#kvanbooven

[whencallstheheart]

kvanbooven - I am so shocked. Like I had hoped this would happen but wasn’t getting my hopes up. In both the rosemary scene and the Lucas scene Elizabeth said at least 10 things we’ve been saying since s6. The rosemary scene I started to be like are they actually going to do it? But I wasn’t expecting it in this episode. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t end up together by the end of the finale, as I feel that’s kinda fast especially with their history, but I think we might get an idea for s11

Yes! It's so validating. I wasn't really expecting it this episode either but then all the pieces were falling into place and I couldn't believe it!

I fully expected another conversation with Elizabeth being vague and not truly expressing her feelings but we finally got something! And she said exactly what we've been saying this whole entire time about Lucas being the safe choice. It was amazing. I can't wait for next week!!

[heartlandians]

kvanbooven said: They suck at keeping secretes on this show lol _____________________

Makes it all the more fun for us, haha! 

[hopevalley]

@kvanbooven said:  I agree with you on this. I love Nathan character but from this episode until the triangle is resolved I feel like I might not. I was excited with the direction they were going that even tho she shut him down when he declared his feelings, he was still going to try to “pursue” her cuz he feels she felt the same way and if they both didn’t try, they would both be cheated. But ever since that, I was afraid with how they were going to do it. I was all for Nathan still trying be friends and civil with Elizabeth after the awkward period was over, and then his feelings would have subtly shown through during that time to show the audience and Elizabeth that he does still care for her and is there when she’s ready in stead of aggressively pursuing her when she’s with someone else, which is what he’s doing now which kinda rubs me the wrong way. Like yes I understand he needs to be more forward than he was in S6 and s7 but it’s just weird that he’s being that aggressive and directly told Lucas that he’s going to steal Elizabeth from him. He actually has been pretty laid back up until this episode and purposefully tried to move on and avoid her but looking at next episode it looks like aggressive Nathan is still there. I would be all for this if Elizabeth hasn’t been dating Lucas this whole time, but because she is, it’s weird. I was afraid this was going to happen, that to show that he’s still interested they have to make him super aggressive even tho she’s with Lucas and she told him no. I do understand it’s probably to show he has flaws and that not every character is perfect, especially in this situation, but ehh I think there might have been a better way to do this exact storyline with the same plots and character development and feelings and flaws showing with the outcome we are at now without going about it in the way they have. I’m not a writer so I don’t know how exactly, but still. Do love seeing flawed Nathan, just not the storyline I guess for me.

Thanks for the super long comment! Lots to unpack, here! :D

The biggest complaint about Nathan in the last two seasons was that he “wasn’t a real man” because he wasn’t very forward with his feelings or in pursuing Elizabeth. I didn’t see that here on Tumblr but it was a pretty big opinion on Reddit and Instagram, and sometimes Twitter. This could be in part an answer to that perceived issue, though for what it’s worth I liked Nathan’s laid-back attitude because it meant he wasn’t pressuring anyone, and that’s the kind of story I wanted to see explored with him. Elizabeth had the sweeping romance with Jack already, she was wooed with dances and candlelit dinners. I am still of the opinion that with Nathan it needs to feel different. Lucas brought the grand romantic gestures and Nathan brought the little things. So I didn’t really feel that Nathan’s behavior in S6 and S7 was to be criticized. It felt to me as if it was a deliberate choice to set him apart from Jack and from Lucas, and let him be his own person.

Also, Elizabeth REALLY needed some space, and by not being too forward with his thoughts/feelings, Nathan was giving her that. I enjoyed it.

In this season, I didn’t mind him deciding to take a chance and declare his feelings more directly. It happened once, it was done privately, we know he cares about her... Great! Elizabeth chose not to pursue it, and in fact made it clear by leaving that scene, by saying “I can’t,” and by courting Lucas...that she is not interested in a relationship with Nathan.

Like you, I expected him to fade into the background a bit and struggle with getting over her while trying to remain friendly and approachable until she was Ready (if we dare to assume that Nathan will be her choice). I’d have liked that. It’s well within his characterization as it’s been established.

