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‘When Hope Calls: A Country Christmas’: Season 2 Premiere Review & Recap

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When Hope Calls

GAC Family When Hope Calls

GAC Family aired a “When Hope Calls” Christmas special this year, with two back-to-back episodes that kicked off the series’ second season. The spinoff to Hallmark’s “When Calls the Heart” aired on GAC rather than the Hallmark Channel. If you missed the special or if you’re wanting a recap of what happened, read on.

While of course, Abigail and Jack were the highlights of the episode, quite a few things stood out. The new character, Roy, is going to be my favorite character at the orphanage. I can already tell the actor is quite talented. And it also seems that the show is pairing off characters without love triangles, which is a big shift from last season.

This is a review and recap of “When Hope Calls” A Country Christmas. There will be spoilers. 

The Christmas Scenery Is Stunning

As the episode opens, the first thing viewers will notice is that the scenery is beautiful. Brookfield is snow-covered and brimming with stunning decorations. We see carolers in front of a tall Christmas tree, and an impressive array of pastries and baked goods, complements of Kyana Teresa’s new character, Debbie. She’s one of the first people that we see in this special.

The snow-covered pine trees in the background are stunning too. They did a wonderful job at the scenery.

We also get a quick narrative with Lucy, who appears to have an expanded role this season.

In the first scene at the orphanage, Lillian is telling the children a story of a “fair maiden” that’s really about Grace. It’s the first glimpse we get into Lillian’s life without Grace, which feels almost wrong, considering how deep their sisterly love was last season. Lillian is telling the children about a “valiant man” who rushed to tell the fair maiden how he felt. (This is referring to Chuck.) He missed her after she left and wrote to profess his love. The kids mention something about the valiant man traveling in a boat and marrying the fair maiden. This is the first hint we get about Grace and Chuck’s fate.

Ronnie, meanwhile, is planning to buy a car. If I’m remembering correctly, this is what Tess almost did last season, but then she ended up giving the money to get Ronnie out of debt instead.

Abigail’s entrance comes next. Her introduction is simple but elegant. She gracefully steps off a carriage and Gabriel offers to take her straight to the orphanage.

One of Maggie’s friends is writing an article for Harper’s Bazaar that will feature the town of Brookfield.

Most of our favorite season 1 characters get a quick introduction before we move into the “meat” of the story.

Roy Is Having Trouble Adjusting After His Parents’ Deaths

Roy, a new character, arrives at the orphanage and he’s quickly welcomed. It looks like Vincent is the “man of the house” now. He’s grown a lot. While they’re showing him to his room, the children mention that Fred – who was a central figure in season 1 at the orphanage – has been adopted. So he’s gone too, which disappoints me.

In Abigail’s first major scene with Lillian, Lillian confirms that Grace is now married and living in London.  And Abigail says she was taking care of her sick mother, but she’s OK now. So those loose ends are quickly tied up.

Abigail says she met Roy through a cousin who runs an orphanage, but he hasn’t done well at any of the orphanages. Both his parents died and he just won’t open up to anyone. Abigail thinks that Lillian might be exactly what Roy needs.

Tess Plays the Role of Ebenezer Scrooge in This Episode

Tess is having trouble at her ranch, meanwhile. Hank quits when Tess refuses to give him time off for Christmas, since his dad was just seriously sick. When Hank quits, Tess takes a stand and quits too. It’s apparent that Tess will be the “Ebenezer Scrooge” of these episodes.

In the next scene, Debbie reveals that she’s Pearl’s niece and she took over the bakery from her aunt a few months earlier. So I’m not certain if that means Pearl is also gone from the series for good, but I’m happy to see Kyana Teresa here. She was great on “Good Witch” and will be great here too.

The Show Is Saying Goodbye to a Season 1 Love Triangle

Roy, who’s still struggling, ran away from the orphanage, so Gabriel and Lillian go on a search for him They find him, but Lillian is really struggling with the fact that he ran away. She’s not sure if she can run the orphanage alone without Grace. But it looks like she has Gabriel’s support, so she’s not as alone as she feels. (And it looks like the show may be moving past the love triangle that once existed among Gabriel, Lillian, and Sam.)

In what’s a really comical scene next, the orphans find Ronnie in the woods with nine reindeer and jump to the conclusion that he’s Santa Claus. This plays out for the rest of the two episodes in a pleasant way.

We also learn that Maggie used to be a travel writer when she was studying to be a nurse and she was really good at it. Her reporter friend is trying to persuade her to go back to traveling again and even gets her a job offer in case she wants to go back to that life.

Grace’s New Storyline Seems at Odds with Her Story in Season 1

Later, talking with Tess, Lillian explains that Grace didn’t want to come back for Christmas, and of course Chuck is staying with her. This doesn’t really fit with the storyline that Grace embodied with season 1. But I imagine they had to come up with something to explain her absence.

There’s also a mention of Henry. Abigail is mailing an important letter, and the woman she talks to her assures her that it will be sent out. Abigail says, “It’s important. Please be careful with it.” And the woman replies, “I promise you. This will get to Henry McGowan.” So that was a nice callout.

Jack’s Return Was Warm & Heartfelt

Jack’s return happened at the very beginning of episode 2, in an unexpected way. There wasn’t a huge buildup to that moment. He just was suddenly there, on-screen with Lori Loughlin. Abigail is at the Brookfield hotel looking inside when Jack just casually walks up.

