Maggie’s (Janine Turner) mother, Jane (Debra Mooney) arrives in town, with her new beau, Leland (Linden Chiles) still believing that Maggie and Joel (Rob Morrow) are still engaged and there’s a wedding in the offing.

The Mommy’s Curse was written by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, this episode debuted on 1 February, 1995.

While that problem percolates for Maggie, with the sudden arrival of Joel back in town, other things are afoot in Cicely. And Leland dies on the pool table of The Brick! Does Jane suffer from the same curse on her beaus that Maggie seems to have?

Holling (John Cullum) and Dr. Capra (Paul Provenza) get wrapped up working on Holling’s new boat. Which ruins Holling and Maurice’s (Barry Corbin) sauna day. Maurice gets his nose out of join, and invites Ed (Darren E. Burrows) to come with him. Maurice goes out of his way to cause Holling grief, his sudden jealousy over Capra and Holling spending time together.

And Walt (Moultrie Patten) gets back in town, and Ruth-Anne (Peg Phillips) hires him to help out in the store. And you know that can’t go well, romance interfering with work. They clash over everything, but try to keep it in the store only. And it’s not going well for either of them. Can they figure it out and keep their relationship going?

This one is goofy, fun and has some nice little character beats. It also delicately steps around the ideas of male friendship and jealousy. But I really like how Maggie’s character grows by the end of the episode. She’s got a new look on life and relationships.

The Quest is definitely an odd-duck. Written by Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, this was first broadcast on 8 February, 1995.

Joel asks Maggie to join him on the hunt for a mythical city?!

Chris (John Corbett) sues Capra for malpractice and Michelle (Teri Polo) has to write a restaurant review for The Brick.

Things start out well enough, Chris and Capra seem to get along, but then Bernard (Richard Cummings Jr.) lets Capra know that Chris is claiming a number of problems resulting from the removal of some impacted ear wax.

And Hollling and Shelly (Cynthia Geary) pull out all the stops to impress Michelle.

And the adventurers? It combines myth with reality, and is a lot of fun and entertaining. I like the way the characters interact, and it’s fun to see them together again.

The Chris/Capra story is a little story, and honestly, doesn’t really seem in-character for Chris at all, until there’s a final reveal.

But the best part of the story is the Maggie and Joel story, and that one shines, though it has a bittersweet ending. It’s fun, and charming, while the rest of it seems a little sadder and darker. Joel makes his final goodbye to Maggie, and leaves the series with the discovery of his jeweled city.

And with that we’re now well into the final half of the final season. I bet we see some more characters and arcs wrapping up…