Rock And A Hard Place – As the fourth episode of Sullivan’s Crossing begins, Sully (Scott Patterson) rides around while trying to get in touch with Frank. Meanwhile, Frank Cranebear (Tom Jackson) tries to reach the phone next to him. Connie Boyle (Lauren Hammersley) contacts Maggie to say Chelsea’s phone is about a kilometer off the highway in the woods near 98. Maggie (Morgan Kohan) and Cal Jones (Chad Michael Murray) rush to the woods to see if they can find anything. Once Maggie and Cal arrive, they find Frank’s vehicle parked there and suspect he got there first. They discover Frank lying on the ground with a gunshot wound.

As Maggie begins tending to his wound, Cal uses the radio to tell Connie what is going on. Maggie thinks the bullet must’ve hit Frank’s lung so they need to seal it before he suffocates. As they work on him, Frank wakes up and confirms he can breathe. He says Lambda and Kappa. Maggie remembers that the guys from karaoke night were wearing fraternity ball caps. When Sully arrives, Maggie tells him they think it was the guys from the café the other night. Connie and Rafe (Dakota Taylor) arrive with the ambulance moments later. Rafe tells Sully that someone needs to stay and tell Edna what happened. Cal leaves with Maggie who says she doesn’t have time to explain where she is going.

Once Sully makes it back, Edna (Andrea Menard) tells him that the Smiths are inside. He has to tell her about Frank being shot although he believes he’ll be okay. Cal and Maggie find a grey SUV that matches the description they were given. Cal notifies Tom Canaday (Hugh Thompson) over the radio. He tells them not to engage the guys. Maggie sees one of the men from the café the other night with Chelsea’s backpack. She suspects they’re getting ready to leave so she decides to stop them from doing so. Inside, the two boys argue about whether they should let Chelsea go. Clifford (Peter Sarty) is tasked when answering the door when they hear a knock.

Darryl (Ryan Nielsen) tries to keep Chelsea (Perdida Brown) quiet. Maggie lures Clifford out and talks to him about the karaoke party the other night. As Clifford walks out to his car, Cal grabs him from behind. Darryl comes out with the gun and makes Cal let him go. Cliff quickly says it was an accident. Maggie tries to convince Darryl to put the gun down. Darryl says it was an accident since he didn’t mean for the gun to go off. Maggie ends up taking the gun from him. Tom and other officers arrive and take the boys into custody moments later. Maggie goes inside the cabin to check on Chelsea. Tom tells Cal that they’ll both need to come to the station to give statements.

He agrees to let them take Chelsea back to her family first though. Her parents are glad to see her when she gets back to the campground. At the hospital, Sully is surprised to learn that Frank isn’t going to press charges, but the guys are still facing multiple charges. Tom scolds Maggie for risking her own life. Sully thinks Tom should be thanking Maggie because they wouldn’t have found Chelsea without her. Sully and Maggie check on Frank. Maggie checks his records and says everything looks good. Sully reassures Edna that Frank will be back to his old self in no time. Edna agrees to go to the cafeteria with Maggie to get something to eat. Sully stays behind and speaks to Frank.

Sully speaks to Roy who is also in the hospital with Lola (Amalia Williamson). Roy thanks Maggie for her help. Maggie offers to come check on him later, but Lola says she has everything under control. Sully needs to get back to the shop because it is untelling what Jackson is getting into. Maggie goes to the diner to get something to eat from Rob (Reid Price). She tells him that Tom was angry at her for interfering. Rob thinks Tom is just like that because he is on the straight and narrow. Then, he reveals that is why Tom and Connie are splitting up. Once Rob goes to make her a sandwich, Maggie calls Andrew (Allan Hawco) to tell him what happened, but he is busy and quickly ends the conversation.

Maggie goes to the store to speak to Jackson (T Thomason) and help out. She also checks on him since his parents are splitting up. Maggie admits she tried to visit Sully once, but it didn’t work out so she left. Jackson leaves her in charge because he has to sign up some guests for climbing lessons. As Jackson walks out, Cal enters and tells Maggie that he needed a few days to himself after everything that happened. Maggie says it was a lot for her so she is glad Cal was there. They decide to try to repair the refrigerator together. Jackson speaks to Nathan (Josh MacDonald) about signing him up for lessons. Nathan reveals he is trying to get Kaleb (Calem MacDonald) over his fear of heights.

