Hallmark Elizabeth and Lucas on "When Calls the Heart"
Chris McNally, who portrays Lucas on Hallmark’s “When Calls the Heart,” recently spoke in an interview about the big changes happening in Lucas’ storyline. He also addressed fans’ massive disappointment about how season 10 episode 11 ended.
McNally Said He Empathizes with Fans, But Sometimes Circumstances Change in Life
In season 10 episode 11, Elizabeth broke up with Lucas at the end of the episode, just before he left to begin his campaign for governor. Lucas had to run for governor because it was the only way to save Hope Valley from the current governor’s future plans. But although he thought Elizabeth would support him, she ended up changing her mind at the last minute.
“The Edify After Show” hosted an interview with the showrunner, director, and cast members after season 10 episode 11 aired. McNally addressed the big plot twists approximately 17 minutes into the after-show.
“I’m empathetic towards the audience members … the Hearties and fans who were really gunning for this and really wanted a wedding in season 10,” McNally shared. “I think it’s going to be a massive disappointment. I also feel like … sometimes characters drift apart and things change and that’s part of life.”
At about 16:44 into the interview, he said that Lucas’ new path was one that the character could not have embarked on if he were getting married.
“I think it’s a good storyline all across the board,” McNally said about the new plot. “I think it allows a lot of shifts and changes to happen, and through those shifts and changes we get to follow the characters and explore more stories in Hope Valley… And from Lucas’s point of view, this whole venture into government and whatnot is… It’s not something that could have been explored had he and Elizabeth gotten married.”
McNally Is Excited About the New Storyline Because It’s ‘Totally Uncharted’
At about 20 minutes into the interview, McNally said he’s excited about what’s in store for Lucas.
“I am excited with the governor storyline,” McNally said. “I think it’s great. So far, since we’ve seen Lucas come in … he’s had some business ventures, but he’s been very, very focused on Elizabeth being his partner… He really wants to settle down with her and it gets kind of superseded. He gets taken down this other route that he wasn’t expecting. But there’s an excitement to that that I enjoy personally because it’s something new that I get to explore with Lucas. … It’s sort of a … new chapter for him that is totally uncharted.”
McNally also spoke a bit about a few specific scenes in the episode, including the moment when Lucas said in an interview that Elizabeth would be moving to the governor’s mansion with him if he won.
“Maybe his thoughts of what is happening in the future are not aligning with reality,” McNally reflected. “…I don’t know if he’s fully thought it through… I think the ball’s rolling away on him there…”
The stakes that Lucas faced, he said, were even more important than the wedding he was planning.
“I think the stakes of losing Hope Valley, as exciting as a wedding is, that completely trumps it,” he acknowledged. “You know, a wedding is a celebration, a party. It’s going to be great, but your home is going to take precedence over that in this situation.”
Fans have had mixed reactions to the Lucas-Elizabeth breakup. Team Nathan fans are thrilled, because they think this might mean a chance for Elizabeth to have a future with Nathan. Team Lucas fans have said that the storyline really doesn’t make sense, since season 9 didn’t show any hints of issues between Elizabeth and Lucas that might be building over time.
Showrunner Lindsay Sturman acknowledged this in a different interview, noting that there were “multiple truths” for the couple. They were in love, but their paths were diverging. And while there were signs along the way, those weren’t “glaring signs.”
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