"There's no journey like a shared one."
Hello everyone!
And boy, do I have some goooood posts planned for that one.
But first, one has to go out with a bang, right? So that's why for this particular blog post, we're returning to the fictional, or semi-fictional world of rural Canada back in the day when it was still basically building itself from the ground up, when cars were a novelty and not everyone had them, and when it was the kindness of people that fueled it, not necessarily fuel.
Okay, I'm maudlin now.
For a long time, I did When Calls the Heart specials reviews here on the blog, but this year that one didn't happen because of reasons, however, it's spin-off finally got picked up!
That's right, remember When Hope Calls? Well, it moved to a different production company and is returning for a second season, but first we need to have A Country Christmas.
Links to related blog posts can be found at the bottom of the page, as always!
The show returns after much anticipation and a whole lot of forgetfulness, given that the first season ran back in 2019, but then Hallmark didn't really make any move with it at all, so in all actuality some of its stars moved on. Jocelyn Hudon, for example, doesn't return as one of the sisters who start the orphanage in the first season, and she's in England with her husband, running her own orphanage there.
Speaking of husband, that's probably one of the weirdest topics in this premiere special, because it's implied that it's Chuck, the guy from season one, but interestingly enough Lillian (her sister) doesn't refer to him as Chuck, but as 'Grace's husband' throughout, which is odd given the two grew up together and know each other well. But it HAS to be Chuck with how mad his mom is at Lillian ... it's just confusing.
She's one of the Grinches in the episode, actually, working her employees to the bone and wanting them to work over Christmas until most of them quit on her, and she eventually finds her way back out of the dark hole through memories of her son.
But I'm jumping ahead of myself!
So Grace is in London, and Lillian is running the orphanage all by herself, preparing for Christmas just as much as the town of Brookfield is, with nurse Maggie whipping everyone into shape for a Christmas celebration.
It's in the middle of all this that Abigail arrives with a young boy she's bringing to Lillian's orphanage.
Abigail (Loughlin) is a fan favourite from the mothership, and looks like she's here to stay for the duration to help Lillian (and the Mountie that's in love with Lillian, something Abigail herself comments on later). The real life scandal notwithstanding, it's good to see her back on-screen, especially as there's ANOTHER fan favourite who pops by.
None other than Daniel Lissing makes a last appearance in red serge as Jack Thornton in Abigail's dream, telling her to give his widow a message from him if possible, and that all is well, love is forever.
I cried. I swear I ugly cried when he popped up on screen, he's such a beloved character and the show writers on the mothership did that entire thing so dirty. There's also a lovely call-in to the would-be romance between Abigail and Henry Gowen that might have gone somewhere had things not happened in real life.
But anyway!
Abigail brings the boy to Lillian, and the poor kid lost his entire family just recently so naturally he's hurting, and it's up to everyone to make him feel better and help him, even though he's a bit mean to begin with, lashing out because of his hurt and even running away. But of course he gets a lot of guidance from the local Mountie, Lillian and Abigail, so eventually he fits right in just before Santa's supposed to deliver presents.
Santa, aka one hotel owner Ronnie (who the children actually MISTAKE for Santa for a bit there, the real one), gets roped in by Maggie when she has no other option, and he's shocked when the kids from the orphanage don't ask for anything for themselves, in contrast with everyone else from town, but wish for something for the new boy who just arrived.
This seems to melt the Scrooge's heart a little, so instead of getting a new car, he puts the money into the presents for them, including an actual, honest to goodness pony.
It's a time of miracles, I tell you!
This includes a journalist friend of Maggie's (who used to write travel pieces to pay for her room and board as she went) who tries to lure her away from Brookfield again, but she ends up deciding it's people she finds fascinating, not places, and stays, which is good news because it looks like the network the show is on is planning on pairing her up with Sam, a man who was initially one of the rivals for Lillian's affections in season one.
Or at least it was shaping up that way, but the new home for the show has apparently decided to axe that one and to ship him with Maggie, giving Gabriel, the local Mountie, a clear shot at Lillian, and after a full season of back and forth they now finally kiss and exchange lovely Christmas gifts, so hopefully season two will see them build on this relationship more.
So, all's well that ends well, and everyone finds a little bit of magic on Christmas day, even Chuck's mother, who receives a telegram from her son wishing her happy holidays, and again making me sniffle for the pure joy of it.
All in all, this is a solid beginning to a new season, though it does struggle at times to tie off the loose ends that Hallmark left behind BUT it still has time for the rest of it, and if you're interested in something more than the silly dramatics When Calls the Heart seems to be resorting to recently, have a look at this one.
The cast is lovely and the writing is solid enough, not to mention that it's nice to see some new faces, too.
I definitely recommend!
xx
*images and video not mine
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