WCTH S8 Episode Review: The Kiss - Part 1

 

    (Clears throat…)

    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

    She picked Lucas! She picked Lucas!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKK!!!!!! I mean… is this even real? Surely I’m just dreaming this up. (Gets up Twitter or any form of social media…) Okay… nope. It’s real alright. Oh. My. Goodness.

    (Catches breath…) Okay. Compose yourself, Hope. Hey, Hearties and welcome to Thursday! It is so surreal to know that not only is this season of WCTH over, but also that Elizabeth finally, FINALLY made a choice. I mean… it’s been THREE WHOLE SEASONS!!! It was so time. And… oh my goodness she picked Lucas!!! Did I squeal? Yes. Did I scream? Yes. Did I kick my feet up and down against my couch recliner. Yes. Did I cover my face with my hands? Yes. Yes, Hearties. I did it all.

    It’s all just so… so… crazy! Lol! It’s also crazy that I only have one final episode review to write. Where did the time go? After years of waiting, guessing, and much hair-pulling it’s finally over. We have our answers. And it’s so, so wonderful to finally not have to go through another off season guessing.

    Now there is a lot to cover in this final review. So much I have decided to split it into two parts. One for the side characters and one for the triangle members. (Or rather previous triangle members. :) However, instead of doing things in my typical “cliffhanger” fashion I am actually going to start with the triangle members first. (Audience gasps!) I know. I’m mixing things up this time. There is just so much to cover, and right now the thing that is on everyone’s mind is the results of this triangle.

    And so, I shall do, not only a review of the events of this final episode, but I am going to be talking about why they chose who they did. I will also be talking about…. The backlash. Something every single Heartie knew was going to happen no matter who won.

 

    Well, Hearties… Buckle up. This is going to be quite the post. (And quite long if I may add. Lol!)

 

Side Notes:

Lucas has still never entered Elizabeth’s house.

Robert being Little Jack’s new babysitter is so fun! But… What happened to Laura?

 

    Also here are all the links to the various interviews I'll be referencing in this post.

John Tinker's: https://www.etonline.com/when-calls-the-heart-boss-spills-on-elizabeth-choosing-lucas-and-teases-season-9-exclusive-165356

Erin, Chris, and Kevin's response: https://www.etonline.com/when-calls-the-heart-cast-reacts-to-elizabeth-choosing-lucas-and-that-passionate-kiss-exclusive 

TV Insider Interview: https://www.tvinsider.com/996303/when-calls-the-heart-season-8-finale-elizabeth-lucas-erin-krakow/

 

Noble Nathan Grant

 

    Alright… I have never been more proud of Nathan, or more impressed with him than I was in this final episode. I know that's pretty ironic for me to say at this point, but... He just really impressed me. His integrity. His heart. As odd and sad as this sounds, he proved to me for the first time that he truly loves Elizabeth. And he proved it by his actions. Not so much his words this time. Well... it was a combination of both. :)

    The first scene with Nathan is incredibly brief. He's off to bring supplies up to the search party and help look for Jesse who is still apparently lost. (More on him in the next post.)

    The next time we see him, he has brought Jesse back home. Elizabeth takes Jesse's horse's reins as he runs to his wife. Nathan gives a happy smirk and Elizabeth then looks to him, urgently says that she needs to see him later, and that she's glad he's alright. Nathan replies with a smile and then... He does the Jack hat nod! Okay it's more of the Mountie hat nod. Lol! But in re-watching that scene I was instantly reminded of when Jack did it back in Season 1. And to be clear it's totally fine that he did that. It's kind of this signature Mountie thing, that I really like. He then heads off, and Elizabeth looks after him... until she sees Lucas watching... (But more on that later!)

    We then come... to the moment. The moment this triangle officially ended. I'll be honest.... The moment this scene started up I literally said out loud, "This is it." I just knew this had to be the ultimate deciding moment of the triangle. And I may have had a feeling that... things weren't going to go well for Nathan. It was just way too soon for her to profess her love to him, and that moment wouldn't have felt... big enough. You know? Not... climactic and dramatic enough.

