www.fansofbelievepictures.com When Calls the Heart Discussion Article Season 4 Episode 7 Written on March 26th 2017 by Amy J. Falk Email: bppfans@gmail.com Twitter: @bppfan Introduction I hope all is well with all of you out there this week! We were warned buy Executive Producer Bird that it would be a tearjerker and possibly the biggest episode of the season. However, before we get into the episode I wanted to let all of you know that a new blogger has joined the www.fansofbelievepictures.com team. :-) From time to time she will be giving us her thoughts on When Calls the Heart, along with the other films that come across our virtual desks! So welcome Karen Shafer! We look forward to hearing from you. :-) Now grab your coffee, because we will be discussing that nuclear bomb explosion of an episode! You might want to grab the Kleenex first... just a thought. 1

Note added on March 28, 2017: Thank you to those of you who have been praying for my family this week as we lost two long-time family friends. I appreciate all the love and prayers. A Mountie in Mourning Writing team This episode was absolutely phenomenal, and you guys should be very proud of yourselves! I have no idea how you went through the final script without a box of Kleenex at your side. I went through an entire Kleenex box by the end of the episode! I hope Kleenex is one of our sponsors... if not, it should be. I must admit, I was sorry to see that some of my speculation from last week was pretty close to what happened. Thank you for all your hard work and congratulations on a tremendous episode in Season 4. Set crew Question about the funeral: I'm from the US, so I'm not familiar with a Canadian Mountie funeral, and I was unable to find anything on Google to answer this question. Did they mean to tie Mountie Douglas boots in the horse stirrups backwards? I have read about bringing the horse to the funeral like you did, but I have read nothing about the boots. 1. Was this your first experience seeing a Mountie funeral? 2. If you are one of the readers who has been to a Mountie funeral, was this depiction accurate? I was glad that the writers decided to put the funeral into the episode. I wasn't sure that they would do so since Mountie Burke was not a main character. Although I have to admit I was quite surprised that Jack did not have Elizabeth go with him, at least at first. I realized how private Jack is with his grieving. Even after this episode, I'm not too sure his quiet nature and privacy of the matter was because he was trying to decide between duty and honor, or love. Towards the end of the episode of course we were let in on a little bit more of his grieving and understood that he blamed himself for not taking the post when he was asked. I have to admit that I was little bit upset with Jack when I combined the behaviors in the last three episodes. He has had ample time to tell Elizabeth how he was struggling with his duty and honor, yet he never did. Instead, in this episode he just plainly made the decision without talking to Elizabeth. Now I know he said he tried before Elizabeth s company knocked at the door, but I believe he could have said something much earlier and avoid this abrupt 2

and painful separation. I also blame Elizabeth for this a little as well. She has heard him hint towards this conversation several times. She had to know that something was obviously bothering him. It was like when you know there is a problem, yet nod your head and don't correct the problem... It doesn't help the situation. I do like the fact that Mrs. Burke, Douglas's mother, made it very clear to Jack that she does not blame him for her son's death. Questions I have about Jack during this episode 1. Why is Bill going to take care of Rip instead of Elizabeth? 2. If they are planning on sending an acting Mountie as a replacement while Jack is gone, my first thought was: is actor Daniel Lissing going to be taking a leave of absence if or when we do get a season 5? Yes - Hope is alive for Season Five Hallmark Channel! Do you think bad things are going to happen in Hope Valley without Jack Thornton? I don't know about you guys, but I'm worried about Railroad Ray and Mayor Gowen. The boom that was heard around the world Warning this brief section of the article holds the biggest spoiler of the episode if you do not want to know details of this please read no further until the next section. Thank you! Set crew Aesthetically, the proposal scene was absolutely beautiful, but where in the world would you get all those candles to light the path, and jars and flower petals in that little town? Also, what made you decide to put so many candles in the church when we saw Jack and Elizabeth sitting together? Did you do that for Jack? It was beautiful, but I was surprised to see all of them. Writing team The Proposal was beyond what I imagined it to be in my own head! So bravo to the writers! I know that Twitter was certainly affected and heard the echoes of many #HEARTIES. I have to confess that during last night's episode, I was only briefly on social media and was not on Twitter at all (except for seeing the tweets pop up on my screen). There was a reason for that. I was pretty sure (based on my speculation on last week's article) that there would be a proposal or marriage. Now that you've seen the episode, you know that that was correct, and I wanted to make sure I saw every bit of it just like the rest of you. :-) Believe it or not, I almost missed it! My father continued to talk during the entire scene until my mom made him stop. LOL! I can tell you this, my mobile device did not stop vibrating after that point for sure! I thought it was very considerate of Jack, 3

