WCTH Episode Review: A Moving Picture

 
    Hello, hello, Hearties! Welcome to my first episode review for Season Seven of When Calls the Heart! (Yay!) Oh, my goodness! We finally made it! It's actually here! I watched the first episode on Monday, and, if you know me, you know I have some things to say!

    In general the first episode was fun and enjoyable. It made me laugh, and gave me a BUNCH of Lucas. (Yes!)

    Random things I want to point out.

    Lucas can paint! And very well, I might add. What can’t he do? (Hammer nails to start… :D )

    Gowen has a beard! It’s an in between look. Not as full as Season One, but not clean shaven like prier Seasons.

    Also did you see that new blue car? Man, Hope Valley is changing.

    We finally got to see Gustaf, (Or however his name is spelled!) Lucas’ French chef! I hope we see more of him. He could add some funny scenes, and maybe even become a side character!

    Baby Jack has a hat! (Even though he took it right off the moment Elizabeth put him down. :D ) He's grown quite a bit since last season. (Still cute though. :)

    NO ONE mentioned Abigail in the slightest. It’s really weird when you think about how close of a friend she is. Yet if I’m being honest, I didn’t even remember the fact that she was absent until after the episode was over.

 
    And now without further ado, let's get onto the review!

 

Elizabeth's Book

   Elizabeth has finally decided to get back to her writing. It's definitely time. She started back in Season 3, tried to have it published in Season 4, and then never brought it up again until now.

    And (Wee Wooo Wee Wooo! Team Lucas alert!) She entrusted her writing to Lucas! (Yes! Score!) Now there are two things I'm going to point out.

    First, we learned Lucas' mother's name, (Helen) and her occupation. (An editor.) The reason for Lucas' love of books is revealed, and it's mostly due to his mommy. (Awww!) It's sweet, and has made me hope that maybe she'll make an appearance some day!

    Second, (and this is a sad one) this was the first time I believe that Elizabeth ever related to Jack as her late husband. Before she’d just have said “Jack did this,” or say, “I came alone.” Now she’s actually acknowledge that Jack is gone. (Very sad!)

    

    Anyhow, Elizabeth is back to writing thanks to some help from her two suitors. Which brings me to my next topic.

 

Lots. Of. Lucas!!!

    What was one of the best parts about this episode? LOTS OF LUCAS!!! Man, that guy is just fitting right into Hope Valley, and we got so many scenes with Elizabeth and Lucas together. He’s really showing himself to be a kind and caring person. Every time Elizabeth shares a dream or ambition he’s going all out to make it happen. He’s encouraging her, and challenging her to be better.

Elizabeth brought up her writing, and Lucas offered to read it and help her. (Good idea, WCTH writers!) And what do you know but there was that peeking scene I talked about in an earlier post! Someone commented to me that maybe Lucas was reading her writing, and they were right! Good job! (You know who you are! ;)

   And I know how she felt letting Lucas read her stories! I’ve tried writing something other than a blog post before, and I know the angst and suspense of letting someone else read and critique it! I can sympathize with her, including when Lucas offered his advice. It was actually solid advice, even if Elizabeth had a hard time excepting it. (And after she repeatedly asked him to be honest! Lol!)

    It was funny when she awkwardly walked pasted Lucas and Gowen, and Gowen’s like, “What did you do now?” It makes them sound more like a couple actually. (Yay!) Then finally we have in the end when Elizabeth goes to talk to Lucas, and he so quickly tries to take back everything he’d said, so it wouldn’t be so awkward between the two of them! :D He really does NOT want to be on her bad side! But in the end she actually heeded his advice and decided to write a full out novel!

    I wonder if the title has anything to do with the ending of this season. (Oh, I really, REALLY hope not!) I also wonder if Elizabeth will put a male lead in her story (Yes, I know what the title is.) and who it would resemble the most…(Oooo!)

