Hope Valley Days Part 2: When Calls the Heart Season 9 Episode Review

    Hey howdy, hey! (As Woody would say.) Welcome to this week's episode review Hearties! I hope your week has been amazing so far, and that you've been enjoying Season 9 of WCTH. April has just flown right by, hasn't it? This month was especially exciting for me as... I finished the rough draft of my very first novel! Eeek! Of course I never could have done it without my Jesus, but to be able to say, "The End" on a story of my own is crazy. If you'd like more details on that, feel free to check out my second blog, Writing With Hope. :) 

    Anyhow, back to WCTH.

    Oh guy, I so enjoyed this episode, and much more than the two previous episodes. It was funny, heartwarming, romantic, and dramatic! Secrets were finally revealed, LucaBeth got more screen time, and a very sweet hug was exchanged.

    Yeah, and I think I'm going to just jump right into the review from here. :)

Side Notes: Fiona and Henry were nowhere to be found this entire episode. I understand Fiona’s absence, but where on earth did Henry go? And why did the clips from the previous episodes show Henry standing in front of the mine if nothing was going to happen with the mine or Henry?

 

Nathan & Mei

    Great job, Nathan! Great job! You didn't sit around and wait for Mei to explain. You went right to her, and outright asked who Jeffery is. And as a result, he (And we) received the full story. He then made it his mission to protect and save the woman who's becoming more and more important to him as time goes on.

    I’m going to make a very bold statement here. Actually two very bold statements. I have to admit that Nathan Grant is one of the best characters on WCTH. Period. I absolutely enjoy his character. He’s flawed, yet sweet. He’s a complex and layered character, and I absolutely love his sense of humor. He never fails to make me laugh, and watching him fall in love is just the sweetest thing. This all leads to my second statement….

    Nathan Grant is a better character because Elizabeth rejected him. I know, that’s quite a bold thing to say, but honestly it’s true. Elizabeth rejecting him made him into the man he is this season, and we never would have gotten some of these storylines, and lines of dialogue if she had chosen him. He’s honestly become one of my favorite characters on this show, and quite frankly is one of the best out of the entire cast.

    There. I’ve said it. I will now await and see what manner of response I receive. J

    Nathan really did get a good storyline this episode. Watching him protect Mei, and get to the bottom of things was entertaining, dramatic, and sweet. He really, really did not want to arrest Mei, but he just had no choice. But then again... I think he kind of liked having her hang around in jail with him. It was almost like their second date. Lol! Thankfully for him however, Mei understood, even if she did shed a few tears.

    Also I have to say that watching Nathan fall in love with Mei is absolutely adorable. You guys, it is just the sweetest thing ever watching his reactions to Mei. His love struck smiles are so cute, and that hug? My heart might have just melted a bit there. Now to clarify I still am not a fan of Mei. This episode certainly helped, and I’ll get to that in just a second. Rather I’m saying that I like watching Nathan with Mei, more than I like watching Mei with Nathan. Does that make sense? Also Nathan's comment to Lucas and Elizabeth made me laugh out loud, and... Okay, I have to ask. Why does Nathan always sit like he's in a hot tub when he's at church? :D

    As for Mei… YES! Finally I know her story, and oh my goodness it was more dramatic than I thought it would be! And I loved that! Jeffery is honestly one of, if not the absolute worst villain we’ve ever had on this show. Just in terms of what a scumbag he is. That guy is horrible. Not only did he make unwanted advances toward Mei, he started telling people they were engaged, and then that they eloped, AND THEN made a fake marriage license. Oh, and to top it all off he has a wife that he left somewhere. That’s right. He’s already married. Wow. Just wow.

    But guys, I cannot tell you just how happy I am that Mei is not married, and never was. And her storyline turned out so much more exciting and dramatic than I thought it would. All of this together actually helped me like her character a bit more. At least now I understand her, and why she’s been acting the way she’s been. She’s just a poor girl caught up in a terrible situation, scared and fighting to escape it. Thankfully she’s got Nathan on her side. I really did enjoy her and Nathan’s storyline this episode. I’m still not a fan of Mei, but hopefully that will change as the season finishes. I just feel like she needs more personality. But I do love watching Nathan fall in love with her, so that’s really fun.

    P.S. I really have my doubts that this is the last we’ve seen of Jeffery. That face he made before he left… Oh yeah. He was mad, and very well be planning his revenge.

 

The Coulters & Mike

    Finally! FINALLY!!! Lee got it through his skull that his words do indeed have consequences. The Coulter’s storyline was getting incredibly tired as every single episode they’d have the same conversation over, and over again. Lee just harping on Mike, and Rosemary telling him not to. It was getting so boring to watch, and honestly was not doing Lee’s character any favors. Lee is always so kind and thoughtful, so his actions toward Mike were really harsh. And somehow he thought that Mike would still be his buddy? Lee I think you’ve been in that office too long. :) Lee was literally surprised when Mike gave him the cold shoulder, but it finally got everything through his head. Yes, he does have power through that newspaper. The things he says matter. And finally he made things right. Finally. (Sighs with relief….)

    But on a brighter note… How fun were those costumes? And Lee’s hair!!! Oh my goodness! That was really fun. And it does seem indeed that Lee will be staying with the newspaper. But I think that works quite well for both him and Rosemary, and it's cute and fun that they'll be doing it together. :)

The Canfields & Anna

 

    Changes to the cafe you say, Mr. Canfield... I'm intrigued. The place already got a paint job since last season, and so I'm very curious what he might change. Things seem to be going quite well for the Canfields. Both Joseph and Minnie are really excited with their new business venture, and it's sweet that they're both tackling it as a family. It's not just Minnie's new job, but Joseph is right there with her. Praying over their decision, and going to work to make the place their own. He's even renovating the upstairs rooms to rent out to people. (And eradicating Mr. Fuzzy. Lol!) And who might their first boarder be? Anna!

