Sullivan’s Crossing can be one of the most intensely frustrating shows to watch when it comes to character work, and there have been moments where we want to throw something at our TVs throughout the seasons. While Sullivan’s Crossing is a lighter coastal drama that’s been keeping viewers entertained over its trio of seasons, some of the character choices can be tough.

With Maggie Sullivan (Morgan Kohan) returning to her hometown of Timberlake, Nova Scotia after a years-long absence when she takes a professional hit as a neurosurgeon, her reunion with her father Harry “Sully” Sullivan (Scott Patterson) isn’t the cleanest. While Maggie’s gotten reacquainted with the Cranebears, Frank (Tom Jackson) and Edna (Andrea Menard), her relationships have been complicated everywhere else.

Maggie’s hurry-up and wait style romance with Cal Jones (Chad Michael Murray) has been a point of contention for viewers throughout the series, along with her difficult relationship with Lola Gunderson (Amalia Williamson). Other characters on the series, including Sydney Shandon (Lindura), keep viewers frustrated throughout each season with the decisions they make in their relationships and for themselves.

Though some of the characters on Sullivan’s Crossing have explanations for their behavior, others seem to be staunch in their ways without any understanding as to why. Sully, for example, clearly has a lot to unpack emotionally surrounding his ex-wife leaving with Maggie, but his anger consistently feels unfounded and unnecessary when it appears he’s moved on with his life.

Throughout the first three seasons of Sullivan’s Crossing, it’s been clear that the characters sometimes feel a bit flat in comparison to other similar dramas like Virgin River. Regardless, Sullivan’s Crossing season 3 proved that there are still frustrating moments lurking around every turn. At the Crossing, too many moments make us want to pull our hair out or toss our laptops.

10. Phoebe’s Inability To Put Maggie First

She’s Focused On Material Happiness Over Sense Of Self

From early on in Sullivan’s Crossing’s run, it’s clear that Maggie has issues with both of her parents. While Sully has long been absent from Maggie’s life intentionally, her mother Phoebe Lancaster (Lynda Boyd) and step-father Walter Lancaster (Peter Outerbridge) were present throughout her life. Phoebe and Walter, who appear frequently in the first seasons of Sullivan’s Crossing, lead very different lives than Sully.

Throughout Sullivan’s Crossing season 1, Maggie grapples with the choice of staying at the Crossing with Sully and returning to Boston, which is spurred on frequently by Phoebe wanting her back home. While it’s clear that Phoebe left Sully for a reason, her consistent pushing for Maggie to come back to Boston feels like it’s working directly against what she wants.

Sullivan’s Crossing season 2 continues the pattern of Phoebe pressing Maggie to return to Boston for part of the season, and her irritating refrains make it clear that she’s not actually putting her daughter first. Phoebe constantly pushes Maggie to do what she thinks is best, but doesn’t actually seem to care how Maggie feels about her own life.

9. Andrew’s Decision To Spill About Maggie’s Pregnancy

He Told Strangers About The Baby

Throughout Sullivan’s Crossing’s first two seasons, Maggie is in an on-again, off-again relationship with Andrew Matthews (Allan Hawco), another doctor who eventually relocates to Boston in hopes that his relationship with Maggie will become easier. While it’s clear that Andrew and Maggie’s schedules have made things difficult, once Maggie’s back at the Crossing, any connection they had begins to fade.

Andrew comes to Sullivan’s Crossing during the second season with Phoebe, after Walter is arrested for fraud and Phoebe has nowhere to turn. While Andrew wasn’t someone Maggie expected to see, she was someone he needed to talk to. When he finds out she’s pregnant with his baby, Andrew seems overjoyed that their lives may be able to get back on track.

Unfortunately, Maggie and Andrew fizzle out quickly after, in part because Andrew feels comfortable going out and telling the Timberlake locals that Maggie’s pregnant despite her barely having told anyone yet. Maggie, who’s not anywhere near pregnant enough to tell people yet, is shocked and appalled when she finds out that those close to her learned about the pregnancy through Andrew.

