In this episode of Chesapeake Shores, Jess asks if something can be “stupidly beautiful”. This question made me contemplate the meaning behind her phrase. What does it mean to be “stupidly beautiful”? Maybe it means receiving wise advice that could be tough to hear, but needs to be heard. This can be making time more useful for yourself, even when it means making up for lost time. Going over necessary decisions that may not be easy to make could also fit this definition. Because Jess’s phrase was not given an official definition, the meaning behind it is up for interpretation. There are other aspects of this season of Chesapeake Shores that can also be left for interpretation. What’s different about things like Mick’s legal woes or Trace’s relationship problems is how they’re going to be resolved sooner or later. Let’s see how these and other situations are explored in this week’s re-cap of Chesapeake Shores!

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

Season: 4

Episode: 2

Name: Leap of Faith

 

Abby’s story: During a business meeting, Abby confronts the CEO of the financing management that was introduced in the previous episode. When she’s questioning him about the lack of documents in the company’s file, her boss interrupts the meeting. In a private conversation, Abby shares that she thinks the financing management is participating in a ponzi scheme because of how the company structure allows more money to come in through new clients. Her boss tells her that she shouldn’t say anything about the situation until they have more information. Abby becomes conflicted about what she should do. At Sally’s Café, she asks Trace for advice on what actions to take. He tells her that no matter what decision she makes, even if it’s a difficult one, it needs to be made. This encourages Abby to email the financing management’s CEO about sending her business firm the rest of the requested files. The next day, Abby’s boss tells her that she was been taken off the assignment because the financing management went to a different business firm. She defends her decision to email the CEO by stating that she doesn’t want people to be financially hurt. While attending an open house with her sisters, Abby reveals to Bree that she plans on reporting the financing management to the authorities. Bree encourages her to do what she feels is right. Abby ends up filing a report on the financing management. The following day, at work, Abby’s boss tells her that not only is the financing management being investigated, but that Abby is being suspended during this time period. Despite being upset about the situation, her boss is proud of her for following her instincts.

Trace’s story: Donovan, the famous country singer from Season 3, pays Trace a visit in Chesapeake Shores. During his stay, he tries to convince Trace to go back on tour. Trace stands by his decision to stay home, telling him that he has more important priorities to tend to. In an effort to change Trace’s mind, Donovan invites him to sing a duet at The Bridge. After he leaves, Donovan gives Trace a guitar as a gift. Also, at The Bridge, Trace helps Emma by taking the blame for her mistake, which involved not putting away cleaning supplies where they belong. Chris, the financial advisor from Season 3, tells Trace that he will be handing over his control of The Bridge back to Trace. This is because Mick thought it’d be a good idea and because Chris is managing waffle houses in another state. Also, in this episode, Trace gives Abby advice about her situation at work.

Mick’s story: Mick visits his business partner again, in an attempt to find the truth. During their meeting, the business partner admits to not seeing eye-to-eye with Mick when it came to business ethics. He even threatens Mick, telling him that he will be accused of being a co-conspirator if he says anything about the situation. Later in the episode, Mick learns that his business partner has officially been indicted and how there’s a chance that Mick could also take the fall for his business partner’s wrong-doing. When he consults with his brother, Thomas, about the situation, he is met with good and bad news. The good news is that there’s a way to prove that he had no knowledge of his business partner’s whereabouts. The bad news is this situation will cause Mick’s reputation to be tarnished to a certain extent. Also, in this episode, Mick helps Jess save her bed and breakfast. Unfortunately, this building is unsalvageable, so there’s not much that Mick or Jess can do. Mick also gives Connor advice about respecting the wishes of his employer.

Megan’s story: Megan is enthusiastic about Sarah and Kevin’s engagement. She volunteers to help Sarah plan the wedding. Megan goes dress shopping with Sarah and coordinates other details for the celebration. When Mick confronts Megan about her involvement in the wedding planning process, she shares that her participation allows her to make up for her absence when it came to planning other family functions. Mick reminds her that because the children are all grown up, she has more time to do the things she wants to do. This makes her feel better about her situation.