But then we got beat after beat of Nathan being a jerk. He’s a pain in the ass to Bill during the whole inquiry, he tells Allie one thing and does another, and then he had a conversation with himself instead of listening to Carson (which was rude) where he determined that Elizabeth just needed to get to know him better (?????) and that he wasn’t going to give up on her!

That rubbed me the wrong way because getting to his conclusion was almost nonsensical. If his reasoning was “she has feelings for me, she’s just afraid of them because of what happened to Jack” why didn’t the conversation just...go that way? Instead it just didn’t make much sense. We were all already assuming it anyway (as indicated by her “I can’t/lose you the way I lost Jack” conversation with Nathan).

But. Then. He had to go and drop the bomb that Jack was sent on the mission that ultimately killed him because Nathan disobeyed Hargraves’ orders and acted on his own and had to be officially disciplined for it.

So... he knows she’s afraid to love him because she’s afraid of losing him LIKE SHE LOST JACK. And he knows that Jack died because he replaced him on that mission. In theory this should make a person spiral out of guilt but it’s like Nathan doesn’t feel any guilt? Except he almost has to or he wouldn’t have kept it a secret for three years? Like, he KNOWS IT’S A BIG DEAL. And despite knowing all of this he still thinks he’s a worthwhile suitor?

WHERE DOES HE GET THIS CONFIDENCE? He hasn’t had even a scrap of it for two seasons and suddenly he’s the cockiest man in town!

I don’t think it’s great writing but I can’t imagine it’s bad on purpose. They probably just wanted to make sure we knew that Nathan had flaws, too. Except they mostly just. Made him kind of gross? 

With Nathan carrying that kind of knowledge all this time, I think all of the season needs to be rewritten to fix what they’ve done to Nathan. It’s okay for him to have flaws, but for all of his flaws to be giant red flags?? No thanks. I can’t imagine what they’ll do to make the relationship palatable if they end up still going with Nathan at the end. 

Luckily for me I don’t watch for these characters, but I can’t say I’m not disappointed. The writing up to this point wasn’t too bad. But I feel like they mixed two chemicals that have a toxic reaction when they come into contact with one another lol. IMO pursuing Elizabeth after she made it clear she didn’t want him was a cringey enough (and believable enough!) flaw. I think they should have had him harboring a smaller secret: that he found Jack’s body. It’s still upsetting that he would keep that from her, but it’s not upsetting in nearly the same way.

[watchinghallmark]

So I just finished watching Follow the Stars Home and it was super good. Idk if it’s actually considered a Hallmark movie but i saw one of the Hallmark blogs I follow post a gif set of it and I think it may have been you. Anyway I wish they still made movies like the older ones. Do you have any favorite older ones you recommend?

Yeah, I made a gifset of it.  It’s a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie so yes but certainly not comparable to what Hallmark Channel movies are today, that’s for sure.  That was back when they had the special presentations on network TV and the movies generally had a more emotional or important subject matter.  They still have Hallmark Hall of Fame movies but they’re not as good as they used to be.  I used to watch them with my mom growing up when they aired on CBS or ABC or whatever it was.

I haven’t watched a ton of the old ones but my favorites would probably be The Magic of Ordinary Days, A Season for Miracles, November Christmas, Beyond the Blackboard... there’s a lot of good ones.  Some of the more recent ones have been good as well.  It sort of depends on what kind of story you’re looking for.

I wish there was a better list that showed the cast but you can see a list of all the Hall of Fame movies here and go from there.

[chesapeakeshores]

kvanbooven replied to your post “I’m pretty satisfied with that finale.  I loved everything with Jess...”

