydney, at the fire station, landing Rafe firmly on Cooper's bad side.
Cooper runs a tight ship, and he is seriously unimpressed with everyone except Cal, who continues to be one of Chad Michael Murray’s best roles. Cooper makes the volunteers run conditioning drills over and over until almost everyone has been pushed past their physical limits – everyone, that is, except for Cal, who keeps doing pushups at an almost maniacal pace, clearly driven by something that runs a lot deeper than Cooper's drill sergeant attitude. The contrast highlights Cal’s physical endurance but also hints at something darker beneath the surface.
Main Characters In Sullivan’s Crossing Season 3 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
Character |
Description |
Actor |
Best Known Role(s) |
Maggie Sullivan |
Former doctor returning to her rural hometown hoping to reconnect with her father & herself. |
Morgan Kohan |
Lillian in When Hope Calls (spinoff of When the Heart Call) |
Cal Jones |
Former lawyer turned handyman looking for a simpler life. |
Chad Michael Murray |
Lucas Scott in One Tree Hill, Austin Ames in A Cinderella Story, Tristan Dugray on Gilmore Girls, and Jake in Freaky Friday |
Harry “Sully” Sullivan |
Maggie’s previously estranged, crotchety father who runs a campground. |
Scott Patterson |
Luke Danes in Gilmore Girls |
Edna Cranebear |
A warm presence helping Sully run Sullivan’s Crossing. |
Andrea Menard |
Debbie Fraser in Blackstone |
Frank Cranebear |
Edna’s husband, Sully’s best friend and right-hand man. |
Tom Jackson |
Tehwahsehkwe in Outlander |
That darker motivation is explained when Cal has a flashback to his early childhood of his father standing over him, saying that Cal needs to be strong to his siblings. Cal’s father, who Cal confessed to Maggie in season 2 has schizophrenia, is seemingly in its grip, saying people could be coming for them at any time and that Cal has to be ready. Though young Cal has tears in his eyes, his father orders him to give 10 more pushups. These flashbacks deepen the audience’s understanding of why Cal seeks service and isolation, but also open up more questions about exactly how bad his childhood was for him and his siblings.
Cal’s Distraction Causes Him To Stand Up Maggie For A Date (But He Makes Up For It)
Maggie Gives Cal The Same Grace & Space He Has Shown Her
Cal accidentally stands up Maggie - he had promised to come by the outpost after his training, but he is consumed with bad memories of his father and just forgets. Maggie finds him on his porch, lost in thought, but while she recognizes something is off, she doesn't pry, giving him the same patience he's shown her in the past. Cal promises to take her on a picnic the following morning. He does just that, going above and beyond to make up for forgetting, executing the picnic of every girl’s dream, but Maggie assures him he was never in the doghouse to begin with. After everything they’ve weathered to be together, it’s easier now to let the small things go.
New episodes of Sullivan's Crossing drop in the U.S. on CW and CWTV.com on Thursdays.
Cal starts to open up about his erratic and paranoid father, but their conversation - and picnic - is cut short when Cal gets his first alert for a Search and Rescue operation. Cal is truly invigorated by his first save, while Maggie is understanding of Captain Cooper blocking her from participating, as she technically does not have her medical license in Nova Scotia. Rather than sulk, Maggie is genuinely happy for Cal. His new role offers a purpose that fills something long-empty in him, and her shows how far she’s come in prioritizing his healing alongside her own.
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Cal channels the adrenaline from his first successful rescue straight into the bedroom, and fans are treated to the long, intimate scene between Maggie and Cal we’ve been waiting three seasons for. The tree-planting ceremony in Sullivan’s Crossing season 3, episode 2 helped get rid of whatever was holding Maggie back physically and emotionally before. With emotional barriers lowered, both characters are finally ready to let love all the way in. Of course, right as they're basking in bliss, Cal gets a phone call about his father that threatens to rip open those old wounds hinted at in the earlier flashbacks.
How Cal’s Family Drama Might Impact His Relationship With Maggie
Forced Reconnection With His Father Could Have A Negative Effect On Cal’s Mental Health
While he’s still with Maggie, Cal gets a call from his mother, informing him that his father has been diagnosed with cancer. Just as his relationship with Maggie begins to find steady footing, Cal faces the emotional and logistical pull back to New York. This twist not only raises the emotional stakes but also allows the series to deepen Cal’s backstory. Since Cal plays a far more prominent role in the TV series than in the books, expanding his family history makes him a richer, more layered character—not just Maggie’s love interest, but a man reckoning with generational wounds.
After Sullivan's Crossing Season 2, Maggie Can NOT Regress To This One Habit In Season 3
Maggie needs to keep moving forward in Sullivan's Crossing season 3, instead of the story taking her back to old habits she has outgrown.
However, long distance may strain his budding romance with Maggie. Worse still, confronting his ailing father could reignite old traumas and cause Cal to revert to the closed-off, emotionally guarded version of himself he’s worked so hard to outgrow. These internal and external pressures reflect one of the core themes of Sullivan’s Crossing: healing isn’t linear. Whatever the hurdle is, the show won’t let their endgame couple settle into peace for too long if Sullivan’s Crossing season 4 is to happen.
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Sullivan's Crossing
- Release Date
- March 19, 2023
- Network
- CTV
- Directors
- Chris Grismer, April Mullen, Jonathan Wright, Martin Wood
Cast
Morgan KohanMaggie Sullivan
Chad Michael MurrayCal Jones
WHERE TO WATCH
- Creator(s)
- Roma Roth
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