Sullivan’s Crossing Season 4 has officially hit Netflix, and we all know that’s when the masses truly lock into this series.
And when they do, one thing will become abundantly clear: the series truly is missing something without Sully.
His absence meant they would have to fill the void he left behind with something or someone of substance, but did they do that? No, because they stuck us with Liam instead.
Sullivan’s Crossing was backed into a corner and had a herculean task ahead of it when trying to face down a season wherein Sully was no longer present or close to the forefront.
It sucks when a show has to figure out a path forward after something drastically shifts everything about it, and there’s rarely a way to do that while pleasing all the fans.
Sadly, I don’t think Sullivan’s Crossing succeeds in this venture, not just because of who we lost in all of this, but also because of who it added to the mix to distract us.
One of the main appeals of the series was watching Maggie navigate this tense relationship with her father as she approaches their dynamic with the maturity that only growth and full truths can bring.
Watching a father and daughter work so hard to reconnect, even when they struggle to communicate effectively, grounded the series and brought heart, complexity, and depth.
But the fourth season leaves things with Sully off in Ireland somewhere, and Maggie helping Edna and Frank run the inn while juggling a tense work dynamic at the hospital.
Oh, yeah, and her estranged husband is there.
The problem is that it wasn’t so much Maggie’s love life that buoyed the series as it was her familial dynamic with Sully. Without him in some prominent capacity, the familial element of the series feels unmoored.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be either. There was room to shift some of the focus to Maggie’s relationships with Edna and Frank, leaning into her family a bit more in Sully’s absence.
Sullivan’s Crossing doesn’t even properly outsource this familial element to some of its other primary characters either.
Not quite unlike Maggie, Sydney’s plot largely revolves around an enemies-to-lovers arc, with her dynamic with her brother taking a back seat, especially since he’s largely absent.
Family and what that means is so integral to the series that it’s noticeable when it no longer feels like it’s there anymore.
The series plays it safe in a downright infuriating way when most of the season has Maggie at the center of a love triangle literally no one, not a damn soul, asked for.
Love triangles at the start of the series worked well enough and were an expectation. You rally the troops, leaving viewers rooting for their favorite suitor and his success.
We all knew Maggie belonged with Cal, but the journey there was at least worth it because it was building to something. However, once they are put together, it becomes about facing other aspects of life.
There are so many different ways to challenge a couple — so many other external factors that can strain an otherwise healthy relationship, without reverting to a love triangle.
Liam’s introduction and prominence this season wasn’t exciting drama or compelling so much as contrived.
There’s no real universe where we know enough about him or find ourselves drawn to any of his possible layers to leave us conflicted, let alone actively rooting for him over Cal.
We don’t know this man. And him coming back, dredging up feelings and lost connections from the past, isn’t romantic; it’s a nuisance.
It leaves Maggie appearing fickle, insensitive, and downright unlikable; Cal as mystified by all this as viewers are; and Liam reading not as some tragic, tortured lost love but as a pushy jerk who can’t read the room or boundaries.
At this point, Cal and viewers alike have the same question: why is he fighting for the love of a woman he already has?
Aren’t we past this?
The entire season ultimately being devoted to this as the primary arc only highlights how one-dimensional Maggie, its lead, can feel.
Her dynamic with Sully added an essential balance to her character, keeping her from just being a romantic vehicle for her own story.
Without it, or even a focus on something similar, well, there’s not much to connect to while watching.
It’s not just Sully’s physical presence that leaves a void; it’s what he represents in the narrative, and to the show’s protagonist.
And Liam doesn’t work as a proper substitution, even if the intention is for Maggie to ponder the life and family she could’ve had with him versus the one she can have now with Cal.
Sure, I understand the possible intention behind this arc, what it’s supposed to represent, and even what it still says about family, lest anyone accuse me of “just not getting it.”
But it’s an unsatisfying approach.
With the utmost respect to Marcus Rosner, Liam? Nah, we can throw that whole man away and work on a better way to spark excitement in this series again.
Sully’s absence means a reset for the show, so they need a redo to make it count for something.
Over to you, Sullivan’s Crossing Fanatics. How do you think the series is doing after Sully’s departures? What did you think of the season? Let’s chat it up in the comments.
You can stream Sullivan’s Crossing on Netflix.
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