For the first time in Hallmark television history, When Calls the Heart aired back to back episodes! As an attempt to get the fans excited about the show’s return, one of the episodes aired on its usual Sunday night, while the other premiered on a Monday. For someone who re-caps the episodes, this means that I had to write back to back posts. However, because these posts are meant to help people stay caught up on their favorite show, I was more than willing to write these articles. I have to admit that, so far, season six is one of the stronger seasons of When Calls the Heart! Despite the “Abigail situation”, this season has made some interesting choices when it comes to story-telling. Keep reading if you want to know more about what I’m talking about!

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: 5

Name: Surprise

• With the arrival of Nathan Grant comes the arrival of his niece, Ally. Not only does she meet Bill in his office, but she also decides to skip school. When she stumbles into the Queen of Hearts saloon, Lucas tries to encourage her to go to school by teaching her a card trick. Later that day, Nathan finds out about Ally skipping school. When she gets caught in her lies, Ally promises to go to school the next day. During her first day of school, she impresses some of the students with her new card trick. However, she uses this same card trick to take advantage of her peers. After Elizabeth finds out about Ally’s scheme, she also discovers who taught her the card trick. Elizabeth pays Lucas a visit at the saloon to share her feelings about his choices. Lucas explains to Elizabeth that he taught Ally that card trick to help make friends in school. The next day, after school, Elizabeth learns from Nathan that Ally’s living situation hasn’t been the most stable. She explains to him that, because of her past experiences, Ally doesn’t feel like she should put in an effort to make friends. So, when Ally joins Nathan and Elizabeth’s conversation, Elizabeth not only encourages her to give her peers a chance, she also tells her to give back all of the items that she “received” from her card trick. The next day, at school, Ally returns these items to her classmates.

• While attempting to dig a well on his property, Jesse discovers that oil was hiding beneath the surface. When he shows Lee and Henry what he has found, Henry suggests that Jesse contact a geologist to study the oil and the ground surrounding it. When a geologist does inspect the area, he encourages Jesse to dig deeper into the soil, as more oil could be found. However, the geologist explains to Jesse that this process would be very costly. In an attempt to help Jesse, Henry approaches Lucas and asks him to invest in Jesse’s land. As a part of his plan, Henry talks to Jesse about buying his land for $1,200. Jesse tells him that he doesn’t want to make any plans until he talks with Clara first. One day, at the saloon, Clara and Jesse both agree to sell the land to Henry. When Henry collects the necessary paperwork in order to move forward with the oil dig project, Lucas expresses his concerns over how his money will be spent. Henry tells him that he has nothing to worry about.

• One day, when Florence and Molly question Carson about his whereabouts, he tells them that he is visiting a nearby town to pick up a new medical machine. Faith also tells Florence and Molly that she will be joining him in order to pick up additional supplies. When Carson and Faith get to the nearby town, they pick up their supplies without any problems. However, when they try to return to Hope Valley, their path is blocked by a large tree. They decide to camp out until they can return home the next day. In the evening, Faith tells Carson about her troubled relationship with her father. When Carson and Faith are in Hope Valley the next day, Faith apologizes to Carson for bringing up so much personal information about herself. Carson tells her that he doesn’t have a problem with this. Tired about hiding their relationship, Carson and Faith decide to kiss in the middle of town one evening. This lets almost everyone know the state of their relationship.

• The Governor’s Chief of Staff, Ronald, visits Bill at his office one day. The purpose of this visit is for Ronald to give Bill an offer for a Judgeship. At first, Bill expresses his frustrations about how judges can be easily taken advantage of. But Ronald reminds Bill that this is why he is perfect for the job, because he is strong and stands up for what he believes in. Throughout the episode, Bill contemplates accepting this new job offer. He even tells Lee about this opportunity, in which Lee encourages Bill to continue thinking about this Judgeship. Later in the episode, Bill helps Lee babysit Jack. During this event, Lee reminds Bill of how good of a judge he would be.

• Rosemary feels like she and Elizabeth are growing apart as friends. This is because Elizabeth keeps cancelling plans to hang out with Rosemary. Determined to fix this, Rosemary plans a girls night in get-together. At first, Elizabeth wants to cancel these plans because she doesn’t have a babysitter for Jack. At the last minute, Lee steps in and chooses to babysit Jack. While Rosemary and Elizabeth enjoy each other’s company, Lee receives some assistance from Bill. Though they experience some challenges, Bill and Lee find success in their babysitting duties.

Some thoughts to consider:

• I’m really glad that Jaeda Lily Miller has joined the When Calls the Heart family! She is one of the most talented young actresses in the Hallmark community and I believe this is the first time that a Hallmark Hall of Fame alumni has ever appeared on the show! Ally seems like an interesting character, so I can’t wait to see her story develop over the course of these next episodes!

• During this episode, Faith talked about her relationship with her father. Could her father make an appearance this season? When Calls the Heart has, sometimes, incorporated stories of family reconnections into their narratives. So, the possibility of mending this relationship makes sense. I wonder if the medical machine that Carson picked up will have anything to do with Faith’s father?

• There were a few things that Lucas said in this episode that caught my attention. When talking with Ally, Lucas tells her that he didn’t have friends growing up and that he was a “loner”. When confronted by Nathan at the saloon one evening, Lucas tells him that he’s only cheated once. After thinking about what Lucas said, I wonder if he cheated something and not someone? I speculate that Lucas was either bullied at a young age or has survived a major tragedy. When Calls the Heart hasn’t really explored themes like bullying or large-scale tragedies in their narrative before, so including these potential themes into Lucas’ story would be very interesting. It would explain some of Lucas’ behaviors and choices so far, such as sharing very little information about himself.

• At the beginning of the episode, a tremor rocks Hope Valley. However, I thought this aspect of the episode was glossed over. This tremor could have been used to teach the children at school about how the earth works or helping one of the characters address fear. But, after looking back on this episode, I wonder why this tremor was included in the episode in the first place?

What did you think about this episode? Which predictions have you made for the next episodes? Share your thoughts in the comment section!

Have fun in Hope Valley!

Sally Silverscreen