Jackson gets Kaleb to sign the waiver form. Kaleb says heights make him really anxious lately, but Jackson insists no one falls on his climbs. He is fully certified and has worked with a lot of nervous climbers. Cal and Maggie manage to get the refrigerator working again. Nathan comes in and gets help from Maggie to buy fishing gear. Once he leaves, Maggie tells Cal that Sully used to take her fishing when she was younger. Cal suggests going fishing together, but Maggie has to work at the store since Edna is at the hospital. Sully arrives and learns the fridge is working again. Maggie tells him that Mr. Blake called saying he needs to pull up their meeting. Sully won’t tell her who Mr. Blake is. Once he meets with Mr. Blake, he is reminded that he has a big loan with outstanding payments.

Sully says they’re expecting their best season ever so he is going to need another extension. He is told he will need to make good on the payment or they’re going to be forced to foreclose. Sully says Sullivan’s Crossing has been in his family for generations so he can’t just sit there and threaten to take it. Before Sully leaves, he is told he has until the end of next month. Maggie calls Andrew again only for him to end the conversation abruptly because he has another operation. He suggests doing a virtual dinner date tonight. Maggie joins Cal down by the water to fish. She quickly learns that he isn’t good at fishing. Lola visits Sully at the store to say she thinks Roy might need in-home care. Sully gives her money for everything she needs.

Maggie tells Cal that the quietness out there almost makes her forget how much she misses the city. When Cal ends up cutting his hand, Maggie quickly tries to take care of it. Cal offers to grill the fish for them. Maggie agrees although she wants to go home and freshen up first. Sully offers to make her a sandwich only to find out that she has dinner plans tonight. Maggie asks him about the store being slow. Sully thinks it is bound to pick up since it is the beginning of the season. She thinks he is still worried about Frank so she suggests he should speak to someone. Sully claims he is just really tired. Maggie wants to thank him for standing up for her at the hospital. Seconds later, Maggie gets a call from Scott Mehan who says the deposition has been scheduled for a couple of weeks from now.

They’ll need to make sure she is prepared because their lawyer is tough. After the call, Maggie joins Cal outside by the grill. When she admits she is worried, Cal says Sully mentioned something about a lawsuit. Maggie tells him about the lawsuit and admits it is one of the downsides of being a neurosurgeon. She reveals it is her first. Cal surprised her when he says he is a lawyer. He offers to help her prepare for the type of questions she’ll be asked. Maggie thanks him and says that would be great. Andrew tries to call Maggie, but only gets her voicemail message. Cal says he is tired and asks if it’d be okay if they called it a night. Maggie thanks him for dinner before leaving.

At home, Sully looks through his bills and tries to get them figured out. He realizes the situation is not good. Sully calls Mr. Phillips to ask about opening a line of credit at the bank.

 

Sullivan’s Crossing Review

The fourth episode of Sullivan’s Crossing was in line with the previous episodes although it possibly took the shooting and kidnapping stuff a bit too far. Although the accidental shooting angle might’ve worked, the rest of the storyline really felt out of place for a show like this. The good news is that the show didn’t linger on that for too long so it didn’t matter so much.

Other than that, the episode pushed the story forward by building Maggie and Cal’s relationship. It also created another big storyline in Sully’s financial difficulties. That could be classified as cliché since most similar shows have something like that, but the payoff in the end could be worth it. There is also the possibility of conflict there because Maggie might not be happy about Lola taking money that Sully doesn’t have.

The series isn’t perfect and none of the episodes have been, but it is enjoyable enough through four episodes. Despite being a bit simple and cliché, Sullivan’s Crossing has many stories going simultaneously so there is always something to look forward to. This episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of Sullivan’s Crossing are available on Reel Mockery here.

Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising on Reel Mockery here.