PicoBlog

Well Hearties! Only 4 more episodes left for Season 10! Time really flies! So far, I have really enjoyed this season! It had a bit of a slow start, but clearly we are in for what will hopefully be a strong ending! Overall though, I love the way the show is being written this year. It feels like the old days of When Calls the Heart, which I have really missed. I'm glad we have moved back in that direction!

But what were my thoughts on Episode 8? Let’s dive right in and find out, shall we?

Luca and Elizabeth had some cute scenes in this episode. The scene on the bridge was gorgeous, and I appreciated Lucas’s callback to Season 6 when Elizabeth initially distrusted Lucas. I also thought their “goodnight” exchange was super sweet.

However, it’s still hard to overlook the theme of them not seeing eye to eye, a theme that carries into this episode. So far, we’ve seen Elizabeth struggle with the idea of leaving her row house. We’ve also seen her get annoyed by Lucas’s constant efforts to surprise her. And this week, we saw her and Lucas disagree about Madeline’s fiancé, Montague.

What’s interesting about Lucas and Elizabeth’s scenes together is that almost all of them have been solely from her perspective. We’ve seen her reactions to everything, both with Lucas and with other characters, like Rosemary. And her reactions so far have brought me to believe two things; firstly, that Elizabeth definitely loves Lucas. Secondly, that it seems like he is starting to annoy her. Most of the time, she seems frustrated with him or unwilling to partake in his adventurous spirit. And even though she does love him, her annoyance is unfair to him.

As for Lucas, I would love to know what’s going on in his head space right now. In this episode, he insisted that Elizabeth not try to pry into Montague’s affairs, but didn’t really give any concrete reasons as to why. I’m not saying he is in on whatever Montague is up to, but he sure is going very far out of his way to defend a man no one knows much about.

Like I said before, I want to know what Lucas is actually thinking right now, not just about Montague, but also about his relationship with Elizabeth. Is her “sourness” starting to grate on his nerves too? We just don’t know what he’s thinking. We’ve seen Rosemary’s internal struggle externalized. We’ve seen it for Bill, Henry, and Faith too. We even saw Nathan’s reaction to the scene he shared with Elizabeth in this episode.

But we haven’t seen any of that from Lucas yet. I don’t know if this is intentional, but I really need to see and hear what he’s thinking, or if he even has thoughts about what’s happening. Is he happy with how things are going with Elizabeth? Is he going to snap at some point, and the truth will come out? Or will we never really know what’s going on in his head? Time alone will tell.

I know that Lucas and Elizabeth are past the honeymoon phase. However, their relationship feels like it isn’t moving forward as much as it should be, both because she won’t budge, but also because Lucas cannot change who he is, even if he has tried. There is definite and undeniable affection between them. But the lack of healthy compromise between them is stunting their growth as a couple, and something seems to be holding them back.

There’s nothing wrong with going through ups and downs in a relationship. In fact, it’s an opportunity for growth. In Lucas and Elizabeth’s case, I need to start seeing the growth. I don’t really know how things are going to play out between them moving forward, but some serious conversations need to be had (with each other), and some concrete plans for the future need to be made. Otherwise, I can’t see them getting married anytime soon.

The scenes between Rosaleen and Henry were some of the best of the episode! Their dialogue in the street about Rosaleen’s grievances with Gowen was so intense, and I loved it! This season has been pretty mild, so I eagerly welcomed the angst that was going on between these two.

I also loved how Molly was able to convince Rosaleen that Henry is not the same man that he was ten (or even five) years ago. Molly hasn’t had a prominent role this season, so it was nice to see her playing such a pivotal role here.

The moment when Rosaleen finally forgave Henry was well-done, as she was able to tell him what she was feeling, but also that she was able to make a distinction between his past actions and his present redemption. It was a bit rushed, but I thought it was a really good storyline overall, and I enjoyed the resolution when Henry finally came into church and joined Rosaleen in the pew. Hopefully, we are well on our way to seeing Henry finally forgiving himself.

Also, I need Rosaleen to be a series regular! She’s an incredibly nuanced character, and I would love to see more of her!

The most confusing thing about Season 10 so far has to be Nathan's storyline. Where is it going? What is the point? Right now, the writers have backed him into a bit of a corner. We're already 9 episodes in, and all of Nathan's prospective love interests have been eliminated. Things fell through between him and Mei, and she is very clearly moving in the direction of starting something with Mike.

As for what happened between Nathan and Faith, she very clearly put him in the friendzone in Episode 6, and they haven't shared a scene together since. So, is there a reason why none of Nathan's romantic endeavors have worked out? Having Nathan give up on love and accept his fate as a permanent bachelor hardly seems like an uplifting, worthwhile story to tell. We've seen him alone for 5 seasons already, so this possibility would be nothing new.

To add to the confusion, Nathan and Elizabeth have been sharing SO many scenes together, and have been connecting in very deep and personal ways. Does this mean that he and Elizabeth will find their way back to each other? Given the way nothing else in Nathan's life seems to be working out, it's hard not to feel that way. It doesn't help that the chemistry between Kevin McGarry and Erin Krakow is electric.

As much as I love Nathan and Elizabeth's scenes, I don't want to read into things based solely off of my own preference. I try to be as honest and as accurate as I possibly can when I write these posts, and I don't want to give anyone false fear or false hope.

Nathan and Elizabeth are good friends who have a lot in common, and who have both been through a lot in their lives. I do enjoy their friendship, and I think they would make a fantastic couple. However, I'm not totally sure that's the angle the show is taking. It might be too soon to figure out what’s really going on, but I will attempt to make some sense of it.

