Crown Media When Calls the Heart
John Tinker, showrunner for Hallmark’s “When Calls the Heart,” recently shared in an interview that there is one scene from the season 9 premiere that he regrets and thinks they should not have included.
He Said the Scene with Nathan Being Hit Was ‘Tacked On’ & Maybe Too Jarring for Viewers
In an interview with “When Calls the Heart” fans that is posted on YouTube here and embedded above, Tinker shared some discomfort with how the last scene in the episode had been filmed. He said it might have been better to just hear that Nathan was hit, rather than actually show the scene right before the episode ended.
Tinker first assured the fans interviewing him that Newton the horse is going to be just fine.
“I have to say, and I know this is a concern, so I’ll address it now,” he said. “It’s a question, and I’m gonna jump ahead…The horse Newton is OK. Newton will be OK.”
But then he pondered how peacefully the episode had been going before the jarring end, and said he wasn’t sure that was the right decision.
After we did the balloon [scene], you float off and then you’re suddenly — that’s a jarring moment [when Nathan is hit]. And it’s a little unsettling, and I don’t — I’m not going to speak for the other writers — but I typically don’t like sending people off to bed upset. And I actually started to — I started rallying for not keeping that in there and just letting it happen off-camera. There’s been an accident. To Hallmark’s credit, I don’t know whether they are right or wrong — I don’t know whether I would have been right or wrong — we left it in. They didn’t ask us to take it out…
But, he added, if he had a second chance he wouldn’t leave that scene in.
“I think given a second chance, I don’t think I would leave it in,” he said. “It’s just unsettling to me. … It felt a little tacked on and I don’t know… It’s what’s shot and edited is shot and edited. What’s important is they’ll be back, Newton will be back for sure on all fours.”
He later added that he just really felt like including the scene was the wrong call.
“I don’t mean to flagellate myself over this, but I don’t know…” he said. “It might have been exactly the wrong call to leave that in there and maybe we would have been just as able to go out on the balloon.”
He Said the Preview for Next Week’s Episode Helped
Tinker agreed with the fans interviewing him that the preview for next week’s episode, along with the photos that Hallmark had already released, could help dissuade concerns about Nathan and Newton. The preview showed Nathan was alive, but injured, and might be suffering some memory loss. Some photos for the next episode revealed that Newton was alive and well.
“I thought that was very smart of them [Hallmark] to put that there,” he said. “Not only in photos but in the previews. I take full blame and responsibility for having put that in motion. I think if I had another swing at that I would have said, ‘You know, I just want to go out on a nice moment… I guess once in a while it’s OK to do that, but I don’t typically like doing that… Let’s send people off to bed with … pleasant dreams in their head.”
To make sure you don’t miss a single news update about “When Calls the Heart,” join the Hearties News Facebook group, follow the Heavy on Hallmark Facebook page or subscribe to the Heavy on Hallmark newsletter here.