My thoughts on WCTH S9E12
So season 9 has come and gone and was it worth it? Quite frankly...not for me. Honestly what happened this season? Answer... not alot. I found this season a real struggle to even watch as it just didn't catch my attention. So many boring stories and a ton of hype around some stories that really turned into nothing.
What I can tell you is that season 9 ended almost like it was a series finale. I assume that was done to have some sort of "acceptable" ending should the series not get renewed for season 10. I say "acceptable" as there was the engagement of E&L and Rosemary and Lee find out she is pregnant. As much as I was super excited for Rosemary and Lee, there was a lot left unresolved in HV like Bill's illness, Henry's fate, and the Nathan/Faith/Mei storyline.
As much as I didn't really care for season 9, here is what stood out in this season ending episode for me:
1. Henry: This episode solidified my love for this character and actor. So Henry turned himself in for blowing up the coal mine. He was brought back as a prisoner to Hope Valley where the residents cheered for him as if he was a hero. He didn't want to be considered a hero at all. He had a lovely moment with Flo but my favourite moment which brought me to tears was when he was with Joseph and said that he didn't know how to pray. They both went down on their knees to pray and I was in tears. What a wonderful moment. Not something you see much on television any more.
2. Lee and Rosemary: Finally it has happened for them. Rosemary tells Lee that they are going to be parents and I was a crying mess. This is what I have been waiting for for this couple. I absolutely adore them and this couldn't be a better way to end this season for them. Lee's reaction is priceless and such a special moment.
What left me wondering why?
Saloon Fire: I seriously have no idea what the purpose of this was as it did absolutely nothing in advancing any story in the show. This was a common thread throughout season 9 whereby these silly scenes were placed within the show that had absolutely no bearing on anything and was, IMO, a complete waste of time.
Allie talking to Elizabeth about Nathan: Why in the world must this show have Elizabeth involved in anything and everything. I understand Allie wants her dad to find a wife but why does she need to go to Elizabeth to talk about such things? She is clearly the wrong person. I have said this since probably season 7 but Elizabeth will never take the place of Abigail as the town confidante and I don't understand why she must be portrayed as such. It drives me bonkers to have her involved in everything for everyone. I don't even remember the last time she has set foot in the school to teach. Isn't that her job?
Lucas: Why must he always run away and brood when he gets into situations he doesn't like. Geez it comes off as such a childish thing to me. Life has ups and downs and you can't just trot off every time you are faced with issues. Deal with them head on. If you're going to marry Elizabeth and be a father to Jack, you can't just run off every time you don't like something.
Nathan: He had a ton of air time this episode and I am NOT complaining. Having said this...it was almost all spent with Elizabeth and Lucas. I find this exhausting really as it happens every episode. I just want him to have his own story line that does not include either of them. He doesn't need Elizabeth to be the man we know he is so let's move on. I wanted a lot more depth in his story this season and I feel cheated actually. There was such promise with all the hype of Mei coming into town and I feel robbed a bit as it really wasn't as exciting as I had hoped. I'm not saying I needed a love story with them, I was just expecting so much more. And honestly there was so much they could have done with the story of them to make it more exciting. If there is a season 10 I just want to see more with his story. Let's stop focusing on Elizabeth and move on and delve into the stories of other people.
Oil business: So wait...Mike and Fiona still have shares in the oil company? I'm confused.
I thought Fiona was just an employee now and that the company was sold. Why is this story line so confusing? I have honestly found it so difficult to follow throughout all of season 9. I just gave up after a few episodes.
Season 9: This is the biggest why of them all. Quite simply...why did I even watch it? There really was little happening in the entire season to warrant watching 12 hrs of this show! I am seriously disappointed. There was big hype and speculation about many things and nothing really came to fruition. Stories seemed thrown together at points and other stories were just random fillers that had nothing to do with anything. Things seemed disjointed at times. So many things that we were led to believe would be good stories ending up falling flat or just weren't addressed later. It was a nightmare of a season and yet I still had hope that it would get better.
Here are some of the things that were major let downs or just stories that never really went anywhere or caused more questions than answers:
Mike - He was mayor for about 2 weeks, portrayed as a fool, decided that being mayor wasn't for him and left HV for a bit. Don't forget that before that he had a half decent job at the saw mill that he left to become mayor. Oh and he looked like he may have had something brewing with Fiona or Faith and then that also fizzled. So...nothing major going on here.
Fiona: Buys a hair salon and rarely works in it. Runs for mayor for a millisecond and then gets shares in an oil company and disappears for multiple episodes. Has trouble in the oil company but who knows what that was really about as it was so boring. Something weird with Gilchrist but nothing major there. Such an under utilized character.
Bill: Does he have a thing with Molly? Who knows. What happened to his relationship with Nathan? Are they even friends any more? What kind of health issues does he have? Oh wait he's the mayor now that Mike quit and also a lawyer? Wait...he just went out of town...does he even know he's mayor? Ridiculous.
Mei: Such a missed opportunity with her story. A huge hype around her "husband" and it was resolved in a few minutes with a phone call! So she has an interesting onscreen chemistry with Nathan but let's have her leave for a few episodes so we can confuse viewers. Oh let's bring her back for the last episode but do absolutely nothing with her. Gone is the chemistry she had with Nathan probably because the writers want to pursue Nathan in another direction. Honestly.
School: So do kids in HV go to school? Bet my kids would love living there as I certainly didn't see them in school for most of the the season.
I could probably go on with most of the characters on the show in the same way but I think you get the picture. Clearly it wasn't the season I was hoping to be a part of.