When Calls the Heart Season 13 Episode 11: Trials and Trails and Tribulations

Nathan harvests a handful of aster flowers and arranges them in a vase. Allie notices, and Nathan tells her they are Elizabeth's favourite and that he waited for them to be in bloom. He tells Allie he is almost ready to propose and is only waiting for the trial, and the two of them go over the plan: Allie will babysit LJ so Nathan and Elizabeth can be alone. When Elizabeth and LJ arrive, Elizabeth has already asked Florence to cover for her at the schoolhouse so she can support Nathan on the trial day, and she asks whether he noticed the asters bloom. He says he did.

Bill and Georgie review the case before entering the trial. Bill surprises her with homemade waffles; she warns him they should stay focused, and admits she loves them. Nathan arrives and says he wishes they still had Christopher as a witness.

At the schoolhouse, Toby, Cooper and Rupert tell LJ about their plans to go on a hike. He asks to join, and the boys tell him to ask Elizabeth. At home, LJ tells everyone about the hike with the boys from school to see the valley from above. Once Elizabeth and Nathan learn it is a camping trip, they tell him he cannot go. Allie tries to cheer him up by suggesting they hang out together instead. LJ runs upstairs in frustration and Elizabeth follows him.

Lucas runs into Elizabeth at the saloon while she is putting up flyers for the Harvest Festival. She asks whether he can do his magic act at the festival, but he apologises and says he needs to focus on his campaign, and admits he is nervous about it. Elizabeth tells him how great a job he has done. He takes a flyer as she leaves.

Minnie tells Joseph she is planning to attend the trial. He says he does not want to go after everything Pioneer Electric did to Cooper. Minnie wants to go so she can see justice served.

The townspeople arrive and the trial begins. Bill starts with his opening statement, reminding the courtroom how devastating the fire was for the county, especially Benson Hills, and insisting that justice must be served. Pioneer Electric's lawyer responds by highlighting that Christopher, the lead witness, is nowhere to be seen. Nathan takes the stand and says that Pioneer forced Christopher to cover up the remains of the transformer. Bill presents Christopher's signed written testimony. Nathan then says they believe Pioneer Electric's map is fraudulent, and the courtroom gasps.

He brings up the incident of a car trying to run over him and Christopher; Pioneer's lawyer says coincidences are not evidence. Georgie is called to the stand to talk about their encounter with Clement Scoggins, and while the Mounties were able to listen in on Scoggins's phone call to Pioneer, the judge reminds them that it is not concrete evidence. The trial pauses for the day. Georgie tries to encourage Bill, who reflects on how tough Pioneer's lawyer is, and reminds him they have not yet brought forward their collusion evidence. They plan to spend the rest of the day preparing.

Lucas and Maisie Hickam meet to practise for Lucas's campaign debate. She asks mock questions about the Benson Hills rebuild; they get progressively harder and Lucas begins to stumble. Maisie says she likes how he has governed but that he needs to be prepared for people to challenge him, and advises him to start loving the game or to find something else.

The trial resumes. Whittaker takes the stand and Bill questions him. Whittaker says a controlled burn caused the fire — not knowing the Mounties planted that information. Bill exposes him immediately, saying he could only have received it through illegal communication with National Insurance. Rosemary takes the stand and passionately explains how she helped prove the collusion, and the townspeople applaud. The judge calls a recess and asks to speak with Bill and Pioneer's lawyer privately.

Bill explains how the drip test worked, demonstrating collusion; the lawyer argues it is entrapment and should be inadmissible. At the saloon, Nathan tells Elizabeth the judge ruled it inadmissible, and that Bill is going to put out a higher reward for Christopher's missing person report. Nathan is worried about putting Christopher in danger. Elizabeth says she has one more idea.

Elizabeth goes to Henry's farm and asks about Christopher, offering another way to reach out to him. Henry arrives at Rosemary's radio station and, live on air, sends a heartfelt message to his son, hoping he will hear it and come home. Walking through town, Rosemary and Elizabeth bump into Lucas, who is in good spirits; he asks whether the magic-act offer is still on and Elizabeth says it is.

As Pioneer's lawyer gives his concluding statement, Christopher barges into the courtroom holding a box, his clothes dirty and dishevelled. The audience gasps. He tells the judge he is carrying the remains of the transformer. The lawyer tries to have him dismissed for interrupting; the judge lets him speak. Christopher says everything in his written testimony and offers to take the stand. The judge says that will not be necessary — he has already reached his final verdict: Pioneer Electric is guilty.