“She’s gone for the night,” he says. “But I’m sure she mailed your letter.”

At first, she thinks she is talking to Gabriel. But when the man steps closer, he reveals that he’s Jack.

“I’ve missed you,” he says.

Abigail gives him a big hug. “I’ve missed you too. But I don’t understand it.”

“Well, it may surprise you, but neither do. It’s a beautiful town… Where another Mountie loves a good woman…”

He’s referring to Gabriel and Lillian.

“Abigail, can you get a message to Elizabeth for me?” Jack asks. “Let her know that I’m happy she’s moving on with her life. And let her know she’s doing a fine job with Little Jack and I could not be prouder of both of them.”

“There’s so much she wants to tell you,” Abigail says, rightfully encouraging him to deliver the message himself.

“And one more thing,” Jack adds. “You tell her that true love never dies. I know that now more than ever.”

Abigail asks him to wait, but he just says goodbye. He looks happy and at peace, without a strong desire to stay or a lot of sadness about being gone. She races after him, but he still walks away. Abigail later wakes up with a start, and it turns out the scene was a dream.

It’s up to us as viewers to decide if she was truly visited by Jack or if it was a “hopeful” dream. If he’s a ghost, it doesn’t make a lot of sense that he would visit Abigail rather than delivering the message to Elizabeth personally, since he doesn’t really have a connection to Brookfield. But as Jack said, he doesn’t know why he was there either.

The Rest of the Episode Has a Comforting Christmas Message

With that magical moment over, the second episode continues with a comforting Christmas ambiance. The story of the kids’ thinking Ronnie is Santa continues.

We also get a scene where Gabriel gets Abigail’s advice on picking a gift for Lillian. She encourages him to give her a gift that speaks from his heart.

Meanwhile, we’ve barely seen Sam in this episode, so I really think they’ve decided to move away from the Sam-Lillian side of the love triangle.

Lillian tells Abigal later that Grace started her own orphanage in England, and the benefactor is the grandfather whose child they found. It still doesn’t make a lot of sense that Grace would leave Lillian, but at least she’s chosen a career that’s in line with her season 1 character.

Roy has a meltdown shortly after, remembering his parents’ deaths, and Abigail tries to comfort him. He’s upset that Lillian said everything would be OK, which he doesn’t believe. But Abigail tells him that it’s about having faith, which can lead to peace and joy. This is an authentic and touching moment, where the show’s portraying a real concern that children and adults might feel with certain platitudes that are shared. The answer they give is also a heartfelt one that really addresses the concern without glossing over it.

It’s after this scene that Sam finally shows up again. (Has he had a single scene with Lillian at all in these episodes?) It seems his role in this episode is mostly about running errands. We don’t really delve into his character or his feelings, except when he admits that he kind of is Maggie’s secretary now.

If we aren’t delving much into Sam’s feelings, we’re really exploring Gabriel’s. He’s practicing his “big moment” with Lillian. But when he tries to take her aside to chat, she’s surrounded by children needing her attention, so he has to wait.

One of the kids finally tells Lillian that she believes Ronnie is Santa. This, understandably, really takes Lillian aback. She has a good response to her rumor, and it’s a sweet moment. Ironically, they end up needing to recruit Ronnie to play the role of Santa anyway now that Joe’s out for the count due to an allergic reaction.

Later when the kids are visiting Santa, Roy is still struggling with the Christmas spirit after everything he’s been through. Every kid at the orphanage asks Santa for a pony for Roy. Their altruism and sweet Christmas wishes for Roy really touch Ronnie’s heart.

After all of this, Gabriel finally finds a moment to pull Lillian aside. He confesses his feelings for her, and Lillian responds with an unexpected kiss. So it looks like they are officially a couple now! There won’t be any drama here. It’s all smooth sailing.

Maggie ultimately decides that Brookfield is her home and she doesn’t want to be a reporter again. She tells her friend that places used to fill her with wonder but now people do. Her friend observes that there’s one person in particular who’s caught her eye. But she says he’s wrong and there’s no one.

“Maybe you don’t even realize it,” her friend says, and tells her a picture is worth a thousand words. But who is he talking about? I’m torn between Joe and Sam, since Joe was really the focus last season. When she pulls out the photo, it’s revealed that he was talking about Sam! So that’s another shift the show is taking this season. Maybe Debbie will be Joe’s love interest. I already thought I picked up on some chemistry between them, so that would be fun.

And Ronnie, meanwhile, is struck by the spirit of Christmas. He gives up the money he saved for a car and ends up spending it on a pony for the kids, he was so touched by their generosity and spirit.

The moment the kids see the pony is just amazing! I got goosebumps watching Roy hug his sweet new pony.

Everything else in the episode is wrapped up sweetly, and we’re left with a warm, Christmas feeling as the episode draws to a close. This was a heartfelt way to kick off the new season, and I hope we don’t have to wait too long for the rest.

READ NEXT: Hallmark’s Christmas 2021 Lineup of Movies

Stephanie Dube Dwilson is a sports and entertainment contributor for Heavy covering Texas Longhorns football and Hallmark. More about Stephanie Dube Dwilson

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