First Look at Season 9

 

    Welcome to Wednesday, Hearties! I hope you had a wonderful weekend, and that your week has been smashing so far! (Was that a bit of a British accent there?)

    So, as you all are probably very well aware.... WCTH Season 9 started filming last week!!! Eeeek!!! We've already gotten to see a bunch of BTS pics of the cast all "Hope Valleyified" (Yes that's a real word, and no don't go look it up. ;) and on set pictures of them filming scenes. (Again... Eeeek!!!) So I thought for today's blog post I would sort of gather what we have so far, put it all in one place, and discuss it a bit.

    Side Note: By now you're probably remembering my strict "no spoilers" policy, and maybe wondering where I currently stand on the subject, especially now that the triangle is over. Honestly that was the big thing for me when it came to spoilers as I really didn't want to spoil who won Elizabeth's heart. For now I am very open to seeing BTS pictures and videos, and am actually looking for them daily. The thing I don't want to spoil is potential storylines, and any exciting or dramatic events that might happen. So basically... little spoilers okay, big spoilers no okay. Okay? Okay. :)

    Alright let's get to it!

 

Another 12 Episode Season

    So obviously the first thing I have to mention is the fact that we are getting another 12 episode long season! Eeek! I am all for more Hope Valley in my life. Lol! However I am left to wonder if that means we're not getting a Christmas Special again. The filming timeline indicated either a 12 episode season or 10 episodes and a Christmas Special. Since we've gotten the announcement of 12 episodes for Season 9 I'm not sure if we'll be getting a Christmas Special this year. But that's just me speculating. Honestly the Christmas Specials were never my all time favorite and didn't usually have much impact on the actual season. However... it was always so nice to be able to watch WCTH on Christmas Day. It helped the off season not be so long, and it would be fun to see everyone during the Christmas season. (Especially since a certain two people are now a couple... wink, wink. :)

    But I guess we'll see.

Who Is Currently in Hope Valley?

    As far as I've seen just about every main character is back. Elizabeth, Lucas, Nathan, Bill, Rosemary, Lee, Faith, Joseph, Minnie, Molly, Florence, Ned, Henry, and Fiona are all in Hope Valley. 

    And of course I've seen a bunch of the children back as well, including the adorable Taylor twins! However there are a few characters that I've yet to see back on set.

    I have yet to see Jaeda Lily Miller in Hope Valley. I looked on her Instagram but didn't find anything yet. She's probably on her way, or is already there and just hasn't posted a pic yet.

    I have also yet to see Ben Rosenbaum  (AKA Mike) But again I'm thinking he just didn't get to the set yet or just hasn't posted a picture yet.

    I have not seen Christopher or Rachel on set yet. To be honest it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't come back this season, and I would be okay with that solely for the fact that the current cast of characters is... rather large. But I really did enjoy their romance and you probably already know how much I loved watching Christopher and Gowen's storyline last season so I would totally love to see more of them. I just haven't heard that they're coming back nor have I seen them on set.

    And I've yet to see Hope Valley's new bad guys Wyman Walden, and Julius Spurlock on set. But filming has really just begun so they have plenty of time to show up. (As do all the actors I haven't seen yet.)

    The main person I have heard absolutely nothing about is.... Paul Greene. That man has yet to be seen in Hope Valley. Honestly... I have my doubts as to whether he's going to be a part of Season 9 or not. Now it's way too early to know for sure. Who knows, maybe he just didn't get there yet, or is only being in half of the season. Or maybe he is there and I just didn't see it yet. I don't know. All I do know is that the last I heard about him and WCTH was that he was waiting to find out if he had a part in Season 9. 

    It really wouldn't completely surprise me if he didn't come back this season. Would I be okay with this? Sadly, yes, I would be fine if Carson didn't come back this next season. I was far from pleased with his character in Season 8, he was never a favorite of mine, and we already have a lot of characters to focus on. So for all those reasons I would be fine if he didn't come back. However I would be quite interested to see what would happen if he did, just due to how he left Faith and all. So I'm open to either possibility.

