Sullivan’s Crossing is blossoming into one of the best dramas of the fall, and it’s all thanks to the fully realized world and characters who feel like real people with real-world problems.
Maggie’s conflict about returning to Boston or staying put in Sullivan’s Crossing shone through Sullivan’s Crossing Season 1 Episode 2 as she learned more about her past and set out to prove she wasn’t to blame for her patient’s death.
Maggie’s situation is tough because, as a medical professional, she knows that accepting liability for the teenager’s death will define the rest of her career.
That’s why it’s easy to understand her attempts to question her methodology and whether she would have changed her approach.
Truthfully, the hospital was inundated with patients when the teenager arrived, but it seemed like Maggie did her due diligence and didn’t rush things.
It’s a shame that just as she is coming to terms with being arrested while accepting her award, she’s now forced to face the biggest hurdle of her career.
What are the chances that these two things happen after one another? It’s enough to make anyone question who they upset in another life to get that kind of luck.
Maggie: Hey, uh, thank you for walking me home.
Cal: It was my pleasure.
Andrew: Maggie?
Maggie: Andrew?
Andrew Andrew Mathews. I’m her boyfriend. Hope I’m not interrupting anything. You are?
Cal: Cal, Cal Jones.
Maggie: Caliente here was just makin’ sure I made it home okay.
I may have had a little bit too much to drink.
Andrew: Yeah, I can see that. I’ll take it from here, Cal.
Maggie has been so wrapped up in her professional and personal life that she hadn’t initially picked up on the signs that her father wasn’t looking after himself.
We’re slowly peeling away at the layers of their relationship, and it’s clear she had a very different perception of how Sully was affected by her leaving town with her mother.
I questioned whether they both had resentment for one another after Sullivan’s Crossing Season 1 Episode 1, and it’s proving true so far.
Sully talking about Maggie’s patient’s mother losing a child as though his own child was lost was very telling of how he perceives what happened in the past.
If we’re to believe what everyone says in town, Sully was broken-hearted and never recovered after Maggie left town.
In his eyes, it felt like he lost a child even if Maggie didn’t believe that initially, she’s beginning to understand that the stories of her past may be more fiction than she’s been led to believe.
We don’t know what Maggie was told about her father, but the fact that she hasn’t mentioned his alcoholism means that Phoebe likely shielded her daughter from that information.
Either that or he did some bad things, and she’d rather not relive it or tell her daughter about it.
The only way forward for Maggie and Sully is if they can speak candidly about the past and how they believe things played out because I bet they’ll have very different reads on the situation.
It’s a shame the resentment has manifested into this distance between them, but I hope they’ll find some common ground by the end of Sullivan’s Crossing Season 1.
Sully didn’t understand the extent of Maggie’s career woes until she told him about her patient. Hopefully, now that he knows what she’s going through, he’ll be more approachable.
This is Kevin Markiff. My mom can’t figure out
how to use her voicemail, so leave a message for her after the beep, and maybe she’ll figure out how to get to it.Kevin
Which brings me to Maggie and Cal. Who would have thought they could wipe the slate clean and enjoy a night of drinking and laughing?
It’s hard to avoid negative first impressions of someone, but it was only a matter of time before they broke down those walls and understood one another.
Maggie understandably returned to Sullivan’s Crossing with a negative view of the place and was struggling with everything happening in Boston, so she’d inevitably struggle to connect with new people.
In her defense, she didn’t need to make new friends because she only planned on being there briefly until there was a way forward for her career.
The series managed to pull the rug from under me when Andrew arrived at Sully’s and welcomed Maggie home before telling Cal he could take it from there.
You could tell Andrew was threatened by this new man in Maggie’s life, and rightfully so. Cal seems like a bigger catch than Andrew could ever dream of being, so he should feel threatened.
Andrew’s been a bit of a red flag since Sullivan’s Crossing Season 1 Episode 1, and it seems like his relationship with Maggie has only flourished because it’s been long-distance.
When you don’t see someone all the time, absence tends to make the heart grow fonder, but what we’ve seen of Andrew across two episodes is the making of an overbearing personality.
Maggie: Uh, I’m being sued by the mother of one of my patients.
Sully: What for?
Maggie: Her son died of a brain aneurysm post-treatment. She’s blaming me.
But, I mean, I’m going through everything, and I don’t see anything else
I would have done differently.
Sully: Poor woman.
Maggie: I just don’t understand why she’s doing this to me.
Sully: Maybe it’s not about you, Maggie. She’s devastated. Losing a child… There’s nothin’ worse that could happen to a parent.
He doesn’t strike me as the right fit for Maggie. You could tell Maggie was taken aback when he wanted to move closer to her, and maybe she also believes their relationship works better when they only see one another occasionally.
Then there’s Cal and the date in his calendar. Cal is this mysterious hottie who doesn’t like to talk about his baggage, so naturally, we have questions about that date.
Like the other characters, Cal has plenty going on, and there’s no telling the gravity of his baggage, but I can’t wait to learn more about who he is.
I’m sure there will be many awkward moments between Cal and Andrew, and I’m living for it. Cal didn’t feel threatened by Andrew, which was very telling.
“Homewrecker” was the perfect follow-up to the series premiere. We’re now set up for a thrilling season ahead.
Scott: Hello?
Maggie: Scott, it’s… it’s Maggie. I’ve thought about it and I think I need to come home. I can’t just sit here and do nothing while she tries to discredit me.
It’s my reputation and…
Scott: These situations tend to resolve quickly. Listen. I’ll call the hospital. See what they wanna do. I’ll let you know once there’s news.
What are your thoughts on Sully and Maggie slowly getting closer?
Do you think Maggie made a mistake calling the boy’s mother?
What’s your take on Andrew showing up in Sullivan’s Crossing?
Hit the comments.
Sullivan’s Crossing continues on Wednesdays on The CW at 8 p.m.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.