Crown Media When Calls the Heart
Filming for season 9 of Hallmark’s “When Calls the Heart” has just wrapped. After Kevin McGarry posted about it and Erin Krakow made a lighthearted joke, McGarry had to then come to Krakow’s defense against a sensitive viewer.
There will be spoilers for last season in this post.
McGarry Defended a Lighthearted Comment that Krakow Made
McGarry, who portrays Nathan on “When Calls the Heart,” doesn’t post much on social media. But as season 9 of the series wrapped filming, he left a simple photo to signify the occasion.
He simply shared a photo of well-worn boots, part of his character Nathan’s Mountie attire, and wrote, “Another few miles walked in Nathan’s shoes. Maybe ridden. Season 9 wrapped.”
Krakow replied with a lighthearted, joking comment, writing: “👁🌊🐴💩.”
Fans quickly interpreted the emoji as reading: “I see horse poop.”
While most people thought the post was funny, one viewer took it the wrong way.
They wrote, “that was kinda rude Erin.”
Krakow is known for handling sensitive fans with grace, and replied: “I mean…the aroma is what’s rude. Not so easy to focus while a fresh load of 🐴💩 is hitting the ground beside your scene partner. 😂”
And McGarry was quick to shut down the upset fan. He replied in Krakow’s defense, writing: “@bbnfan_03 @erinkrakow is a 💎- and not wrong about the 🐴💩.”
Other fans, however, continued the fun. One fan replied, “you paint a pretty picture about filming with 🐴🐴 sounds like they aren’t very good NEIGHbors.”
In fact, most people replied with kindhearted words to McGarry’s post. He replied later, writing: “Thanks for all the kind words everyone.”
One fan replied to his comment, writing, “I never heard of you before s8 WCTH and now I am a lifetime fan! So glad to have learned the incredibly inspiring Nathan Grant and then more about the actor who plays him.”
Another fan wrote, “Nathan Grant will forever be my favorite WCTH character, and I know a huge reason for that is because of the skill and care you put into your portrayal of him.”
Some ‘When Calls the Heart’ Fans Had a Tough With How Season 8 Ended
Most of season 8 of “When Calls the Heart” focused on Krakow’s character, Elizabeth, being in a love triangle and choosing between McGarry’s Nathan and Chris McNally’s Lucas. Fans were divided between #TeamNathan and #TeamLucas. At the end of season 8, Elizabeth ultimately chose Lucas over Nathan.
Brian Bird, executive producer for both “When Calls the Heart” and the GAC Family spinoff, “When Hope Calls,” has addressed fans several times about the divisiveness.
In early October he wrote on Twitter, “To be honest… the fans can end their divisiveness any hour of any day. They don’t need the show to do anything to get them there. We each have a choice for how we’d like to live. None of us should ever choose to remain powerless victims of external circumstances. Just my IMHO.”
McNally talked with Paul Greene, who plays Carson on the series, about some of the hate he received from fans about Lucas. He shared his experiences on a podcast interview.
He said, “The end of season 8 was the first time I felt the wrath of some of the Hearties…It did take a little bit of recalibrating for me because everyone has been nothing but supportive. .. . This was like a wave of hate. And I mean… I laugh about (it) now, the people writing me and being all, ‘You’re awful.’ Another one I thought was funny was: ‘You’re a pretty good actor. Why don’t you just get a job on another show?’”
He also said that most fans were supportive, but a few were vocally upset. But he added that he understood, because of how well Nathan’s character was written and then portrayed by McGarry.
“I totally understand wanting Elizabeth to end up with Nathan,” he said. “I think that the writers did a great job of setting up two viable characters for Elizabeth to eventually settle down with. I think he’s a great guy, he’s got awesome characteristics. He’s charming, he’s caring, compassionate, he’s brave, all these wonderful things… Nathan’s not leaving Hope Valley… Your character is still there. … It’s become a story that is about the community.”
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