Sweet Magnolias Season 5: Brooke Elliott Finds The Silver Lining In Dana Sue's 'Monumental' Tragedy — And How She Said Goodbye

Spoiler alert: This interview covers the events of "Sweet Magnolias" Season 5, Episode 5. Haven't watched? You've been warned.

Season 5 of "Sweet Magnolias" is a rough one for Dana Sue, whose world constantly feels like its burning down around her — and that's before her house literally burns down at the end of Episode 5. It's a nightmarish ordeal, one that puts a lot of things into perspective for her.

"The fire was so monumental," Brooke Elliott (aka Dana Sue) tells TVLine, adding that there is an element of the experience for which she is grateful. "It was fun as an actress to have your character go through that. That was such a metaphor for her life needing to burn down and regrow."

Just as the show's set has become a second home to the "Sweet Magnolias" cast, Elliott developed a fondness for Dana Sue's house, admitting that she was "kind of bitter" about having to let it go. "I was like, 'Oh, it's going away,' so Anneliese Judge [who plays Annie] and I went through the house and took pictures, kind of saying goodbye to our sets," she says. "That was our official goodbye to that."

That said, Elliott admits that Dana Sue's old house "was a bit tricky to shoot on for the cameras, so maybe it's good" that it went up in flames. "I am eager to see what they find and where we go, if we do get a sixth season."

Without giving too much away for those who haven't watched beyond Episode 5, the fire does nothing to help Dana Sue and Ronnie's troubled marriage. In fact, it puts an immense amount of additional strain on them, making it a catalyst for a much bigger discussion down the line.

"We can consider it the match on the pile of kindling," showrunner Sheryl J. Anderson tells TVLine. "As Dana Sue says, maybe she and Ronnie didn't do the work they should have done when he first came back. And when you build on a faulty foundation, then the house literally comes down. Things have been rough and out of sync with them for a time now, but I think the fire accelerates the inevitable."

After making her directorial debut last season, JoAnna Garcia Swisher directed two episodes of "Sweet Magnolias" Season 5, which just so happened to include Dana Sue's aforementioned house fire. It was a massive undertaking, and the finished result left the actress-turned-director incredibly proud of everyone involved. 

"I felt very honored that they trusted me with it, and I was so grateful to the actors too," Garcia Swisher tells TVLine. "We only had so much nighttime to do this, and we had this crazy amount of technical stuff to get through. But we shot all night long until the sun came up, and everybody was standing by ready. It was really awesome."

OK, let's talk: Were you shocked to see Dana Sue's house burn down? And are you hoping she and Ronnie work things out, or would you rather see them take some time apart? Drop a comment with your thoughts on all things "Sweet Magnolias" Season 5 below.