    The scene starts with a very clever call-back to... wait for it... Season 1! First she starts with her opening line from the very first episode, and I believe she combines it with some of her narration from another Season 1 episode. Possibly the second one, but I'd have to go check. Anyhow Elizabeth goes onto explain that for too long she's allowed herself to drift between two men, and that in not being true to them, she wasn't being true to herself.

    So Elizabeth enters the jail looking very anxious, seeming to take Nathan by surprise. They exchange greetings, and the room grows thick with anticipation and tension... (Or maybe that was just the room I was in... ;) After a few drawn out seconds Elizabeth begins. She tells Nathan that she never told him just how thankful she is that the Mountie who came to Hope Valley to replace Jack was him. Nathan gets a gentle smile on his face, and she goes on to say that she couldn't have asked for a more, "courageous, selfless, and good man" to watch over and care for her. The whole time Nathan is just beaming, even seeming a bit shy at her wonderful praise of his character. It's funny as I got this sort of, "Ahh, shucks.." demeanor from him. Lol!

   At this point everyone is just holding their breath, wondering where on earth is this going to go. Elizabeth gives a pause then, her face becomes somber, and her eyes gloss over with tears as she then continues. And this was when my and probably a lot of other Team Lucas fans predictions came true... And when the triangle began to come to a close.

    Elizabeth replied... "But I also realized that I have been trying to find Jack in you. I've been trying to replace him with you."

    And during this whole scene I sat audibly gasping, squealing, and covering my face with my hand like, "Oh, my goodness!!!" I think everyone knew at this point that she was breaking things off with Nathan for good. And to me her reason she gave made sense. (I will get to that in a minute.)

    Instantly Nathan's face dropped, his expression falling. Honestly, the poor man! He just got the worst sucker punch of his life, and we could literally watch his heart dropping into his stomach. Elizabeth goes on to say how her actions weren't fair to anyone, to which I agree. But I also understand that she had to finally realize exactly what she had been doing. Which she did, just... she did it rather late.

    Elizabeth's eyes are filled with tears at this point, and Nathan honestly looks like he's going to cry. Really his story is so sad. He really did get his heart broken by Elizabeth.

    She then makes one of the most gasp worthy statements in the entire episode. One that may have taken many, many Hearties by shock. She says, "Nathan I do love you. It would be impossible not to." And at this moment it may have seemed she'd made a choice, which ultimately she did. But she then went on to say, "But I'm not in love with you." And that right there, was where this triangle officially ended. Finally she said what needed to be said.

    And poor Nathan... I can just see the pure pain in his expression. His heart breaking inside him. He truly does love her, and wanted her to love him back. He remained dead silent through this whole scene, his facial expressions and eyes telling us everything. He went from happy, to sad, to possibly a bit hopeful when she told him she loves him, to absolute pain. She then says she's "so sorry" which I am really glad she did. I mean, that does NOT take away his pain, and I can tell it hurt her so much to see the pain she'd caused him. But she truly did owe him an apology so I'm glad she said that.

    But... (Sighs) Man, was that a heartbreaking moment. And I know I'm Team Lucas, and I know that in the end I got the ending I wanted, but... I can just see and literally feel the pain and pure heartbreak Nathan is feeling here. And I could see and feel just how much it hurt Elizabeth to tell him all this. Never in a thousand years did she ever want to hurt him. She was just so confused and unsure what she was feeling for him, and I think it really came down to the fact that he's a Mountie. He reminded her of the life she wanted with Jack, and so when she found him alive after being told he was dead... It probably felt like the moment she had to have dreamed of happening with Jack. And then she tried to find Jack in Nathan. Tried to make him be the husband she had so tragically lost. And in turn... she hurt Nathan very much. Even though it was totally unintentional, and a bit out of her power as she was so unsure what she was feeling... the truth is she hurt him. And I know she hurt herself as a result.