It was like the last 2 minutes of the episode and we were still on the big table scene and I was starting to think that they weren’t going to do a Trace and Abbey scene and then they did it and it was just as I thought it would be

I thought for a second we were going to end on the big group too (which maybe was the alternate ending that was mentioned?) but then all of a sudden Trace is randomly singing and they’re on the beach haha

[whencallstheheart]

kvanbooven: I really enjoyed this episode. Fiona being a handy business woman was great. The Faith plot just reminded me of DQMW where michaela had to deal with the prejudice every episode and we know WCTH will just have it as a one and done which made me kinda disappointed. Hickam being the doctor was hilarious. I was also shocked about Faith and Nathan but based on how much they are pushing them, I’m not totally convinced it’s over. I hope it is, but considering we don’t know what happened between seasons between them, I feel like something else might happen. I loved rosaleens plot and how it interconnects with Henry’s. It’s such a good story for him. The only thing is that I don’t think Rosaleen would know Opal unless they want us to believe R was there during s3 just not in screen 😂 I did not see the Madeline twist coming either. Like I knew something was up but wasn’t expecting her to be engaged. Also the E and N look during the dance? And L being called out about surprises is so funny to me. You can just tell by Elizabeth’s and rosemarys reactions when they are talking about it. I hope in future episodes we get to know where rosaleens been all this time since she was a little girl when she “left”

Yes, it was very Dr. Quinn with that plot. And you're so right. Faith gets it from 1 singular patient and will probably never have to deal with it again but Dr. Mike had it constantly for like the entire show with people doubting her abilities as a doctor which was very realistic for the time period.

I think there is still a chance that they could circle around to Nathan and Faith again but they've really been pushing Mike's crush on her. They've been forcing Nathan and Faith but Mike's always been there in the background too. He obviously cares for her so I'm hoping that's the direction they go in moving forward.

Ideally it'd be great if we could get Nathan and Mei together again. She stepped aside for Faith's sake so without her in the picture there's nothing standing in the way of that connection they were building for the entirety of last season. Maybe the writers didn't completely throw that in the trash and are only letting us think they did. Who knows.

The Rosaleen timeline is really weird. She was really young the last time we saw her. She's still young. There do seem to be some missing years between when we stopped seeing her and when she was old enough to be a live-in nanny for some random couple in another town. It's strange. It's so nice to see her again but there's a lot of questions for sure. I don't remember if Molly ever gave any details.

[whencallstheheart]

kvanbooven: Yeah I wasn’t a fan of that either. I mean they may be going all the way in with faith and not Mei so it’s not a triangle. But I would rather him be Mei

That would honestly make me even more mad. Don't put the couple on the poster for season 9 and then not follow through on what they were building. Hopefully the Faith scene is somehow a mislead. I'm dreading all of this now. Nathan is obviously a catch but Mei is the only correct choice for him, in my opinion.

[whencallstheheart]

kvanbooven - I was very surprised they renewed for a s11 already before s10 even airs. You hardly see that anymore. But I guess that answers my filming questions from a few weeks ago

We would've known if they were filming anyway so they would've been forced to address it come July. I think they also must have a plan for season 11 already. In a recent Lisa Hamilton Daly interview, she mentioned the new showrunner is really elevating the series so hopefully the network is excited about the direction and wants to see it continue for a while longer.

[whencallstheheart]

kvanbooven: Does beg the question if there is a s11, what that means for filming since they usually wait till after the season to renew

Yeah, that’s a good question. I feel like this new team at Hallmark has their vision for the future. I’d imagine they already know if they want to continue with the series or not and for how long. I think they probably do want to start phasing it out and honestly season 10 would be a good place to end it. We’d have Elizabeth most likely married to Lucas and happy again, Lee/Rosie with a kid, Nathan with a new love, etc. so they could end it on a good note for everywhere where it sits now going into the season. We’ll see what happens. I think the show still has a lot of life left in it but I could also understand Hallmark wanting to move in a different direction with their content and WCTH (more so the people behind the show) doesn’t really fit.