A party is held at the saloon and the townspeople share champagne. Christopher apologises to Nathan, who tells him he understands he was scared for his life. Christopher thanks Henry, saying that helped him find the confidence to come home, and Henry advises him to reach out to his fiancee Rachel now that it is over. Nathan asks Elizabeth if he can cook her dinner, telling her Allie can watch LJ so it is just the two of them. Georgie finds Bill, praises him for the trial, gathers everyone's attention to thank him publicly, and kisses him in front of the room.

Christopher finds Minnie and Joseph; Minnie thanks him and comforts him when he apologises profusely, but Joseph refuses to shake his hand.

Nathan struggles visibly to make dinner and insists he is fine when Elizabeth offers help. He hands her a plate and toasts justice and everything falling into place, then tells her about the moment he fell in love with her — when Allie skipped school and he was called in to talk to her — and remembers how sweet she was. He reaches for his back pocket and is interrupted by a knock at the door: Allie bursts in to say LJ got stuck in a tree while climbing. He is not hurt, and Nathan and Elizabeth rush out; Nathan catches him as he drops, and LJ has only a small scrape on his elbow.

LJ says he wanted to see the valley from above. Elizabeth warns him that he could have been hurt and cannot do dangerous things, and he runs off shouting that he can never do anything.

At their cafe, Cooper asks Joseph why he did not shake Christopher's hand. Joseph explains the complexity of the situation; Cooper reminds him of his previous sermon about forgiveness, and Joseph admits he agrees with what he said as a pastor, but that it is hard to forgive when he is a father and his family is involved. They hug, and Joseph tells Cooper he is proud of him and loves him.

Henry and Christopher walk through the woods, and Henry takes him to a part where the trees are beginning to regrow after the fire. Christopher says he understands the trees are a metaphor for things getting better over time. Henry agrees, but says Christopher will need to put in a lot of effort to make up for everything that happened. Christopher agrees and seems determined to make things right, and Henry tells him he believes in him and will always be there to support him.

Nathan arrives at Elizabeth's home to check on LJ. Elizabeth says she is uncertain about how she is parenting him and afraid she is holding him back. Nathan tells her she is just keeping him safe and to trust her instincts, and she thanks him for always being there. She asks whether they can try dinner together again tomorrow. Nathan gets home to find Allie doing the dishes, sends her to bed, and tells her they are like the aster flowers: the opportunity is not gone, and it is never too late.

“Trials and Trails and Tribulations” ends with the fire storyline resolved. The judge finds Pioneer Electric guilty of the fire that burned down Benson Hills, delivering the verdict on the spot when Christopher returns to the courtroom carrying the remains of the transformer and telling the judge that Whittaker ordered him to remove it. Pioneer Electric is found liable, and the town celebrates at the saloon. The episode does not show sentencing, and it does not show any arrest.

One thread is explicitly left unresolved: the episode records that National Insurance's conspiracy with Pioneer Electric is “still up for debate.” That line comes from a single Tier 2 source and is the only indication the episode gives that the insurance side of the case is unfinished.

Nathan does not propose. He has the ring, he has planned the evening, and he is reaching for his back pocket when Allie interrupts with the news that LJ is stuck in a tree. The episode ends with the question still unasked, and Nathan telling Allie that the opportunity is not gone. The episode does not indicate when he intends to ask.

LJ's restriction is left in place rather than resolved. He is told he cannot join the overnight camping trip, he gets the view he wanted by climbing a tree instead, and he is told off for it. Elizabeth ends the episode telling Nathan she is afraid she is holding LJ back, and the episode does not settle whether she is right.

Joseph's refusal to forgive Christopher is the one relationship the verdict does not repair. He will not shake Christopher's hand, and although he tells Cooper that he agrees with his own sermon on forgiveness, he says it is different when the family hurt is his own. The episode does not show a reconciliation.

Lucas's political future is left open. He practises for a debate, is warned that his opponents will attack his record and that some supporters may not vote for him again, admits he got more done outside government, and then accepts Elizabeth's invitation to perform at the Harvest Festival. The episode does not say whether he intends to stay in politics.

Edie Martell does not appear in this episode, and whether she returns is unresolved.