NOTE: This post contains spoilers for Season 11, Episode 9 of When Calls the Heart.
Hello, Hearties! Welcome to the recap for June 2nd’s episode of When Calls the Heart, titled “Truth Be Told”. In this episode, Allie had some questions about her biological father, and *gasp* Bernhardt Montague returned to Hope Valley. Let’s recap!
Taking It Slow
The episode opens with Elizabeth taking laundry off the line in her backyard. Rosemary walks into her adjoining backyard and notices Elizabeth happily humming a tune. Perhaps the one that she danced along to with Nathan in last week’s episode?
We won’t see any of Tom Thornton in this episode as Elizabeth tells Rosemary that he left on the morning train. Rosemary then starts to make a comment about the fact that now that Tom is gone Elizabeth and Nathan can be together a bit more openly. However, Elizabeth interrupts her admonishingly.
Rosemary wonders what is holding Elizabeth back, but she assures her that nothing is. Rather, she wants to “take the time to get it right” and believes Nathan feels the same way. Rosemary advises her to not wait forever for the perfect moment.
Later on, Nathan joins Elizabeth on a bench in town. He asks her if she would like to take a ride with him on Sunday. “I could pack a picnic,” Elizabeth replies with a little smile. Nathan yells to Allie across the street to ask if she will watch Little Jack when they go out, but she ignores him (for reasons you will read about later in this recap).
We never do get to see Nathan and Elizabeth’s Sunday date in this episode- oh well! There’s still a lot going on in this episode, so keep reading…
An Unwelcome Bid
In Lucas’ office, Edwin tells him that Bernhardt Montague insists on doing business face to face, but Lucas says they can communicate via telephone and wire. With a slightly guilty expression, Edwin says that Montague is actually arriving on the morning train. Thanks for giving him all that notice Edwin! (I still don’t trust this guy.)
As Rosemary and Bill sit in the saloon discussing Montague’s potential involvement in Lucas’ shooting, Montague himself walks in. He asks Mike for a room but is told the hotel is full. Unfortunately, plenty of hotel room keys are hanging behind Mike, but I give him an A for effort!
After a less-than-warm welcome from the people of Hope Valley, Montague joins Lucas, Henry, and Edwin for a meeting to discuss the resort. The current plan is for profits to be split 50-50 between Montague and the government. However, Montague demands a 60-40 split instead, not believing that there are any other offers. He knows no one wants to touch this deal with a 10-foot pole.
Montague asks whether Lucas wants his bid or not, and Lucas assures him he does. As Montague is leaving, Lucas reminds him that it is in everyone’s best interest that his involvement remains quiet. After Montague leaves the room, Henry reminds Lucas (again!!) that going into business with him is the wrong move, but Lucas says it looks like the only move from where he’s sitting.
After the meeting, Rosemary and Bill speak with Lucas and he admits that he’s planning on accepting Montague’s bid. Rosemary believes Hope Valley deserves to know about Montague’s involvement in the resort, but Lucas urges her to keep it quiet. He hopes Montague will be nothing more than a distant partner- she needs to trust him on this.
Ultimately, Rosemary decides that the citizens of Hope Valley don’t deserve to be kept in the dark. She publishes a piece in The Valley Voice about Montague’s bid, and the residents of Hope Valley are (rightfully) outraged. Montague was the man who tried to steal their water after all- how can they trust him?
Lucas, having seen the paper, storms into The Valley Voice office and expresses his anger that Rosemary did not heed his request to keep Montague anonymous. He thought Lee supported the resort as Co-Mayor, but Lee tells him “not at any cost”. Lucas hopes Rosemary’s article won’t push Montague to withdraw his bid, since he’s the only one who can make the resort happen. As Lucas leaves, Lee remarks that maybe that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
Lucas joins Montague outside the saloon, and Montague says he is considering withdrawing his bid due to the lack of support in Hope Valley. Lucas tells him they do have another bid, although it is less attractive than Montague’s. Lucas believes they can make it through this bad press, and the two shake hands.
Now this is where it gets interesting! Someone is watching Lucas and Montague, seemingly from across/down the street through binoculars. Whoever it is sees the two men shake hands, clearly reaching an agreement. Who could this stranger be?
An Attack On...
At night, Montague is walking outside the Hope Valley stables when he hears a noise. Out of nowhere, someone tackles him and knocks him to the ground- is it binocular guy? We aren’t able to get a good look at him, unfortunately.
As Bill leaves the saloon he hears the horses neighing and goes over to see what’s wrong. He finds Montague on the ground bloodied and badly beaten.