   

 

Wedding Preparations

 

    It’s wedding planning time people! Brace yourself, Jesse, for a whirlwind of dresses, flowers, and craziness! You know, until that episode I never thought about the fact that Clara had had a small wedding already. Her and Peter (her first husband) had sort of eloped, so it was probably very small, with very few people. No wonder she wants to do it big this time.

    It’s also interesting to note that this is her second wedding, while this is Jesse’s first. I can already see the frustrated fight that very may ensue toward the end of this season. Jesse wants it small and sweet, while Clara wants it big with everyone celebrating their big day. But no matter what they choose it will be fun to see their wedding. Clara mentioned it being an outside wedding! My first comment was, “Gazebo!” Rosemary and Lee were supposed to have one at their wedding. Maybe Lee will build them one as a wedding present, and then Hope Valley will have its very own pretty little gazebo!

    We’ll have to see how this plays out, but I hope it will remain an outside wedding. (Even without a gazebo. :)

 

The Coulter's Anniversary

    There's something about Hope Valley. Once you get there, it seems to never let you leave. Lol! How often does someone plan to go on some great trip and it doesn't happen? Well, Lee and Rosemary may still go to LA, but maybe at a more convenient time. (Like the end of the season.) So don't worry Lee. You still may get to wear that convict swimsuit after all! :D
    It was interesting to actually see what their swimsuits look like. Nobody has EVER gone swimming in the entire history of this show, so we never got to see any swim apparel. And sunglasses have finally reached Hope Valley as well! My, my...
    While I'm glad the Coulters are staying in Hope Valley for now, it's sad for them that they had to postpone their vacation. However Lee, with the help of Lucas, managed to pull off a night that nobody will forget. You know, I think Lee and Rosemary could have spent their anniversary in a barn and still have been happy. They're just happy to spend time together, laughing, and supporting each other.

 

Motion Picture

    Well, hasn't Hope Valley reached a new level of modernism? Their first motion picture. It was fun to see what it was like back then to watch a movie. They hung a sheet, and everybody sat and watched while someone turned the wheel on the projector the whole time. They even had sheet music that someone had to play during the whole thing.

    But my goodness, that movie! The poor woman was literally run over by the front of the train! I was actually wondering for a moment if the event was going to turn bad as everyone gasped in horror! But it all turned out good in the end. Even if the man lost his pants! Lol! Elizabeth covered Opal's eyes to shield the innocent child from such a sight! :D

 

 

Faith & Carson

    Faith is back! Or is she... Poor Carson! No sooner does his beau finally come back, then he learns that she may be leaving him again! And this time permanently! Now personally I think Faith should stay. Why trade a wonderful loving community, and boyfriend for a bigger job far away in a city? Now of course looking at it from a nurse's perspective Faith could see this as an opportunity to help more people. But the way I see it is, there are plenty of good nurses who would jump at the chance to have that job, but less who would be willing to leave the city and come to Hope Valley. The people there need Faith's help.

    And on top of everything can I just point out the biggest point? Carson actually admitted to Faith that he loves her! That's a big step! And then Faith said it back! This isn't just a random kiss in the street reveling their relationship. This is getting serious. I'm just not sure what's coming next.

    The way I see it, this is the perfect opportunity for Andrea Brooks (AKA Faith) to leave the show if she wanted. Yet I'm not sure that that's going to happen. Remember Elizabeth in Season 1? She got offered a teaching job back east, and she didn't take it. (And we all know why!) I'm thinking it might be the same for Faith, but again I'm not positive. We'll just have to wait till next Sunday!

Gowen's Interview

    Look who's smiling! Henry is truly becoming a real part of the Hope Valley family. Everyone is treating him with kindness and respect. They protected him from the snooping reporter (Which by the way, is the mayor from the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries!) and refused to give her any dirt on the less then squeaky clean man. I'm finding that Henry Gowen is funny and makes me laugh with his little remarks. I already mentioned his comment to Lucas earlier, and he also gave Lucas some "free advice." Lol!
    It is sad that for Gowen that his spot in the paper was taken by Fiona. It just showed him that people were more interested in his past, and not his current state of life. But good thing for him that he has his Hope Valley family. The way they take care of him shows wonderful forgiveness, and love. They didn't have to, but they chose to.

