NOTE: This post contains spoilers for Season 11, Episode 4 of When Calls the Heart.
Hello, Hearties! Welcome to the recap for April 28th’s episode of When Calls the Heart, titled “Along Came a Spider”. During this episode, someone from Lucas’ past visited Hope Valley, Elizabeth and Nathan organized an Easter egg hunt, and we met the Mayor of Benson Hills. Let’s get into the recap!
A Hope Valley Easter Egg Hunt
This episode starts with a radio Easter address made in the saloon by none other than Governor Bouchard himself. Lucas announces that 1,000 new homes, apartments, and row houses will be built as part of the expansion of the Cape Fullerton Harbor. After mentioning that proposals are still being accepted for the Hope Valley Resort, he also announces the First Annual Governor’s Easter Egg Hunt in Hope Valley.
Elizabeth has volunteered to help with the egg hunt hunt, since Lucas consulted with her about it. While leaving the saloon, Nathan catches up with her and offers to help with the hunt as well.
Later on in the episode, Elizabeth and Nathan are hiding eggs around town. Nathan places one high up on a trellis, but Elizabeth thinks it will be too hard for the small children to reach. “I think if somebody wants something bad enough they’ll figure it out,” says Nathan, gazing intently at Elizabeth.
“What if there’s a chance they could get hurt?” she asks.
“Well then I guess they just have to decide whether it’s worth it or not,” replies Nathan. I don’t think he’s talking about the egg here, folks.
“A chocolate egg definitely isn’t worth it,” Elizabeth says, before grabbing a very small bucket to stand on to grab said egg. While reaching for it, her foot slips off the American Girl doll-sized bucket and she falls elegantly into Mountie Nathan’s arms. *Cue intense eye contact.*
And… they’re interrupted by Allie who wants to know when the egg hunt is going to start. It begins shortly after and the children have a wonderful time. At one point, Elizabeth watches Nathan hunt for eggs with Little Jack, and I think she likes what she sees.
Later that night, Nathan shows up at Elizabeth’s door with the egg that he had re-hid high up on the trellis. None of the children could reach it, so he thinks it should go to the person who risked life and limb for it. “I guess sometimes a chocolate egg is worth the risk,” she tells him. Does that mean Nathan is worth the risk to Elizabeth? I guess we’ll find out later.
A Meeting of Mayor Hickams
In the saloon, Lucas approaches Bill, Rosemary, Lee, and Mike. He asks Bill to attend a meeting with the Mayor of Benson Hills to work through the new resort’s property and access issues. Lee reminds everyone again that he “warned Edwin that half the property we sold the territory was in the township of Benson Hills”. Good job, Edwin!
Lucas wants Bill to attend the meeting because he is the acting mayor of Hope Valley, but Bill has no interest in it at all. Lee points out that Mike Hickam is still officially the mayor, but Mike says that he cannot meet with the mayor of Benson Hills. Why not?
“Have you not heard any of my stories about my five overbearing sisters, one of whom was just elected the mayor of Benson Hills?” says Mike. I certainly don’t remember hearing about that!
Anyway, Mike and Lee end up meeting with the Mayor of Benson Hills (aka Maisie, Mike’s sister). After insulting Mike’s shirt choice and his inability to meet with her alone, she sits down to discuss the resort. As Mike warned, it proves to be impossible to come to an agreement with her, so the issue is tabled.
Presumably on her way out of town, Maisie stops by the pharmacy to meet Mei. The two talk a bit before Mike interrupts them. It’s clear that Maisie knew exactly who Mei was, although Mei was unaware that she’s Mike’s sister.
After Maisie left, Mei tells Mike that she likes her. Mike says that his sister makes him feel like he does everything wrong, but Mei makes him feel like can do everything right. The two finally share a kiss.
Looking at the "Evidence"
At the start of the episode, Rosemary comes up with a new idea to help Lucas remember details from the night of the shooting- hypnosis. However, she is advised against it by Faith, who says it can be unreliable and dangerous.
While at the saloon, Rosemary again asks Lucas whether he remembers anything from that night. He tells her that he does not, but she’ll be the first to know if he does.
Later on, Rosemary visits Bill’s office since she heard he was sent a package from the Mounties in Capital City, which includes Pike’s case file. The file shows that Pike’s fingerprints were found on the grip of the gun. However, Rosemary quickly points out that there were no prints on the gun’s chamber or barrel. She and Bill come to the conclusion that the gun was tampered with to either frame Pike or allow him to take the fall for someone else.
"Old Widow" Jeanette Aucoin
Jeanette Aucoin pulls up to the saloon in her vehicle, and Bill tells her she can’t park there. Clearly unaware of the recent sale of the saloon, Jeanette assures him that it’s okay because she knows the owner.
Bill immediately recognizes Jeanette’s name as that of Lucas’ “old friend from New Orleans” when she checks in to the hotel. Lucas enters the room and looks very surprised to see Jeanette. They go back to his office to talk, and Lucas tells Jeanette that she could have warned him about her visit to Hope Valley. She tells him that she saw a photo of him and his fiancée in a local paper and wondered if he was going to invite her to the wedding, but then it got called off. “Let’s leave Elizabeth out of this,” replies Lucas.
Apparently, Jeanette is actually in Hope Valley to bid on the resort, as she is representing a group of high-net-worth investors. She assures Lucas that her investors are “on the level” and that she’s changed, just like Lucas has. However, he doesn’t buy it and is clearly distrustful of Jeanette.
Later on in the episode, Jeanette submits her bid, and Lucas walks her to her car. She urges him to take the bid seriously, and Lucas asks her why she’s really here. “Believe it or not, I still care about you,” she tells him, but Lucas says he is no longer living that life and tells her goodbye.
However, Jeanette can’t leave without causing a little bit more trouble for Lucas. As she’s driving away, she stops, exits the vehicle, and heads over to Elizabeth. Jeanette introduces herself and tells Elizabeth that they have a lot in common or at least one thing. They were both engaged to Lucas Bouchard at one point.
Elizabeth, who had not known about Jeanette’s presence in Hope Valley up to this point, handles her with grace. This only seems to irritate Jeanette, who finally (actually) leaves.
“Poor widow Jeanette?” Elizabeth asks Lucas, as Nathan watches them chatting from a distance. (Is that a bit of jealousy on his face? I think so.) Lucas doesn’t get a chance to fully explain, as the children interrupt them.
In the very final scene of the episode, Lucas sits at the counter of the saloon and looks over Jeanette’s bid proposal. In it is tucked an old picture of the two of them.
Around Hope Valley
As usual, there’s a lot going on around town in this episode. Here are some other highlights from Hope Valley:
- Little Jack goes with Elizabeth to school so he can take part in egg decorating. He asks her why she has to be everyone’s mom at school. Elizabeth assures him that she might be everyone’s teacher but she is only Jack’s mom, and that’s the most important thing to her.
- Remember how Toby was struggling with math last week? Well, decorating Easter eggs actually helps him understand his fractions better.
- With a little help from Allie, the Canfield siblings write a letter to their dad’s estranged brother, Jacob Canfield, from Joseph. In case you missed it, Joseph mentioned last week that he and his brother don’t talk anymore, but Angela and Cooper are clearly hoping to change that.
That's All!
What was your favorite part of this episode? What do you think of Jeanette Aucoin? Let me know down below.
Judging by the preview for next week’s episode, it looks like Nathan and Elizabeth are finally going to have the “What are we?” conversation. Join me for the recap exactly one week from today!