 

    She then goes to the door, but hesitates a moment before turning back and saying, "Please tell Allie that I'll always think of you as impeccable." To me this was a final attempt to ease some of his pain. To let him know what an amazing guy he truly is. But... like Kevin McGarry stated in an interview, Nathan was heartbroken.

    Now part of me wondered whether or not that was a good thing for Kevin to say, as it seemed like it would only make the outcome even sadder. However... in all honesty I think this was the right thing to do. I feel Team Nathan would have been even more hurt if the writers had brushed away Nathan's feelings, and made him realize all of a sudden that he didn't love Elizabeth. Instead they showed us that he indeed does love Elizabeth, therefore everything we saw of him pursuing Elizabeth wasn't fake or him "thinking" he was in love with her. I feel this honored Team Nathan way more than if they would have said he never did love her.

    I also read how Nathan was supposed to say "thank you" to Elizabeth before she left, and Kevin McGarry didn't feel that he would say that. And I agree, and think it was a good change. He's hurt so he wouldn't thank her in that moment.

    We then got the scene between Lucas and Nathan in the saloon... and this was the moment I learned that Nathan truly loves Elizabeth. All season long Nathan continued to tell Elizabeth over and over again how he loves her, or is in love with her. And if you recall a previous review I wrote I mentioned how I needed him to prove his love for her to me. I needed proof that he really did love her as much as he said he did. And Hearties... he proved his love in this episode. Ironic, isn't it? 

    Nathan starts the conversation by asking has Lucas seen any Pinkertons, but we all know that wasn't the real reason he came. He then makes the shocking revelation that Elizabeth came by to see him and told him... that she loves him. And in that moment I literally gasped. I was absolutely shocked. For a second I thought that Mountie had taken a very dark turn, and I was flabbergasted. I thought he was taking the spiteful, rejected Hallmark boyfriend route and had decided to lie straight to Lucas' face. Honestly it's a shameful assumption and Nathan proved me so very very wrong. After a short pause, he then continues clarifying that Elizabeth then said that she isn't "in love" with him. And then I exhaled... He wasn't going that terrible route. Bravo Nathan!

    Nathan then goes on to say that he's not sure if Lucas is surprised by that piece of information, and that he's not. He says that what him and Elizabeth share isn't the same as what her and Lucas seem to share. Lucas very sadly then states that at the moment he's not sure what he and Elizabeth share.

    I was so proud of Nathan in this scene. He realized that Elizabeth was in love with Lucas, not him, and what does he do? He goes right to Lucas and pretty much tells him to go get the girl. Nathan wants Elizabeth to be happy, and knowing Lucas makes her happy, he goes to him to make sure Lucas doesn't screw this up. Lol! He even encouraged Lucas to stick around. Once again Nathan was looking out for Elizabeth, making sure she was cared for and happy. Despite his own heartbreak, despite what he may feel about Lucas, his love for Elizabeth showed through his actions. He wanted her to be happy, and so he tried to help.

    In the end Nathan not only encouraged Lucas to stick around, but told him... "I've got your back." And that right there was where Nathan impressed the socks off of me. I was so, so proud of him, and I may have actually "awed" in that moment. Nathan is a sweetheart, and I raise my hat to him.

    The final scene we got with Nathan was what I believe to be the “He’s going to be okay” scene. Faith helps bandage Nathan’s hand which he apparently hurt on some barb wire… while chasing his hat. Lol! Okay, that’s adorable. There. I said it. Nathan was adorable.

    As to any possible thoughts of pairing him and Faith together....

    No. Absolutely no! N.O. I do NOT… I repeat, do NOT want Nathan and Faith together. No, sir. No way. Faith has never been a favorite character of mine, and the idea of her and Nathan together does not appeal to me. At all.

    I want someone brand new to come to town for Nathan. Someone who catches his eye, and he can sweep off her feet. Someone who loves him completely, as well as Allie, and will just fit perfectly into their little family. And it’s just not Faith IMO.

