The first few “tourists” came through Hope Valley on When Calls the Heart Season 10 Episode 3, and while they were friendly, let’s hope that future visitors don’t come with question marks over their heads.
Whether the town is ready for an influx of visitors remains to be seen, but Rosemary was definitely not prepared to accept she could be the great mother her friends know she would be.
The Hope Valley community is quite persuasive, and they always have the needs of others at the forefront of their minds.
During When Calls the Heart Season 10 Episode 2, we learned why Rosemary was struggling with impending motherhood.
Her mother let her down tremendously, and Rosemary desperately wants to be the opposite. Nobody who knows her has such doubts, but with that kind of family history, it’s not surprising that even a woman with a heart as pure as Rosemary’s has them anyway.
Worrying about the perfect shower may have allowed Rosemary to table her doubts. Or it could have been Rosemary being Rosemary.
Either way, Elizabeth knew that to have a beautiful shower for her friend, she’d have to shut out Rosemary’s concerns and go with her gut.
Hiding Miss Nose-for-news from the hive of shower-related activity was a comedy goldmine. Shutting down Rosemary’s attempts to control the event in her honor was like a game of whack-a-mole.
Elizabeth: So, Rosemary still thinks that the shower is next week.
Molly: Very impressive, Elizabeth, that your acting can fool even Rosemary.
Timing was of the essence, and her spa treatment had to be stemmed mid-treatment (only one cheek?) to accomplish the miracle.
Was it the shower Rosemary thought she wanted? She didn’t say. But it was definitely the shower she needed.
Traditionally, a shower describes the wealth of gifts given to someone soon to be wed or an expectant mother. However, Rosemary’s true gift wasn’t the physical gifts (although the caps were adorable) but the shower of support she received from her friends.
Elizabeth: For a mother who is a natural-born performer, think of motherhood as your greatest role.
Florence: And we will all be watching and applauding.
Molly: That little baby is so lucky.
Minnie: You’re going to be the most wonderful mother.
Rosemary wasn’t blind to what was happening. Some women might have been embarrassed to need such an outpouring of support, but Rosemary understood its importance.
On When Calls the Heart Season 10 Episode 1, Rosemary felt slighted that Elizabeth hadn’t asked her to be the matron of honor at her wedding.
It seems like forever ago that there could be even the slightest misunderstanding between them.
The two friends are now firmly on the same page, and it will take a cataclysmic event to prove otherwise.
Rosemary: You knew I was nervous. You knew I had my doubts, and you wanted to help me through them.
Elizabeth: A big part of motherhood is supporting other mothers.
Rosemary: Yeah, I see that. I also see that I not only have a best friend who is like a sister to me, but I have a whole family.
Hope Valley thrives on community. Coal Valley was bonded together over a tragedy of epic proportions, tearing its foundation away from under them. The lesson was that with each other, they can survive anything.
Whether it’s all of the mothers in town rallying around Rosemary or the men in town lifting up Henry when he couldn’t do it for himself, the town formerly known as Coal Valley lives up to its chosen name of Hope Valley every day.
Lucas expressed concerns about Henry on When Calls the Heart Season 10 Episode 2 when he stated that he couldn’t understand why Henry couldn’t forgive himself when the whole town had forgiven him.
Henry’s conscience resigned him to his fate of up to six years in prison. All the fight had subsided from the formerly feisty man who was once willing to go to the ends of the earth to share his opinions and prove his value to the community.
Bill, Lee, and Lucas weren’t successful in their endeavors to free Henry legally and mentally from the torment of his actions.
Lucas has proven to be a tenacious fellow, doggedly pursuing what he wants and believes is best. The traits that once kept people at arm’s length now draw them near.
Remember when Lucas first arrived on the scene? If you watch When Calls the Heart online, you know he had a reputation as a scoundrel who used trickery to gain influence in his card game of choice.
Nobody wanted to trust him despite him having never done anything to deserve it, so leaning back into his former ways, no matter how necessary they were to free Henry, gave him pause.
He was almost sheepish when mentioning to Elizabeth what he did to gain the upper hand for his friend, seeking her approval or forgiveness. Either would do.
When your gut tells you that everything you believe to be right is, in fact, correct, it makes using potentially scurrilous claims against someone under dire circumstances more palatable.
Lucas believed that had the inspector lived long enough to do so, he would have written a letter proving Henry’s claims about the mine and Jerome’s part in covering them up.
Lucas banked on Jerome believing the same, and Jerome’s guilty conscience couldn’t allow Lucas to reveal such a letter, so he agreed to drop the charges against Henry.
It was all a ruse, but a successful one, even if it wasn’t well received by the intended recipient.
But together with a young boy’s innocent sentiment and Allie’s pronouncement that the hot springs wouldn’t have sprung without Henry destroying the mine, there is hope that Henry will, at long last, allow himself grace for his actions.
That brings us to the first visitors to town who were curious about the springs.
Madeline St. John and her son Jamie were crossing the country to take care of her departed husband’s affairs. At least, that’s the official story.
It seemed innocent enough, and a good barometer of how welcoming the town would be to a sudden influx of outsiders in the vein of tourism.
Nobody could have been shocked when Bill Avery, who does his best curmudgeon impression on occasion, found everything Madeline did offensive, from where she parked her car to the table she chose at Abigail’s.
But he was also very kind to Jamie, helping him see the beauty of a town he was more inclined to thumb his nose at than enjoy.
Jamie’s commentary about the best schools and Allie and her friends countering his points was a lovely commentary on the misconceptions of city folk and country folk. The unknown creates fear and derision, but harsh judgments usually melt away when given a chance to connect.
It can’t be a coincidence that Jamie told his mother how much he liked Hope Valley and wasn’t looking forward to leaving.
Madeline connected with Bill, and for reasons I don’t understand, Bill and Molly haven’t found their way to each other, so introducing a new woman who might be a match for Bill makes sense.
Of course, Madeline has a secret, and the episode synopsis mentioning tourists could make things difficult for Bill seems more wide-reaching than his annoyance over a parking spot or a restaurant booth.
However, much like Lucas Bouchard arrived with shadows around him, I’m willing to bet that whatever Madeline was referencing on the phone (which didn’t sound good) will be far less discouraging than it sounds.
Future synopses suggest she considers remaining in Hope Valley, so her “they’re good people” comment has to be a non-starter. Why would you put someone’s life in jeopardy and then move in next door?
There was also a little romance in the valley, starting with Lucas’s sweet desire for an unforgettable wedding.
I love how he spills information about his family, like breadcrumbs for us to follow, as much as I love how Elizabeth is having the wedding mainly for his benefit. She’s been married before, but this is his first, and she wants it to be as special as possible.
She would have been happy eloping, but it would be so disappointing to the man she loves. He kids that the wedding will be to her specifications, but she’s reading him like she reads Rosemary, ensuring his dreams come true. Awww.
There was also more between Faith and Nathan, and they even got a moment on the road to just be — without the expectations or whatever is hanging between them that we missed in the months between seasons.
Overall, it was another pleasant episode, even if it doesn’t have the same gusto as we experienced with the love triangle during When Calls the Heart Season 8. Do you think they could match that excitement again? Share your thoughts below!
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.