When Calls the Heart Season 11 Episode 5: Stronger Together

Allie asks Nathan outright what is going on between him and Mrs. Thornton, and he tells her they are just friends. Allie says Elizabeth is important to her but that she does not want Nathan hurt again; Nathan tells her she has nothing to worry about. Elizabeth, meanwhile, walks with Toby and tells him to visualise success on his tests, and not to answer the problem the way everyone else does, because he is unlike anyone else.

Elizabeth spots Lucas and he tells her he owes her an apology — for Jeanette ambushing her, and for not telling her about his history with Jeanette. He says they talked about getting engaged, but there was never a ring and his heart was not in it. Elizabeth says there is nothing to worry about and that she is not bothered. Nathan sees them talking from a distance and is discouraged when Elizabeth puts a hand on Lucas's arm.

In the fields, Lucas asks Henry to help him solve the land dispute with Benson Hills so the resort can be completed. Henry says that if Lucas is there to ask him to join his team again, he is wasting his breath, and that he promised himself he would take a different route.

Elizabeth brings Nathan a bone for Scout from the soup she made, but Scout is not in the office. Nathan keeps working and curtly says he will take Scout the bone. Elizabeth asks whether everything is all right, and he tells her he has paperwork to get done.

Mike and Lee meet Maisie again to review Benson Hills' long list of requirements: a new train station, a railroad extension, a town dump, and more, all to deal with the tourist influx. Lee and Mike are at a loss. At the Canfields', Minnie brings Joseph a letter from his brother Jacob. It says Jacob is open to a visit and that he is looking forward to Joseph's apology. Joseph is angry because he does not know what he is supposed to apologise for, and he storms out.

Bill and Rosemary burst into Nathan's office with news. Pike's confession says he shot Lucas from a distance, but that does not fit the angle of the bullet in Lucas's leg. Nathan reviews the evidence with them and they surmise that the shooter and Lucas could have been in a struggle over the gun — which means Lucas had to have seen the assailant's face. He still cannot remember.

At the schoolhouse, Elizabeth surprises the students with a visit from Anna, who has come back from teacher's college in Capital City to do a practicum. At the saloon, Lee and Mike discuss how badly the talks with Maisie are going. Bill asks to speak with Lucas about the shooting, but Lucas says he has bigger problems. Mei suggests that setting Mike and Maisie against each other will not get them what they want. Bill points out that Hickam is the only Mayor they have, since he was himself only acting Mayor when Mike was absent.

Bill, Lucas and Mike then suggest that Lee step up as Mayor — he only lost by a few votes. Mike resigns, and they appoint Lee temporary Mayor until the next election.

Elizabeth and Anna catch up while the students play outside. Elizabeth tells her there is a difference between what teacher's college teaches you to teach and what you learn by actually doing it. Anna feels behind; Elizabeth tells her she will feel far more confident by the end. Lee goes to The Valley Voice and tells Rosemary he has news — and that he will not let it get in the way of their family life. Rosemary kisses him and tells him he was made to be Mayor.

She adds that she thinks she would make a wonderful political wife: holding salons, debating the issues of the day, driving conversation towards a better world.

Anna helps Elizabeth hand out quiz results, and Toby is thrilled with his. Elizabeth gives Anna the school bell to ring to dismiss class, and Toby thanks Elizabeth, who tells him she always knew he could do it. Cooper and Angela tell Allie about their father's reaction to the letter, and Cooper says he will be even angrier when he finds out that they sent the letter to Jacob as if it came from Joseph. Elizabeth overhears.

When the three of them admit it, she agrees they overstepped but says their hearts were in the right place, and that their father will understand — and that they already know whether they should tell him.

At the saloon, Henry asks whether he can sit with Joseph. Joseph asks what is bothering him, and Henry says he wants peace but that business is war. He explains Lucas's request, and Joseph asks whether business excites him any more. Henry says the person he becomes when doing the business is not good. Joseph reminds him that he has grown and changed; Henry does not think he is any wiser. Joseph says he has been called upon to share his wisdom, and that it is up to Henry whether he wants to.

At the salon, Mei treats Maisie with a ginseng facial. Maisie mentions pain in her shoulder and accepts Mei's offer of a salve or acupressure, which Mei has studied in her grandmother's journals. Maisie says she wants Mike and Hope Valley to forget about the resort, and Mei asks why she does not simply say no. Maisie knows people disagree with her and believes Lucas has dazzled Benson Hills. She lets her guard down, and falls asleep in the chair just as Mike walks in. Outside, Mei tells Mike what Maisie disclosed, and tells him to talk to his sister.

In town, Elizabeth smiles at Nathan and he walks away without addressing her. Outside Elizabeth's house, she and Rosemary have tea. Elizabeth says she and Lucas are friends, and that looking back there was love — just not the love she had with Jack, or that Rosemary has with Lee. She wonders whether it is too much to want that kind of love again. Rosemary tells her it is written in the stars and waiting for her, and that hearts and minds do not always agree. At the saloon, Mike relays what Mei told him. Lucas asks Henry whether he can help.

Henry says Maisie may have a point, but that she is trying to paint them into a corner and that they need to take the paintbrush away from her. Lucas says it sounds as though Henry is on board; Henry leaves saying they will talk tomorrow.