New Looks

    Oh my goodness gracious!!! There's hair everywhere! I mean.... I'm shocked!

 

    Ned Yost has a beard!!! I mean, just look at that thing! That's a full on beard! Now I could question whether he's going to cut it before filming but... no. He's fully in costume so I believe the beard is here to stay. At least for now anyway. I actually like it, to be honest. It's so, so different and while I love him clean shaven, the beard is a fun new look for our beloved Ned. So I'm here for it. I also found it fun that they were called "the Yosts" in the Instagram caption. (Eeek!)

 

    Moving on we have a new look for Minnie Canfield. That is a very different look for her compared to last season, but I have to see more of it before I give a final statement. I'm not quite sure about it just yet.

    And... we have Chris McNally back on set! Aside from just the fun of knowing he's back it's become a fun thing now to see just how long his beard is. While this pic is not the best for judging the beard, it does give us a pretty good idea. It seems to be a nice in between length right now. Not too long, but not as short as it was when he first came on the show. 

 

    And finally... Oh my... Oh my, oh my, oh my... Just get a load of Mr. Henry Gowen! In all my days as a Heartie from Season 1 until now I have never, ever seen him with so much hair. It's kind of cool actually. It adds visual interest and even more personality to one of my favorite characters!

A Few BTS Snapshots

    So far we have gotten a few BTS pics of some Season 9 scenes. The first one I ever saw was this one here.

 

    Elizabeth is back in the classroom Hearties! Last season the school year ended about mid-way through the season and I would think it probably had to do with Covid. Interactions with the children in general were very limited and so it’s good to see Elizabeth back in front of her class teaching once again.

    I also find it very interesting that she is back due to the whole thing with Mr. Landis and Elizabeth not being able to teach a blind student. As far as we can see she hasn’t been kicked out of the classroom, and Angela is still there learning with the other children as well. But I get the feeling this whole situation isn’t over yet.

 

    Next we have this pic of Ms. Fiona right here...  All I can say is... What on earth is that thing she's sitting in?

    The newest pic of a Season 9 scene I saw was this one right here...

 

    Oh boy… Elizabeth and Nathan are having a conversation. I am so curious how these two are going to react to each other now that Elizabeth has chosen Lucas. I imagine Elizabeth is going to be a lot more open to being friends than Nathan would be which would be perfectly normal and expected honestly. I know the idea of Elizabeth having any interaction with Nathan or Allie is a sensitive topic right now, and I understand. If things had been reversed and she would have picked Nathan, the sight of Elizabeth and Lucas talking would be a painful sight for me. It would just make me sad and say, “If only this, or if only that.” And so I get it.

    But I do believe Elizabeth and Nathan are going to have multiple scenes together in Season 9. Honestly it wouldn’t surprise me if one of Nathan’s main storylines this season would be him healing from his heartbreak and moving on. Granted… ( :D ) it wouldn’t have to take all season for that to happen. But knowing Hallmark and how slowly they like storylines to move… I have my doubts. Another storyline I think we could see is Elizabeth and Allie rebuilding their friendship. They never really fixed things completely and I think next season definitely needs to touch on that. (And I’m rabbit trailing… :)

 

    Well that’s all I have for now! It’s so crazy to know that WCTH Season 9 is already filming! It’s so exciting and I love to go hunting for all these fun little pics. I can’t wait to see what the writers have in store for us!

    Thank you so much for reading! Feel free to comment your thoughts below or on my Twitter page! (Also please be sure to let me know if you’ve spotted one of the actors I mentioned above that I haven’t seen yet.) Have a wonderful day! God Bless!

P.S. SALE ALERT! FREE STANDARD SHIPPING on your order while the sale lasts! Feel free to take a look at the newest design in my shop if you feel you need a little more Hope Valley in your life. :)