Well, we have indeed arrived at #WonderWednesday, the last one of the month. Wow, in some ways, June flew right by! Amazing how that happens! Well, today we finish up the spotlight week for the fearless leader, Michael Landon Jr. I put the question out there to you Hearties on social media, asking what your favorite project of his was, (outside of When Calls the Heart, of course!) Thank you to everyone who answered. Frankly, it was a landslide! The overwhelming choice was “Love Comes Softly”.

Watching that movie for the first time was the first time I had heard Michael’s name. I knew who his father was, of course. I better after all the reruns of “Little House on the Prairie” I’ve watched over the years. So when I saw Michael Jr.’s name, I let out a tender and sentimental, “Ohhh!” I knew I was in for a treat!

So I would be more than happy to review it! There’s only one problem: I already have! 😀 I’ve included the link to that review in the comments. Then, what shall I discuss for Michael’s birthday spotlight? 😉 Well, after the actual movie, “Love Comes Softly”, several votes said the series. I think that makes the most natural choice the second movie in the saga, “Love’s Enduring Promise”. The original is always the best, but this one is almost just as good; it has most of the original characters, plus a few wonderful additions.

This installment was released a year after the first, in 2004. Funny story about this: one of my childhood friends took the time to record both “Love Comes Softly” and “Love’s Enduring Promise” on DVD for me as a birthday present. I was in my twenties, and home from college for the summer. Another friend was staying with me for a few days, and we were trying to figure out what we should do one night. I suggested trying the first one, and we ended up staying up half the night so we could watch both! We loved them! And we didn’t realize that one was a continuation of the other until we saw the same actors in the beginning. So, naturally, we had to keep going!

This movie, like its predecessor, did not disappoint. The plot picks up probably nine years later. (SPOILERS AHEAD if you have yet to see it!) Marty’s declaration of, “What a wonderful life you’ve given me, Clark! What a wonderful life we’ve made together!” definitely rings true! They’ve built a larger house, expanded their farm, and even added a son to the family they’d blended.

Missie, who was a wild, almost illiterate tomboy, has grown into a beautiful and refined young lady, who by her own admission, spends “an exorbitant amount of time reading.” We recognize her by the locket around her heck Marty gave her at the end of “Love Comes Softly”. The first time we see her, she misses breakfast because she’s too busy acting out “Pride and Prejudice” in the barn. Clark and the boys leave without her, she rushes past them on horseback, and we soon discover she is the town’s schoolteacher. Imagine THAT transformation!

Here’s where things get interesting. We meet two men: 1) Grant Thomas, a wealthy land surveyor who spies Missie in his transit, and leaves no doubt that he’s very taken with her, 2) a handsome (VERY handsome! You should have seen our 20-something reactions to him at the time!) mystery man who keeps appearing and disappearing, and won’t say his name at first. It turns out his name is Willie Nathan Leheigh, a boy Missie knew in school. He’s going by Nate so no one from home will recognize him, and to escape his past. (This is very meaningful to me because I ended up marrying a man named William who went by Willie as a kid, and he has a younger brother named Nathan!)

Hearties, I’m afraid something has come up, and I have to close for now. So looks like we will get a full week for Michael’s birthday spotlight week; I’ll finish this up on Friday. Thanks for understanding! Good night! This is Hooked Heartie, signing off! May your heart let your hope blossom!

Well, it’s #WonderWednesday, the final day of Pascale’s birthday spotlight week. I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. There was so much I didn’t know about our beautiful Rosemary. By the way, before I forget, a Happy Belated Father’s Day to all our male #Hearties, whether you be past, present, or future fathers; as well as uncles, big brothers, friends, and father figures. I hope it was a glorious day for you on Sunday.

So, have you been able to guess which non-WCTH project of Pascale’s I’m going to review? Let’s have some fun! Think of your guess, NO SCROLLING DOWN! I’ll give you a second to think of one, because as we know, there have been several!

 

 

 

 

(Insert “Jeopardy” theme music)

 

 

 

 

 

If you said “Fantastic Four”, you would be…incorrect. Although, I did watch it, seeing if I could find her. No luck so far, but I haven’t given up yet. If you’re one of the #Oncers, (I think that’s what they’re called,) then you’re burning hot! Ding Ding! Did you know Pascale was in two episodes of “Once Upon a Time”? I saw those episodes, but it was before When Calls the Heart, and I didn’t retain her face in my memory. Then months and months later I saw the picture you see below on Pascale’s Twitter, and I realized, “Oh my gosh! She was Queen Gerda (Anna and Elsa’s mother)! So I finally got the chance, (for this blog post!) to go back and watch the episodes with full knowledge of who was playing the queen. That is always a fun experience! And not only did we get to see her as the queen, but as a princess as well.

