Before I start this When Calls the Heart re-cap, I’d like to remind everyone that Thursday, April 16th, is the last day to cast your vote for the Best Movie and Story of the 2nd Annual Gold Sally Awards! The last award will be posted on the April 17th! Here is the link to the poll:
TIE-BREAKER: Crowning the Best Movie and Story of the 2020 Gold Sally Awards
Sometimes, things happen beyond our control. Because we all have our own unique perspectives, we have different ways to reacting to these situations. Blame can sometimes be a choice that is made. Other people decide to take matters into their own hands, wanting to find a solution on their own. Coming together on common ground is another choice to come into the realm of possibilities. The windstorm in this episode of When Calls of Heart causes the characters to seek solutions in various ways. The answers may come quickly, but they may also take awhile to be discovered. In retrospect, these aspects reflect what is going on in the world’s current situation. The Coronavirus is beyond our control. There are people trying to find a solution to the current problem. But everyone has found their own way to react to the situation.
Just a reminder: If you did not see this episode of When Calls the Heart, there may be spoilers within this re-cap.
Season: 7
Episode: 8
Name: Into the Woods
Major Stories:
Elizabeth plans on taking the second half of her class on a field trip through the forest. Since she took the first half of her class on a field trip in the previous week, she has recruited Carson to be the substitute teacher on the day of the trip. The next day, Elizabeth and these aforementioned students head to the woods. While learning about nature, Emily finds an arrowhead. Elizabeth and her students also make use of a pair of binoculars they borrowed from Lucas. As they go deeper into the forest, Elizabeth discovers the wind picking up. Concerned about the safety of her students, Elizabeth ends the field trip early, in order to beat the oncoming windstorm. Unfortunately, they aren’t able to go home before the storm. So, they hide in a nearby hunting lodge until the storm subsides. When Elizabeth and her students arrive at the lodge, she discovers Emily is missing. She learns from Ally that Emily left the group to find her missing arrowhead. Elizabeth leaves Robert in charge of the students while she goes into the forest to look for Emily. Eventually, Elizabeth finds Emily in the forest. Nathan finds the both of them shortly after, then takes them back to the lodge. After the storm ends, Nathan gives Emily her arrowhead. He also criticizes Elizabeth for leaving her students during a windstorm, telling her how she could have put her students’ lives in danger.
During dinner, Jesse tells Clara he has received a lumber block. He also tells Clara that he has to leave early the next morning, in order to collect supplies from the lumber block. The next day, while Lee is fixing his car, he learns Jesse hasn’t returned from the lumber block. After hearing about the oncoming windstorm, Lee heads to the lumber block to retrieve Jesse. Several hours pass by and both men haven’t returned to Hope Valley. Several citizens from Hope Valley organize a search party, including Clara and Rosemary. During the search, Clara fears that Jesse faced a similar fate like Peter did years ago. Rosemary tells her not to worry. Shortly after she says this, they hear a noise that signifies Jesse and Lee have been found. When Rosemary and Clara arrive with the rest of the search party, they discover that Jesse is safe. However, they also discover that Lee has suffered from a bad head injury. At the end of the episode, Lee is unconscious. Rosemary asks Carson to do whatever he can to save Lee.
Minor Story:
At the beginning of the episode, Lucas asks Henry if he can look at the oil plant’s financial records. Henry refuses to hand over the ledger. At the saloon, Mike reveals to Lucas he hasn’t received any payments from Henry. This causes Lucas to turn to Bill for help. He shares his concerns with Bill about Henry’s lack of cooperation. Bill tells Lucas that Henry has twenty-hours to hand over the records or else he’ll order a subpoena. Lucas delivers this news to Henry, which causes Henry to be conflicted over his next step.
Some thoughts to consider:
- In this episode, there was some really good cinematography! One good example is when Elizabeth discovers the growing strength of the wind. The shot was presented as if the audience is looking through Lucas’ binoculars. The landscape itself shows mist moving over the trees, creating an eerie and unsettling presence before the windstorm wreaks havoc.
- While watching this episode, it was disappointing to see some poor decisions being made during the windstorm. I agree with Nathan about Elizabeth leaving her students in order to find Emily. Nathan told Elizabeth he was going to look for Emily. As the only adult in the group, Elizabeth had a responsibility to look after her students.
- I’d like to think Lee is going to recover from his head injury. But because this episode ended on a cliffhanger (similar to the episode that aired before the season five finale) and because Lee’s situation was not addressed in the commercial for the next episode, I’m honestly not so sure. According to the description for an extended preview of the upcoming episode, it says “Rosemary learns a secret about Lee’s past”. At this point, I have no idea what that could mean.
What are your thoughts on this episode? Do you think Lee will recover? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
Stay safe in Hope Valley.
Sally Silverscreen
18 Cinema Lane 