Warning! Spoilers for “When Calls the Heart” season 13, episode 3, ahead.
After an eventful episode 2, where Hope Valley became home to evacuated families of Benson Hills, Elizabeth Thornton will take on the role of keeping the new children busy by welcoming them to her classroom.
At the end of the last episode, Hearties saw a young girl named Gwendolyn anxiously await the return of her dad after he was injured in the Goldie National Park wildfire. The men of Hope Valley also came together to make sense of how the fire started. As the next phase of their lives begins, here is a live recap of “WCTH” season 13, episode 3:
Live Recap of ‘WCTH’ Season 13, Episode 3
HallmarkElizabeth and Nathan begin the episode with an intimate talk about how to rebuild after the wildfires. Nathan gives her a pep talk on how to manage the extra children in her classroom.
Newly orphaned Gwendolyn faces the hardship of missing her father after he was injured in the fires. When Rosemary picks an outfit out for her first day of school, Gwendolyn becomes defiant with Rosemary, who stepped up to take care of her alongside Leland.
Edie and Lucas have a short meeting in Lucas’ office, where they have a flirty exchange while planning to see each other again. Meanwhile, Elizabeth struggles to gain the attention of her students. She then encourages them to intermingle with someone they have never met. However, Gwendolyn is still upset and takes a silver fork to engrave the wooden pews in the classroom. Other evacuated students also express their anger at being forced to stay in Hope Valley.
The people of Hope Valley continue their search for who could be responsible for starting the wildfire. Molly meets with the leaders of the town to reveal she might have information on who lit fire to Goldie National Park.
Love is in the air, though, when Allie and Oliver have a brief exchange – reminding Hearties that love between them is brewing.
Mayor of Benson Hills, Maisie Hickam, struggles with finding her feet in a new town when she would prefer to be back home. However, she expressed hope after her brother Mike invited her to stay at his and Mei’s home.
Episode 3 takes an exhilarating turn when the main wildfire suspect, A.J. MacGinty, shows his face in the local bar. Leland approaches the suspect to demand answers. That’s when old man MacGinty falls to the ground, blaming Leland for pushing him. Leland was then arrested before Rosemary showed up to bail him out, joking that he has a “mean right hook.” Rosemary reassures Leland that he and Hope Valley will make it through the investigation of who started the fire.
Elizabeth offers a helping hand to young Oliver, vowing to teach him poetry outside of the classroom. She then welcomes her students to an awesome obstacle course for an outdoor field day. Finally, the children are laughing again.
Things Must Fall Apart to Come Together
HallmarkElizabeth gives a crash course on what it’s like to trust, hoping to instill in the students’ minds that their neighbors will always be there for them. However, Cooper and Toby struggle to grasp the idea after seeing how devastated the displaced evacuees are.
Gwendolyn finally opens up when she approaches Leland about his encounter with A.J. MacGinty. She shows him respect for defending her honor in the name of Benson Hills.
Lucas’ duties as governor take precedence when he is invited to entertain a guest who is willing to make a big monetary donation to Hope Valley, but he says his plans with Edie will come first.
Mei lifts up Maisie’s spirits by giving her an old photo of her brother when he was a baby. Maisie reminisces about her parents being overjoyed when they found out they were having a boy. Finally, her heart softens, and she is willing to hunker down in Hope Valley.
Nathan expresses doubt to Elizabeth about the wildfire investigation. They go for a romantic walk in the fields where nobody can interrupt their moment of peace. During a playful game of hide-and-seek, Elizabeth and Nathan indulge in a passionate kiss.
Lucas struggles to make it in time to his engagement with Edie after he is dragged to dinner with a big donor. He ends up leaving in the middle of the meal but unfortunately didn’t make it in time to see Edie.
Cooper and Toby show up on Elizabeth’s doorstep at the end of the episode to come clean… they were the ones who started the fire in Goldie National Park. They explain how they were hiking at the time, fixing themselves a meal when a small spark they ignited led to monumental damage. Feeling guilty, they just want to tell the truth. Will Hope Valley forgive them?
