When Calls the Heart Season 13 Episode 12: Harvest Moon

The episode opens at Elizabeth's house, where LJ is still furious about being kept off the hike in the previous episode. He will not eat his oatmeal, he is not interested in apple slices, and he is not even looking forward to the Harvest Festival. Nathan arrives to collect supplies for the festival and tries to lift his mood, then asks Elizabeth whether they can try having dinner together again; she agrees.

At the family café, Cooper arrives late for the second morning in a row and Minnie wants to know why. Before he can answer, Joseph bursts in raving about a roadside plum stand and then produces the sweetest plum of all — their daughter Angela, home from college to surprise the family after everything they went through, timed to the Harvest Festival.

At the Coulters', Rosemary and Lee are startled to find Gwen coming downstairs in a dress; Rosemary tells her she does not have to wear it, and Gwen says she likes it. Later, Gwen scrubs mud off the dress and apologises to Rosemary, saying she will not be a problem for them much longer because she is leaving soon. Rosemary tells her they have loved having her and cannot wait for her to visit again.

At the schoolhouse, Elizabeth teaches what the cornucopia symbolises and what it means to be thankful, and notes that many of the children must be glad they can go home to Benson Hills soon. Missy says she is afraid things will be different there; Rupert says they will miss everyone in Hope Valley; Gwen asks whether they can come back and visit, and Elizabeth says they are always welcome. Later she gives them a new symbol for their recent past — a hawk, which can fly above and see things from a new angle — and asks them to write two lists: what they have gained, and what they have lost.

At the saloon, Nathan tells Bill his proposal plans. Bill recounts his own engagement, the wine-and-music dinner and the song he learned for Nora, and tells Nathan it did him no good: proposals mean far more than grand gestures. Nathan goes to the schoolhouse at lunchtime and tells Elizabeth he has something to ask her.

On his way up to his office, Lucas drops a box and Edie catches it. She is in town to help her clients wrap up their claims now that National Insurance has been found guilty. Upstairs, Lucas explains the boxes are for his festival magic act and asks whether she will be there; she says she will try. He asks about her life in Union City and offers to take her for tea when he passes through, but she tells him she will be travelling to New York to help set up a women's settlement house. She says it seems they have both found their place; he says he has not.

She thinks she may be back in a couple of months.

Nathan takes Elizabeth, LJ and Allie to the water tower, where Oliver is setting up a rope harness. He offers LJ the view he was denied, and though Elizabeth hesitates he assures her it is safe. LJ climbs the ladder strapped in, reaches the top and rings the bell with a huge grin while Cooper and Toby shout that he is flying. Back on the ground he says it was amazing; Elizabeth thanks Nathan, and he tells her they can find their way through anything together. Then Toby asks for a turn and a queue of children forms.

After school Nathan meets Allie and tells her his new plan is to have no plan at all and to let the moment find them. Allie calls it sweet but warns him not to let the moment pass. Outside the café, Cooper shows Angela the braille plaque by the door, then reveals a new sign above the entrance: Minnie's Café. Minnie is delighted and works out what Cooper has been doing with his mornings. Henry arrives to photograph the Canfields under their new sign.

The Harvest Festival begins. Lucas performs magic to a large crowd and spots Edie watching. Lee presents a complete model for the rebuilt Benson Hills, thanking Rupert and Opal for designing the school. Then Lucas announces that he will step down as governor when his term ends and endorses Mayor Hickam, thanks Edie for her work, and disappears under a sheet as Lee covers him.

Elizabeth gathers the town to hear the children read their lists, then ties the lists to balloons and releases them. Gwen says the Coulters took her in and that she now has two families. Maisie tells Mike and Mei she will not run for governor, saying she is not likable enough and belongs in smaller towns; Mike tells her she is simply afraid and needs to believe in herself. She laughs that her brother knows her better than she does, accepts a piece of pie as her first campaign contribution — and discovers the whole festival heard her, and cheers.

At the saloon, Edie finds Lucas at the piano with a piece of pie and asks what made him step down. He says things changed, and that he realised it when they secured the private grant for the school together. He tells her she is his North Star. She catches herself, points out her timing is bad — she leaves for New York tomorrow — and suggests they take it up when she is back. Lucas asks whether New York will need help, and she kisses him.

Rosemary and Lee talk about what Gwen needed, and Gwen finds them with gifts: a hand-carved fish lure for Lee, a hand-carved picture frame with flowers for Rosemary, and two dolls for Goldie. They hug and say they love each other, and Gwen climbs onto the wagon with the other Benson Hills residents and waves goodbye.

At the drink station, Allie and Oliver tell Angela about the fossil they found; when Oliver goes for sugar, Angela tells Allie she can see that she and Oliver like each other. Nathan asks Elizabeth for a walk, and on the way he begins his proposal speech. She cuts him off with a crazy idea and leads him up the water tower. At the top he tells her she is the reason for everything good he does, compares her to silver because she reflects the best of anyone in her light, and takes out a ring set with four stones — one for each of them, because they are a family. He asks her to marry him.

She kisses him first; when he points out she has not actually answered, she says yes, and they hold each other above the town as the sun sets.

Elizabeth writes in her journal that she is thankful for what has happened and hopeful for what is coming. Then a taxi pulls into Hope Valley, the door opens, and Abigail Stanton steps out and says that it is good to be home.

“Harvest Moon” ends with Elizabeth and Nathan engaged. Nathan takes her up the water tower during the Harvest Festival, tells her she is the reason for everything good that he does, compares her to silver because she reflects the best of anyone in her light, and takes a ring from his pocket set with four stones — one for each of them, because they are a family. He asks her to marry him; she kisses him before answering, and when he points out that she has not actually said anything, she says yes. The episode ends the season's central thread, and it does so on the question rather than on a wedding: no date is set, and the episode does not show a ceremony.

The final scene is a new thread opening rather than an old one closing. A taxi pulls into Hope Valley, the driver opens the door, and Abigail Stanton steps out and says that it is good to be home. The episode does not explain why she has come back, does not show her meeting anyone, and does not establish what her return means for the town. That is deliberately left unresolved, and it is the season's cliffhanger.

Lucas's future is left partly open. He announces that he will step down as governor when his term ends and endorses Mayor Hickam, but the episode does not say what he will do instead, and it does not say whether he has actually resigned yet — the announcement is about the end of his term, not a resignation on the spot. He tells Edie he could join her in New York when his term is complete. The episode does not establish whether he will.

Edie's storyline does not resolve inside this episode either. She is leaving for New York the next morning, she suggests they take things up when she is back in a couple of months, and she kisses him. The episode does not show her leaving, and it does not say what she decides about Lucas beyond the kiss.

Maisie's entry into the governor's race is announced rather than settled. She tells Mike and Mei she will not run, Mike tells her she is afraid, and the townspeople overhear the conversation and cheer her into it. The episode does not show her formally accepting, and no campaign begins.

Joseph's refusal to forgive Christopher is not revisited in this episode. The finale does not show Joseph, does not mention Christopher, and does not resolve the thread the previous episode left open, so it carries into the next season unresolved.

The Benson Hills departure is the one thread the episode closes cleanly: the town has been rebuilt, the residents go home, and Gwen leaves with handmade gifts for the family that took her in.