‘When Calls The Heart’: Christmas Special 2018 Recap And Audience Reactions

Andy Cohen on Lori Loughlin

When Calls The Heart finally arrived on Hallmark with the Christmas Special fans have been waiting on. Unsurprisingly, it delivered everything we knew it would. Hearties cried floods of tears at the bittersweet story of the birth of Elizabeth Thatcher-Thornton (Erin Krakow) and Jack’s (Daniel Lissing) baby. Audience reactions show that many of them still grieve over the death of Mountie Jack at the end of Season 5. However, the film is so great that others managed to move past that and just enjoy the story for what it was. WCTH delivered a predictable but charming movie about new beginnings.

‘When Calls The Heart’ recap

For those who don’t know, the Christmas Special followed on from Season 5 of When Calls The Heart. After Daniel Lissing decided to leave the series, his character died. Daniel wanted to have time for new projects. It was his decision to move on. His character Jack died a hero, saving the lives of others shortly after the couple finally got hitched. The movie, which aired on Christmas Day, picks up where Season 5 ended, plus a few months with a small time jump. Elizabeth’s very pregnant and the baby’s set to arrive shortly as Christmas approaches.

Helping her through it all are her friends and the community in Hope Valley. Desperately missing Jack, Elizabeth simply cannot bring herself to decorate and get the nursery ready. In fact, she won’t even let the others know she hasn’t even started. Once her friends showed up to help her get it done. She felt like the nursery was missing something, which she figured out was a picture of Jack. Elizabeth got one to put in the baby’s room.

Abigail somehow ended up burning their Christmas roast. The girls headed to a nearby town but were only able to get a Christmas salami to replace it. During the trip back, they slid off the road just as Elizabeth was going into labor. They end up at a nearby cabin where she gives birth. Bill, Carson (Paul Greene) and Lee (Kavan Smith) set off to find them and getting to share in the moment. Elizabeth has a chat with her new baby, obviously named Jack Jr., and tells him all about his Dad watching over him. Of course, it’s a tear jerker.

Erin Krakow’s ‘WCTH’ spoiler – audience responses

Erin Krakow posted up a little spoiler on Instagram, for fans of When Calls The Heart who missed it on Christmas Day. Those who failed to see it at Christmas were tearful. Those lucky enough to watch it through came with their remarks. Over on Twitter, WCTH fans also reacted to the movie.

One of the Hearties on Instagram, @tha_bcorrea, put a lot of audience feelings out there with their post. They pointed out how sad it was to see Elizabeth in pain and missing Jack. Relating to that, of course, the audience also misses Jack. Nevertheless, all the originals together at the end with the new baby made it a bit better. “It gave us a feeling like the baby was filling an empty space…even Jack. It was nice, sad but nice.”

Another commenter on the When Call The Heart, Christmas Special praised the writers. They noted that the movie presented difficulty in honoring “the character of Jack.”  In fact, they handled Elizabeth’s emotions well. Brilliantly, they managed to “keep the storyline engaging, uplifting, and moving forward.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/Br3T7p2nl4S/

Twitter Reacts to ‘When Calls The Heart’ Christmas Movie

Over on Twitter, it became obvious that the movie helped grieving fans to move on and look towards the upcoming season.

Actually, many fans commented, but this comment below summed up what most fans felt about the WCTH film.

One or two people complained that the story of Jesus didn’t get enough coverage, but you can’t please everyone.  What did you think of the Christmas Special? Do you feel it bridged Seasons 5 and 6 nicely? Will it make it easier for you to watch the upcoming Season 6 of When Calls The Heart? Sound off in the comments section below and don’t miss the show when it returns to Hallmark on February 24, 2019.

Jane Flowers
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5 Comments

  1. I loved the show. I loved the way the writers incorporated Jack’s memory and pictures of him throughout the show. I think the acting was brilliant and Erin’s portrayal of a waddling pregnant woman was right on. SDhe did a wonderful job. I can’t wait for Season 6 to start.

  2. I didn’t care for it. Hallmark killing off one of the lead characters was terrible. Hallmark is supposed to be a program that is to be happy and a feel good show. Jacks death and his leaving the show was a real let down. I certainly didn’t feel happy watching this on my favorite show.

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