Photo credit: elizabeth-mitchell.org 

If you’re familiar with “Once Upon a Time”, you know it’s fairy tales for adults…that’s the simple way to put it. Really, the writers go deep into fairy tales, creating histories we as readers never thought about; not to mention we get VERY different perspectives on very well-known stories…some of which can be a little scary. I remember watching the season 3 finale when only the back of Elsa appeared, and I thought, “Oh geez! What are they doing with ‘Frozen’?!

The season 4 premiere begins with the storm that claims the lives of Anna and Elsa’s parents, a scene that took all of 5 seconds in the cartoon, if that. It was a very intense and gripping manner in which to begin. We see the crew struggling with the vessel, and then we see the queen come into her cabin. It was quite difficult to see Pascale’s face with the lightning and the water flooding into the place, but it was her. She comes in to find her stationary box, and begins scribbling a quick note. The king finds her, and urges her to leave, but she insists, “I have to finish this!…They have to know! We might not make it home, but this could.”

Photo credit: Once Upon a Time Wiki 

The next shot is the king and queen on the deck about to throw the bottle containing the note out to sea. He asks her if she’s sure they should do this. The wind is howling, the waves are crashing, and the rain is pouring down in sheets, but she blinks through it, and replies loudly, “Anna and Elsa must know the truth. It’s the only thing that will save them!” The king hurls it as far as he can into the ocean, and they hold each other as their last shred of hope, their last connection to this world, is carried away.

Okay, can I just insert a quick sidenote here about actors who play live versions of cartoon characters: actors are trained to, and judged by how well they make their world real and believable. But I have to give extra credit to these actors who take their portrayal of these kinds of characters so seriously that you feel like sobbing. Seeing a live human, instead of a picture of one, changes things, at least for me. But they could choose to keep their acting very surface, and I have so much respect for those that choose to make their audience emotionally invest in them, even in only five minutes. That’s what Pascale’s performance did for me. When they watch the bottle fly away, it reminded me of the moment Clark Kent’s parents watch his ship fly into space right before Krypton is destroyed in the 1978 Superman film. There’s hope, longing, but most of all, despair. It broke my heart!

Just so everyone knows, I’m about to completely divulge lots of spoilers concerning this storyline. So if you want to go to Netflix and watch for yourself, leave a comment, click on the add, and we’ll see you Monday. The plot is very complex, tangled, and involved, so I won’t be giving everything away, but be prepared anyway.

We find out that Gerda had two older sisters: Ingrid and Helga. Ingrid has the same powers, and accompanying struggles, that Elsa has. When the princesses were little girls, and the powers manifested themselves, Helga and Gerda promised to never look at her as a monster. This continues into young adulthood, and we get to see Pascale in that beautiful gown, decked out in jewels. There’s one moment when Helga and Gerda twirl each other around, trying to convince Ingrid to come to the ball with them instead of hiding upstairs. The “Rosemary Smile” totally shone through! It made me giggle with glee!

Photo credit: pinterest.com

The plot thickens when we find out the mousey Duke of Wesselton is Helga’s suitor, but being the weasel he is, he tries to seduce Ingrid. Helga comes upon them, and completely takes Ingrid’s side, but her powers come out with the tense situation. The Duke threatens to expose her, Ingrid, lets him rile her, and shoots an ice blast at him. But she misses because Helga accidentally gets in the way. Her heart gets frozen, her body follows, then the ice crumbles.

Then Gerda walks upon her. The horror strikes, and no matter how much Ingrid sobs, insists it was an accident, and begs Greta to help her, her pleas fall on deaf ears. This is where Pascale’s skills really shine! She shows absolute shock, horror, and feelings of betrayal so thoroughly and completely. Then she has the impulsive idea to shut Ingrid in the magic urn they got from Rumpelstiltskin. You can see the regret and sadness at what she’s done, but then there’s the determination to move forward, and do what needs to be done.

Photo credit: pinterest.com  

Then her final scene that explains everything. Gerda comes to Grand Pabbie, decked out in her Arendelle cloak with her beautiful red hair braided just like Anna. She asks him to make a potion strong enough to make the whole kingdom forget Ingrid and Helga ever existed, “for the good of the kingdom”. Once again, you see Pascale’s commitment to fleshing out a minor cartoon character: the pain and guilt in her eyes, the stiff upper lip to move forward. Everything comes full circle, and we receive a huge amount of insight into the life of Elsa, and her mother.

Photo credit: onceuponatime.fandom 

 

Well, that about wraps it up! Happy birthday week, Pascale! Best wishes for a happy and successful year! And for all of you, I hope the rest of your week sails along peacefully, or as peacefully as possible. My anniversary of eleven years is tomorrow, so I’m daring to hope for some cooperation from my kids, and some fun going out with my husband. What are your plans? Tell me in the comments. I’d love to hear! And don’t forget to click the add. 😉 This is Hooked Heartie, signing off! May your heart let your hope blossom!