    However I don’t know that the writers plan to set them up. I think both of them were just kind of in the same boat at the moment, and could relate to each other. It was a moment to show that both Nathan and Faith were going to be okay. But I doubt they’ll end up together. Besides, Faith is way too in love with Carson right now, and Nathan probably isn’t going to date anyone for awhile. They both need time to move on and heal. To figure out everything in their lives.

    In the end… Nathan received a sad yet hope-filled outcome. At this point it was pretty inevitable that whoever Elizabeth didn’t pick would be pretty hurt. But at the same time we were shown that yes. He’s going to be okay. He’s going to be able to move on one day.

    Nathan truly deserves to find someone who loves him for him. He deserves to have his own amazing romance, and I believe in time he will find the woman he's meant to be with. And I can't wait to see it all unfold!

    I also have to give a big shout out to Kevin McGarry for his acting skills. In going back for this post and watching his expression as Elizabeth told him the truth… I mean. Wow. Kudos to you for that amazing acting! I could just really see and feel Nathan’s pain, which is a wonderful testament to your acting skills! :)

 

 

Elizabeth's Emotional Journey

 

    And finally the woman has made a decision. Finally she knows who is in her heart. Who she truly loves. And she was finally able to move on, which came in the action of her.... removing her rings! I know so many Hearties have been waiting so long for this to happen. And it finally did.

    It took a lot of time for her to muddle through her emotions and feelings. She was confused by what she felt inside, and for awhile I don't think she fully understood exactly what she was feeling. But once Lucas let her go, once she finally lost him, she then understood who she truly loves. And it was Lucas all along.

    It also felt like we got all of the inner dialogue from Elizabeth that we’d missed out on this entire season. I feel like the writers probably held off on the journal scenes as they didn’t want to clue us in to who she would pick or how she was feeling. Although come to think of it, I don’t think she quite knew how she was feeling and so the absent journaling and dialogue made sense in both ways.

    And so this episode we got so, so much dialogue from Elizabeth and it was truly needed. The Hearties needed closure. We needed everything to be explained in full. How she was feeling, why she made the decision she did. And John Tinker cleverly combined that truth with call backs from Season 1! (Well done, Mr. Tinker!)

    In a nutshell Elizabeth described each of the special men in her life as a season, a reason, and a lifetime. (Honestly Rosemary has such wisdom!)

    Jack was for a season, that meaning he was in her life for the wonderful years they had together. But then God called him home, and so he wasn’t her lifetime. Nathan was in her life for a reason. He came and helped her to truly move on, and she helped him move on as well. They found healing in each other, and forgiveness. They both helped each other find a fresh start in life. One free from the burden and grief Jack’s passing brought them. And Lucas… he is her lifetime.

    He is her true love. The man she is going to spend the rest of her life with. Her soulmate.

    As to when she figured this out… I believe it happened after Lucas let her go, and she said as much. But in truth a few things helped her figure this out over the course of months.

    It took Nathan almost being shot, then declaring his love, and Lucas letting her go for her to finally understand just what she was feeling. Who was truly in her heart. She finally realized that she was trying to find Jack in Nathan, and that she truly fell in love with Lucas. And so… with a final glance at a picture of her beloved Jack, she slowly, ever so slowly, removed her rings. It was a moment of release. Of moving on. It was also a moment of truth, and of embracing that truth.

    She will always love Jack. He was the love of her life, and always will be. But… now she’s found her lifetime. The man she’s meant to spend the rest of her life with. And it all led to that climactic, dramatic, and romantic ending!

 

At Last...

    EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!

    (Jumps up and down, before rolling into summersault...) Sigh... Finally... Oh, finally this triangle is over! Finally...finally... she... picked.... LUCAS!!!!

    (Breathe, Hope... Breathe...) Okay, okay... let's start at the beginning.

    The first scene we see with Lucas is when he's sitting in the cafe and Elizabeth shows up. And... she thanks him for letting her go, as it helped her figure somethings out... and then... got interrupted before she could further explain.... and then left.

