For a number of years now, followers have felt the central couple of Sullivan’s Crossing hasn’t been essentially the most fascinating, and the most effective couple on the present has been so clear all alongside. The romantic pairings on Sullivan’s Crossing do not precisely scream steady – in the event that they did, there can be no present. Primary Sullivan’s Crossing couple Cal and Maggie took two years to determine their points and at last get collectively, largely due to Maggie’s dithering between Andrew and Cal and her incapacity to open up. It was solely on the finish of final season that Maggie finally stopped running from her problems in Sullivan’s Crossing.
Likewise, Sydney and Rafe danced round one another for nearly two seasons in one other will-they/received’t-they scenario. Walter lied to Phoebe and hid his fraud. Andrew and Maggie had been clearly all the time fallacious for one another from the beginning. Another potential romantic pairing has barely been proven on display screen, resembling Rob and his one-night stand with Jane, or Jackson and his transient summer time fling with Kaleb in season 1.
Edna & Frank Have All the time Been Sullivan’s Crossing’s Strongest Couple
They’re Steady In A Sea Of Drama
That leaves Frank and Edna Cranebear, who’re the strongest couple in Sullivan’s Crossing. Maggie will be the protagonist, however the Cranebears are the center of all of it, each the present and the fictional camp itself. A part of that’s as a result of, whereas fixed drama swirls round them, whether or not a shady actual property developer making a transfer to purchase the land, or issues of the center, Edna and Frank are all the time regular. They are a steady basis and relationship in a present that options only a few, and their steadiness as a pair supplies an anchor that the collection desperately must stability out the melodrama.
The Cranebears’ Romance Is Extra Attention-grabbing & Has Extra Chemistry Than The Others
It is Not Unstable New Love, However Deep, Previous Love
If I am being trustworthy with myself – and I normally am – then I would must admit that, properly, I simply do not discover Maggie and Cal to have that a lot chemistry. Maggie is essentially a cipher, having put up so many emotional partitions and spending a lot vitality on the fallacious issues for the primary two seasons that she hasn’t supplied the viewers a lot to root for. She merely does not have a whole lot of character. Sydney and Rafe are related – we’ve not actually gotten to see a lot of them as a pair earlier than this season, and now they’re already on shaky floor. There simply are not any romantic relationships to actually really feel invested in.
However Edna and Frank are one other story. Their relationship is by far essentially the most fascinating and dynamic, not as a result of it is a unstable new love, however as a result of it is previous, deep love. They’ve quietly had complete relationship arcs of their very own, and challenges to beat, specifically Frank placing Sully earlier than Edna, Frank needing to let go of the previous and make amends along with his household, and, this season, Edna coming to phrases with the actual fact she’s getting into menopause and going through her personal mortality.
Their relationship is by far essentially the most fascinating and dynamic, not as a result of it is a unstable new love, however as a result of it is previous, deep love.
Their relationship challenges are actual and relatable, not ones manufactured solely for the sake of dragging out drama or brought on by younger, emotionally stunted individuals who do not know who they’re or what they need. It is these downs that make their ups a lot stronger; from the primary second they had been on display screen, the love Edna and Frank have for one another resonates. They’re so open with their affection in a means different characters aren’t, and it is heat and real. Andrea Menard and Tom Jackson get all of the credit score for bringing these two to life so splendidly.
The Excellent Sullivan’s Crossing Spinoff Would Be An Edna & Frank Cranebear Prequel
Their Backstory Makes The Excellent Primary Story
In actual fact, if Sullivan’s Crossing had been ever to have a derivative, I have already got the right thought: a derivative of younger Edna and Frank Cranebear. All through Sullivan’s Crossing, the couple has hinted at their previous and that each of them had tried for a very long time to discover a house and a spot to belong. Each have talked about how their particular person Indigenous heritage and cultures formed them, typically in painful methods. Frank’s falling out along with his prolonged household we learn about, however now we have gotten hints that Edna’s previous was simply as painful.

Associated
Sullivan’s Crossing and Virgin River may be profitable already, however the subsequent Robyn Carr collection could possibly be the writer’s greatest TV adaptation up to now.
A prequel collection that includes the Cranebears would have a whole lot of fertile floor to discover, even when Sullivan’s Crossing season 4 does not occur. Two misplaced and wandering souls lastly discovering one another is an unbelievable premise for a romantic drama, particularly if it thoughtfully incorporates Indigenous storylines and themes in with their private expertise and love story. Damaged folks therapeutic themselves and one another via their mutual love and assist is all the time an excellent framework for love story. I, for one, would like to see extra of the Sullivan’s Crossing couple, regardless of the way it comes.
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- Launch Date
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October 4, 2023
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Morgan Kohan
Maggie Sullivan
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Chad Michael Murray
Cal Jones