When Calls the Heart has a problem. It has a massive cast, and the storylines are not relatively divided among the characters.
The beginning of When Calls the Heart Season 12 seemed more community-focused.
Lucas and Lee teamed up on the National Park project, while Henry and Joseph started a hazelnut business with the Hope Valley children.
The series utilized its supporting cast well by letting Florence and Ned participate in the comics’ debate and find the gold coin.
We learned more about Molly’s history, and she and Jed began dating.
But then, all the supporting characters became pop-up visits again. When Calls the Heart revolves around only a few characters: Elizabeth, Nathan, Allie, and Rosemary.
If the Hallmark Channel renews the series for another season, they must change a few things.
Catering to a Few Characters Isn’t Helping Storyline Arcs
While I’ve enjoyed the story arcs more in When Calls the Heart Season 12, focusing on only a few characters hurts the overall series.
Nathan, Elizabeth, and Allie have been center stage since the season began. The only romance WCTH consistently highlights is Nathan and Elizabeth’s.
While I’ve mentioned we’ve seen Rosemary frequently, we haven’t seen Lee nearly as often.
I’ve enjoyed seeing Elizabeth and Allie’s relationship progress naturally as Allie matures. Now that she is interested in boys, she wants to speak to a woman about certain things.
The family scenes are the best part.
We’ve had an abundance of Rosemary lately, and although I usually like her, she’s been over-the-top, butting in where she doesn’t belong.
It’s tiresome how she roped Elizabeth into her schemes.
Using Rosemary and Fiona to lead “The Daily Dialogue” was brilliant. She teamed up with someone new and addressed local issues involving many people, including the children.
It led to the best Lucas arc, which involved hearing what Allie and Oliver thought of the wildlife’s lack of access to the stream.
Lucas is best when fighting for someone he cares about, and he’s always fond of the Hope Valley children. Unlike McGinty, he’s never treated their opinions as trivial, so hopefully, we will see more of this moving forward.
It’s Difficult to Invest in Supporting Characters If We Never See Them
When Calls the Heart’s cast is so massive that we barely see half the characters.
While I don’t want to eliminate the characters, the series needs to manage storylines better so that characters don’t become merely pop-up characters.
We’ve barely seen Faith since Lily started school at the beginning of the season. Faith gaining guardianship of Lily was one of my favorite storylines of When Calls the Heart Season 11, and I had hoped we would see their relationship develop more this season.
It was disappointing that we didn’t, and it was also frustrating that we barely saw Fiona interact with her close friends during her visit home.
While I enjoyed her renewed purpose in radio shows, she should’ve talked to Mei or Faith more about her indecision about getting married. Female friendships are lacking on television.
We’ve barely seen Mei and Mike since they returned from their disastrous honeymoon, and they’re newlyweds.
The series should highlight how they cope as a couple in Mei’s room, the progress in Mike’s house, and how they adapt to living together.
I’m relieved they’re showcasing Mei’s culture and planning a Mid-Autumn Festival together on When Calls the Heart Season 12 Episode 10.
However, focusing on them for only two episodes a season isn’t enough.
The series has reduced Henry Gowen to an advice person. For a few episodes, it seemed like he and Joseph might go into business together and mentor some of the children.
Emily’s business skills were a pleasant surprise, and it was good to hear how proud Henry sounded. I had hoped she would become their apprentice, but that’s probably a pipe dream now.
Lastly, Angela Canfield’s graduation and longing to fit in with a blind community should have a larger arc. Many relate to this subject.
Not many television shows have featured a blind school besides Little House on the Prairie, and this is nearly 40 years later.
The Schwartzman School featured several more amenities to help Angela feel at home, and we needed to see more about how Minnie and Joseph came to terms with that and why Angela felt afraid to leave home.
New Characters We Enjoy and Hope Stick Around
There were a few new characters, and we hope they stick around if the series continues.
Oliver Garrett (Jacob Shoemay) has been an excellent addition to the cast. Dealing with Oliver has mellowed Nathan and shown him how to bend the rules to help someone.
Stories like Oliver’s need telling. It was heartbreaking to learn his foster parents wouldn’t allow him to attend school, so that’s why he was so far behind.
He fits into Hope Valley seamlessly and grows more confident as he forms relationships with Allie and other residents.
Edie Martel (Miranda MacDougall) has been an entertaining and intelligent match for Lucas. She’s smart, tries to be fair, and refuses to let anyone take advantage of her.
She’s the ideal match for Lucas, and we’d like to see their relationship develop even further.
Georgie McGill (Melissa Gilbert) felt like she’d been part of the canvas forever. Most women weren’t forensic investigators a century ago, so delving into how she felt working in a man’s world was fascinating.
Bill has always seemed unlucky in love, but Jack Wagner and Melissa Gilbert featured an angsty, soulful connection that needs more exploration.
Certain Guest Characters Are Essential, and Others Are Pointless
Certain guest characters are essential to storyline arcs, while adding others seemed pointless to this bloated cast.
We needed The Garrison Gang to learn more about the gold. It was entertaining to watch Bill and Georgie interrogate Sonny in prison.
Even though Sonny Garrison was an experienced criminal, family got under his skin, like his cousin Woody, as they argued over what to do with Allie and Oliver and finding the treasure.
Toddy Davis and his wife Trudy were delightfully fun. Going undercover was one of Nathan and Elizabeth’s best arcs this season, and it was entertaining to see them interact with the Davises at a glamorous gala.
We needed Toddy to lead Nathan towards the Martel Ranch, but having a romantic fluff episode that encouraged Elizabeth to find her inner diva was entertaining, too.
Both of these character arcs served a purpose, and neither lasted long.
We still question Ava’s arc’s purpose if she wasn’t connected to the Garrison Gang or McGinty.
It was apparent she had a secret and wasn’t an heiress. I wanted her to be as dramatic as Rosemary and a talented actress.
However, revealing that she was connected to a shady magician on When Calls the Heart Season 12 Episode 9 made no sense.
It had nothing to do with the other stories. I enjoy Tiera Skovbye, but the other characters needed screen time.
Over to you, Hearties. What would you change about the When Calls the Heart cast and storylines moving forward?
We would love to hear your suggestions, so please share them with us below.
When Calls the Heart airs at 9/8c on Sundays on the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark + the following day.
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