    This was… (Sigh…) Just… why? That was literally the worst thing she could do in that moment! It totally sounded like she realized she loved Nathan and was thanking him for letting her go! Girl! And of course he happened to be meeting with Wyman Walden about selling the saloon. Perfect timing… But then again, I don’t think she was really ready at that point to tell Lucas she had chosen him. Her heart was still sorting things out, so then wouldn’t have been the right time. But it just means more heartbreak for Lucas… I mean… come on. He can take it, right? He’s used to it by now… ;)

    We also saw Lucas for a brief moment when Nathan brought Jesse back. Guys... I think that was the saddest, most miserable face Lucas has ever made. I mean... He looks crushed! And it seemed like that may have been the moment he gave up. All throughout this episode he probably had this glimmer of hope that she would come back to him. And then... he finds her with Nathan... again. 

    The next time we see Lucas is again very brief. Elizabeth is on her way to make that life altering choice, and she sees Lucas observing her from the saloon balcony. (And again, he's holding a cup in his hand. Lol!) He looks painfully sad, and the next time she looks back to him... he's gone. (Sniff!) Little did he know what she was about to do.

    The next scene with Lucas is him and Nathan's little chat. Now I have already mentioned this scene above so I won't say much more here. However we can just clearly see that Lucas seems to have lost nearly if not all his hope of Elizabeth loving him. And he proves this by this next scene...

    NO!!! Don't sell the saloon Lucas! You're such a good fit for that job! But low and behold Lucas was sitting sadly at a saloon table, the papers all before him. He pulls out his pen, uncaps it, and.... we don't know!!! We don't know if he sold it! Now I'm wondering if in this moment he decided to take Nathan's advice to heart, and didn't sign the papers. Because if he had sold it, that would mean he'd decided to leave town, and that he'd given up on Elizabeth. But later we found that he didn't leave, and actually came looking for her, and so I really wonder if he didn't actually sell it. I guess we'll see.

     We also got a quick but very meaningful scene between Lucas and Henry. Now I’ll go more in depth with this scene in my next post, but I almost wonder if it was Henry’s (Combined with Nathan’s) words that led him to stay in Hope Valley. That made him realize what a big mistake it would be to leave.

    Henry basically told him that shinny objects and fleeting pleasures are not what's important in life. And asked him what brings him comfort at night when, "darkness has wrung all of the light from the day?" (Goodness, Henry! You’re deep!)

    And of course we had that brief moment when Lucas almost ran over Lee with his car. Lol! Well, someone certainly wasn't thinking straight and was in a hurry...

    And then came.... the moment. That long awaited, dreamed of, surreal feeling moment that every Team Lucas fan had been waiting for. And that would be, as the title states, the kiss. YES! Yes, yes, yes, yes!!! They did it! They actually did it! I mean... they did right? I wasn't just imagining it right? (Honestly I wouldn't put it past myself at this point. Lol!) Honestly this whole outcome is so surreal, even to this day.

    So... after chasing after Lucas and believing him to be long gone Elizabeth falls into despair. It seems that she waited to long to finally make a choice and realize who is in her heart. So where does she go? Some place that was special to her and Lucas... and that being the beautiful setting of the bridge. Honestly guys that place is just SO romantic, and was the absolute perfect place for this moment to unfold. So she's standing there, looking out over the water. Guys, her face looked like Lucas had died. It was like she was grieving over her supposed loss of the man she loves. 

    And then... we catch a familiar man standing behind her out of focus. And every Heartie watching holds their breath as we hear a familiar voice say... "I'd hoped I'd find you here." And it's Lucas!!!

    Elizabeth turns quick to face him, almost looking like she'd seen a ghost. I'm telling you guys, her face looked like she was grieving! Then at the sight of Lucas she was rendered speechless, breathless, and looked like she was going to cry. She then got this sweet wobbly smile through her tears, as she realized the man she loves isn't gone, and is standing right in front of her.

    Lucas looks at her deeply, probably seeing the depth of emotion in her eyes, before starting toward her. Elizabeth watches him, and smiles, her expression filled with love for this man, before also starting toward him.

    And then the most romantic scene in all of Season 8 ensued. (Prepare to swoon.)

