WCTH Episode Review: Into the Woods

   
    Yep. That happened.

    Welcome back for another episode review for the latest WCTH episode! I don't know about you but I'm feeling scared for Team Lucas. This is going to be one crazy finale for us, despite the outcome! Despite the amount of Nathan/Elizabeth scenes I enjoyed this episode. It was fun, sweet, and VERY dramatic! Plus we still got a nice bit of sweet Lucas/Elizabeth scenes, and Lucas still had his own storyline going on so he didn't disappear. (Yay!)

A few notes:

Where did Fiona go??? They brought up her mysterious leaving in the past episode and now have failed to mention even her name. (Writers? Answers?)

Where has Pastor Zeke gone? I thought he was staying? Shouldn't he be getting acquainted with the town?

We've found those Lincoln Logs! I guess Bill gave Little Jack two gifts on his birthday!

We've learned Nathan's horse's name! Newton! I like it! It's a fun name for a horse!

And the motorcycle is back!!!

Trouble in Paradise

    Clara you poor dear! You've only been married for something like an episode and a half, and already your husband has gone missing!!! (What is it with women losing their husbands in this town anyway?) Okay let's first acknowledge Jesse's very sweet dinner he set up for Clara. He had the whole Jack Thornton thing going on with all those candles, and elegantly set the table. And he even made Clara's favorite, grilled cheese! (I didn't know he could cook, but I guess grilled cheese isn't rocket science.) It was very thoughtful and very sweet.

    Then he springs the news on her that Lee has given him his own piece of land to manage...and that he has to get up at FIVE A.M. I am NOT a morning person and so I can sympathize with Clara, but she was so sweet. She could have slept in, but nope! She's getting up to cook her new husband a good breakfast and pack him a lunch!

    And....then he goes missing....and Clara is not happy. (To say the least.) Imagine the fear running through her mind! Her and her first husband Peter were only married for what? Two weeks? And now after being married to Jesse for close to the same amount of time he's in danger, and there's a chance he could die. (And of course Florence has to be the one to run and tell her...)

    She waited as long as she could, but eventually she ventures out "Into the Woods." (How many times could I make that joke in this post? :D )

    Luckily Jesse was perfectly fine, and Clara did as Rosemary said and scolded and hugged her husband. But then we learn that Jesse is far from fine mentally.

    He is totally crushed inside that Lee coming to find him, caused him to become deathly hurt. And at the news from Elizabeth that Rosemary is actually worried about him, he pretty much breaks down and starts crying. (The poor guy!) I've never seen Jesse this upset about something, and rightly so. Lee is Jesse's best friend, and has been supporting him for years. He gave him a chance to work his way up the ladder at his company, and rewarded him for his hard work. Lee was there when Jesse proposed to Clara, gave Jesse advice, and was his best man at his wedding. Now Lee's down, and Jesse feels that he's to blame, yet Rosemary isn't blaming him. We'll have to wait and see what will happen next to these newly weds. Will they find comfort in each other, or will Jesse continue to beat himself up over this, leaving Clara feeling helpless? (I'm wondering if it may be a bit of both.)

Winds of Change

    Someone grab the fire extinguisher! Mount Nathan has finally exploded and started a great big fire!

    Well, this was due to happen at some point. Nathan has held his feelings in for SO LONG that they were bound to explode at some point. And you know what? He's still holding them in!!! Well, in so many words anyway. I think Elizabeth should be able to read between the lines and figure out just what's bothering him. In fact she already has a feeling that she knows what it is. Nathan just wont say it. Alright now, this whole episode has got people talking for sure! Let's start at the beginning and dissect this, shall we?

    Elizabeth starts the whole thing off by telling us that she senses a shift in Nathan, and rightly so. Nathan is even more quiet and AGAIN keeping all his emotions inside. Something just keeps him from sharing his true feelings with Elizabeth. To me it's between these three things.

1. Something that happened in his past.

2. The fact that he believes that he's already lost. (He seems to keep trying to flirt with her, and then the moment he sees her with Lucas he shuts down fast!)

3. It's just the way he is.

    Not everyone has the ability to always say the right words, or is good at communicating their emotions. Nathan is shy, puts his foot in his mouth, and isn't the best at communicating. I'm wondering if this is all the above answers combined, but I guess we'll see.