Lucas finds Nathan playing darts and offers a round for a small wager. He tells Nathan that some things have worked out in his favour, like clearing up the misunderstanding with Elizabeth, and that she barely batted an eyelash at the Jeanette news — he believes she has truly moved on. Nathan asks whether he is okay with that. Lucas says he would rather have Elizabeth as a friend than not at all. At the Canfields', Angela and Cooper bring Joseph pie and tell him about the letter. They explain they thought he was taking his relationship with his brother for granted and wanted to help.

He tells them they may be right, and that it is okay.

At the schoolhouse, Opal shows Anna a drawing of what she imagines the resort could look like, made after the class visited the site with Governor Bouchard. Elizabeth and Anna tell her she has the makings of an architect or an engineer, and Opal asks Elizabeth to show the drawing to the Governor.

Mike, Lee, Henry and Lucas meet Maisie again. Mike tries to tell her the news about the new Mayor, but she insists on business first. Henry tells her they accept all of her demands and that they have an idea that benefits both towns: merging them. Maisie thinks it is an attempt to push her out of office. Lucas suggests co-Mayors. Maisie asks what happens if one of them convinces the other to oppose the resort; Lucas says they cannot move forward without the support of at least one Mayor. Maisie agrees — and only then do they tell her that Mike is no longer Mayor and Lee is.

Lee shakes her hand, and Mike tells her he tried to tell her.

Nathan stops Elizabeth in town and apologises for yesterday: he thought there was still something between her and Lucas. Elizabeth tells him there is nothing going on, and he says he knows that now. He asks her what he is to her, and whether they are just friends. Elizabeth does not answer. Henry interrupts them for an emergency town council meeting.

At the saloon, the townsfolk discuss the merger. Lucas tells them they all have to be on board, or the towns stay separate, the resort is killed, and it moves to Jamestown or Buxton. He also tells them that merging means their school loses its independence and falls under the school board. They have had their issues with the board, but they agree it could mean more resources for the school and the students. Elizabeth shares a glance with Nathan.

Lucas, Henry, Lee and Mike meet Maisie once more. She says she agreed to the merger before she knew all of the information. Lucas says they want to work with her and promises to compromise on her demands in good faith, but that it is complete. Maisie calls it a terrible idea that will bring trouble to the valley, and says that though she may be a lone voice she will fight the “monstrosity.” Mike tells her her own council agreed; she tells him he is being fooled and he tells her she is wrong. She leaves saying this is not over. Lucas tells Henry that was well played, and welcomes him aboard.

Elizabeth goes to Lucas's office, and he apologises for blindsiding her with the school board news. He promises he will do everything he can for the school to keep its independence. Elizabeth gives him Opal's drawing and says she believes in the vision too. As she leaves, he tells her he means what he said about their friendship, and asks her to promise that if she has the chance to be truly happy she will jump in with both feet, because she deserves that. She agrees she will.

Outside the café, Minnie reminds Joseph that the children were only trying to help, and that he always says nothing is more precious than family.

Bill and Rosemary tell Lucas that his shooter was inches away from him. Bill says they are concerned Pike did not act alone, or was not there at all. Lucas appreciates the concern but points out it has been five months and whoever it was has had ample time to finish the job and has not. They ask him to tell them if he remembers anything. Looking at a photograph that falls out of the case file, Lucas has a fuzzy memory of a gun being drawn. He says he grabbed the gun just before it went off. Then he remembers more: a dark figure holding a gun, an umbrella on the ground, and headlights.

Allie joins Nathan on the porch with a beer and apologises for their conversation yesterday; Nathan knows she was looking out for him. She asks what he is going to do. She sees Elizabeth approaching and goes inside. Elizabeth tells Nathan she did not get the chance to answer his question earlier. She says that friends do not look at friends this way, tells him goodnight, and leaves.

“Stronger Together” ends on Nathan's porch. Allie apologises for their conversation about Mrs. Thornton and goes inside when she sees Elizabeth coming. Elizabeth tells Nathan that she did not get a chance to answer his question earlier — the question being what he is to her, and whether they are just friends — and then says that friends do not look at friends this way. She says goodnight and leaves. The episode ends there, and does not show what Nathan does with the answer.

The merger storyline is closed but not settled. Maisie agrees to merge the towns, then says she agreed before she knew all of the information, calls the plan a terrible idea that will bring trouble to the valley, and says that although she may be a lone voice she will fight it. Mike tells her her own council agreed; she tells him he is being fooled and he tells her she is wrong. She leaves saying this is not over, so her opposition is unresolved by her own statement rather than by anything the episode shows.

The shooting is the one thread where the episode adds something new. Bill and Rosemary establish that Pike's claim to have fired from a distance contradicts the angle of the bullet in Lucas's leg, which means Lucas was close to the shooter and had to have seen a face. Confronted with the case file, Lucas recovers fragments — a gun being drawn, an umbrella on the ground, headlights, a dark figure — and says only that he grabbed the gun before it went off. The episode does not identify the figure, does not confirm that Pike was present, and does not say whether Lucas's memory will return.