    They both go to each other and immediately pull each other close as they share their first kiss. Correction... "kiss-es." Lol! And that was no "sweet and quick Hallmark peck," let me tell you. That was an explosion of passion! Eeeeek! R to the omance! :D I'm so glad the writers as well as Erin and Chris chose to do this. Honestly it needed to happen. 

    We've had this build up of two almost kisses between these two, and after three seasons of "she loves me, she loves me not...." This is exactly what needed to happen. They both know that this is the person they want to spend the rest of their life with. Chris McNally's comments about this were honestly so incredibly sweet. He stated...

“He's (Lucas) been through such a roller coaster emotionally… He knows that he loves this woman more than he's ever loved any other woman before, and that she is the woman of his dreams.” 

    I mean... excuse me while I pick up my puddled self from the floor. That is just adorable!

    As to that explosive kiss....

    First off, they didn't even need to say anything! They both just looked at each other and knew. All the feelings they'd been keeping inside, all of the build up of these past three seasons just came spilling out. They just threw themselves into each other's arms and kissed each other with such emotion, longing, and love. And I LOVED just what a breathless moment it was. I mean... excuse me while I swoon... big time.

    They both were just breathless after that kiss. And (Excuse me while I go extremely mushy-gushy on you guys) I loved the extra kiss Lucas gave her after she whispered how she thought he'd left. Between the whispery/husky sound of their voices, to that incredibly sweet kiss he gave her... yeah. That was incredibly romantic.

    Lucas then tells her that he didn't leave. (Duh. He's kissing her, ain't he? Lol!) He then begins to whisper, "When I didn't hear from you, I thought perhaps..." (Perhaps meaning that she didn't love him.)

    And he didn't even need to finish his sentence. She knew what he was about to say, and assured him that no. She does indeed love him. She just needed time to... find her way back. (Aww!!!) Again, cue the romance!

    Lucas then reminds her that he'd told her he'd wait as long as he had to. (Kudos to John Tinker for that call back!) The next part makes me laugh as Elizabeth gives him this little shove and laughs, saying how he was ready to leave. Lol! She's just like, "Dude! You almost left me, and your talking about waiting for me." :D It was sweet to see them so playful and laughing together in that moment.

    Lucas then smiles, knowing she's right, and says... "And that would have been the biggest regret of my life." And as if that wasn't romantic enough he continues on to tell her, "You are all that matters. You're all that's important." (And all of Team Lucas swoons to their living room floor....) That right there is what every woman dreams of hearing the man they love say to them.

    And then, a very big moment occurs. Lucas looks down at Elizabeth's hand... and finds her rings gone. He seems stunned, looking back to her and saying very seriously, "You've taken off your ring." This is a very big thing for him. For all the years he's known her she has always, ALWAYS worn those rings. It stood as a symbol of where her heart stood, and put these invisible walls between them. Now to see them gone, he has a physical sign that she has moved on, and her heart is fully open to love him. I'm actually glad they didn't kiss until she had taken off her rings. Now there was nothing holding her back from loving and fully embracing him.

    Elizabeth then looks at him, understanding just what it meant to Lucas to see her rings gone, and gives a soft nod. She then says, in such a soft, emotional, heart-tugging tone of voice, "Thank you for waiting for me." And I'm melting again... I mean. Eeeeek! Just the emotion in her voice as she said it! It just hits me right here! (Places hand over heart.)

    And with a love filled smile Lucas leans in for another kiss. And another... and another... Lol! Honestly... it's such a surreal moment. And it only gets more and more romantic the more times you watch it.

    BUT! As if that wasn't an already big enough treat... we then got more! The bridge scene instantly goes straight into another Lucas and Elizabeth moment. Elizabeth actually planned a date for Lucas this time! And of course she had to do it in the library! Lol! In all truth, it was about time Elizabeth did something for him. He's done so much to woo her, so it was time she did something to show him how much she loves him.