    Anyhow, we have him picking up Allie, and learning about the field trip. He perked up a bit more there but still had that distance with Elizabeth. Now I know that he's hurt, and sad, but really Elizabeth was allowed to go with Lucas. She hasn't told either guy that she wants them, which actually is the problem here. She needs to be honest with both guys, and explain that she hasn't figured things out and that for now she is just friends with both of them. That wouldn't soften the pain of one guy seeing her with the other guy, but it would clarify things for them. Anyhow, Nathan making Elizabeth feel guilty about going out with Lucas isn't helping. Plus she had every right to go with Lucas, and doesn't have to have Nathan's approval. (Cough! Anyhow...)

    We then of course got that moment Elizabeth spotted Nathan with the binoculars. That was funny, and yet not. (Because I'm Team Lucas! Lol!) Now people could say that every time Elizabeth is with Lucas she's always looking for Nathan, but I'm not sure she was looking for him. She could of been, as I don't know what she's thinking, or she could have just happened to spot him. It was how long she continued to look at him that earns Nathan some extra points. Why did she? Maybe she spotted him, and then started to remember all her concerns about him. Or maybe she just likes him after all...I don't know...(As always...)

    Next we had the fun scene where Nathan is asking Lee is it hard to learn how to drive a car. Hhmmm...I wonder where he got that idea...But it's good that he's taking some steps in trying to win Elizabeth over, and not just sulking. (It's okay if you can't drive Nathan! Elizabeth wouldn't care!)

    Then we had his big heroic moment as he charged "Into the Woods" to save Elizabeth and the children! (Darn it! I wanted Lucas to do it! Lol!) Anyhow, Nathan went off searching for Emily, while Elizabeth stayed back with the kids in the cabin she gave birth to her son in. (Or was it the haunted cabin? Or Mrs. McCormick's cabin? Or maybe the cabin Elizabeth watched those kids back in season 2... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
    So Nathan is out searching in this dangerous weather (Which was actually created by some giant fans!) and he's not finding the poor child! Elizabeth is getting anxious so she steps outside to watch and listen for both of them. Then low and behold! She hears Emily crying her name! She keeps calling, finds her, almost gets crushed by a tree, gets found by Nathan, and he escorts them both back to safety!
    And then...Oh my and then... Then we get the scene that everybody is talking about! Elizabeth and Nathan's HUGE fight! Should I even try and enter this giant debate?

The Fight

    Alright let's break this down. Elizabeth can tell something is wrong. She's known it before this happened, and so she asks him. Nathan doesn't want to talk about it. (But he did ask her was she okay, which is very good!) Elizabeth knows that he's holding back and so she asks him to please share what is on his mind. And that pushed the ignition button on Nathan.
    He then explodes with all his pent up emotions. (And Elizabeth wishes that she could take her previous statement back.) He's angry that Elizabeth put herself and everyone in danger by leaving the cabin. Elizabeth then defends herself by saying that she heard the scared cries of Emily and had to go get her. Nathan says he was going to, Elizabeth says he didn't and that Emily could have died. "You both could have died!" Nathan then shouts!

    So I have my opinion about this whole thing. (Please keep in mind that this is just me personally. Everyone is totally free to interpret this anyway they want. :)

    For me personally, if I had a loved one who was lost in the woods, and heard their terrified cries, not knowing where the other person was who was out looking for them, I may have tried to find them too. It would have been totally different if Elizabeth would have started off on her own, not knowing where Emily was, but as she walked outside to look and listen she heard her. She had no idea where Nathan was or even if he was coming at all. (He could have gotten hurt himself.) And so she heard Emily and went to find her. Was she in danger? Definitely! Was that the wisest move? Not necessarily . But it felt like the natural thing to do, and I may have done the same.