    I forgot to mention her storyline in my last blog post, but it's interesting how the writers aren't just shipping the Hope Valley kids off to college now that they're done with school. They're actually keeping them around and giving them real jobs in town. It would have been so easy to just move on and bring in new kids, but instead they're keeping the children Hearties know and love and allowing us to watch them grow up. And for Anna, she's growing up more than any other kid. She's literally moving out of her mother's house, and into her own rented room while she works her first job at the cafe. Wow! Where did that little girl from Season 1 go, right? Lol! Well, it will be interesting to see where both her and the Canfields' stories go.

    I do have to mention very quickly.... what happened to Cooper's storyline? He's was going through something really big for almost the entire first half of the season, and the writers seemed to have dropped it completely. But things kind of slowed down a bit in episodes 6 and 7, so maybe we'll see more from him in next week's episode.

Bill

    Oh my goodness!!! Bill is coughing blood! And… is drunk on cough syrup? Lol! There is such a mixture of emotions surrounding this guy in this episode. First we have this horrible heath situation he’s going through. What on earth is wrong with him? I mean, this looks really, really bad. I could jump to conclusions and say, “Oh no! Bill is going to die and leave the show!” But I did that last season with Henry, and we saw how that ended. Honestly it’s probably going to be something more like what happened to Ned last season. Bill will probably collapse somewhere, everyone with rush him to the infirmary, and Faith will have her first doctor crisis to deal with since Carson left. We’ll just have to wait and see.

    But other than the drama of his heath we got the hilarious scene of him getting drunk on his cough syrup. Lol! That was so, so funny, and was one of the most humorous scenes in the whole episode. And finally we all got fooled by Bill’s “April Fool’s Day” prank. I wondered why nobody was pulling pranks, but now it all makes sense. Bill just wanted to make people think that’s what he was up to, when in reality he was surprising everyone with a wonderful Christmas surprise. Ahh Bill, you big softy. :)

Lucas & Elizabeth

 

    How fun was LucaBeth this episode? I mean... Lucas taught Elizabeth's students!!! Eeeek! I think a lot of LucaBeth fans' dreams just came true. The guy is a natural with the kids. You know, I don't know if I originally would have thought he'd do so well, and thought things could have been awkward and humorous. But wow. He was having a blast. Oh, and so were the kids. Lol! Honestly... he kind of out did Elizabeth. (But don't tell her I said that. 😉) And now Elizabeth is talking to Lucas about... becoming a teacher? Whoa!

    Honestly I am very, very curious what direction Lucas is going to go in his search for his own calling. Will he and Elizabeth end up as Mr. and Mrs. Teacher? Honestly I can see him as a teacher. I just don't think that would work in Hope Valley as they already have a teacher. No, he'll probably find a different calling in life, but at least Elizabeth always has a great substitute should she need one. :D

    It also seems the writers are gearing us up for Elizabeth to reach out to other teachers and families in need of teaching materials. Her book wagon was brought up again, this time with Lucas inspecting it. Guys, it would just be so fun if both of them took these big trips into the mountains to deliver books. I can just imagine all the danger they could get into. I'm curious to see where this storyline goes and if we'll have to wait until Season 10 to see her use it.

    Other than the teaching side of things, we got some fun and romantic moments between this lovely couple. I was much more pleased with the amount of LucaBeth in this episode, compared to what we got in the last episode. Elizabeth is quite the cheeky school teacher isn't she? Lol! She wanted to teach Lucas a lesson for teasing her about information he may or may not have been holding back from her about Mei, and only kissed him on the cheek. But... Yeah she's just too in love with the guy to do that, and instead pulled him in for a great big kiss. Right in the middle of the saloon. Lol! Lucas was quite surprised.

    We also got some more family moments between them and Little Jack. Going to church together, and walking back to the saloon afterward. Isn't it just so fun to see Lucas carrying the little guy? And Little Jack's "HEY BUDDY!" literally made me laugh out loud. It's really cute that those two have this little nickname game between them. And of course we can't forget the photo shoot. My, my Hyland... You sure you're not a model? Lol! His little poses were fun and sweet, and it was so fun to see Lucas drag Gustave over for a photo. I love that the writers made Gustave be Lucas' cousin. So fun!

    Overall I enjoyed this episode so much more than the last two. It was fun, lighthearted, yet dramatic and exciting as well. And I got more LucaBeth! Lol! I also caught the first second or two of the preview for next week's episode... You know, the thing Lucas told Elizabeth... Oh boy...

    Thank you so much for reading! Feel free to tell me your thoughts on this episode below or on my Twitter page. (But please no spoilers. :) 

    P.S. I just wanted to let you know that I no longer use Instagram. I've left my account up for anyone who wants to take a look, but I'm not going to be posting on there anymore. So if anyone has tried to reach me on there please know I'm not ignoring you. I have just decided not to use the platform anymore. So sorry for the inconvenience.

    P.P.S. Have an idea for a merch design you'd like me to sell? I'd love to hear your ideas! Feel free to take a look at what I already have, and tell me anything you have in mind! https://heart-and-family-mercantile.myspreadshop.com/