    So she planned a "private reading" for him. And... wow! Elizabeth Thornton actually decorated a room with candles! Other than that date she set up after her and Jack were married... I can't remember her ever doing that. She then offers Lucas champagne... which to me is a fun call back to all the times Lucas did that for her. She then asks him to sit down in the single chair positioned for the "reading." Honestly Elizabeth was so happy, and flirty. This is something we haven't seen since... honestly Season 4 or 5. This then brings me to another thing... Elizabeth has her "I'm in love" face back! Can anyone remember the last time we saw her look at a man with such love and joy in her eyes? (Yes, I know it was Jack, but do you know how long ago that was?) It's like all her walls have come down and she is fully embracing the love she feels for Lucas.

    So she then goes about beginning this reading in a very playful and flirty manner. She says he may know her from her previous work, "A Single Mother on the Frontier," which is due to be published sometime next year. (Yes! Finally we have a publishing date! Way to go Elizabeth!) She also says how her book being published is largely due to the "very handsome man down front." And Lucas hilariously begins looking around the room for this said man. Lol!

    But she then goes on to say that for that evening she wants to read... from her heart. It's a love story she claims, that she has just begun to write. A story about a woman who has fallen deeply for a man who is patient, and kind. Thoughtful and adoring. (All perfect words to describe Lucas. :)

    And sweetly Lucas raises his hand in question, asking, "Will we get to hear about his side of the love story. Because he has fallen for a woman who is true, selfless, and sweet. Beautiful, and endearing." 

    (Go ahead. I'll wait while you swoon. ;) I know I've used this word a lot, but... isn't this all just so... so... surreal? I mean, we've waited and dreamed of the moment these two would finally become a couple. And now we've finally gotten our wish.

    Elizabeth then assures Lucas (And possibly all the Hearties watching) very playfully that we will be hearing more from "him and her." She then grabs his coat collars and with a very "come hither, in love" look and says..."But for now... I'm afraid she's all out of words." I mean... Just look at her face!

 

    And with a smile Lucas goes in for a passionate kiss. And that, my friends, was the end of Season 8. Elizabeth and Lucas making out in a dark, candle lit library. I mean... cough... attending a private reading. :D 

   And they are now... a couple!!! Wow! How crazy is that to say? Lol!

    I do have to mention two things here. 

    First off, I realized that they both didn't say the actual words, "I love you," in this episode, but... it was pretty much implied in every other way. Lol! They may just be saving that for Season 9. ;)

    Secondly I do have to ask... where was the "IRIS out to a small heart" Brian Bird mentioned? Maybe it was cut last minute, or they just changed their minds. Either way... who on earth am I to complain? Lol! 

    And lastly.... 😍😍😍

Elizabeth's Choice

    So with all the events now said and done we are given a chance to finally piece everything together. We can now look back at this entire season as a whole and see what was real and what was a red herring. I plan on diving in a bit deeper in a separate post and listing what now appear to have been red herrings. It honestly deserves its own post. So for now I would like to discuss the writers ultimate decision, and why they did what they did. I’ll be pairing my analysis with quotes from Brian Bird, John Tinker, and Erin Krakow herself to back me up here.

    And so… why? That’s the big question right now. Why did the writers make the choice they did in choosing Lucas? A lot of Hearties right now feel that the writers made the wrong choice…. Which in my opinion isn’t the truth. And this isn’t just because I’m Team Lucas. The truth of the matter is this simple fact… This is not our story to tell. This is the wonderful writers of WCTH’s story to tell. It’s also Janette Oke’s story and she did give the go-ahead on Elizabeth’s choice. (More on that later.) And since this is the writers’ story and not ours, they are not wrong in their choice for Elizabeth. They wouldn’t have been wrong if they would have made her choose Nathan, just like they aren’t wrong for making her choose Lucas. And it’s all because it’s their story. They can do whatever they want to, which is the way it’s supposed to be. Writers should be able to tell their own stories.

    Now, as to why the writers did what they did… I’ve recently found an interview ET did with John Tinker and he explained it like this…

"When it came to “wrapping up” the love triangle, we took great pains to consider all options. Ultimately, we approached Elizabeth’s choice by asking two questions: What makes emotional “sense” for Elizabeth and what choice allows for the most interesting stories, for each character, going forward?"