Kevin’s story: During an emergency call with his EMT team, Kevin saves the life of his former coach. When he asks him if he has any family to contact, his coach reveals that he’s all alone now. Throughout the episode, Kevin reflects on his memories involving his former coach as well as regrets about not keeping in better contact with him. He talks to Sarah about how his coach affected him at a critical time in his life. He also shares memories with Connor and Trace. At the end of the episode, Kevin surprises his former coach with a mini pep-rally in his honor, inviting former team-mates to the event.

Bree’s story: At one of the rehearsals for her play, Simon comes to surprise her. With him returning from a book tour, Bree is thrilled to have him back in her life. He’s even happy for her when her book surpasses his on a bestseller list. But the more time they spend together, the more she realizes that Simon has, somehow, changed. Throughout the episode, Bree tries to figure out what’s going on. Despite the fact that she can not find an answer, she still feels like something is wrong. When Simon and Bree read through a scene from her play, Bree expects to be kissed by him. This is because a kiss was written into the scene. After Simon kisses her, Bree continues to feel like something isn’t right.

Jess’s story: When David and Jess visit the Inn, they discover that the building is in worse shape than they thought. She asks Mick to help save her Inn. After contemplating every possibility, Mick reveals to Jess that there’s no way that the Inn could be salvaged. Jess is upset by this because she feels that the Inn was the first thing that she could call her own. While still feeling bad about losing the Inn, David suggests looking for a new bed and breakfast through a real agent agency. Jess and David attend an open house later in the episode. At first, Jess doesn’t like the way the house looks. But after she enters the house and goes through some of the rooms, she changes her mind about purchasing a new bed and breakfast. When Jess and David visit the Inn one last time, David surprises her with a sprinkler from the grounds. This is to remind Jess that no matter where they go, they’ll always have a piece of the past with them.

Connor’s story: While Connor is thrilled to take his environmental case to court, Thomas is not. He expresses his frustrations toward Connor and tells him not to take the case to court. Connor asks Mick for advice about what to do. Mick tells him he needs to respect Thomas as his employer. Later in the episode, Connor and Thomas tell the opposing side of the environmental case that they don’t want to take the case to court. The opposing side agrees, giving both of them a settlement to sign. When Connor reads the fine print, he discovers that he and Thomas won the case. After the meeting, Thomas tells Connor that even though the case worked in his favor, he shouldn’t have taken matters into his own hands. As a result, Connor is assigned to research work.

Some thoughts to consider:
• While it’s great to see Megan helping Sarah plan her wedding, I was wondering why Sarah’s mom wasn’t participating in wedding festivity preparations. She, as well as Sarah’s dad and brothers, was introduced last season and Sarah’s family doesn’t live that far away from Chesapeake Shores. I’m hoping that Sarah’s mom appears in upcoming episodes to assist Sarah in planning her wedding.

• Looking back on this episode, I think that Kevin’s story should have been fleshed out more. It seemed like that narrative was glossed over, not exploring the themes of regret and mentorship as fully as they could have. What I think would make up for this is Kevin and Sarah inviting Kevin’s former coach to their wedding.

• In my last Evenings At The Shore post, I predicted that Trace and Emma would become a couple, even if the relationship is temporary. After seeing the way Trace interacted with Emma in this episode, I’m starting to change my prediction. I’m predicting that Emma will think Trace likes her, but he will still try to win over Abby’s heart again. When Emma confronts Trace about her feelings for him, he will reject the idea for starting a relationship with her. This will not only make Emma upset, but she will frame Abby by making her look more jealous than she really is.

What did you think of this episode? Which story was your favorite? Tell me in the comment section!

Have fun in Chesapeake Shores!
Sally Silverscreen