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‘When Hope Calls’: Unraveling episode 1.08 ‘About A Girl’

Several Brookfield residents are feeling anxious.

When Hope Calls episode 1.08 is titled ‘About A Girl’. What girl might that be, you ask? There is a lot happening with several girls (or ladies!) this week.

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Helen faces scrutiny about the legitimacy of her claim of being granddaughter to Edward Martin. Grace feels the tug of past dreams when a longtime friend surprises her with a visit. Another visitor to Brookfield seeks help with special properties advertised by Ronnie.

In other news, Sam is back (at least temporarily) making repairs at the orphanage. The collector that broke Ronnie’s nose returns to town looking for the hotel owner. Gabriel works diligently to unravel the full story on missing banker Mike Sinclair and his underhanded business dealings.

Let’s take a closer look at the events unfolding on When Hope Calls this week.

New Faces

Although they make not be staying in Brookfield forever, the episode introduces viewers to several new pivotal characters.

Eve Gardener turns up in Brookfield to the delightful surprise of Grace. The two have been longtime best friends spending 8 years in the same orphanage growing up. Their friendship extended even further beyond their time together in the orphanage. Eve has been living in San Francisco and is ready to move to New York, a move that she and Grace dreamed of for so long. Even has two tickets to New York and wants Grace to join her.

Mr. Charles Talbot is a lawyer working on behalf of Helen’s (presumed) grandfather. Lillian and Grace assume his visit is just a formality for paperwork required to reunite Helen with her “Grandpapa”. Talbot has a different agenda. He is there to quiz Helen on specific details of her family to prove that she is indeed wealthy Edward Martin’s granddaughter. Sadly, a girl at a different orphanage had previously been misrepresented as “Helen” for the greed of the adult operating said orphanage.

Joanna Larkin arrives with hopes of restoration based on an advertisement posted by hotel owner Ronnie. Ronnie clarifies that it is the town itself, not the hotel, that boasts these “restorative properties”. It’s clearly another scheme Ronnie is running to get business, but who knows? Maybe Joanna will indeed find help for her anxiety and sadness in Brookfield.

Tensions

Eve tells Lillian all about her long friendship with Grace and how she protected her from bullies. It sounds like Eve is trying to convince Lillian that Grace is better off moving to New York with Eve. Lillian is obviously pulled wanting her sister to stay and doubts about what is best for her.

Helen is extremely anxious about the lawyer’s inquiries. Some details of her past are crystal clear while others are fuzzy or forgotten. After all, it has been around 6 years since Helen lost her parents. Lillian and Grace are heartbroken for Helen when her responses are lacking the level of detail required by the attorney.

Ronnie and Tess are at odds over Ronnie having financed the hotel through Mike Sinclair with what we believe to be stolen funds. Nevertheless, Tess hosts Ronnie for the evening after Gabriel begins making inquiries about the details of Ronnie’s loan. Ronnie becomes increasingly stressed when he spies Sinclair’s collector arrive at the ranch for yet another payment.

Chuckles

While the circumstances of Ronnie’s situation are not actually funny, his reactions do elicit some laughs. Ronnie tries to avoid the collector by sneaking behind the cows at the ranch to make his way to the hayloft for hiding. Ronnie’s attempts at not answering Mountie Gabriel’s questions are also amusing as is the look on his face when his car will not start as he tries to get away from town.

Ronnie refers Ms. Larkin to Nurse Maggie for consultation when Joanna inquires about the “restorative properties” Ronnie advertised. Even though Ronnie blindsided Maggie with the request, the caring nurse takes it in stride and genuinely tries to help Joanna find some peace and comfort in nature. Maggie and Joanna share a laugh when Joanna accidentally inhales a bug during their breathing exercises in the woods!

Heartwarming Moments

One of the signature aspects of When Hope Calls continues to be the heartwarming moments encountered in each episode. The word “hope” is in the title after all!

Grace and Chuck share a “special” moment at the hotel restaurant. Grace asks Chuck, a frequent visitor to the restaurant where she works, why he keeps coming because the food is not that great. He tells her he comes for the “special”. When Grace reminds him that the restaurant does not boast daily specials, she suddenly realizes he is referring to her.

Helen is devastated when Mr. Talbot says she is not Martin’s granddaughter. Lillian tells her to “never lose hope” and the whole town comes together to fight for the truth. When Helen remembers some more details of the past, Lillian gathers Joe, Pearl, Eve, Maggie and Ms. Larkin to implore the lawyer to stay for more answers from Helen.

Sam maneuvers a blockade in the road to delay the stage coach that is coming to pick up Talbot. Gabriel informs Mr. Talbot of the delay and the lawyer agrees to talk with Helen again. Everyone waits patiently outside the orphanage for the results. Grace comes out with a a flattened expression before boasting a beautiful smile announcing that Helen passed the “test” and will be reunited with her grandfather.

Tess is very uncomfortable after lying to Gabriel by saying she financed Ronnie’s hotel. We cannot help but be moved, however, when Tess rallies the ranch hands to fend off the collector who was probably planning to bring more harm to Ronnie. Tess informs the collector that their mountie is actively investigating Sinclair’s shady business engagements and the collector is forced to leave the property. Ronnie is safe, for now.

Grace chooses to stay in Brookfield with her sister telling Lillian “I choose you” and calling Lillian her best friend. Of course, Grace cares deeply for her friend Eve and wishers her well as she escorts Eve to the stagecoach. Chuck mistakes Grace’s presence as her intention to leave town. Our hearts beam when Chuck tells Grace that he does not want her to leave Brookfield. Everyone smiles when it becomes clear that she Grace was merely helping Eve with her bag.

Lessons Learned

Joanna Larkin learns that helping someone else, as she did with Helen, can actually be helpful to yourself as well. The experience prompts her to volunteer at the local orphanage in Hamilton when she returns home. She looks forward to making the personal connections she has been missing there.

Wise Sam helps Helen recall important details from her past when he encourages to find something to focus on other than her pain. In this instance, a game of horseshoes does the trick. Lillian also helps by insisting that Helen “never lose hope”.

If I remember correctly, we also received a great tip from Nurse Maggie about juniper berries and cloves helping with bug bites!


Thank you to Hallmark Movies Now for bringing us another engaging and heartfelt edition of When Hope Calls.

The season holds two more episodes in the inaugural season of the series. Come back next week for another new episode and engage with fellow fans on social media using the #WhenHopeCalls hashtag.

Revisit the events of last week’s episode of When Hope Calls here.

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