Jesse Metcalfe Leaves ‘Chesapeake Shores’: What Did You Think of His Exit? (POLL)

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Chesapeake Shores Season 5, Episode 2 “Nice Work If You Can Get It.”]

While the Chesapeake Shores Season 5 premiere revealed just how the Hallmark Channel drama dismantled Abby (Meghan Ory) and Trace’s (Jesse Metcalfe) relationship with the major exit fans already knew about, it’s the second episode that says goodbye to the musician. Trace’s send-off is Metcalfe’s as well.

It’s through flashbacks that we see Trace wrapping up his business before he leaves town. He sells his half of the Bridge back to Mick (Treat Williams). “I need something new, somewhere new,” Trace explains to Abby when she finds out. “I was staying here on account of you, but everything in this place reminds me of you.” He apologizes for what he said following their kiss (even if they had to say what they did).

Then it’s time for everyone else to find out about his plans to leave. Mick tells Trace he has always respected him (despite the barrier between them) and knows he’ll find his path. And while the family expects Trace to join them for a farewell drink, Abby knows he won’t be: “He doesn’t like goodbyes.”

Abby and Trace still get one, though, as she follows him out of the bar and calls him out on just taking off. Where’s he going? “I don’t know,” he admits. “But I think there’s something missing inside of me. Tried to find it in my music, tried to find it in us, now I’m going to try to find it in myself.” They both deserve the best and “maybe now we’ll find it,” he says before he drives off and leaves Chesapeake Shores behind.

Ricardo Hubbs/Crown Media

Elsewhere in the episode:

• It looks like we could maybe see Abby and Jay (Greyston Holt) together in the future. (It’s at least not entirely off the table.) She mistakenly thinks him reminding her of a day cleaning the beach is about a date, then she sees just how good he is with her daughters during said event.
• Bree (Emilie Ullerup) goes into her meeting for that new job (playwright-in-residence at the University of Maryland) expecting to find the same ol’ Jerome (Matthew Kevin Anderson), her high school nemesis. But he’s now going by Jerry and knows he wasn’t very likable. He explains he had a hard time getting to know people and she was out of his league. Needless to say, she takes the job, and we see where this could be going.
• At first, Jess (Laci J. Mailey) keeps the fact that his mother gave her a prenup from David (Carlo Marks), but then Deidre (Gillian Barber) also leaves her jewelry! When Jess finally spills, David reveals he already knew about the prenup and burned it. As for the bracelet, it was his aunt’s, and she and his mother wanted her to have it — and it is real.

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So what did you think of Metcalfe’s official exit from Chesapeake Shores? Vote in our poll below.

Chesapeake Shores, Sundays, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel