Sunset Over Hope Valley: Good Memories help Time go by

I can’t believe we’re already half-way through the 5^th season! Time really does fly when you’re celebrating a wedding, saving a town’s finances, or visiting your favorite Canadian small town. The creative team behind When Calls the Heart has, once again, not failed us in providing stories that are fantastically written and engaging. This leads Hearties, like myself, to want to come back for more stories and see how they unfold for our favorite characters. The writing is just one of many things that make When Calls the Heart as special as it is. Now it’s time to talk about this latest episode re-cap!

Just a reminder: If you did not see this episode of When Calls the Heart, there may be spoilers within this re-cap.

Season: 5

Episode: 6

Name: Love and Marriage

Major Stories:

Jack and Elizabeth enjoy their new life as newlyweds. The early honeymoon ends abruptly when they find out the bank is threatening to take away Jack’s plot of land due to legal contractual reasons. Mr. Jenkins tells Jack that if he wants to keep his land, he only has a few days to pay the bank. Elizabeth considers asking her father for some financial help, but Jack assures her that he will figure something out before it’s too late. One day, at Abigail’s Café, Elizabeth reveals her and Jack’s situation to Abigail. Upset by this recent news, Abigail confronts Mr. Jenkins and persuades him to let Jack keep his land. The bad news keeps coming when Jack shares that he accepted a Mountie assignment where he trains young Mounties, causing him and Elizabeth to be apart for two months. This destroys their previously planned honeymoon to Chicago. Elizabeth tries to make the best of the situation by suggesting their honeymoon take place during the trip to Jack’s Mountie assignment. On the morning of their trip, Mr. Jenkins shares that Jack will be able to keep his land after all, especially if Jack hands in his payments on time. Both Jack and Elizabeth are pleasantly surprised when they find out that Abigail helped to change Mr. Jenkins’ mind.

At recess, Phillip and his friends are playing baseball. During the game, Phillip misses a ball that was aimed toward his glove. A few days later, Elizabeth notices that Phillip is having difficulty seeing the board. Remembering how discouraged Phillip seemed after the baseball game, she convinces Phillip to go visit Dr. Carson after school. When they visit Dr. Carson, he discovers that Phillip needs glasses. After receiving his glasses, Phillip realizes that his vision improved, despite dealing with some teasing. A few days later, Phillip confesses to Elizabeth that, after receiving his glasses, he started getting bad headaches. When Elizabeth and Phillip take another trip to Dr. Carson’s office, Dr. Carson shares with Elizabeth that Phillip has a medical condition called glaucoma, which causes blindness if not taken care of quickly. Frank later volunteers to take Phillip to the children’s hospital in Cape Fullerton, where he will receive the proper treatment.

004size — Glasses image created by Freepik at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/round-vintage-glasses-silhouette-icon_708667.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/vintage”>Vintage vector created by Freepik</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

Minor stories:

Because of the lack of funding in Hope Valley, neighbors have been encouraged to donate unwanted items to those in need. A student from Elizabeth’s class, Laura, receives a coat containing a letter that was hidden in one of the pockets. She asks Bill to help her find the intended receiver of the message, especially since he was an investigative detective. After some persuading from Laura, Bill gives in to helping her. They ask almost everyone in Hope Valley about the letter, but no one seems to know who wrote it. While examining the coat, Bill notices that a piece of red hair is found on the coat. Assuming that it belongs to Molly, they ask her about at the Mercantile. Unfortunately, she denies ever owning that coat. In a last attempt to solve the mystery, Bill and Laura visit Abigail, asking her if she knows anything about the letter. Right when Bill and Laura are about to leave the Café, Abigail remembers that Florence’s husband wrote the letter before he passed away. After this conversation, Bill and Laura find Florence to present the letter to her. Florence is not only moved by this new-found sense of closure, she is also pleased with how her old coat looks on Laura.

After Jack and Elizabeth’s wedding, Rosemary starts to become jealous of the couple’s relationship. She reminiscences about her wedding day and misses the feeling that came afterwards. Determined to overcome her jealousy, she decides to do small favors for Lee, such as making him lunch. Unfortunately, these good intentions don’t work out as Rosemary had hoped. Lee starts to figure out what is happening with Rosemary as she looks at her and Lee’s wedding album. One evening, Lee surprises Rosemary by setting up a candlelit dinner and presenting her with tickets to The Pirates of Penzance. He reminds her that even though they’re not newly-weds anymore, he will always love her.

While Frank is staying in Hope Valley, he and Abigail spend as much time together as possible. During this time, Abigail notices that Frank talks a lot about his volunteer work with the children’s hospital in Cape Fullerton. Several days later, she confesses to Elizabeth that she feels Frank’s heart is somewhere else. When it is revealed that Phillip needs medical treatment in Cape Fullerton, Frank volunteers to take him to the children’s hospital. Before Phillip and Frank leave Hope Valley, Abigail accepts Frank’s decision to continue volunteering at the children’s hospital instead of staying in Hope Valley.

169 — Hand-written letter image created by Veraholera at freepik.com. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background vector created by Veraholera – Freepik.com</a>. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/love-letter-pattern_1292902.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

Some thoughts to consider:

Now that Jack will be training young Mounties, I wonder if the storyline of Jack bringing a young Mountie to Hope Valley looking for “Christmas inspiration” will be incorporated into this year’s Christmas movie? Last year, this specific plot was a part of the official synopsis for When Calls the Heart: The Christmas Wishing Tree. I was so excited to see this story come to life on-screen, wanting to know more about the “young Mountie” character. Sadly, this plot was taken out of the movie, so I’m hoping this story gets a second chance at being told (especially since it makes sense with what’s going on in the series).

I’m kind of disappointed that Jack will be temporarily absent from the rest of the season (again). When he left Hope Valley in the middle of the fourth season, the rest of that season felt like something was missing. I was honestly hoping that his character wouldn’t go on an extended leave this season, but I guess we can’t get everything we want. I just hope Jack can return in the Christmas movie later this year.