JoAnna Garcia Swisher Revealed Why Season 3 Rift Is Important for 'Sweet Magnolias' Story

This story contains spoilers from Sweet Magnolias season 3.

Sweet Magnolias season 3 is officially out on Netflix, and fans are ecstatic to get back in step with the beloved members of Serenity. The latest episodes chronicle a number of changes within the quaint town, including one telling storyline that actress JoAnna Garcia Swisher felt was necessary to portray onscreen.

In episode 6, viewers see best friends Maddie Townsend (JoAnna), Dana Sue Sullivan (Brooke Elliott) and Helen Decatur (Heather Headley) experience turmoil in their dynamic because of Ryan Wingate (Michael Shenefelt). After he comes back into her life at the beginning of season 3, Maddie questions aloud whether Helen is truly happy in her relationship. This causes Helen to get upset over Maddie's doubt, setting off a rift between the two women. Meanwhile, Dana Sue choosing not to get in between her friends' differing opinions.

While the friendship break is a surprise for viewers, JoAnna explained its significance to the trio's continued love for each other.

"For so many reasons, it's real," she told Good Housekeeping this past June before the SAG-AFTRA strike began. "We don't always agree, and we shouldn't always agree. That's part of what being in a relationship is. It's growing together and bumping up again each other and honing your stone."

Despite Maddie's more forthcoming approach to issues concerning her loved ones, Helen and Dana Sue eventually accept her for it. Maddie's outspoken nature not only makes their camaraderie stronger, but JoAnna thought the episodes-long scenario taught her character an important lesson about how she dealt with previous woes in the past. More specifically, it shed light on how she handled leaving her ex-husband Bill Townsend (Chris Klein) amid his affair with her now-employee Noreen Fitzgibbons (Jamie Lynn Spears).

"I think that what she really realizes is that she can't control anything," she said. "Maddie is an over-doer at times, and I think it comes from a really good place. But I also think it can be hard to kind of navigate. She has that realization throughout the season [of], 'I can't control this. How am I going to respond to it? I'd love to respond to it differently than the way I once had.'"

Because of Maddie's enlightened outlook this time around, fans see the three women move on from this disagreement with a renewed affection for one another. What's more, their love remains at the center of everything they do, a concept JoAnna hopes will be explored if Sweet Magnolias gets renewed for season 4.

"I think [the rift] adds a lot of depth to their friendship," she added. "The show literally celebrates this friendship between these three women. That is what this show is at the heart of it, and all that happens in between it."

JoAnna concluded: "They've gone to hell and back with each other, and that type of relationship is very real and very relatable. I think that there's still so much storytelling in that way."

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