8. Sydney & Rafe’s Flip Flopping Relationship

They Can’t Decide What They Want, Especially Together

Sydney and Rafe Vadas (Dakota Taylor) have been in a tumultuous relationship throughout Sullivan’s Crossing’s run. When the series began, Sydney and Rafe were a seemingly no-strings-attached match, fooling around after her return to Timberlake from New York City. While Rafe clearly wanted more from Sydney, she wasn’t interested in a commitment and tried to push him away when he got closer.

As the show has progressed, Sydney and Rafe’s relationship has remained confusing and complicated. Throughout season 2, Sydney went back and forth on whether she was romantically interested in Rafe or wanted to move back to New York. Although she gave him a chance, ultimately Sydney was afraid she’d missed out on something in her modeling career, so she left Rafe behind.

By Sullivan’s Crossing season 3, Sydney and Rafe were finally fully together, living in the apartment Rafe’s had throughout the series. While things seemed to be going well, when Rafe’s stress at the fire department started getting to him, his relationship with Sydney suffered. The hot and cold behavior of the couple has become frustrating and needs to be resolved.

7. Maggie’s Stunted Emotional Capacity

She Rarely Gives Herself The Chance To Feel Her Feelings

While Maggie’s clearly an intelligent adult who was capable of carrying herself to incredible heights academically and professionally, it’s clear that she’s had some lingering emotional issues. Though it’s understandable that her relationship, and lack-thereof, with Sully caused emotional issues for Maggie, the way she grapples with her emotions and handles her relationships has become unbelievably frustrating throughout the seasons.

As Sullivan’s Crossing has continued, Maggie’s consistently been one of the most frustrating characters to watch when it comes to figuring out where she stands emotionally. Throughout Sullivan’s Crossing season 3, Maggie’s storylines were full of her dealing with emotional baggage, but it came at the cost of her being able to communicate clearly. Handling things poorly, Maggie’s lack of emotional growth has been underwhelming.

6. Sully’s Inconsistent Anger Management Issues

He’s Always Angry About Something

Sullivan’s Crossing bringing Sully’s character into the mix was a necessary piece of the puzzle for the series, but understanding his behavior has been a consistent frustration for viewers. While Sully’s surliness is part of his charm, there have been moments throughout the show’s run where he seems angry without much of a reason to be, and he always expresses that anger.

From yelling around his house to throwing things at the outpost, Sully’s anger has been a tough pill to swallow throughout Sullivan’s Crossing’s run. By the end of Sullivan’s Crossing season 1, it was clear there may be some explanation to why Sully is so angry all the time in his difficult journey with alcoholism, as well as his hidden guilt.

While Sully was treated for his behavioral issues during Sullivan’s Crossing season 2 and has appeared to become a somewhat more regulated version of himself throughout, he’s still a surly, irritated person at his core. With the addition of Helen Culver (Kate Vernon) during Sullivan’s Crossing season 3, Sully appeared to soften even more, but his anger issues are still baffling.

5. Cal’s Pressure For Maggie To Move In

He Refused To Take Her Not Now As Anything But A No

During Sullivan’s Crossing season 3, Cal makes the executive decision that Maggie should move in with him. While Cal and Maggie’s relationship has been sweet in moments and clearly works for both of them, the pace at which they’ve hit major milestones has truly been shocking. Cal and Maggie appear to have known each other for less than a year.

While it’s clear that as adults, Cal and Maggie have decided they both want to be in a serious relationship and are moving at a pace that feels comfortable, Maggie wasn’t okay with the idea of moving in with Cal so quickly. Cal pushing back that it was because of Maggie having unresolved issues in her life was odd, and when that became true, irritating.

Maggie deciding she wanted to live with Cal was already a concerning choice, especially considering where the rest of Sullivan’s Crossing’s cast wound up by the end of the season. Even so, the frustration at Cal insistently asking and ultimately getting his way wasn’t something Sullivan’s Crossing fans enjoyed or expected.