    Now for Nathan...His concern was completely on point, and had every right to be upset that Elizabeth could have been killed. I believe it finally showed his deep down true feelings for her. He really cares about her, and doesn't want anything to happen to her. But the yelling ... yeah that was really loud and off putting to a lot of people. I've never heard him yell that loud. And his attitude wasn't helping his case with Elizabeth or the Hearties. He was just throwing all his pent up emotions around and hammering them right into Elizabeth. And as you saw she was taken back by this whole confrontation.
    Now does this mean Nathan is a horrible person? No. Everybody makes mistakes, especially in the heat of a fight. My concern is whether this is going to be a habit. I watched a movie with Lacey Chabert called "Elevator Girl" and the way the main guy treated her ruined the movie for me. He yelled so loudly at her and insulted her and it was terrible! 
    Now Nathan is not that guy, and I do not take what he did with the offense that some people have. He was upset, concerned for Elizabeth, and just had so much emotion pent up inside from everything that happened this season and maybe even the previous one. And Elizabeth almost dying, and her prodding was enough to finally make all his emotions spill out. And I truly felt his emotions. I can feel that he really cares about her a lot and that he just had SO MUCH emotion lock inside him. But did he need to act the way he did? No. Did he handle himself the best he could have. No. He really could have held it in until he had control over his emotions and could explain more calmly why he was upset. 

    
    The good thing was that it appeared that Nathan was going to apologize...and then as usual he got interrupted. What would have been said? What would have come from it? We'll never know, but this I do know. Nathan had better apologize in this next episode!

Well, there you have it. Feel free to agree heartily with me or be shocked by my words. As I said everyone is totally free to have their own opinion about this whole thing! :)

Substitute Teacher Carson

    Well that was...interesting... Carson actually is a good person to be a substitute teacher. He is very smart and would be able to do a pretty good job. (He's no Mrs. Thornton, but he'll do!)

   Sadly, however, he stole my dream for Lucas. I'd thought it would have been fun if Lucas had volunteered to teach the kids if Elizabeth couldn't. After all he's smart and would have a LOT of interesting stories to share with the kids. But alas, Carson has stolen his chance...Lol!

    I don't particularly have a lot to say on this topic, but it was interesting to be sure to get to see Carson teach the kids. He's an intelligent guy and tried to make things fun for poor Timmy. Well, it may not have gone as well as he would have hoped, but Timmy's small comment to Carson was like a little pat on the back for this doctor.

Team Lucas

    Awwww! Elizabeth made Lucas cookies! And in return he gave her an autographed book bound in leather... Yep, you know the drill! Let's start at the beginning!

    First off...okay...no matter what team you're on you can't deny the way Lucas looks at Elizabeth. He couldn't take his eyes off her, and that smile... yeah that says something for sure!

   
    Next we have Elizabeth's gift to Lucas. Cookies! That was so nice of her, and made for a sweet scene between them!

    And then...oh that sweet man...Lucas gave Elizabeth a present. Turns out that he went the extra mile during their "outing" and got an autographed book for her. BUT that wasn't enough!

    He had to wait to give it to her so he could have it covered...in leather! My goodness! Which is exactly what Elizabeth was thinking! She was paying him a small token of her thanks as he paid for everything during that trip, and then he gives her a gift just as she's trying to give him one!
 

    This man may just be love struck and just continues to shower Elizabeth in kindness. All the time he's just thinking of Elizabeth and what he can do for her. Which brings us to his act of thoughtfulness!

    The binoculars. Elizabeth happened to mention that she was going on a field trip with her students, and so what does Lucas do? He thinks to himself, "Hey! I've got some binoculars! She might like to take them with her!"

    That was seriously thoughtful of him. It wasn't a huge grand gesture. He didn't go out and buy them for her. He just knew he had some and offered them to her. (Applause, applause)

    And I will NOT forget the dog! That was very unexpected and very sweet! It just shows his character, and his sweet and kind personality. (And if anybody doesn't know, Chris McNally has two rescue dogs, and so this scene was probably just natural for him!)

    Next we have Lucas out searching for Jesse and Lee. It's nice to see Lucas becoming one of the guys and being included in the search. And it once again shows his character.

    And finally we have Lucas being the one to go and tell Elizabeth about Lee, and walking her to the infirmary. It could have been anybody, but the writers picked Lucas! Now yes, yes, this doesn't really mean much in this whole triangle, but it was nice for this Team Lucas fan that he got to tell Elizabeth. And it was nice of him as well. He knew she'd want to know, and someone may have been like "Someone needs to tell Elizabeth," And so Lucas probably volunteered went to get her. (Claps hands. Yay!) He SO did not want to tell Elizabeth the news about Lee! He knows how upsetting that would be and could barely get the words out!

