Sweet Magnolias Season 4, Episode 7 ‘Hide and Seek’ is an episode about growth—and how that growth sometimes involves pain, for you and your loved ones. For Cal, who pushed himself way too far, it’s not just about learning not to do just that, it’s also about learning how to let others be there for him. Meanwhile, for Ronnie, it’s about finding joy again, without letting himself be carried away by the things that derailed him before.
For Erik, it’s about opening up and processing the fact that you never get over the grief of losing the people you love. Instead, sometimes you learn to grow around it and find your place in the world, even after unimaginable loss. And, for Isaac, it’s about… well, about realizing that family isn’t just one thing and that though he might have never had a father, he does have siblings, and it would be good to let himself have that. Balance is hard, but it is the goal.
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HOW DO WE BREAK THE CYCLES?
Maddie asks a very important—and interesting question, that a show focused on romance and three women, has actually handled pretty well. How does Sweet Magnolias break the cycles for the men? How do they use these characters to their advantage, even on a show that by virtue of what it is, will always be female-centric? So far, the answer has been by focusing on the romance, ironically, but this hour goes a step further by really focusing on who these men are outside of the romance and making sure they focus not just on themselves and their significant others, but the relationships they have with each other too.
And yes, that means setting aside time for friendship, for grief and for setbacks. Like Maddie tells Cal in this episode, “It takes a village” applies to more than raising kids. It applies also to getting through hard things, and honestly, to becoming the person you want to be. We don’t go through life alone, and we shouldn’t have to. We are our best selves when we lean on those who love us, and that might look different for every one of the men in this show, but they’re all lucky to have the partners they do, the friends they do, and the community around them.
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GROWTH INCLUDES PAIN
The lesson of Sweet Magnolias Season 4, Episode 7 ‘Hide and Seek’ is also about growth, and how sometimes, that growth will include pain. And we might not want it to. In fact, we will probably rebel against the notion. No one looks for pain. No one wants it. But we cannot escape that pain unless we decide not to live. Pain is often a part of life. And if we don’t live—if we don’t try anything, good or bad, we might never experience the pain, yes. But we also won’t experience anything else, including the good.
Life has to be lived, and mistakes have to be made. That’s how we learn. That’s how we can face the next situation, the next relationship, the next chance, and do better than we did before. And in Serenity, the thing is… even if you make mistakes, you will always have someone willing to lend a helping hand. And isn’t that a pretty comforting thought?
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Sweet Magnolias Season 4, Episode 7 ‘Hide and Seek’? Share with us in the comments below!
Sweet Magnolias Season 4 is now available to stream on Netflix.
