With six seasons and five years of screen-time, When Calls the Heart is bound to introduce a variety of characters on their show. Some of them have called Hope Valley their home, while others have gone their separate ways to broaden their Canadian horizons. Sometimes, characters from previous seasons return to the show, even if it’s just for a little while. When new characters arrive near the start of each season, and sometimes in the Christmas films, it’s always a treat for the show itself as well as for its audience. On When Calls the Heart this season, we’ve already been introduced to Fiona Miller. Now, we’ll be introduced to a new character, one that might shake up Hope Valley. Check out this Sunset Over Hope Valley re-cap post if you want to learn more about this character!
Just a reminder: If you did not see this episode of When Calls the Heart, there may be spoilers within this re-cap.
Season: 6
Episode: 2
Name: The Queen of Hearts
Major Story:
- The most talked about event in Hope Valley is the re-opening of the saloon. One of the reasons why is because of the new saloon owner himself. Lucas Bouchard has become Hope Valley’s newest resident. Some people in the town find him to be a charming gentleman. However, there are others who are very skeptical about Lucas’ intentions. One of them is Bill, who, almost immediately, does as much research as possible about Lucas’ past. This is because Lucas hasn’t shared his past with anyone. After calling the police in New Orleans, Bill finds out that Fiona listened in on his phone call. Because of this, Bill recruits her to help him learn more about Lucas. Not only is it revealed that the New Orleans police had never heard of Lucas, but that Lucas, while at Yost’s Mercantile, had called a female and spoke to her about Hope Valley in French. When Bill tried calling this mysterious female and told her he is one of Lucas’ friends, she hung up immediately. A few days later, as Lucas is preparing for the saloon’s re-opening, Bill sees him bringing in a mysterious looking package into Hope Valley. After Bill forces Lucas to open the package, it is revealed to be a box of fish, which Lucas plans on using to prepare a meal. At the saloon re-opening, where the saloon is renamed “Queen of Hearts”, Lucas invites the townspeople to the event. He makes it a point to remind everyone that the event is free. Despite all the things that Lucas has said and done, Bill still remains skeptical about him. Toward the end of the episode, Lucas goes into a back room during the re-opening to hide a box of money in a safe. This box of money was hiding in the box of fish that Bill had inspected days earlier.
Minor Stories:
- After Timmy expresses his desire to learn how to ride a bike, Elizabeth volunteers to help Timmy learn this new skill. While borrowing Cody’s bike, Timmy shares his concerns about falling and embarrassing himself. So, every time Timmy practices riding, Elizabeth holds on to the bike until Timmy has enough confidence to ride the bike on his own. One day, Timmy becomes so frustrated by his concerns of falling, that he decides to quit. In order to help him change his mind, Elizabeth asks Timmy to help her play a piano duet. Elizabeth shares with Timmy that she doesn’t want to embarrass herself in front of her students due to her limited piano skills. But, after the piano duet, Elizabeth teaches Timmy how overcoming fears will help him experience the best that life has to offer. Several days later, Timmy not only continues to practice his bike riding skills, but he also learns to ride a bike with no assistance.
- While working at Abigail’s Café, Abigail discovers that Henry has an interest in the stock market. After talking with Henry about this matter, Abigail considers investing her money. When she consults with Lee and Rosemary over what she should do, Abigail decides to invest her money with Henry. The next day, Abigail and Henry discuss the amount of money that she should place in the investment. After some negotiations, Abigail chooses to invest five dollars. Later in the episode, Henry tells Abigail that her investment doubled in value, allowing her to receive ten dollars. When Abigail shares this news with Lee, he reveals that the company Henry invested in actually lost money. Lee gives Abigail the advice to talk to Henry about the situation. At the saloon re-opening, Abigail approaches Henry about the investment situation. Henry shares that he wanted Abigail to trust him as well as take him seriously. Abigail tells him that all she wanted to do was give him a second chance, which she thinks he has earned. With that, Henry gives Abigail her five dollars back.
- When Jesse and Clara learn that the saloon is looking for new employees, Clara decides to apply for a waitress job. After being interviewed by Lucas himself, Clara receives the job. When she shares this news with Jesse, he becomes skeptical about Clara possibly putting too many responsibilities on her plate. Clara tells him that she accepted this job in order to help Jesse with his financial goals. When she tells Abigail about her new job, Abigail becomes concerned about Clara’s well-being. Clara tells Abigail the exact same thing she told Jesse. Clara’s first assignment at her new job is serving drinks at the saloon re-opening. When Jesse sees Clara working at the event, he still maintains his skepticism.
- One day, Faith tells Rosemary about what Carson told her as they were leaving Rosemary and Lee’s house a few days earlier. Rosemary tells Faith not to lose hope about Carson’s possible feelings for her. Several days later, Carson shares with Lee what he told Faith about the state of their relationship. Lee gives Carson the advice to tell Faith how he feels about her. However, when Carson picks up his dinner at Abigail’s Café, he sees Faith marveling over a magic trick that Lucas shows her and Cody. At the saloon re-opening, Carson gathers up enough courage to tell Faith how he feels about her, telling her that she’s special to him. Faith tells Carson that he is special to her as well. After this conversation, Carson and Faith share a dance together.
Some thoughts to consider:
- Even though Lucas seems suspicious, I really hope that he’s not an antagonist or villain. Based on what I’ve seen and heard from articles, interviews, and fan reactions from the Heartie Family Reunion, it seems like Chris McNally fits in really well within the When Calls the Heart. Also, there have been several characters on When Calls the Heart that have come and gone over the seasons. It would be nice if any of the new characters from season six stayed on the show for, at least, a season and a half.
- While this is only the second episode, it seems like the overall narrative of this season isn’t focusing on the children as much as in other seasons. In this episode, Opal was only on screen for a few seconds compared to the minutes upon minutes of screen-time she’s had in previous episodes. Maybe this is a new story-telling technique that the screen-writers are incorporating into the show, where almost every child in Elizabeth’s class is given a story in each episode.
- Something that I’ve been noticing, so far, is how Elizabeth’s story is not as central to the overall narrative as in years past. In my Sunset Over Hope Valley re-cap posts last year, I wrote about how Elizabeth’s story was, sometimes, one of the major stories of a given episode. Since it’s only the second episode, we’ll have to wait and see if this trend continues.
What did you think about this episode? How do you feel about Lucas Bouchard? Leave your thoughts in the comment section!
Have fun in Hope Valley!
Sally Silverscreen
18 Cinema Lane 