even before proposing when he says to Elizabeth that he is not even sure that it is fair for him to ask her to wait. I know we have been waiting for him to propose for a long time, but given the circumstances of this season and the last few episodes, would you have wanted him to propose at this moment? Now forget about previous seasons... just think about the last episodes... What do you think of Jack's proposal? Me - I'm wondering if he had Abigail help him with the planning for the proposal. :-) But then again, maybe not. We've seen Jack be very romantic in the past. By the time the proposal came around in the episode, I had almost finished a box of kleenexes (much to my father's dismay ) :-) I've been chatting with some friends from the reunion, and one of them reminded me of the first evening that we were there. It was much like that type of emotion... Who else was crying so hard that their face hurt by the end of this scene? And then when he had to leave again, the tears never had a chance to stop flowing!...at least for me anyway. A Teacher's Troubles Even though there were many main things to touch on, these three we're big enough to fill a whole episode! The way the writers constructed this episode was absolutely flawless. I was glad to see we tied up the loose ends of Elizabeth s teaching troubles, and that they also continued to tie in how bad things happen when good people do nothing. I was also touched on the fact that the women in the town pulled together once again and offered Elizabeth the teaching position she so desperately wanted back. If it had not been for Francine, this wouldn't have been rectified. Also, as always, I was touched by the children's encouragement. I was definitely glad to see when Mr. Stoneman was able to see the error of his ways and let Elizabeth teach him something about loving his job. It was good to see that our writers carried through on their promise of a recital, though it was tearful. During Elizabeth s song I wondered if that was a tribute to Daniel Lissing, since he plays Mountie Jack so honorably..? I have faith that Elizabeth Thatcher will be well taken care of in Mountie Jack's absence, although we do know she takes very good care of herself... most of the time. :-) Things to think about 1. If Bill is already working for the railroad and is a private investigator, how is he then going to be sheriff, or acting sheriff, until they find a Mountie replacement? 2. With Jack gone, will Rosemary and Lee become our central couple on the show until Jack s return? 4

3. The When Calls the Heart Rumor Mill is on fire about whether Daniel Lissing will be taking a leave of absence. Some people are upset about these rumors that are floating around the internet. On my website and my Facebook group, it's always been my policy to let people speculate unless it becomes hurtful to the actor or the character he or she plays. You must respect the person you are speaking about, but feel free to speculate and talk about whatever you like pertaining to When Calls the Heart. Thank you! I also ask that you respect other people's opinions. 4. Will Gowen take advantage of the weakness that Hope Valley has right now with Jack being gone? Conclusion In conclusion, first I would like to say that I would like to dedicate this article to Daniel Lissing s family who has dealt with the loss of his grandmother during this TV season. Please know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. Well our writers definitely created a boom this week for all of us! I was wrong this season thus far in my speculation that the proposal would not be till the season finale. It makes me wonder what they're going to do for the finale to make it just as phenomenal. I look forward to seeing it! We had tears and smiles this week, but I am sure they will find a way to make our hearts soar next week. We all know that When Calls the Heart can be a rollercoaster at times, but it is one ride I do not mind taking! Have a wonderful week everyone. 5