Crown Media
The showrunner for Hallmark’s When Calls the Heart, John Tinker, recently shared a video on Facebook with his wife, Ronda Rich, where they answered questions from fans about the show. One of those questions was about a rumor that fans had regarding the books Lucas was carrying in Season 8 Episode 3. Tinker revealed what was really going on behind-the-scenes when that scene was filmed.
John Tinker Revealed the Meaning of the ‘Lucas Books’ Scene
Fans have been speculating about the books Lucas was carrying when Rosemary saw him in Season 8 Episode 3 and whether there was any special meaning behind that scene. Tinker revealed that yes, there was, but it’s not at all what fans thought.
Lucas comes buy with books for the library. 📚 He tells Rosemary his mom isn’t quite herself. He’s thinking of phoning his father to see if he’ll visit Hope Valley.😬 Umm, surprise doesn’t begin to cover it! #Hearties #WCTH @HuttonPascale @ChrisMcNally_
Tinker said:
I will tell you, that scene was not scripted that way. I got a call from Peter DeLuise… ‘We’ve got a problem with Lucas’ beard.’ As you know… we always shoot things out of continuity. And we had trimmed Lucas’ beard when it is well before he goes to the barbershop to have his beard trimmed. So, we quickly thought, how about … a stack of books? So what you’re seeing there really is Lucas hiding that he’s already trimmed his beard… As for the book titles, we should probably talk to … our props person, who helped us…
Fans had noticed that Lucas was carrying a lot of library books, including a new Fiona Figg book. So of course, some fans wondered if this was a hint about Lucas and Fiona possibly having a future.
Lucas carrying so many library books
Almost all were already in the library
Going with the same old plan Lucas?
A new gastropod book
They shoot their mate with a dart🎯
A new Fiona Figg book🤔
So interesting…
#Hearties @ChrisMcNally_
But Tinker dispelled those rumors. The scene didn’t really have any special meaning, unless the props department added books as callouts to fans. But there wasn’t any foreshadowing behind Lucas’ carrying all those books or any of the specific titles that he was carrying. They simply needed to hide that his beard was already cut.
He Addressed Questions About Deleted Scenes & Jack’s Death
Tinker also addressed questions about deleted scenes, such as a still that showed a crowd applauding Elizabeth after she saved Robert. Tinker said he wished they could have used the scene, particularly because you can see Nathan clapping for her at one point.
“I would that we could have used that in the show,” Tinker said. “It’s a really nice scene when she comes into town having heroically rescued Robert… We’re still trying to see if we can show you those deleted scenes… (There will be) fewer and fewer of those as we move on with the season.”
He added that despite fans’ hoping that Jack may somehow be alive, he’s definitely dead.
“All of the Jack stuff is pre my tenure on the show,” he said. “But from what I’m told, he’s D.E.D. and that’s all I know. I don’t mean to be flippant, I don’t mean to be harsh, I think that’s it.”
Tinker also shared that the love triangle was moving forward at a pace befitting all that Elizabeth has gone through.
“We don’t take these characters lightly, we don’t take what happens lightly…,” he said. “A lot of you are suffering from triangle fatigue. And that story, that element, is indeed wrapping up. But we didn’t feel we could wrap it up any quicker, due to the fact that it’s taken Elizabeth time emotionally to get over Jack’s death, it’s taken her time emotionally to get to know both of these suitors, and she’s had conflicting emotions… If she’s guilty — and I dare not use the word — if she’s guilty of anything, it’s of not confronting those feelings fully.”