Sweet Magnolias Team Answers Our Burning Finale Questions, Teases What's To Come In Season 3

Sweet Magnolias has done it again, leaving fans hanging precariously from a number of cliffs as its dramatic second season draws to a close — a situation made all the more stressful by the fact that Netflix has yet to renew the show for Season 3. (UPDATE: The show is now officially renewed.)

And while showrunner Sheryl J. Anderson isn't ready to spill all of Serenity's secrets quite yet, she did her best to answer all of TVLine's burning questions about that twist-filled finale. From the mysterious lunatic who slashed Dana Sue's tires to the million-dollar question Ryan proposed to Helen, we have no shortage of twists to ponder. And we haven't even mentioned the skeletons that came spilling out of Cal's closet, including the potential arrival of a ghost from his past.

We also picked JoAnna Garcia, Heather Headley and Brooke Elliott's brains for their reactions to their characters' biggest surprises in that game-changing finale. (In case you missed it, click here for the group's reactions to the reveal of Isaac's birth, easily the biggest "WTF" moment of Season 2.)

Grade the finale and the season in our polls below, then read on for Anderson and the cast's thoughts on all things Serenity. When you're done, drop a comment with the cliffhanger(s) that are already driving you crazy.

Helen's emotional rollercoaster of a season came to a screeching halt with one single question. So, what'll it be?

"The thing that Ryan has is the weight of history," Anderson says. "The thing that Erik has is the promise of a new path. It was our intent to land her at that crossroads and have her grapple with what the two roads diverging. To grapple with two very different relationships and try to decide in a moment of shock and surprise which means more. This is the whole reason we want a Season 3, to address that question... and maybe two or three others."

Sorry, Headley doesn't have the answer to this one, either. But she wants everyone to know that she's firmly on Team Helen, regardless of how her character chooses to answer Ryan's question.

"I don't know, and that's the scary part, I really don't know," says of where Heather's heart lies. "Sometimes I think it's Ryan, because she has this thick sludge of a relationship. They've loved each other from the time they were young. Every time they've left each other, they've come right back. These people know each other inside and out. She didn't break up with him because she didn't love him. She did it because she wanted to have kids and he didn't. They're desperately in love with each other, and they have all that history. And then there's this new relationship with Erik, and he can be such a great man. I'm sure he's ready to be a father, he presents all of that. I could see her going either way, and of course they don't tell me. Netflix is concerned that, for a good bowl of macaroni and cheese, I'll spill all the secrets.

"I will just say she has a past in common with our ladies and some other folks in town," Anderson says. "She's been away for a while, but she has come back with an agenda. She has come home to settle some scores."

Dana Sue appeared more irritated than frightened by the return of this mystery troublemaker, but that's OK, because Elliott is afraid enough for herself and her character.

"I immediately went to Sheryl and was like, 'Who is this person?!'" Elliott recalls. "I was alarmed and excited. Hopefully we'll be given a third season and we can figure out who she is." (From your mouth to Netflix's ears!) "I'm just as curious as everybody else."

Sweet Magnolias fans have imagined Cal in a number of different positions, but being dragged out of Sullivan's by the police probably wasn't one of them. So, is this the beginning of a whole new Cal?

"It's a complicated question, because he is the guy you thought he was, but he's also more," Anderson says. "One of the reasons we wanted to explore that — and in conversations with Justin [Bruening], he was like 'Yes, please!' — a guy who looks too good to be true probably is. He is a wonderful man and really deeply loves Maddie, he adores her kids, and he wants to move in a very positive direction in the future, yet there's the weight of the past. Just because his weaknesses got the better of him does not make him a bad guy. It's the decisions he makes from this point going forward to ensure, one would hope, that he's genuinely a good guy. But even good guys make bad mistakes."

Cal's toxic ex was mentioned so many times this season, we half-expected to see her walk into the Corner Spa. Naturally, we're wondering if that's still a possibility.

"Potentially," Anderson says coyly. "On a show like ours, we have a special place in our hearts for the troublemakers."

An emotional Dana Sue welcomed Ronnie back into her heart and home in the finale, but that doesn't mean everything will be sunshine and rainbows for the reunited couple moving forward.

"How well is that going to go? She's not just getting back with her estranged husband — she's putting her shattered family back together," Anderson says. "We really have three people involved in that dance, so it's very complicated."

And as Anderson previously told us, "There is an ongoing debate in the writers' room" about whether Dana Sue should have picked Ronnie or Jeremy, with the main concern being "Is getting back to Ronnie really the most positive thing that could possibly happen for her?"

There's also the lingering possibility of Maddie getting into local politics, as if she doesn't have enough to deal with at the moment.

"I mean, God, I wouldn't put anything past Sheryl, but I feel like Maddie's got a lot on her plate, so I don't know," Swisher says. "Sheryl's ability to throw a curveball into all of our lives is undeniable, so I wouldn't be surprised if there were some conversations about that."