[whencallstheheart]

kvanbooven said: I’m so glad to see at least someone in her fam again. Really hope we get to see all of them. Maybe for the 100th episode. Since I’m not a huge Lucas and Elizabeth fan I’m kinda hoping the wedding isn’t the 100th episode and it focuses on something else but 🤷🏼‍♀️ I hope they have something big planned for it tho

Yeah, I don’t particularly want it to be the wedding either since I don’t care about them and I’m sure that’ll be such a big deal with a bunch of promos and interviews. It would be great if they had some other town event that brought everyone together but if Julie’s around it has to be something Elizabeth-focused... unless she’s around for more than just that episode. I believe it works out to be the 5th episode of season 10. I'm not sure if they’re actually filming that episode though or if they just planned the celebration for a certain time when everyone could be there since they don’t go in order.

[whencallstheheart]

kvanbooven said: Yeah I also was laughing at “the most anticipated finale”. That was definitely last year. I don’t care about too much but I also enjoyed Henry this episode. Really all season. Haven’t enjoyed the mine/oil sorry as it’s a bit confusing but have loved Henry’s journey. Love the Christopher pic. Blowing up the mine was awesome. Cute that Allie calls Robert Wolfie. Really not a fan of Nathan and Faith even tho that one scene gave them a bit more chemistry. They really seem to be leaning towards another triangle which I hope if they are, gets rebuffed in the finale with the return of Mei. It was super weird seeing E in red even tho she looked good. I wonder how much bills storyline will be significant. So essentially there’s no factory now? I really thought that was going to be a way bigger plot point after last season and it really wasn’t. I really don’t like how Lee is now this awesome journalist. Please keep him at the mill lol. I am interested in Rosemary telling Lee next week.

I can’t believe they’d call it that when it’s so obviously not. I mean, there’s things to look forward to but it’s no season 8 finale. Come on now.

Henry is the best character and I’m glad that he continues to have some interesting things going on even if we don’t quite follow the storyline haha

The Wolfie line was cute.

Fingers crossed for a Nathan/Mei kiss in the finale. We need it. 

I really hated Elizabeth’s “makeover”. It felt like something that might have happened in like season 3 or 4, not 9. Rosemary obviously knows Elizabeth’s style so to dress her just like herself was stupid. Erin and Pascale enjoyed it but what was the point?

I’ve never understood the foundry thing which I thought we would see throughout the season. Everything felt so disjointed with that whole plot.

I agree about Lee. Why is he some sought-after journalist now?? It makes no sense. That could’ve been Rosie’s thing. Yes, bring back the mill! It will be great to see Rosemary tell Lee she’s pregnant though.

[whencallstheheart]

Did you see the new promo hallmark put out about the triangle? Kind of cute and I like the way they edited and the song, but holy crap is that majorly pitting them against each other.

Ugh.  Just watched it.  It was kind of cute but completely unnecessary.  I take issue with the adjectives.  They aren’t exclusive to either man.  I think that’s a huge part of the negativity and the divide.  People want to put the men into certain boxes but they can be all the things.  It’s like if one man is called one thing then the other is viewed as the opposite but that’s not the case.  Lucas is the gentleman so does that mean Nathan isn’t?  Nathan is courageous so does that mean Lucas is a coward?  No, but that’s sort of where the mind goes because we’re conditioned a certain way.  We have to pick teams.  It’s so stupid and very harmful to the fandom as a whole.  

[heartlandians]

Okay I don’t have much to say about the episode except that I enjoyed it. I absolutely loved seeing Mitch and Lou on screen together finally. Their scenes were cute, but it looks like the kid discussion might not be over. I’m very nervous for next week knowing what we know. One scene I really appreciated was Mitch and Lou playing with Lyndy on the pond. It was so cute. Also I finally got my Tim and Jessica kiss! Haha I thought they were going to kiss at all this season based on the last 2 times, but I’m glad they did. Final note, all the actors can ice skate? And do it super well? Is that a Canadian thing? Cuz they like all could except for Jessica. Alisha, and Jordan. I did see Tim skating. I was just amazed that they all were actually skating and there weren’t any camera tricks to make it look like they all were. The whole skating scene at the end was so great. Something new and refreshing and family driven. Loved them all playing hockey together and being cute. More of that please haha.

