Carson & Faith... What Happened?

 

    Oh, Carson... Oh Faith... Once so in love. Once so happy and content with each other and their lives. (And for one of the two) Once so dedicated to his friends in Hope Valley.

    Hey, Hearties, and welcome to this week's blog post! As always I hope you're well, and having a great day so far. So... As you've gleaned from the title above, this post is all about Team Infirmary or as I like to refer to them when it comes to S8, "Team Dumpster Fire."😁 I don't feel I'm alone in wondering... What on planet earth happened to them?!? How did they go from being so in love, and happy in Hope Valley, to wanting such different things. Things that ultimately separated them, possibly for good.

    And so today I'm going to talk a bit about them. I'll discuss what happened, who's side I'm on, and what I think the future holds for them.

    Let's get started! (Disclaimer: I have never really been a huge fan of Team Infirmary, so my opinion is pretty biased. 😊)

How It All Started...

    

    So prier to Season 8, everything was going wonderfully for Team Infirmary, except for the fact that Faith had to leave to go to college. They were both head over heels for each other, and encouraging the other to follow their dreams. Carson wanted Faith to become a doctor so he encouraged her to go to Chicago. However he always expected her to come back and work with him in Hope Valley. This worked perfectly as Faith's heart has always been in Hope Valley.

    Neither showed any signs of doubting their feelings for each other, or wanting something more than Hope Valley. And then... Season 8 happened. Just thinking back to what happened is enough to give a person whiplash, but I'll try anyway.

    Carson was waiting so impatiently for Faith to arrive. She was days late in arriving, and he was worried sick. This all would point to a very love-stricken man, and could have been adorable. However from the first moment him and Faith were reunited, things were off. 

    Faith comes flying in, driving some cowboy's wagon, and sitting next to said cowboy. The two of them are laughing together, and to be honest I totally understand Carson's jealousy. Faith has been failing to write him like she used to, and now his mind has been spinning with worry. So sure he could jump to conclusions.

    However... their reunion was... well... horrible. Carson didn't even act happy in the least to see who he calls "the woman he loves." Faith could totally tell something was off and actually had to ask him if he was happy to see her. They then proceeded to hug... and not even kiss after being apart for months. And everything just goes down hill after this. (I mean... they didn't even kiss the WHOLE SEASON!)

    I mean sure. They had some moments where it seemed like things were getting back to normal. But... honestly things never really could as they both somehow morphed into different people. Carson more than Faith IMO, which is really odd. Faith should be the one who changed as she spent months in a big city and college. But yet my problem lies with Carson mostly. Let me explain...

 

The Thing About Carson

    Carson became... impatient. Discontent. Even temperamental. Carson was always the kind and gentle doctor you could always rely on for a friendly ear. Someone who always put others first, and thought of their needs before his own. But I was so taken back by his reactions to Faith, and Hope Valley. He completely disrespected Faith when it came to Ned's ankle, making her look stupid and inept as a doctor. Now I have to say that yes, he should have stepped in. Faith isn't as experienced as him, and he should let her give the wrong diagnosis for a patient. But he should have done this in a different way. Instead of just taking over, and saying Faith was wrong, to her patient's face no less, he should have taken Faith aside. He should have explained things to her in a kind and gentle way. She then could have come back and fixed things, or allowed Carson to explain the sprain to Ned. But somehow the thought never crossed his mind, and he's normally such a thoughtful guy.

    The other thing that really disturbed me, was how temperamental and almost moody he got in the latter half of the season. His actions concerning Ned's ankle really hurt Faith, but when she tries to explain how he made her feel stupid and incapable, Carson he raises his voice and says they're in no shape to talk about it. How can they ever fix things if they don't talk about it? And why was Carson so upset to start? Faith was back, and working beside him. I suppose he was just getting used to the new way of things, and had worries of his own so it put him on edge. So in knowing how upset they both were he figured they needed to take a breath and calm down before addressing the issues. But... why did he have to get so mad and raise his voice? 

    And finally... the other thing that made Carson become really... unlikeable for me personally was how his love for Hope Valley died. After his wife died, and he was running from life, the people of Hope Valley took him in and made him their family. Abigail encouraged him to become a doctor again, and it was in Hope Valley that he learned to open his heart again. And never once did I ever see him unhappy with his life in Hope Valley... until Season 8. Before that he was perfectly content to be there, and as far as I knew he preferred to be there.

    Then Season 8 happened, and all of a sudden Carson seemed to change overnight. All of a sudden he had these big dreams of working in a big city hospital. And all of a sudden Hope Valley's infirmary became something he claimed would be a "relic of the past." (Yeah... still haven't forgiven him for that one.) I mean... ouch! How on earth did he go from loving his life in Hope Valley, to not being able to leave fast enough?

    However... despite all of this, I do understand why he did what he did. He felt called to serve in Baltimore. It was his dream to be a surgeon in that big city hospital, and help as many people as he could. He also just didn't think he could do as much good in Hope Valley's infirmary.

