It’s been a long wait, but the Haties finally got their festive wish. When Calls the Heart returned earlier this year and premiered in January instead of spring.
When Calls the Heart Season 12 Episode 1 promised a lot of new changes for our Hope Valley residents. Elizabeth and Nathan deal with the news brought by Sheriff Hargraves and their burgeoning relationship.
Nathan also trains a new Mountie cadet, Oliver Garrett, while Elizabeth deals with the fact that Jack and Lily are about to start school and some of her other students are about to graduate.
Speaking of legacy, Lucas, Lee and Rosemary had to figure out how to get involved with the national park project while Lee was working part-time in National Park.
Our favorite products are taking over this season and we can’t wait.
Superintendent Hargraves’ unexpected visit affects Elizabeth and Nathan
There is no end to Nathan’s sins.
Erin Krakow and Kevin McGarry hinted that Jack (Daniel Lissing) won’t be coming back from the dead, so Hargrave’s news will have a different impact on their relationship.
According to When Calls the Heart Season 12 Episode 1 spoilers, Elizabeth receives an emotional surprise. It sounds like Hargraves is bringing something of Jack to Elizabeth that will make him more of a hero and make Nathan more unsettled.
However, this is a natural conflict for them, as Nathan often strives to live up to Jack’s legacy. This became more challenging as little Jack grew older, asked more questions, and respected his late father.
This works better for them than a contrived conflict of Nathan blaming Jack’s death on Nathan or bringing Jack back like a soap opera.
Nathan’s real struggle is between wanting Elizabeth and Little Jack to respect Jack while also wanting to move on with him.
Spoilers suggest Hargraves also sends Nathan a new recruit
We suspect there’s another reason for the Sheriff’s visit, as spoilers and promos tease Nathan training a new Mountie cadet.
Jacob Schmei (“A Million Little Things”) stars as Oliver Garrett. We don’t know much about him, but other photos suggest he may be paired with Ellie.
It would be interesting to learn why Hargraves thought Oliver needed a mentor and why he thought Nathan would be good at teaching him.
Nathan always thought Superintendent Hargraves didn’t like him. Maybe he grudgingly respected him and recruiting him was his way of expressing that.
Maybe Oliver needs some guidance and someone to believe in him. Nathan excelled at this after raising his niece.
It’s also possible that Hargraves thinks Nathan will fail in this mission, but hopes he doesn’t let another trooper become collateral damage.
One generation graduates and another starts school
Spoilers reveal Angela Canfield will be set to appear this year. In When Calls the Heart Season 11, she discusses with her friends what it would be like to attend a college for the blind in Hamilton.
I’m glad the Canfields are back telling stories because the story of the oldest child leaving the nest always resonates, no matter the time period.
Angela’s story is particularly resonant because she wants to attend a college for the blind so she can better integrate into society, but Minnie isn’t ready to give up on her daughter yet.
As upperclassmen prepare for senior year, a new group of students starts school. It was little Jack and Lily’s first day at school, and they looked so young and nervous.
They all let the older kids take care of them, but they seemed almost afraid of them now. Will they cope with the transition from daycare to school together and emerge stronger in the future?
Extra fun spoilers for the kids hint that they’ll be discovering comic books for the first time. I didn’t realize the comics were published in the 1920s and I can’t wait to see what the old comics looked like.
Lucas, Lee and Rosemary must compromise to make national park project a reality
Lucas and Lee teamed up to create a national park near Hope Valley. The problem was that Lucas wanted to do most of the planning and activities in the capital.
Judging by her expression at the end of When Calls the Heart Season 11 Episode 12, Rosemary seemed unhappy that Lee was separated from her and Goldie. We doubt her feelings have changed much.
Rosemary is opinionated and the head of the family, so Lucas must convince her to let Lee accompany him.
Rosemary wasn’t stingy, but it took them years to start a family, so she wanted the three of them to experience all of Goldie’s firsts.
It’s a delicate balance, however, as Lucas and Lee hope to create the national park as a legacy for Goldie and the other children.
These reasons are important to Rosemary, but are they enough to sway her and compromise her faith?
Over to you, Hatice. What are you excited to see in the Season 12 premiere?
Are you looking forward to seeing how Elizabeth and Nathan’s relationship evolves or more of what’s planned for Lucas National Park?
Let us know in the comments below.
Season 12 of When Calls the Heart will premiere on Hallmark Channel on Sunday, January 5 at 9/8c, and on Hallmark+ the following day.
Watch When Calls the Heart online
