Just because sisters (by the way, have you heard) are doing it for themselves doesn’t mean that that a show about female friendships can’t involve a little romantic love. Not only are Mark and Emma together on Playing House, but Maggie has a new love interest too. She’s settled in and kicking butt at her new job and finally ready to move on.
Season 2's cliffhanger with Mark and Emma did air in 2015, so let's refresh. After a series of awkward moments and one excruciating conga line at a policeman's ball, Emma came home to find Mark waiting for her on the porch. They didn't say a work, but his expression spoke volumes. Season 3 picks up a few weeks, maybe even a month or so later — and while they've only been on a few dates since, the relationship is decidedly back on. Two seasons of "will they/won't they" is quite enough, don't you think?
Meanwhile, Maggie and one of the doctors at the hospital where she now works have caught each others' eye. Yes, she and Bruce hooked up at the end of Season 2, but that's a dead end. This show has really committed to Maggie and Bruce being over. It’s nice to see them as parents, not really friends, committed to their child and not interested in rekindling a relationship that ended the way it did.
That said, in the first episode Maggie discovers that Bruce is dating her self-defense instructor, Cookie. While she and Bruce mutually agreed that they were not getting back together, it's still no fun to be a fifth wheel at a game night with your ex-husband, your best friend, and their new partners.
With every new season, Playing House addresses romantic questions that other shows don't — or that they do, but in a fresh way, which is all anybody wants. Is sex with someone who hasn't seen you naked in decades ultimately disappointing, or even better? If your mom didn't like your high school boyfriend, will she still disapprove of him as an adult? Is it OK and normal to be jealous of an ex's new girlfriend even if you have no interest in that particular ex?
Emma and Mark get to explore this old relationship, and now Maggie is the one involved with someone new and exciting. While Maggie and Emma's dynamic always takes precedence on Playing House, it's fun to see their other relationships take a few twists and turns.