    Now following your dreams, and going where you feel called to be are not bad things. In Carson's case he wanted to make a difference in the world and felt his heart drawn to Baltimore. It was just the way he went about following that dream and how he treated Faith, as well as his friends in Hope Valley that bothered me. (Okay... and I wasn't happy that he was no longer happy in Hope Valley. But anyway...)

    He just really didn't seem to listen to Faith, or care about what she wanted. All she ever said was that she was happy in Hope Valley, and felt at home there. Yet somehow he thought she'd be okay moving to Baltimore, and even thought to propose to her.

    Yet... Faith wasn't quite a saint herself.

The Thing About Faith

  

    Oh, Faith... Please be a dear and just... make up your mind. Lol! Oh, how indecisive that woman was this past season. I mean... I do understand her thoughts and reasons, but it was quite a lot to watch.

    First she came back after being in the city for a long time. Finally she was back in the town she loves, and working beside the man she loves. This is pretty much her greatest dream come true. And then... the man she loves is having a hard time working with her, and then wants to leave.

    Now again I understand her thoughts. She knows Carson is a great surgeon, and that he would do great things in Baltimore. She also knows this is his dream, and that he won't be happy staying in Hope Valley. (He literally proved this at least twice in Season 8) But at the same time, she didn't want him to leave, nor did she want to leave. She was in a big city for a long period of time and now knows for sure that Hope Valley is her calling. It's where her heart is. I also know myself that she wouldn't be happy in Baltimore, even though she'd be with Carson. Things needed to end the way they did. But... wow did Faith make it difficult.

    First she tells him to go, and he doesn't go. Then she's mad that he didn't go. He then decides to go, and tells her, but then she's mad that he didn't tell her that he was going to do what she'd already told him to do. Then she acts all sad that he is going, even though she told him to go. She also thought Carson was going to propose, and knew she wouldn't accept.

    AND THEN... somehow after all of this... she expected Carson to not go.

    (Please give your head a moment to stop spinning.) Shoof! Wow, that woman went on a roller coaster ride of emotions, and dragged Carson along with her. And again, I do understand why Faith felt what she did. She loves Carson and wanted him to stay. She just knew that he would be miserable if he did, and knew that her calling was in Hope Valley. So in the end... things turned out how they needed to, but it was a crazy, chaotic, and painful road to get there.

    Now IMO... I really think this whole thing with Carson and Faith is John Tinker's doing. Alfonso Moreno only ever made Faith leave town when Andrea wasn't able to film, or when the whole situation with Lori happen. (At least I think that may have been why Faith left in Season 6. Not positive on that though.) My point is, I don't know if Alfonso ever meant for things to end this way between Faith and Carson, nor do I know if he would have made things happen the way they did if he had been Season 8's showrunner. John Tinker has his own vision for the show, and it's only natural that he wouldn't do things the same way Alfonso would have. Just for me personally, I wasn't a fan of what he made happen for Team Infirmary.

    Now of course I'm not a fan of them in general, but they took up a bunch of screen time and it was a bit crazy to watch. I also really was not a fan of the way either character acted in Season 8. They went from being sweet and kind people to moody, and temperamental. 

    So in the end... I'm more on Faith's side, but not completely okay with what she did either.

What Will Happen Next?

  

    This is the big question isn't it? Now I did touch on this subject some in my last blog post, but I'll give a few thoughts here too.

    We already know that Carson is coming back in Season 8, and he seems to be coming back in the later half of the season. How many episodes he'll have is a mystery thus far, and leaves me to speculate.

    I think there are a few ways for his return to play out. Mainly two in my opinion.

#1: Carson returns for a visit, and finally settles thing between him and Faith before leaving for good.

#2: Carson comes back, and ends up staying, as well as possibly proposing to Faith.

#3: Carson comes back, and takes Faith back with him to Baltimore. (This one I highly doubt would happen.)

    IMO one of these has to happen. I just don't see things turning out any other way. As to which one I think will happen... I'm leaning more towards option #1, but could see #2 happening as well. However #2 could only happen if Carson had a major change of heart, and realized that Hope Valley is where his calling is.

    As for Faith... Well, her future very much depends on what Carson does. I could see her starting to notice a new guy, and develop feelings for him. However she's not in the best place right now to start a new relationship. Honestly I'm still confused if things are even over between her and Carson, and so she may hesitate about seeing someone new.

    And so... yeah. That's basically my thoughts on Carson and Faith. My bold, and quite biased thoughts. :)

    Thank you for reading this long rant. Lol! That's pretty much all this post was. But I know that there were a bunch of people who weren't happy with how things went for Team Infirmary in Season 8. Please feel free to share your thoughts on them in the comments below or on my Twitter or Instagram pages.

    Again thank you so much for reading. Have a wonderful weekend! God Bless!

P.S. My shop is currently having a sale! 15% OFF EVERYTHING! Feel free to stop by and see if there's anything you like. :) https://heart-and-family-mercantile.myspreadshop.com/