Reviewer Rating: 3.5/5.0
3.5
Times are changing in Hatties Hope Valley.
When When Calls the Heart Season 12 Episode 1 picks up where the cliffhanger of Season 11 left off, the storyline thankfully moves faster.
The focus of the new season is on honoring legacies or creating new ones, as many characters mentor younger generations or open new opportunities.
Honoring Jack’s success and memory
After the cliffhanger of When When Calls the Heart Season 11 Episode 12, I didn’t expect Superintendent Hargraves to make an announcement honoring Jack.
Then again, When Calls the Heart isn’t a sci-fi series or soap opera, so it’s unlikely to bring Jack back from the dead.
However, the presence of Hargraves made it important. He also implies that Nathan is no match for Jack, a hero that Nathan often worries about.
This creates a natural conflict rather than an artificial one.
This will continue, especially now that young Jack has more questions about his father and his time as a trooper. He loved being brave and taking care of Elizabeth as he was.
Little Jack believes the Mounties are brave, which is why he also likes Nathan. Nathan had been afraid of telling the boy that he had anything to do with Jack’s death.
He didn’t want to lose little Jack’s affection.
It’s hard knowing that everyone looks up to Jack and feels like he lives in his shadow, including dating his widow. Despite Elizabeth’s insistence that he wasn’t her second choice, Nathan had to work it out.
This sets up a more realistic arc for them.
The secret behind Nathan’s new recruit
New employee Oliver Garrett (Jacob Schmei) is somewhat mysterious. He seemed eager to please, but Hargraves said he was at the bottom of the class.
Initially, I wondered if he had a learning disability, but he read several Mountie texts, including Bill’s book. It makes me wonder if Hargraves disliked him for other reasons, just like he disliked Nathan.
Oliver seemed to respect the Mounties and truly admired Jack and Bill as two great men. He was polite to the ladies and charming. He doesn’t look like a confused cadet. Sure, he could use some guidance, but who couldn’t?
He seems to need a male role model since his father’s death, and the way he refers to his mom, I suspect they’ve grown apart. It seems he is hiding something.
Maybe when he feels more comfortable in Hope Valley, he’ll open up about his past.
It’s a delicate balance to let children grow and let go
The children of Hope Valley are the heart of the series. Over the years, we’ve seen some people grow on screen, like Emily and Opal. Now, Emily and Angela will graduate at the end of this year.
It’s a delicate balance between being proud of your children and realizing it’s time to let them go. The Canfields are proud that Angela went to school and graduated, but Minnie seems afraid to let their daughter leave them.
Angela, on the other hand, longs for freedom and wants to enter a college for the blind in Hamilton. It must be a challenge for her to always switch classes, so it makes sense why she would go to school with someone like her.
As Henry points out, mothers and daughters often disagreed on these core issues. It will be interesting to watch how things develop throughout the season as Joseph attempts to play the role of peacemaker.
As the older children enter senior year, little Jack and Lily begin their first year at school. Although they had interacted with older children before, they were still scared to see not many younger children.
Leaving the safety net of day care and friends is difficult. I loved the way little Jack sounded relieved when he realized Lily was scared too.
They’re cute and if this show continues, I could see them dating for the next decade. He was kind to her and shared his prized possession. We need more cuties like this.
Will Lucas’ national park plan succeed?
Rosemary’s point about Lee missing out on Goldie’s development makes sense, but she sounds more bossy than usual.
Generally speaking, women did not wear pants at home, especially 100 years ago. Luckily, Henry knows how to approach her and create a win for everyone.
Rosemary isn’t the type to take an all-inclusive vacation, but naming the park after Goldie and reminding her of creating a legacy for other children was meaningful to her.
By far the main negative was seeing Edwin again. He seems very corrupt and Lucas needs to surround himself with people who share his interests.
It took me a long time to convince Rosemary to let Lee go to the capital. While she admitted she had forgiven Lucas, she had a hard time trusting him.
I don’t want to encounter Hurricane Rosemary if Edwin causes Lee to get burned in the process.
Hopefully Lucas will stop trusting the wrong people and making stupid mistakes. I’m excited to see Lucas and Lee team up to create a national park for future generations.
At least, Season 12 of When Calls the Heart looks more promising than Season 12 so far.
The show uses real history to create drama for Elizabeth and Nathan. Of course, as their relationship progresses, he’ll feel guilty and anxious hearing about Jack.
Several supporting characters have storylines, or will soon have storylines, which is a challenge with a large cast, but they’re changing it up for the better.
What was your favorite part of the Season 12 premiere of “Hatis”? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please share them with us in the comments below.
Watch When Calls the Heart online
