It’s rare that a show comes along that you just know – immediately – will leave a legacy. But Hope Valley: 1874 is a show that does just that. It doesn’t take long before you know that it will be cemented in Hallmarks legacy, while creating and shaping its own.
Hope Valley: 1874 is the prequel to When Calls The Heart and is definitely a show that can and will stand on its own. When it was announced, I knew that it would be part of the When Calls The Heart legacy, but watching it – I knew that it would have its own legacy. What would that legacy be? It would be one of resilience, evolution, and heart.
Hope Valley: 1874 is one of those shows that genuinely makes the viewer both nervous, scared, and excited for that is to come.
The show follows Rebecca Clarke, who travels from Chicago to the Western Canadian frontier with her 11-year-old daughter but must accept help from local rancher Tom Moore when her wagon breaks down.
Now we know that nothing is that simple though. This show included. It’s complicated, but it’s complications are its beauty. Why? Because it feels like this season we are going to be watching all of those work its way out (or at least move forward). And that, my friends, makes this person excited.
The show stars Bethany Joy Lenz, Benjamin Ayres, Jill Hennessey, Roan Curtis, Lachlan Quarmby, and Mila Morgan.
Lenz stars as Rebecca Clarke. She’s a single Mom to Sarah (Mila Morgan) and the two have journeyed across the country after buying a boarding house. They’ve survived everything that has been thrown their way – together. Though the two keep alluding to someone not finding them, we’re given no answers to who or why in this episode. But, Sarah seems really worried about it – sticking close to her Mom and making sure that she’s okay.
Ayres plays Tom Moore. He’s a nicce man – but TBH, scares me. He gives no f***s and is willing to take on anyone that he needs to. The gold rush has hit their territory and Moore hates it. He hates the people everywhere, the ways they have no respect for the territory. He seems like the vocal and deadly type – as if anyone who gets in his way will be destroyed.
And yes, maybe I am reading too much into that, but I am fine with that. I’ve watched two many westerns in my life and know too much about cowboys (at least the movie kind).
Hennessey plays Hattie. Hattie is no nonsense and a force. Hattie is all business and making sure that both her trade post and her daughter, Olivia (Rowan Curtis) are taken care of. The rest of the world is money to be made. It doesn’t matter what men think – Hattie is about what is and what she can make money with.
Quarmby is a fresh faced youthful mountie. He’s just graduated and has come to the territory to bring the law. Not really sure how he’s going to do that, with the gold rush being there and lawlessness in the territory. He’s fresh faced and young, but determined to make good choices and to protect the territory.
Rebecca and Sarah have a mishap when trying to make it to their final place. A wheel breaks and they think that they are going to have to leave everything behind. Setting out on their horse, they come across a wheel and are able to go back and get their wagon.
Watching these two change a tire, it’s telling me what these two will be capable of. They are fierce, relentless, and are definitely going to do everything that they can to make it in this new territory.
When the gold rush people set off dynamite, Rebecca’s carriage takes off with Sarah in the front. Tom is the one who set off to get the horse and carriage under control, saving Sarah. He offers to help them, taking them to his ranch so that his blacksmith can help fix the wheel.
Tom tries to invite the two to eat with all of the hands on the ranch. I mean, I would have joined, as those steaks looked really good.
It’s the first sign of the sense of community that comes with being in Hope Valley. We know that it is a big part of living in the valley – community and loyalty. It’s those two things that manage to move the valley forward and create the community that we see still going forward in When Calls The Heart.
The first episode of Hope Valley: 1874 sets up this world in a way that starts the establishment of a world that you can think of on its own. You don’t need to know about When Calls The Heart. You just need to be open to watching a new show and getting to know new dynamic characters.
Hope Valley: 1874, season 1, episode 1 sets up a world that is beautiful, complex, and captivating. The first episode is streaming now on Hallmark+ and will then move to Thursdays.
Dive in, it is a journey you won’t regret.
