In my last Sunset Over Hope Valley re-cap post, I brought up the subplot of Toby and Cooper studying for an upcoming math test, where Toby believed he didn’t have to study for the test because the test questions were the same as the math homework. At the time, I thought this subplot was random, as it wasn’t resolved in the episode. However, it was resolved in this episode, providing an explanation for Toby’s attitude toward the math test. As I watched When Calls the Heart, I thought about how creating a television show is like trying to solve a math equation. Every season, new characters are added to the story. A show’s creative team figures out how to utilize their funds, subtracting money from the show’s budget. Over time, a show attracts more fans, multiplying its viewership. But there are instances when a show’s creative team makes a controversial decision, which divides the fans. In order for a television show to be successful, and even stand the test of time, a creative team needs to work through the equation to find an answer!

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

Season: 11

Episode: 3

Name: Steps Forward

Major stories:

Lucas has returned to Hope Valley to finalize the sale of the saloon. The sale is a success, with Lee signing the official papers. While most people are excited about the new hotel, some Hope Valley residents are not pleased with the changes coming Hope Valley’s way. One of these residents is Jay Campbell. He shares with Lee his frustrations about how busy Lucas has become, believing he hasn’t been heard. Jay turns toward Rosemary in an attempt to catch Lucas’ attention through The Valley Voice. While Rosemary agrees to publish Jay’s thoughts, she also contacts Montague, hoping to not only get an official statement about the new hotel, but to also question him about Lucas’ case. Days later, Rosemary and Lee visit the site for the new hotel, along with Edwin, Lucas, Elizabeth, and her students. The purpose of this visit is to capture photos for an upcoming article. Randall, Rosemary’s rival reporter, attends as well to take pictures for his article. During this visit, Randall reveals how the site actually belongs to Benson Hills, a detail that slipped through the cracks. In this episode, Lucas receives a hotel bid from Montague, but turns it down.

Bill takes a trip to Capitol City in order to prove a theory. Through an experiment, Bill discovers how Pike wouldn’t have enough time to reach the gun’s hiding place, shoot Lucas, and get away in a short amount of time. This leads Bill to speculate a second person was involved. When Bill returns to Hope Valley, he shares his findings with Rosemary. She confesses how she’s planning on questioning Montague under the assumption the phone call is meant to capture Montague’s official statement about the new hotel. During the phone call, Rosemary and Bill learn Montague was at a party at the time Lucas was shot. He claims over a hundred people saw him at the event. Later in the episode, Bill acquires the train schedule from the night Lucas was shot. Rosemary found a newspaper article featuring a picture of Montague from the aforementioned party, with the photo taken after Lucas was injured. Despite the evidence claiming Montague was not involved in the case, Rosemary and Bill agree to not rule him out.

Minor stories:

After school, Elizabeth confronts Toby about his math test. She shares how he didn’t get a good score. This encourages Toby to confess why he didn’t study for the test, stating how he can’t grasp the concept of math, specifically division. Elizabeth promises to help him with his academic issue. Later in the episode, Elizabeth finds Toby crying in the library. He tells Elizabeth how he fears he’ll never understand math. Until she and Toby figure out how to tackle the math issue, Elizabeth suggests not giving Toby any more math tests. Toby is not the only student of Elizabeth’s struggling with a problem. In the Canfield family, Cooper and Angela have a feud. This feud started because Cooper’s baseball was destroyed and Angela’s hair ribbon was used as a slingshot. The sibling’s feud leads Joseph to tell his children about his brother, Jacob. He shares how a feud caused them not to speak to each other. Joseph’s story encourages Angela and Cooper to apologize and replace the damaged items.

Mike and Mei celebrate their five-month anniversary. They want
the day to be special, so they brainstorm ideas. A few days later, Mei comes up
with the perfect date. She surprises Mike with a picnic, taking place on the
spot where the new hotel will be built. Their date is interrupted by the photo
shoot hosted by Rosemary and Randall. In Hope Valley, Faith feels it’s unsafe
to look after Lilly at the infirmary, as she can’t divide her time between
taking care of Lilly and treating her patients. Some of Hope Valley’s women
suggest starting a day dare center, with the idea quickly agreed upon. Henry
even gives the women his former office for free. After the day care’s
establishment, Lilly confesses how she doesn’t have an aunt. Faith allows Lilly
to call her “Auntie Faith”.

Some thoughts to consider:

·       
The longer a television show has been on the
air, the more inconsistencies will appear on the program. When Calls the
Heart is no exception to this statement. After Jack Jr. was born, Elizabeth
relied on babysitters to look after her son. These babysitters have either been
the Coulters or one of her students. But when the day care is established,
Elizabeth takes advantage of the day care’s services by placing Jack Jr. in the
day care. She also makes it seem like finding a babysitter has been a struggle.
During Jack Jr.’s time on the show, Elizabeth has never expressed a problem
with recruiting a babysitter for Jack Jr. With Elizabeth’s attitude toward the
day care, it makes her story seem kind of inconsistent.

·       
In season six, an orphan named Spencer stayed
with the Coulters. Because he was traveling with Grace, the co-owner of an
orphanage, his time with the Coulters was limited, lasting only two episodes.
This reflection made me realize how long Lilly’s story has, so far, lasted. Not
only is she staying at The Café under Faith’s care, a day care was established
because of her and she now calls Faith “Auntie Faith”. These observations have
made me wonder what is the creative team’s ultimate goal for this story?
Perhaps something will happen that will cause Lilly to be adopted by someone in
Hope Valley?

·       
When reading the title names of When Calls
the Heart’s episodes, I’m sometimes left confused by how a title relates to
an episode’s story. The next episode serves as the perfect example. This season’s
fourth episode is titled “Along Came a Spider”. In this episode’s synopsis, the
first line reads “It’s Easter in Hope Valley”. Maybe the connection between the
title and the story will reveal itself when the episode airs. But as of the
publication of this re-cap, I question what spiders have to do with Easter?

What are your thoughts on this episode? Do you think Montague
hurt Lucas? Tell me in the comment section below!

Have fun in Hope Valley!

Sally Silverscreen