It won’t be long now before romance lovers with a Netflix subscription are able to revisit the amorous adventures of Helen, Dana Sue, and Maddie when Sweet Magnolias returns for its third season on July 20. Fans will likely recall that the Season 2 ending left Serenity’s citizens in some intriguing places, especially with regards to their romantic prospects, and this was particularly true for Helen. Now, star Heather Headley has opened up about her character’s big decision in Season 3, and it really does sound like things are going to be rough for a while.
What Did Heather Headley Say About Helen’s Decision In Sweet Magnolias Season 3?
Seeing as how it’s been well over a year since the second season hit the streamer, it would make sense if you can’t quite remember what Helen’s big shock was in the finale. After growing closer than ever to Erik, who spent much of the season helping everyone’s favorite small town lawyer through some intense personal troubles, the final minutes saw Helen’s extremely long-term, on-again/off-again love, Ryan, pop up outta nowhere and propose to her. When speaking to Us Weekly recently, Heather Headley opened up about the choice Helen now has to make in Season 3 and how it will affect her and her friends, saying:
Helen has to make some choices along the way. I think this season is all about the choice she makes, that journey that she goes through with the choice and how that kind of blows up a little bit. And how that not only just blows up in her personal and romantic life, but how that had consequences in the girls’ lives.
WOW. Alright, the first thing I noticed about her comment is that she’s going to go through a “journey” with whether or not she chooses the completely unsuitable Ryan or the basically perfect (and absolutely perfect for her) Erik. This would seem to mean that it’ll take more than an episode or two for Helen to figure out what she wants, which is…ridiculous. I mean, Helen, girl, there’s a reason you and Ryan haven’t been able to work things out across 20+ years of trying to be together, OK?
Secondly, while a decision like this could obviously blow up Helen’s world, it doesn’t quite follow that the same would be true of the lives of her fellow Magnolias, Dana Sue and Maddie. They’ve both seen how good their buddy is with Erik, and seem to totally approve of Helen finally leaving Ryan behind.
So, this makes me think that whatever option she lands on will have both of her besties reconsidering their own recent romantic decisions in some way, and/or lead us down a deeper path when it comes to digging into the roots of their friendship and what it means for them now, which is something JoAnna Garcia Swisher alluded to not long ago.
What is good is that it seems that Helen’s journey in Season 3 will lead her closer to “her mom (Janet Hubert) and her family,” who we’ve never seen and don’t know much about, so that viewers finally get some understanding of who she is and how she grew up. Though it sounds like things are about to get really messy for her, Headley did offer a bit of hope that the situation will work out for the better by the end, and added:
Whatever happens after that happens...She starts with a question mark and ends [with a] period.
Fans will be able to see how it all shakes out soon, and here’s hoping that the ever-intelligent attorney makes the right choice. (Erik. The right choice is ERIK!)