 

Cat Got Your Tongue? 

  

    Nathan said something! Despite the fact that Nathan was very absent for some reason this episode, he finally said something to Elizabeth. It's very sad for Team Nathan that he was gone for most of the time, and causes me to wonder. Shouldn't Nathan be a main part of the episodes if he may turn out to be Elizabeth's choice? (It's true he has a VERY good chance.)

Anyhow, even with his few scenes I HAVE to point out two particular scenes. Okay maybe three. :)

    First, the fact that Elizabeth saw Nathan and wanted to have a nice conversation with him. That's a good sign for Team Nathan. However, Lucas wasn't having any of it. Lol! He saw the girl he likes talking to his competition, and decided he'd join the conversation. (He just had to tell Elizabeth about his books. Lol! You're so jealous Nathan!)

    Second...Oh, my goodness! Nathan actually had the perfect chance to talk to Elizabeth! She didn't walk away when it got awkward! She tried to pull those words out of his mouth, and actually acknowledge the fact that he was having a hard time getting his words out. I wonder what he meant about his better judgement keeping him from saying what he wanted to say? Maybe he's afraid to say how he feels, because he knows that Elizabeth may not be ready. Or he believes that Elizabeth likes Lucas and is afraid that he'll be rejected. Or maybe he's afraid to love after losing his sister. (Gasp!) Whatever the cause, at least he said something, and Elizabeth gave him a promising statement telling him to, "Let her know when he figured it out." Oooooo!

    Lastly, we had that scene that Team Nathan is talking about by the pond. This is where it happened! The moment Nathan actually made a move it may seem toward Elizabeth! (Dum, dum, duuuummmm!) Elizabeth all distraught at Lucas' disparaging words, is contemplating her dream of writing when Nathan comes along on his horse and asks her this question.

    "What's in your heart?"

    You know Nathan? You and I may have our differences, but this is something we can both agree on. What is in Elizabeth's heart!?! And then he doesn't stop there, but wittily throws her the line she used on him back at her. "Let me know when you figure it out." That sounded like he was asking her out!

    My thoughts on this episode? 

    I enjoyed it. I got to see Lucas in a bunch of different circumstances. Sticking up for a friend, being a friend, down to earth playing cards with the guys of Hope Valley, possibly being jealous, sharing his past, and trying to help make a dream come true. He cares about people. (Especially Elizabeth! :) I know that the things he does for Elizabeth tend to be grand gestures instead of little things like carving an Emerson quote. (Although, when I think about it that was pretty big.) But Lucas pours a lot of his time into helping others. He helped Lee with the anniversary party, he took the time to read Elizabeth’s stories, and he really tried to help her become a better writer, and offered his advice. Even though it was hard to do. He continually tries to help make Elizabeth’s goals and dreams become a reality.

    But, (There’s always a but isn’t there.) despite all of the Lucas and Elizabeth scenes in just this episode, I can’t help but feel that the show is hinting more towards Nathan. I feel like Lucas may be the one who gets brushed off in the end, and has to smile and say he just wants Elizabeth to be happy. I don’t know about you but Nathan has some catching up to do. And some cheering up, if I may add. It may just be his past, or that he’s shy, but he doesn’t seem all that happy at times. Not to mention I’ve barely seen him talk to anyone. In the Christmas episode and this one combined he talked to like three people. I know that he’s most likely hurting, and possibly scared but he needs to be happier, get to know some people, and make some friends. Maybe that will happen in the next episode. (I wish it came on today!)

    Thank you so much for reading! Feel free to drop a comment below or on my Twitter page! (Blog comments will be answered in a separate blog post. Please no spoilers.) God Bless!