This week’s episode lives as much as its title. “Misunderstandings” delivers a quiet storm of blended indicators, missed timing, and emotional disconnects that ripple throughout relationships — romantic, familial, and all the things in between. After the intestine punch of final episode’s confrontation with Glenn, Episode 5 slows issues right down to discover the fallout… and fire up some new problems.
Cal and Maggie open the episode waking up within the glow of contemporary intimacy, however issues shortly begin to really feel off. Cal’s excessive after reconnecting along with his dad has left him using an emotional wave, shopping for a flashy sports activities automotive and suggesting Maggie transfer in with him, a daring transfer she gently declines. Her reasoning? Timing. She’s frightened about leaving Sully whereas he’s weak, however Cal suspects there’s one thing deeper Maggie isn’t admitting. And he’s in all probability proper. The 2 are clearly on totally different wavelengths — Maggie continues to be rooted in responsibility and grief, whereas Cal is decided to dwell absolutely, even perhaps impulsively, within the face of mortality. It’s not a breakup, but it surely’s positively a crack within the basis.
| “Misunderstandings” – SULLIVAN’S CROSSING. Pictured: Chad Michael Murray as Cal Jones. Photograph: Bell Media ©2025. All Rights Reserved. |
In the meantime, Rafe and Sydney are in a way more fragile place. Their intimacy has all however vanished, and Rafe’s emotional shutdown pushes Sydney to the sting. It isn’t till she begins packing to depart that he lastly opens up in regards to the strain he’s underneath on the fireplace station, fearing he isn’t dwelling as much as expectations after Connie left. It’s a uncooked, trustworthy second, the sort Rafe desperately wanted to have. Their reconciliation feels earned, but additionally tentative. This isn’t an issue solved, it’s a pause button hit.
Essentially the most awkward second of the episode, and arguably the season thus far, comes when Maggie finds an empty wine bottle at dwelling and panics, pondering Sully has relapsed. When she barges in and finds Helen raveled in his bed room, it’s pure secondhand embarrassment. Her assumption hits onerous and quick, and it’s solely afterward that she learns Helen introduced the wine unknowingly and that she interrupted what was, sure, a romantic afternoon.
However whereas Maggie’s misjudgment makes her squirm, it additionally opens a extra vital door. Helen later speaks to Sully about his sobriety, involved that she is likely to be a distraction or worse, a hazard. Sully’s response is deeply grounded. For the primary time in a very long time, he expresses not simply stability, however hope. He doesn’t need to overpromise, however he’s able to dwell. And that, greater than something, exhibits simply how far Sully has come.
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| “Misunderstandings” – SULLIVAN’S CROSSING. Pictured: Scott Patterson as Sully and Kate Vernon as Helen. Photograph: Bell Media ©2025. All Rights Reserved. |
In fact, this new leaf comes with its personal contemporary problem. An nameless grievance brings a shock well being inspector to Rob’s soon-to-open restaurant house, who uncovers some critical points. Sully’s certain it’s Glenn behind it, pulling strings from the shadows, and the timing positively strains up. However as all the time in Sullivan’s Crossing, even whenever you suppose the enemy, the true battle is what’s happening inside.
There’s a phenomenal rhythm to the episode’s quieter scenes. Frank making an attempt to maintain Sully engaged. Maggie and Sydney supporting one another by way of love-life turbulence. Rob nervously reconnecting with Jane, with simply sufficient vulnerability to make you root for him. And Lola and Jacob? They’re the candy, slow-burn couple we didn’t know we would have liked. Their shared tales about grief, trauma, and rising up with invisible wounds carry a real emotional depth, and their ice run turns into the type of heart-on-the-sleeve second Sullivan’s Crossing does greatest.
After which there’s Edna. The ever-grounded matriarch is not feeling fairly herself- complications, forgetfulness, refined indicators which have Frank and Maggie each involved. It’s a whisper of a brand new storyline, however one which’s certain to develop louder because the season continues.
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| “Misunderstandings” – SULLIVAN’S CROSSING. Pictured: Reid Price as Rob and Chad Michael Murray as Cal. Photo: Bell Media ©2025. All Rights Reserved. |
“Misunderstandings” isn’t a dramatic excessive level, it’s a character-driven, emotionally clever episode that lets rigidity simmer as an alternative of boil. The stakes aren’t life-and-death this week, however the cracks are spreading, and the characters are making decisions that may stick. Between delayed romances, unstated fears, and the gradual construct of what’s clearly turning into a combat in opposition to Glenn’s rising affect, Season 3 is shaping as much as be a meditation on timing, belief, and emotional honesty. And in true Sullivan’s Crossing style, it’s by no means about only one second, it’s about what’s left unsaid between them.
