Hope Valley: 1874

Watching this one much earlier than I would normally. I'll put everything under the cut to avoid spoilers.

This was an exciting episode. So much great stuff for Tom and Rebecca. He had some really good lines. It's nice to see him coming around and understanding things from her perspective. You can tell he has a lot of respect for her and respect is sexy!

I thought the Alexander and Olivia fishing scene was fun but I didn't necessarily appreciate that he lied to her about knowing how to fish. I'd be annoyed about that.

Hattie helping Rachel was so sweet. She was really struggling with sweet baby Ned.

The plot brewing for the gold miners is fun. Very curious to see what happens with that. At first, I wondered if the new guy was actually a private investigator sent by Rebecca's mother-in-law but now it seems he's a sneaky little gold thief.

Poor Sarah. This girl is just constantly traumatized. I loved Tom catching Rebecca as she fainted and carrying her inside so she could put her dirty boots on that lovely new white couch. And then him looking longingly after her when she went upstairs!!! So good.

I continue to absolutely ADORE Lars and Rachel. What a sweet couple. Ned was so lucky to have them as parents. I'm so happy that Rebecca came up with a solution for them to be able to stay.

A great conversation with Hattie and Rebecca in a gorgeous location. They really found some beautiful spots to film. That friendship is great.

Alexander... what is your deal, bro? I don't trust him and I don't know if that's how I'm supposed to be feeling or what. It seems like he's genuinely trying but something just seems off. I enjoyed him practicing for the land dispute. What a mess that was but I think it worked out fairly.

I love the Doyles. So feisty.

And, of course, we see that drawing in the paper. Not good!

Some fun plots this episode!

I thought the safe stuff was funny. Of course the instructions got locked in there but Hattie should've remembered the combination.

I loved the Clayton and Olivia moments. Definitely some sparks there. Sorry, Alexander. You're still a little suspicious to me.

The kids getting lost was very exciting and scary. I certainly wouldn't want to encounter a wolf in the woods. Sarah was so strong, of course. I hope we get to see her be a kid more and relax. Her friendship with Jenny is so sweet so at least she has that.

I'm glad we finally got some explanation about what Rebecca is running from. I love that Tom is on her side with it all. They might not always get along or communicate the best but he's a good, reliable guy.

Poor Nash. Never easy for a guy like that to deal with an injury. Him and Peggy were very cute. I loved the scenes with the kids and that darn goat.

I'm glad we got a little more detail about Tom's past and why he is the way he is with Rebecca. He's been burned by a city girl. Rebecca is obviously proving herself though. She doesn't give up.

The Mountie stuff was fun. It's nice that Alexander has a friend and that they got to see some action.

I continue to adore baby Ned and his parents. I'm really curious to see how their story unfolds.

Another lovely episode.

Poor Sarah. That girl has a lot of issues. She's really going through it. It would be so strange to go from it just being the two of them to having all these new people she's encouraged to interact with. And she's always so stressed. It's awful.

I loved meeting Phoebe. She seems great and so lively. Hopefully we get to see a lot more of her.

I thought Tom's compromise was a good one. Give the men the chance at gold but also guarantee them solid work. Can't beat that.

It was great to see Rebecca cooking for everyone but it seems like she really should just be focusing on the boarding house. Maybe she could've made meat pies to sell instead. I don't know. I enjoyed that plot though.

The triangle is heating up. I think I prefer Olivia and Clayton. He's just so sweet and supportive. I loved that. Her drawings were great and I loved the moment with her mom.

Another great episode. I'm so intrigued by what Rebecca and Sarah have gotten themselves into.

It was so awful of everyone to take the wood from the boarding house. I'm glad Lars and Rachel stood up for her and were able to convince people to give things back.

I loved Rebecca baking the pies and how much Tom enjoyed that slice.

It was sweet that Rebecca wants to teach Peggy how to read so she can teach her kids. The girls bonding was lovely.

I loved getting to meet Vince. He seems great. Maybe a little romance with Hattie?

Poor Clayton. Olivia seems so oblivious to his affection towards her. I like the idea of a love triangle with those three. I would assume she's supposed to end up with Alexander but maybe Clayton actually has a shot... for now at least.

It's still weird for me to see WCTH locations. It continually throws me for a loop for some reason to see the saloon and the rowhouse so differently. It's fun to see them designing the boarding house though and creating elements that we know in current WCTH times.

Alfonso Moreno is behind the show. He was the showrunner for seasons 6 and 7, which introduced us to Nathan, Lucas, and Fiona. Some of the best Nathan and Elizabeth scenes we've ever had were in those seasons (and he planned for it to end with Nathan and Elizabeth before they replaced him with John Tinker in season 8). He's also the showrunner for When Hope Calls. The first season of that show (before it left Hallmark) was really enjoyable. He wrote The Greatest Christmas Blessing, my personal favorite WCTH movie which introduced the WHC sisters and had the most adorable plot of Henry and that little girl. He knows what he's doing.

The theme song was really cute! Loved that.

It was a very sweet introductory episode. Gorgeous locations. I loved the wardrobe and the animals. I loved that it was rainy and cold and everything was muddy. Really adds to the vibe.

We didn't get to know a lot about all the characters but I'm definitely excited to see where things go. The preview looked great. I'm intrigued by the drama Rebecca has and the triangle with the younger characters.

I was so happy to see sweet baby Ned!! What a cutie! It's great that we'll be able to get to know his parents.

Tom was his name, yes.

The plan is to watch the episode later tonight so I'll see what conclusions I come to when I see it. I'm excited!