Welcome to my Chesapeake Shores re-cap series, Evenings At The Shore! For me, Chesapeake Shores became such a pleasant surprise, introducing me to a world that was so delightful and characters that were very likable. I’ve been watching this show since the very beginning and I haven’t looked back since. With the premiere of the third season, there was a sort of re-cap into the lives of the characters from where we, the fans and viewers, have last left them. Because there are more key characters on Chesapeake Shores than When Calls the Heart, I will be discussing the events of the episodes based on an individual character’s story. For example, plots and stories specifically involving Connor (my favorite character on the show) will be written in a paragraph titled “Connor’s story”. Also, because Nell and Megan didn’t really get a storyline in the season three premiere episode, they will not be getting a re-cap paragraph for this specific post. Now that the O’Brien family is back together again, let’s start re-capping Chesapeake Shores’ third season!

Just a reminder: If you did not see the season premiere of Chesapeake Shores, there may be spoilers within this re-cap.

Season: 3

Episode: 1

Name: An Open Book

 

Trace’s story: Trace returns to Chesapeake Shores after touring with his band for three months. When he arrives at his house, he is greeted by his dog, Axel, and Abby. Trace not only promises to spend as much time with Abby and her daughters as possible, but he surprises Abby with a pair of boots for her and her daughters, all of them in the correct shoe sizes. While Trace fulfills his promise to Abby, he also fulfills his occupational promise of participating in a photo shoot and interview for a popular country music magazine. Shortly after the photo shoot, which takes place at The Bridge, Trace meets Ben, the person conducting the interview. At the start of the interview, Ben begins asking personal questions that Trace doesn’t feel comfortable answering. Because of this, Trace tells Ben that he’ll finish the interview at a later time. When visiting the Inn, he tells Donovan, a famous country singer who is visiting Chesapeake Shores, that he doesn’t want to answer personal questions in the interview because he wants to protect Abby and her daughters. Donovan also shares with Trace that he once had a family, but it didn’t work out. The next day, Trace and Ben meet up again to finish the interview. Before the interview begins, Trace makes it clear to Ben that he will not be answering any personal questions. From that point on, the interview takes place without any problems.

 

Abby’s story: While Abby patiently waits for Trace to return to Chesapeake Shores, she spends her time raising her daughters and working alongside Douglas at the business management firm. When Trace does come home, Abby surprises him by decorating the interior of his house with string lights. Abby and Trace make a promise to each other to spend as much time together as possible. Throughout the episode, both Abby and Trace keep their promise to each other. One day at work, Abby gets a phone call from Jess. Because Jess sounded emotional on the phone, Abby tries to figure out what happened. When she talks to Bree about Jess’ situation, Abby finds out that Bree was not intentionally trying to write about Jess’ life.

 

Mick’s story: Throughout the episode, Mick is working out the final details of the land settlement case. He feels disappointed about Connor working alongside his uncle, even confiding in Abby that he wished he would have hired Connor as his lawyer. While preparing for the Oyster Festival, Mick tries to tell his son about an important detail relating to the land settlement case, but Connor does not want to listen to him. During the final meeting about the land settlement, Mick wins the case by pointing out an important written statement from the 1950s. This seems to make matters worse between Mick and Connor. At the Oyster Festival, Mick and Connor get into an argument, which only causes more tension between father and son.

Jess’ story: We find Jess managing the Inn and adopting David’s role as the Inn’s chef since David hasn’t returned. When Bree accidently leaves her manuscript in the kitchen, Jess decides to read it out of curiosity. What she discovers are events within the manuscript’s plot that parallel situations from her life. While Bree and Nell prepare the fundraiser to save the Wishing Fountain, Jess approaches them and shares her disapproval of Bree writing about her life without her permission. Jess continues to express her disapproval to Bree at the Oyster Festival.

 

Bree’s story: We find out that Bree is working on a manuscript and that one of her stories is being created into a stage play. Bree also shares that her bookstore is moving locations. When visiting Jess at the Inn, Bree accidently leaves her manuscript behind as she embarked on a trip to her bookstore. When helping Nell set up the fundraiser to save the Wishing Fountain, Bree is caught off guard when Jess expresses her disapproval of having her life story included in the manuscript without her permission. Later, Bree confides in Abby that she wasn’t trying to write about Jess’ life, but that she was trying to incorporate themes and characteristics into her manuscript that she is personally familiar with.

 

Kevin’s story: At the beginning of the episode, Kevin shares that he has been gaining EMT training experience. Kevin also shares his stories from his training opportunities with Sarah as they continue to spend time together. One day, Kevin confesses to Connor that he is concerned about his relationship with Sarah ending in a similar way to how his relationship with Georgia ended. However, Kevin doesn’t mention these concerns to Sarah as they prepare for and spend time at the Oyster Festival.

 

Connor’s story: Connor is still working for his uncle at his environmental law firm. As the final agreement details fall into place for the land settlement, Connor and Mick’s relationship develops more tension. While setting up the beach area in preparation for the Oyster Festival, Mick attempts to tell his son about an important detail involving the land settlement. Connor, however, refuses to listen due to feeling confident about the case. At the final meeting to close the land settlement deal, Connor and his uncle lose the case because of a statement written into the deal in the 1950s. Because of this discovery, Connor was caught off guard and left the room to call his uncle. At the Oyster Festival, Connor and Mick have an argument which creates more tension between father and son. At the end of the episode, Connor plans to move out of the O’Brien house.

Some thoughts to consider:

• When Jess is talking to Donovan about Bree’s manuscript, she tells him that she has dealt with a lot of horrible things in her life, but she has been able to live with those parts of her life because they were secret. Other than her mom leaving the family and Jess mentioning that she has dealt with PTSD, I’m wondering what other situations Jess has gone through in her life. I hope that Jess talks more about her past as Season 3 goes on.

 

• Even if it were just for one episode, I would really like to see Abby’s daughters, Carrie and Caitlyn, get their own story. On When Calls the Heart, some of Elizabeth’s students received their own episode-long story, which were all well-written and well-acted. Since this is a multi-generational show, it would be nice to see Carrie and Caitlyn’s generation receive a little more recognition by giving these characters their own subplot.

 

• When Connor and Kevin are talking about their relationship doubts, Connor shared that he is concerned about his relationship with Danielle. I’m wondering why Connor feels this way and if he was in a relationship before dating Danielle that went sour.

What are you thoughts on the Season 3 premiere? What are your predictions for the rest of the season? Share your thoughts in the comment section!

 

Have fun in Chesapeake Shores!

Sally Silverscreen