Montague is being treated by Faith for his injuries, and Nathan, Bill, Lucas, and Henry discuss his attack outside the doctor’s office. Perhaps it had something to do with the resort? Lucas notes that Montague has a lot of enemies, and tells Rosemary as she approaches that none of this would have happened if she hadn’t published that article. Henry tries to apologize for Lucas’ comment, but Rosemary says that she was the one who alerted everyone to Montague’s location.
Montague had previously insisted that he had nothing to do with the shooting- all he wants is money and he was willing to bury the hatchet when Lucas became governor. In the doctor’s office, he again insists that he had nothing to do with the shooting. He withdraws his bid on the resort. Someone wanted to send him a message by attacking him and he got it loud and clear. Montague should have known that it was a bad idea to get into business with a man someone wanted dead.
Without Montague’s bid, Lucas is left with one, and only one, option- Jeanette Aucoin’s group of investors. Henry asks him in his office whether Jeanette could have had something to do with Montague’s beating, but Lucas says that Jeanette abhors violence so he doesn’t believe she is behind it.
Dylan Parks
Outside of the saloon, Nathan and Faith talk about how difficult it can be to suddenly find yourself looking after a little one. Faith says it must have been hard for Allie to lose both parents, just like Lily. Nathan clarifies that Allie’s dad is still around although he might as well not be. He doesn’t realize that Allie overhears him.
Back at their house, Allie asks Nathan if he has any pictures of Dylan Parks, her biological father. He tells her he doesn’t, and Allie admits that she heard what he told Faith earlier. She’s frustrated that they never talk about her father just because Nathan dislikes him, and she eventually storms off to her room.
Later on, after she ignores Nathan in town, Allie talks with Angela about her birth father. She tells Angela that he left after her mom died and her grandma told her it was because he had a broken heart. Allie hasn’t tried to contact him because she doesn’t know where he is, and Nathan won’t tell her anything. Angela reminds Allie that she is the one who found her Uncle Jacob, so maybe she should try to find her birth father herself.
After speaking with Elizabeth, who tells her to not shut her dad (Nathan) out, Allie tries to talk to Nathan about her birth father again. She really wants to meet him and asks if the Mounties can help track him down. Nathan tells her it’s not a good idea, and the argument escalates until Allie calls Nathan “uncle” instead of “dad” and storms off.
Nathan visits Elizabeth’s house and finds her drinking coffee on the porch. He asks if she advised Allie to find her birth father, and she assures him that she would never undermine him like that. Nathan tells her about his argument with Allie and more about Allie’s father. Dylan has tried to extort money from Nathan and is in jail now, but he doesn’t know how or when to tell Allie. Elizabeth advises him to trust his instincts, just as he told her when she was wondering how to tell Little Jack about his dad’s passing.
Nathan ends up telling Allie the truth, or at least part of the truth, about Dylan. He tells her that Dylan is in Granville prison and is a thief. Allie wonders if he could have changed, but Nathan tells her that he knows Dylan and he hasn’t. Allie still wants to meet him but Nathan tells her no. Allie tells him that Dylan is her family, and Nathan replies that he is her family. Allie storms out, yet again.
Later, Nathan and Allie apologize to each other. However, Allie still wants to meet Dylan and Nathan still thinks it’s a bad idea. Allie seemingly takes matters into her own hands at the end of the episode when she calls Granville prison to set up a meeting with Dylan.
Around Town
As always, there’s plenty going on with our favorite Hope Valley residents to keep up with. Here are some other highlights from the episode:
- Lily’s grandmother, Dora Watson, has recovered and will be returning to Hope Valley to care for Lily. Faith, while happy that Dora is healthy again, is already mourning the loss of Lily being a part of her daily life. After receiving advice from Joseph, Faith makes an effort to give Lily the best day in Hope Valley ever, complete with a trip to the spa. Lily asks if they can all do that together when her grandma is back. Seems like Faith will be part of Lily’s life for good!
- Little Jack wants to learn how to ride Sergeant, his dad’s horse. Despite Nathan saying he was around Little Jack’s age when he learned to ride, Elizabeth says he is still too young. However, later on, Bill buys Little Jack a pony which Jack names Pal. Both Bill and Nathan plan to give Little Jack riding lessons, so he’s sure to learn in no time.
Next Week On When Calls the Heart
What was your favorite part of this episode, Hearties? Let me know down below. Next week, it looks like Allie will be leaving for a solo trip to visit her father in prison and Jeanette Aucoin will be back in town. Join me for the recap!