Instead of focusing on one possible outcome, I have decided to talk about several outcomes that could possibly happen for Nathan, Elizabeth, and Lucas at the end of Season 10. The first possibility is that Elizabeth is struggling to let go of Jack and move forward with Lucas, and Nathan's role in all of this is simply to act as a reminder of that.

Now, I'm going to give the writers the benefit of the doubt and assume that this is not the path they are taking, because of how profoundly insulting it would be to Nathan, Jack, and all of their fans. If this is the route that is being taken, that would mean that Nathan's (and Lucas's) love story was put on hold indefinitely just so that Elizabeth could process her grief for a little longer.

That's terrible storytelling. And so far, Season 10 has been enjoyable and well-done, so I am just going to assume that this is not where we are headed.

There is also the possibility that Nathan and Elizabeth do find their way back to each other by the end of the season. For this to happen in a plausible and satisfactory way however, there are some things that would need to happen.

Firstly, if Elizabeth and Lucas choose to break off their engagement, it would need to be a mutual decision. Lucas has done everything to show his love for Elizabeth, and hardly ever gets the appreciation he truly deserves from her in return. Therefore, he would need to be on board with choosing a different path other than marriage with Elizabeth instead of being blindsided by the break up.

Apart from a potential break up being mutual, we would need to know that Lucas has a bright future ahead of him, such as his pursuit of a grander stage in the political sphere, or his being free to finally use his gifts without being underappreciated. Unfortunately, after the Season 8 finale, Nathan was not granted the promise of a brighter future, and two years later, he still hasn’t found it. I would not want to see Lucas meeting the same fate.

I know that the possible pairing of Nathan and Elizabeth is still very much in doubt. And while I would be happy to see it happen, there are many fans and Hearties out there who would not be. I want what’s best for everyone, and while my heart longs to see Nathan and Elizabeth together, I would hate to see Lucas left in the lurch as a result.

If the writers choose to take this route, hopefully they can execute it in a way that shows grace to all of the characters and fans involved.

So if Nathan and Elizabeth don't end up together, and if Nathan is not being used by Elizabeth to help her process the loss of Jack, then what could possibly be happening? There is another possibility that hasn't been talked about much. It isn't really anyone's "ideal" scenario, but it's also not the worst thing that could happen. While Nathan and Elizabeth have spent a LOT of time together this season (almost more so than with their significant others) it could be because their storylines this year are parallel to each other.

Elizabeth has been reminiscing a lot about Jack this season, and does not seem overly excited about the prospect of getting married. This could be because she is hesitant to start her new life with Lucas, and is still struggling to let go of the past. Jack was her first and greatest love, so it's a huge step for her to start a new life with someone else, especially since she never really got to experience it with Jack.

The same can be said of Nathan. He put so much effort into making things work with Faith, but could not make any progress because "something was in the way." I think we all know by now that the something (or someone) is Elizabeth. He is struggling to open his heart to anyone else because his feelings for Elizabeth were/are so much stronger.

Perhaps this season is more focused on giving both Elizabeth AND Nathan the closure and healing they both need to move forward. Like I've said before, this isn't my ideal scenario. However, if done in correctly and thoughtfully, it could work. Perhaps Nathan encourages Elizabeth to let go of Jack and embrace her new life with Lucas. And perhaps Elizabeth is able to give Nathan the closure he needs to let her go and open his heart to finding new love.

Overall, I would say that the writers have written themselves into a pretty tight spot in terms of Nathan's story. It will either be extremely satisfying or hugely disappointing. I know there are some Lucabeth fans out there who think Nathan fans are crazy to hope for Nathan and Elizabeth, but the truth is, that's all we've been given to hope for this season.

I don't know anyone who is wants to see him to give up on love and end up alone, because right now that's his only other option (unless somehow things start happening again with Faith.) I don't want to see Nathan end that season on his own again, especially after seeing the pain and self-doubt that all of the rejection is causing him. Hopefully, his prospects of love begin to improve before the season comes to a close.

While the confusion is frustrating and potentially heartbreaking for fans, it will be interesting to see how things play out from here. I am hoping that this week's episode will give us a little more clarity about where Nathan, Elizabeth and Lucas are headed for the rest of the season. I am curious and eager to see how the writers plan to resolve this, hopefully in a satisfying way for everyone watching.

Okay… Let’s just talk about these two cuties for a minute. Mei has struggled this season with a lack of confidence and self-doubt. That’s no surprise in view of the fact that she was under the thumb of a controlling narcissist like Geoffrey in Season 9. Mike however, has gone out of his way to encourage her to believe in herself and her abilities.

Given everything she has been through in her short time on the show, I think Mei needs someone soft and sweet like Mike to encourage her and build her up. Even from their first scene together, I could feel the chemistry between them. They are (hopefully) on their way towards becoming Hope Valley’s newest and sweetest couple.

Aside from the Lucas/Elizabeth/Nathan storylines, there were other smaller ones that I really enjoyed in this episode. It hurt to see Bill struggling after the shock of learning about Madeline’s Fiancé. Thankfully, Henry and Elizabeth offered him support.

The Hope Valley choir was a lot of fun! It felt like a storyline straight out of the early days of When Calls the Heart. Also, seeing Rosemary in her element (planning for the Governor’s visit) was refreshing and fun! She hasn’t really had an event to plan in a long time, so it was fun to see her in that role again!

Looking ahead to next week, I think we are in for a really good episode. Mountie Action, political intrigue, wedding planning… There’s something for everyone to look forward to! I am curious to see how the hostage situation involving Nathan plays out, and how he earns a medal as a result. I am also curious to see and learn more about Elizabeth’s tearful reaction to the news.

This will also be Kevin McGarry’s 50th episode with the show, which so exciting and definitely something to celebrate! Let me know what your thoughts about Episode 8 were in the comments below.

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