4. Frank Choosing Sully Over Edna

He’s Chosen His Friend Over His Wife Frequently

Throughout Sullivan’s Crossing’s run, Frank and Edna have been a major piece of the town’s puzzle, but their relationship dynamic isn’t always as wholesome as it seems. Frank, who’s struggled with his family over the years, often defers to Edna’s authority, but when Sully needs him, he’s always there. Frank’s loyalty to Sully is sweet, but can be tough at times.

As a plot point that’s come up on Sullivan’s Crossing in the past, it’s clear that Frank dropping everything to be there for Sully is something that irritates Edna, but even before she brought it up, it was frustrating to watch. Knowing how much Frank loves and cares for Sully is great, but seeing him shirk his wife isn’t enjoyable.

Although Sullivan’s Crossing season 3 sees Frank and Edna as more of a unit than ever, there are still moments that Frank seems to choose Sully over his wife. Though they all consider each other family, Frank’s consistent choice to prioritize his friendships over his relationship is strange at times, and tough to watch as a viewer.

3. Lola Hiding Cal’s Letter From Maggie

She Wanted To Hurt Maggie, But In A Strange Way

Sullivan’s Crossing season 3 did its fair share of work to push viewers into liking Lola after two seasons of irritating behavior, but she’s done some difficult things in the past. While Lola’s definitely grown up throughout the course of the series, Sullivan’s Crossing season 2 featured some of her most difficult behavior overall, when she chose to hide Cal’s letter from Maggie.

Throughout Sullivan’s Crossing season 1, it seemed Lola was against the idea of Maggie coming back into Sully’s life. Lola, who stepped in to become Sully’s surrogate daughter in a lot of ways when Maggie left, was likely jealous of Sully’s actual daughter returning to his life after so many years. When Maggie took an interest in Cal, Lola got worse.

When Cal left to spread his late wife’s ashes and checked out of his cabin at the Crossing, he left a letter for Maggie to share where he’d gone. Lola took the letter before Maggie could find it, which was deeply irritating in itself. When she continued to lie about the letter for ages, Lola looked even worse to viewers.

2. Edna Letting Frank & Sully Overrule Her

She Talks A Big Talk, But Lets The Guys Steamroll Her

While Frank’s behavior is always tough to swallow on Sullivan’s Crossing, the way Edna chooses to let Frank and Sully overrule her is even more irritating. It’s clear that Edna’s always been a strong-willed person who doesn’t feel discomfort in sharing her feelings on the things going on around her, but Edna’s deference to Frank can be irritating to watch.

Though Edna and Frank often have different ways of handling things, it’s clear that they want to solve problems together rather than apart. Unfortunately, when Frank and Sully get ideas and want to stick to them, they rarely allow Edna to have a say in the issue. Whether it’s reporting land developers to the government or talking about Maggie’s difficulties, they don’t always value Edna’s word.

1. Maggie’s Shocking Secret Husband Reveal

This Left Many Viewers Questioning Their Decision To Watch

If someone had told me at the start of Sullivan’s Crossing season 3 that it would end with Maggie revealing she had a secret husband from an off-handedly mentioned summer fling, I think I would’ve laughed. The problem is, the majority of the plots on this show are deeply unbelievable and out-of-nowhere, but “secret husband” sounds even more unbelievable than the rest.

Sullivan’s Crossing season 3 knowing it needs to inject drama into its finale and pull viewers in for its next season isn’t surprising, but realizing they did so with one of the most absurd tropes possible is frustrating. Maggie, who has little-to-no ability to regulate her emotions as they are, having kept a marriage secret for so long is shocking.

Unfortunately, Maggie’s secret husband reveal wasn’t the type of shocking Sullivan’s Crossing should want to be known for. Instead, the show has no choice but to either alter Maggie’s character entirely or make a leap to somehow make this twist fit into her current sensibilities. Sullivan’s Crossing’s finale twist is the most frustrating moment on the show thus far.