Good Witch: Season Five Preview

By: Ellie Dolan-Yates

“Do all stories about Middleton have something to do with mystery or romance? Not all of them. Some of them are about magic.” June 9, 2019 is when we will get to see Middleton’s latest story. Yes, the brand-new season of “Good Witch” will soon be premiering on Hallmark Channel. It looks to be an exciting series with lots of changes ahead. If you haven’t seen “Good Witch before,” it has all the feel-good to make your day better. Set in the friendly town of Middleton, Cassie (Catherine Bell) is the owner of Grey House B&B and Bell, Book & Candle gift shop who always seems to know how to help her fellow townspeople. As she tries to pass it off as “right place, right time,” I for one am not buying it. It’s magic! How else could she know the combination to unlock the town’s new doctor Sam’s (James Denton) house next door? That’s where the series started and after four successful seasons we’re getting ready to settle down to cosy nights filled with magic once again. Of course, there are several films that proceeded the television series, so if you wanted to catch up on the entirety of “Good Witch’s” magic so far, you’d better hurry up!

First of all, we’ll see Abigail (yes, Abigail) played by Sarah Power as the town’s new mayor taking over from Mayor Tinsdale (Catherine Disher) after it emerged that Martha was in fact a resident of Blairsville. Oh, the irony! After Martha’s meltdown at receiving the news that she had to step down from her position as mayor (which included her stealing her beloved gavel), Abigail was promoted from Council President to Madam Mayor. What Abigail’s leadership of our favorite town brings remains to be seen, but if anyone can get their own way it’s Abigail – with or without magic. Abigail’s reign as mayor of Middleton may be short lived; however, as she has her romance with handsome “I.T. guy” Phil (Sebastian Pigott) to consider. After their misunderstanding during his stay at Greyhouse in Season Four, Abigail and Phil grew close – even sharing a kiss! We thought their relationship was a sure thing when Abigail’s meddling secured Phil the Old Mill for his business yet Phil decided that Portland was the better HQ for his business, leaving Abigail single once more. Though “Good Witch” wouldn’t be “Good Witch” without a few twists and turns and sure enough just after Abigail had bought Sam’s house, Phil returned asking her to move to Portland with him! Will Abigail’s new love for the town be enough for her to stay and lead it, or did she find a bigger love in Phil?

It will be interesting to see what is in store for Nick (Rhys Matthew Bond) and Grace (Bailee Madison) this season as they spent most of last season at loggerheads. Will the tension remain or will they become doting brother and sister to each other? Season Four ended with them bickering over their wedding speeches, then making up after both revealing their speeches contained thoughtful words about each other, only to end up bickering again. Siblings, eh? However, this year Nick and Grace are set to graduate from high school and talk of colleges was apparent throughout Season Four. Will Grace stay close to home or will she follow in her mother’s footsteps and explore the world? Over the years Nick has made it clear that he doesn’t particularly enjoy living in Middleton, but he has started warming to the town – even finding ways to help out his fellow townsfolk. Nick seemed very unsure as to what he wanted to do after graduation, so it will be interesting to see if he wants to move far away from the place he used to hate or if his new appreciation for his home and newly formed family will mean he sticks around. I guess we will just have to wait and see which path they both choose next.

It seems as if Stephanie (Kylee Evans) will be kept very busy throughout Season Five as she decides to expand her business and set up a food truck. As if business wasn’t booming enough, what with Cassie, Sam and Martha visiting the Bistro at least three times a day! It will also be interesting to see if Stephanie finally gets the happily-ever-after she deserves. First, Abigail did all she could to stop Stephanie and Sam being together because, clearly, everyone could see Cassie and Sam were meant to be. Then, in Season Two she started a relationship with handyman Ben (Jefferson Brown) who helped her expand the Bistro, but that sadly came to an end in Season Four. However, at the end of Season Four we saw Stephanie and Sam’s best friend Liam (Seann Gallagher) connect. Although things kept getting in the way of them actually being able to talk to each other for a while, they did get to kiss before the series ended. Will Stephanie finally have found true love or will her new business venture keep her too busy?

There may be one more little event to look forward to in Season Five and that is the wedding of Cassie and Sam. No biggie! Not like we’ve been waiting four seasons already! It was all looking a bit shaky towards the end of Season Four though, as Cassie almost failed in her round-the-houses search for the wedding dress her ancestor Elizabeth Merrywick was supposed to wear for her wedding. Just as Cassie looked uncharacteristically set to give up, Grace found the very wedding dress Cassie was looking for in the dress store. See? Magic! Then, there was the whole flower situation in which the flowers Cassie wanted for the wedding magically appeared in somebody’s garden…Only for him to kill them off with a weedwhacker! Next, just as everybody had managed to pull together to get the wedding ready, Sam and Cassie gave their day away. Yes, the big day came but it was Stephanie’s Marine serving sister and her fiancée who got married instead as they were both due to be deployed on separate missions for a year. Keeping up? After leaving us on tenterhooks throughout that last episode, Cassie and Sam found the perfect place for their wedding to finally go ahead. The wedding has been all but confirmed by the cast, too. Way back in September 2018 Dan Jeannotte, who plays Cassie’s step-son Brandon from her previous marriage, posted a couple of indicative photos on his Instagram account. One featured himself, Bailee Maddison and Rebecca Dalton (Tara) looking very dolled up. Like “we’re at an important wedding” dolled up! To add to the speculation of the wedding finally going ahead, Sarah Power posted a photo with Rebecca and Dan and who should be in the background showing off his wedding band? James Denton! Eek!

It sure does look like this will be yet another great season of “Good Witch,” with a few surprises along the way. I’m sure, as usual, there will be plenty of new faces passing through Greyhouse. In fact, one of them will be Kathy Najimy of Hocus Pocus fame playing Cassie’s old friend Willow. More magic! Speaking of magic, Sam does seem to be catching on to the fact that there may be more to Cassie than most people know. He is starting to wonder just how “things happen right when they’re supposed to.” Will he finally ask her another important question, “Are you a witch?” Maybe not the best question to ask your new wife, but hopefully we will get to see him discover the true cause behind Middleton’s magic. We can’t wait to see his face if he does.