Review: ‘Chesapeake Shores’ 4×01 “This End is Where We Begin”

Hallmark Channel’s beloved original series Chesapeake Shores returned on Sunday night for it’s fourth season. Based on the premiere, it seems like fans are in for a jam-packed 6 episodes of O’Brien family adventures.  

So without further ado, let’s jump right into this review, shall we?

Kevin and Sarah

I can’t start this review off with anything else other than Kevin and Sarah because they continue to grow stronger and are one of my favorite, if not my absolute favorite, parts of Chesapeake Shores. 

The premiere kicks off with Kevin asking Abby about the best “hypothetical” ways to propose to someone. I love how he first went to Abby of all people for advice about this (that’s who I would have gone to for advice too) and bribed her with ice cream. I also love how, one by one, all of the other O’Brien siblings came in and gave their two cents. Everything about this scene is truly perfect and epitomizes what makes this show so special.

Kevin and Sarah accompany Jess to The Inn at Tanglewood for a weekend away which is where he “hypothetically” is going to ask Sarah to marry him. He whisks her off for a picnic lunch on the property and just when it seems like Kevin’s going to pop the question, he knocks over the bottle of wine and ruins their picnic. He starts clamming up and getting super awkward and Sarah, of course, notices it. He plays it off like everything’s fine, even though you can tell he’s super disappointed in himself. 

After a pleasant weekend away, albeit with no proposal, Kevin and Sarah return home to Chesapeake Shores. However, they get a flat tire on the way home and pull over to fix it. Sarah can’t help but notice the sunset over the water, and calls Kevin over from fixing the tire. He realizes that this is actually his perfect moment and gets down on one knee right there by the water. And of course, Sarah says yes and my fangirl heart is squealing with joy.

Abby and Trace

The season 4 premiere picks up with Trace returning from tour having had the epiphany in the season 3 finale that he should have fought harder for Abby and their future if that’s what he really wanted. When he returns home to Chesapeake Shores, he calls her a bunch of times but she has yet to return any of them. He even shows up to the O’Brien household with a bouquet of roses and Mick tells him that she’s not there, even though she is in reality. 

Connor of all people gives Trace the genius idea to “casually” bump into Abby on her morning run down by the beach. It works, but their encounter is a little awkward at first. Trace tells her that he’s decided not to go back out on tour and Abby says she’s happy for him because all she wants is for him to have it all. 

Trace then finally says what we’ve all been waiting for him to say to her: that maybe he doesn’t want that life anymore. But Abby stops him before he can go any further, saying that she can’t get on that rollercoaster again. “Every time we do this, it just hurts more and I can’t hurt any more than I already have,” she tells him. 

He says he never meant to hurt her, which she knows. But she leaves him with this: “I can’t go back, and neither should you.”

Ugh, these two continue to break my heart. They are clearly meant to be but yet still have so much growing to do before they are ready to settle down together once and for all. 

Jess and David

In case you forgot, at the end of season 3, David’s parents offered to buy Jess and David a new bed and breakfast after their other one was condemned for a termite infestation. While they are initially thrilled at the idea, it’s not as great as they thought it would be.

Jess confides in Kevin later on that she actually hates it at the inn; this is in part because she’s constantly reminded of David’s parents, but also because it was something given to them not earned. “This place will never be ours,” she tells him. “It’s a job, not a family.” 

When Kevin asks her whether or not she’s mentioned any of this to David, she says she hasn’t because he seems so happy and doesn’t want to ruin his dream. However, what she doesn’t know is that David is actually feels the same way. But he doesn’t want Jess to know how he feels because he doesn’t want to ruin it for her. Awww, I guess these two really were meant to be together.

David and Jess eventually come clean to each other about how they’re really feeling. Jess cuts right to the chase and says she thinks they should return home to Chesapeake Shores and try to rebuild their inn because it’s theirs and David agrees. 

Episode Notes

• It does not surprise me that Jess once wanted unicorns at her proposal. Like not at all. 
• Another thing that doesn’t surprise me about Jess is the fact that she got lost in the garage as a kid. Although, I do have a thousand questions about how one actually gets lost in the garage.
• Connor and Danielle continue to do nothing for me. #sorrynotsorry
• Speaking of Connor, he might have had the genius idea for Trace to casually bump into Abby on her morning run, but he didn’t quite have the world’s best idea when it came to his job and deciding to take United Metals straight to trial without consulting Uncle Thomas. Seriously, what was he thinking?
• On Abby’s work front, she and the rest of her team at Capital Management are about to potentially take on a new client, The Porter Fund. But Abby needs to take a look at their numbers before a decision is officially made. And it’s a good thing she does because she notices that something isn’t quite adding up. I’m assuming we’ll get more on that in next week’s episode.
• Trace meets Emma, one of the bartenders at The Bridge, and seems super impressed with her singing talents and songwriting capabilities. I’m sure she is going to play a larger role in the episodes to come. But if she and Trace become a romantic item, I will riot.
• Bree is trying to find a producer for her play but nobody seems to be the perfect fit until she meets Hannah, who’s vision seems to match hers impeccably.
• There was not a single Kevin/Sarah scene in this episode that didn’t make my heart flutter and make me supper giddy. These two are the freakin’ cutest and nobody can tell me otherwise.

Chesapeake Shores airs on Sundays at 8/7c on Hallmark.