A United Front

**A United Front** is the second episode of the first season of *Sweet Magnolias*.

## Plot

*Maddie confers with Coach Cal about Ty's struggles on and off the baseball field, and Helen works to put a devastated family back together.*

## Synopsis

After agreeing to go into business together and buying Miss Frances' house, the Sweet Magnolias put up a united front to oversee the repairs of the new Corner Spa. However, their new business isn't the only thing that keeps the trio busy. Maddie has an encounter with Coach Maddox at Ty's school, who suggests that they sit down and talk with Bill about the divorce and how it's affecting Ty.

Maddie decides to tell Ty and he isn't happy, he doesn't want his father to be involved in the decisions he makes, as Bill's own decisions have lately been morally questionable. Seeing that Ty isn't happy with the meeting, Maddie ends up meeting alone with Coach Maddox, which warns her that Ty might lose his position in the stating lineup if he doesn't fix his grades and his behavior. Ty is frustrated and underperforming in his baseball matches, with Maddie, Bill and even Noreen come to all his baseball games. Noreen seems supportive, but Ty's teammates laugh at him about Noreen, and Bill, seeing his son underperforming decides to leave with Noreen for the day.

Ty then has an embarrassing encounter with a girl that claims in front of Ty's friends that he likes High School Musical and ballet (having mistakenly asked for Kyle's help on Tyler's hobbies). However, Ty ends the episode in a good place with the help of a few motivating words from Coach Maddox. Kyle seems to be paying quite a lot of attention to Annie, Dana Sue's daughter, even though she doesn't pay much attention, rather giving a few interested looks to Ty. His jealousy leads to Kyle giving bad advice to Cece, the girl who later embarrasses Ty in front of all his friends.

Meanwhile, at Sullivan's, Erik tries to do as much as possible to earn the position of sous-chef after Brad's departure, which isn't helping a lot as Dana Sue is starting to feel stressed. This doesn't help either, as Annie obviously needs to talk to her, and Dana Sue doesn't notice that Isaac is being sneaky either. She finally reaches her toll and snaps at Helen and Erik for messing with Sullivan's menu. However, Erik manages to get through it and Dana Sue grants him the sous-chef position, realizing that he's perfect for the job. With Erik filling Brad's former position, Dana Sue finally finds time for Annie, but her daughter has already thrown away the photograph she had taken of the Sweet Magnolias.

Lastly, Helen is working on a case in which she has to evaluate who is more suitable for the guardianship of two girls whose parents died in a car accident. At the start, both candidates seem viable, until they attempt to start throwing each other off the tracks. Helen resolves the conflict by asking Annie about the two girls' interests and realizing that one of the candidates is much more suitable than the other.

## Cast & Characters

### Main

* JoAnna Garcia Swisher as Maddie Townsend
* Heather Headley as Helen Decatur
* Brooke Elliott as Dana Sue Sullivan
* Logan Allen as Kyle Townsend
* Anneliese Judge as Annie Sullivan
* Carson Rowland as Tyler "Ty" Townsend
* Jamie Lynn Spears as Noreen Fitzgibbons
* Justin Bruening as Cal Maddox
* Chris Klein as Bill Townsend

### Recurring

* Charles Lawlor as Collins Littlefield
* Harlan Drum as CeCe Matney
* Dion Johnstone as Erik Whitley
* Frank Oakley III as Harlan Bixby
* Chris Medlin as Isaac Downey
* Sam Ashby as Jackson Lewis
* Bianca Berry Tarantino as Katie Townsend
* Bentley Green as Luke Groff
* Nick Hagelin as Max
* Brittany L. Smith as Peggy Martin

## Co-Starring

* Adena Brumer as Caroline Fox
* Michael Scialabba as Nolan Davies

## Uncredited

* Asher Sheets as Teenager that Drops Maddie's Books

## Gallery

**A United Front** has a **photo gallery**.