I agree, I was really excited to actually see more of Lou and Mitch together, even though I was nervous at the same time. I also feel like this kid discussion might not be over. They definitely had these “lingering” moments where I, at least, imagined them thinking about the whole thing. I’m glad Lou checked from Mitch if it was a dealbreaker that she might not want more kids, especially because we rarely see something like that. Like, it wouldn’t have surprised me if Lou would have said she would go to the toilet and then she’d actually sneak into Amy’s bedroom to freak out about it.

I was totally caught off guard when Jessica and Tim actually kissed, haha!

I don’t know about Canada, but here in Finland (similar climate) we used to skate a lot during P.E. in school and even outside school (hockey is a big sport here, just like it is in Canada), so it didn’t surprise me that they could all skate, because maybe that’s something I’m so used to seeing, but it was definitely surprising to see some of them (like Jack and Tim) on skates, because it’s not something that I’d usually associate with them. I kind of wish Jack would have brought up his dad, since he was almost a hockey player.

The ending scene made me wish it was all real and I could just go and spend time with them there by the pond. It was magical and also very family driven, which I love! 

[whencallstheheart]

W heave another survivor of the hope valley a black hole! Katie Yost returns in 810! How many is that so far this season? We have Florence’s son, Katie, dottie(mention), Abigail(mention even tho that isn’t really the same thing) anyone else? Also there a revival of storylines that fell into the black hole too. Carson being recognized as a surgeon as an example and I think there more examples there too. If rosemary’s new direction is theatre then that will also count. This is crazy

It would’ve been crazier for them to ignore the kids so I’m glad they’re both around in some capacity.  We might not ever see them again but I’m glad they didn’t decide to give some lame excuse about why they couldn’t be there for the wedding.

John did go back and watch the show when he was hired on so there were probably a lot of elements he wanted to bring back in one way or another that had been dropped or ignored along the way.  

[heartlandians]

Okay here’s my review of 1410. I have a really big rant about Lou and Mitch so be prepared. But I did like it for the most part.

Lou and Mitch- okay so I had posted my thoughts on them potentially breaking up last week and why that was not a good writing decision and that still stands but now that they actually have broken up, I’m mad how they did it. I was under the impression that they were going to break them up in order to write Kevin off the show because of other commitments, which makes sense, even tho I’m not happy with it. However, they didn’t really write him off, which makes me mad. What’s the point of breaking them up THIS TIME if he isn’t getting written off??? Like I guess he could be written off but like they left it very open with saying the are “on a break” which gives me and other Litch fans at least some hope for the future which I wish they didn’t do. Like either keep them together or totally split them apart with no hope of coming back. I also thought that if Lou did break up with Mitch, they she would end up with peter, but she didn’t. I guess that could still happen in S15 but ehhh. I did like Lou and Peter when they were together but are they really going to go back 6-7 years and put them back together? That just feels like they are going backwards if so. Also, the fact that Lou said they were having a break has me confused. They stuff that they broke up over this time (mostly the kid thing I think, slightly peter but not really) doesn’t feel like “ on a break” stuff unless Lou thinks she will change her mind. Like this is a serious issue they disagree on and I will say that this time break up feels more natural and real then the others cuz these are actual issues that would need to be brought up and that they could disagree over rather than just problems brought up for the heck of it like in the past. I’m also surprised they had so many bed scenes with the full intention of them not ending up getting married. Like HL doesn’t show people in bed together rubles they are married and for them to not even end up getting married at least at this point and them being in bed still kinda surprised me. I did like Michelle and Kevin’s acting tho in the snow in the kitchen and the last scene, especially Kevin. He was literally almost crying and devastated that Lou was breaking up with him, even tho he would be the one who’s dreams aren’t met, which is super cute in my opinion as shows how much he loves her, but I know that might not end up working out well and Mitch could resent her later. I have always wanted an emotional scene between these 2 cuz Kevin and Michelle would knock it out of the park and they did, but I was more hoping along the lines of an emotional scene of them comforting each other during hard times, not during a break up but oh well I guess. Okay rant over but I will probs have more to say later.