    He then continued to state why Elizabeth ultimately fell for Lucas...

"Elizabeth and Lucas have so much in common. They are lovers of good literature, were raised in rather privileged backgrounds (though remain selfless when it comes to helping others), and have a deep appreciation for family — just to name a few qualities they share. And while Nathan has many wonderful qualities of his own, a relationship with Nathan would be fraught by the hurt Elizabeth experienced by Jack’s death. Of course, to whom someone chooses to give their heart often comes with a certain amount of mystery that can’t be quantified. And, in part, that’s what can make it so magical as with Elizabeth and Lucas."

 

    And so it would seem that he felt what would be best for Elizabeth and the show would be for her to choose Lucas. And this doesn’t mean Nathan wouldn’t have been a good option for her either. Erin Krakow herself stated that we couldn’t have gone wrong either way, and I believe that. Both men would have created new and fun stories to be told. However, the Mountie storyline had already been done… and this leads me to my next point.

    I’ve seen a very interesting tweet from BB and watched an interview with Erin Krakow that both seemed to end in the same conclusion. Brian Bird tweeted this in response to a fellow Heartie....

 

    This was the first time I had really heard from a member of the crew why they had gone with Lucas, the words "unpredictable" and "not repeating storylines" being what stuck out to me. I then watched an interview Erin did on TV Insider where she says that she's excited for the Lucas and Elizabeth pairing because she feels it will be "very different for Elizabeth," just with Lucas' profession and how he navigates life, Basically Lucas provides a new direction with new exciting challenges for him and Elizabeth to face and ways they relate to each other. So she's says she's excited for the match. :)

    And so in the end what I've deduced is that the writers didn't want to repeat the Mountie/school teacher storyline. And it wasn’t because Nathan was too much like Jack in personality. He is his own unique person and even had his own unique struggles that would have brought some brand new storylines for him and Elizabeth to deal with. But in the end… We’ve already seen her with a Mountie. We’ve already watched her go through the fears and struggles that come from loving a Mountie. And so for her to pick Nathan would have been repeating a storyline that had already been done. 

    And so this is why I believe the writers chose for Elizabeth to end up with Lucas. Because he’s new, and different in profession and character. I also found it very interesting to know that Janette Oke was included in all this, and gave the okay for going this new direction. I mean this whole show was based on her books, so it's really nice to hear she was involved with this decision.

    Brian Bird also put this tweet out regarding the rest of the cast member's opinion of the outcome, which I found interesting.

    So it seems in the end the entire cast felt this was the right decision for the show. That's a very good thing to know, and I'm glad Papa Bird addressed that.

    To end this incredibly long, bit-off-more-than-I-can-chew post, I do want to take a moment to address the backlash. I think both sides knew this was inevitable. This was a triangle and everyone was super invested and excited. I totally understand. I also understand that a lot of people are hurting, which I also truly understand. 

    I know I'm kind of the worst person to talk about this as I'm Team Lucas, but please do believe me when I say I understand. I relate it to when Jack died back in Season 5. It was just a show, but he was my favorite character and I was crushed and depressed when he died. I had all these what-ifs in my mind, and was incredibly disappointed. 

    I'm sorry anyone had to be hurt by this triangle's outcome. But I do ask that everyone please remember to be kind. Both teams need to treat everyone with kindness and respect, just like we need to treat the cast and crew with kindness and respect. We're all human, and words hurt. So please everyone... let's be different. Let's be a light to others and show love and support rather than disrespect, and hate. :)

    And that my friends is the end of this gigantic post. Honestly I could just go on and on saying how I feel about every little thing, but I'll stop here. Lol! Thank you so much for reading! (Or listening to me ramble. :D ) Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below and any spoilers you wish! Lol! All I ask is that everyone is respectful and kind. Hateful or unkind comments will not be tolerated here and I will delete them.

    Have an amazing day! God Bless!