    Now of course the question is again...does this mean anything? Again, I. Don't. Know. All I know is that with all the sweet moments Elizabeth and Lucas have had, it's going to be very sad for a lot of people if she doesn't pick him. And did you hear the music that was playing when Lucas gave Elizabeth that book? Remind you of anything? It made the moment feel more like it was really meaningful, and I hope that it's not all for nothing...

Henry

    Oh, Gowen. You poor, poor soul. Can't you ever succeed? You took such a risk, and it worked so well. Now...something is obviously very wrong. How wrong is the question. Is the company going down? Is Henry in serious debt? Has he taken out loans to keep the company afloat? Or...is he stealing from Lucas? The last idea I really have my doubts about. Henry seems to have turned a new leaf in some aspects. But Lucas doesn't know Henry like we do. He's stood up for Henry when that reporter came sniffing for dirt, and decided to go into business with the man despite all the stories and rumors surrounding him. But he doesn't really know Henry, and after hearing what he did to the other oil company, Lucas seriously has his doubts. Which are perfectly valid in my opinion.

    Henry absolutely refuses to show Lucas the company ledgers, and if he doesn't in this next episode, then Henry might be headed back to jail. And not only would he have to serve for being held in contempt, BUT he's still on parole and this one thing would be enough for him to have to serve the rest of his previous sentence in jail as well. (Gulp!)

    And the thing is that Lucas doesn't want this for Henry. He asked Bill was it really necessary to take things that far, but like Bill said once Lucas files the papers it's out of his hands and into the law's. And Lucas has given Henry every opportunity to avoid this. He's asked multiple times is something wrong and for Henry to show him the books. Henry just continues to keep things a secret, and has disrespected his partner. Now Lucas is left with no choice but to give Henry an ultimatum. Show him the books within twenty-four hours, or he'll file the complaint against Henry. Let's hope Henry has the sense to comply, and not make this a legal case. After all, whatever the problem is it has to be better then going to jail, right?

    The last thing about this whole problem is, how will this effect Lucas and Elizabeth's relationship and the finale? If Lucas sends Henry to jail Elizabeth will NOT be happy! Could this whole thing cause the fight we need to get a #McNallyFinale? Could Lucas being tangled in this whole other storyline mean something good for us Team Lucas fans? AND will we be left with a big cliffhanger of Henry and Lucas' company crashing, and them possible being left in debt? Truthfully I'd rather have that be the cliffhanger and not, "Who will Elizabeth pick? Find out next season!"

    I'm very interested to see what happens next week!

"He is my life."

    Yes, WCTH writers. You WILL fix Rosemary's husband or you shall feel my wrath!

    So...who saw this coming? Anyone? Because until they found Jesse alright with no sign of Lee I sure didn't! Now before I start ranting about how Lee can't die, and what not let me just assure you that I feel like he'll live. I mean, with Jack we had some signs in the fact that he kept leaving, and Lee hasn't done that. So I feel pretty good about his chances of living. The big question is, will he have any side effects? A brain injury is a serious thing. He could be debilitated or lose his memory which would be SO TRAGIC for Rosemary!!! However, again I think that all will be well with him in the end. (At least I hope so!)

    But poor Rosemary! How much does this poor woman have to take?!! She so desperately wants a child, and now the love of her life, her right arm, is lying unconscious. Her expression and tone of voice to Carson said it all. Her Lee will not die, and Carson is going to do everything he can to save him. She was SO serious with him, and Carson understands. He's lost a loved one, knows the pain, and I believe he will totally do everything in his power to help Lee.
    As for Lee, he's got such a great support system or family really. He goes down and the entire town is distraught! Everyone is standing outside the Infirmary waiting to see him get well.
And Henry got quite the jab in the heart at the comment from one of Lee's workers. Henry asks who's holding the vigil, and the reply was,

"All his men."

    Ouch! Here's Lee's men all rallying together for their beloved boss, while Henry's about to have a legal case with his company's partner. Maybe Gowen will learn something from all this. And Hopefully Lee will be just fine and make a full recovery! AND hopefully Rosemary will find out that she's pregnant and get to tell Lee when he wakes up!!! (He's going to wake up right?)

Overall Thoughts

    Things are getting pretty hot in this kitchen. A potential legal case with looming jail time, a Mountie and a school teacher conflicted in their emotions for each other, and now we have a very wounded and BELOVED character lying unconscious. Well, I can tell you this. I'm definitely ready for that next episode to be here already.


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