Tim and Jessica were cute and was I the only one thinking that this is literally like the casey situation where Tim goes on a trip with her right after they meet to get to know her better? He acts like it’s a big deal this time when he’s literally done it before. But still cute.

The thing that actually made the episode for me was Jack and Lisa skating together. It was literally so cute. Oh and when Mitch rolled over in bed and Lou grabbed his hand too. I also loved Shadow running to Amy and acting all playful too

Something I hope they address in s15 is georgies grief since we never saw it really. It was just weird to me this season to sort of feel like I was on the outside of Georgies life. Like I know Alisha had other commitments but the stories she had when she was there felt surface level which was just weird to me cuz I’m used to more in depth stories with her with way more detail.

This might sound kind of bad but I’m not a huge fan of ty and Amy so I haven’t really gotten sad or teared up when there’s been sad moments with them, but that ending scene got me when he waved and she waved back haha. But also confused why they jumped ahead 6 months? They literally never do that but I guess that was what they thought was the best way to end the season. Hopefully that doesn’t really mess up the timeline for s15 and I don’t think it will since it was just Amy shown but I was so surprised I paused it

I just have to say tho what a great season. And to have to film it with all the covid protocols and hardships just wow. Can’t wait for a s15!!!

This could have pretty much been written by me! I’m not going to repeat everything you just said, but few points I also want to echo:

- The whole Lou/Mitch situation has been frustrating for years now, and I would’ve probably been so done with them already if it wasn’t for Michelle and Kevin. I think they are the reason I’m drawn to them in the first place because they act so well together and they have great chemistry. I honestly don’t know what could happen in S15 if this is just a break, because this kid thing is such a complicated issue. Right now it seems like whichever option (kid/no kid) they would choose, the other one might end up regretting the choice or resenting their partner, and I don’t think that’s a healthy way to deal with this. 

- We’ve been suspecting Peter’s feelings for a while now, but Lou’s feelings were kind of a surprise for me. I know she’s loved Peter even after the divorce, but not like she used to, if that makes sense. I always assumed it was one of those “I respect you and you will always be important to me” kind of loves, that is more on the platonic side. So how is Lou all of a sudden so drawn to Peter? The wedding somehow jolted old feelings back? Or because he’s been there for her and Mitch’s been away (even when they’ve stayed in touch)? What if they’d get together, how would the relationship work? Would they still have the same problems they did when they divorced? Has something changed? 

- I did love Georgie this season, she seems so mature, but at the same time, everything kind of felt... bland? If that makes sense. There was really not many surprises with her. I know she was only in like half of the episodes, but still. I’m not saying they should’ve come up with something dramatic for her and Quinn for the sake of drama, but I think she just needed... something more. It’s like you said, she felt kind of unattached to the rest of the story.

- The whole six months thing made me a bit confused too. So if that is already S15 timeline, will things pick up from there, or...? I guess we’ll see.

[whencallstheheart]

Peter Deluise (or however you spell it) just confirmed in Twitter that the spurlock in this rapids is related to the one from S1. So idk what that means for the storyline but interesting.

Yeah, very interesting.  I can’t really think of a reason why they’d need to bring up something from season 1 that was resolved and long forgotten but we’ll see.  

This is something that just popped into my head.  Kind of crazy, but S1 Spurlock was living in a cabin, right?  Maybe it’s the same cabin and there’s something they’re searching for there that he left behind.  Like maybe he buried something.  I have no idea.  Also, they have the same name so that really confuses me.  This guy seems too young to be the other one’s dad but how else would it be explained?  They’re not the George Foreman family.  Is he even still in jail?  Are they supposed to be the same person?  

I wonder if this will get resolved in the finale or if whatever this plot is and the Wyman stuff will carry over.