My WCTH Story: Part 1
Join me as I share how I found When Calls the Heart and moved on from heartbreak on the show. This post is Part 1 of 2.
Finding When Calls the Heart:
I was looking for a family-friendly TV show with a light-hearted plot on Netflix and stumbled onto When Calls the Heart one day. Season 3 had recently finished airing on Hallmark Channel. I decided to give it a chance and started with Season 1 on Netflix. I watched Season 1 in one sitting and I immediately fell in love with the concept. It had the perfect mix of light-heartedness, predictability, and hopeful suspense that I was looking for in a show. The community and family-centered aspect kept me hooked on the show.
Thus began my binge-watch of Seasons 1-3 as I anxiously waited for the Season 4 Christmas movie along with the premiere of the season the following year. I watched Season 4 live and couldn’t get enough of this family-friendly show. There was so much heart, kindness, patience, grace, etc in Hope Valley! It was refreshing, to say the least. When Calls the Heart became my go-to show. Hope Valley felt like my home away from home. A safe place. My safe place. Truth be told, in an ideal world, we would all be living the Hope Valley way.
The Moment My Heart Shattered for the first time:
Season 4 wrapped and the announcement of Season 5 was thrilling! Elizabeth and Jack were engaged and I COULD NOT wait for the wedding! Patience is a virtue but I was lacking in that area regarding Season 5! Nevertheless, Season 5 came along, and like the year before I watched live. I enjoyed watching the wedding planning and seeing how excited Elizabeth was about marriage. Despite Jack being gone a lot this season I knew in my heart they would get married. The wedding day came and it was just beautiful. I was a few episodes behind as the Penultimate episode aired. I scrolled through Facebook to get the scoop on the episode. All looked fine and dandy even as the clock approached the dreaded last 2 minutes. I saw Lori Loughlin, Daniel Lissing, and Erin Krakow on a Facebook Live. I hopped on thinking nothing of it but soon my happiness faded into complete shock and denial.
After learning the fate of our beloved Jack, I impulsively quit all things When Calls the Heart. I never watched the last two episodes until about 2 years ago. I erased the good and bad moments from my memory forever. I was not coming back. I was heartbroken, devastated, confused, and everything in between. I could not understand nor accept the loss of Jack. I respected Daniel Lissing’s decision to leave and I still do. That was not enough to begin to mend my broken heart. I was gone. Or so I thought until my heart was called back to When Calls the Heart. That is the name of the show after all!
Returning 2 Years Later:
During the 2020 pandemic, I decided to dip my toes back into When Calls the Heart after finding out Kevin McGarry was on the show. I approached the episodes I missed with trepidation.
First, I started with the Season 6 Christmas episode and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. However, I was still very much hurting from Jack’s death as I timidly ventured into Season 6 Episode 1. I started Season 6 very closed-minded to Elizabeth finding love again. My heart was with Jack and the mere thought she could ever love someone again was so foreign I didn’t entertain the idea.
Yes, I was aware there was a love triangle between Lucas, Elizabeth, and Nathan. It didn’t bother me because I still had my toes in the water. I could quit again at any given moment if I decided I did not like the direction the show was going. My heart still longed for Jack and Elizabeth because I never processed the loss of that relationship. I was right there with Elizabeth trying to navigate through uncharted territory. The loss of our beloved Jack Thornton.
As I binged Season 6 I started to enjoy Lucas Bouchard (Chris McNally) as a character. He had a charming and mysterious personality which is unique to Hope Valley. I never doubted his goodness for one second! It was clear Lucas was a good guy. His presence is a little discourse in the town but variety is the spice of life! He was a breath of fresh air in my opinion. I was excited to see what changes and growth would come to Hope Valley as a result.
Fun Fact: I was hoping for a saloon remodel or new building because I’m a huge Home and Garden Television (HGTV) gal! I was ecstatic when I found out he was donating a library. I loved seeing the “fix it up” stage morph into the “finished” stage. Even if it was very minimal! I love that we got to see Lucas add his flare and personality to the saloon in Season 10.
In Season 6 Episode 4, we were introduced to Nathan Grant (Kevin McGarry). A new Mountie is in town! Much like Elizabeth, my breath was taken away because so much time had passed since Hope Valley had its very own Mountie. Jack Thornton was Hope Valley’s last Mountie and no doubt his absence was still felt by everyone. The presence of a new Mountie was jolting for everyone both on and off the show. After watching Nathan and Bill solve the crime of the day I was starting to become more open-minded to the possibility of continuing without Jack.
The episode that got me hooked, line, and sinker is Season 6 Episode 5 titled Surprise. What a surprise it was! The introduction of Jaeda Lily Miller as Allie Grant (neè Parks), Nathan’s niece, was a twist I did not see coming. But I LOVED every single minute of it! Allie’s spunk, determination, and youthfulness added yet another variety of spice to Hope Valley. For me, this Uncle/Niece relationship added a new depth and challenge to the show and a never-before-seen dynamic among the leading characters. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Nathan and his niece bond. From Nathan’s Dad jokes to their sit-and-talks they brought a perfect mix of humor and pearl-clutching moments. It was a breath of fresh air and a welcome to change to the show. I was hooked again.
Side note: At this point, I was not quite on board with the Nathan and Elizabeth pairing. I needed to fall in love with Nathan and Allie as a little family before I could support a pairing with Elizabeth.
I was excited to continue my binge-watch the following day with the Season 7 Christmas Movie. This was the moment I knew Nathan and Allie would forever be my reason for watching. They planted roots both figuratively and literally in Hope Valley in the Christmas Movie. Allie started to open up to her friends and didn’t want to leave her friends behind. We saw Nathan truly sacrifice a prestigious promotion to give Allie a stable life after moving around so much. We learned more about Colleen and saw Nathan integrate their traditions into Allie's life. We continued to get to know Nathan and Allie as a family and individuals throughout the movie. Seeing Elizabeth spend a lot of time with them doing activities a family would normally do together tipped the scales for me to cheer for Nathan and Elizabeth as a couple. I saw an abundance of chemistry, sparks, and mutual understanding between them. Elizabeth helped him tremendously as a single parent of a little girl but he was also able to share his experiences as a single parent. The idea of a blended family was staring us right in the face. The reality of this happening became clear to me in the Season 7 Christmas movie and the rest of the season.
Thanks for reading Part 1! Keep an eye out for Part 2 to continue reading My When Calls the Heart Story.