When Calls the Heart Season 10 Episode 10 Recap: Lucas Defends Hope Valley

Can Hope Valley fight off this latest threat? Over the years, residents have stood firm whenever outsiders tried to come in and change things in the small frontier town. However, they might not be able to keep the wolves at bay forever, as became clear in the Oct. 1 episode of Hallmark’s When Calls the Heart. But they’re certainly going to try. Fortunately, the town has a fiery defender in the form of Lucas Bouchard, a one-time Hope Valley outsider himself.

[Warning: This article contains spoilers for When Calls the Heart Season 10 Episode 10.]

The governor shows his true colors in ‘When Calls the Heart’ Season 10 Episode 10

The governor’s much-anticipated visit to Hope Valley is turning out not to be much of a cause for celebration. Sneaky businessman Bernhardt Montague (Benjamin Wilkinson) is buying up land so that he pump the area’s water to the quickly growing Union City. (Just like Chinatown!) If he’s not stopped, Hope Valley could turn suffer the same fate as Rock Creek, which is now a desert. With no time to waste, Lucas (Chris McNally), Nathan (Kevin McGarry), and Lee (Kavan Smith) make a personal appeal to Governor Balfour (Mark Brandon) during a tour of the town.

At first, the governor seems receptive to their concerns, giving everyone hope that the town can be saved. But the situation is a little more complicated than they realized. Montague and Balfour are in business together. While the governor might pay lip service to their concerns, it’s clear where his true loyalties lie – and it’s not with Hope Valley.

Madeleine explains herself to Bill

Montague thinks he controls the land Bill recently sold to Madeleine St. John (Stefanie Von Pfetten). But Bill has discovered that Madeleine never recorded the deed transferring ownership of the property. He mentions this to Elizabeth, who reveals that the still-missing Madeleine is in Buxton, which she learned when Jamie (John JJ Miller) returned his library book via mail.

Bill sets off to confront Madeleine, and we finally learn what’s really going on with her and Montague. He’s not her fiance, she explains, but rather her late husband’s business partner. He’s also in control of the trust set aside for her son, and he threatened to withhold the money unless she tricked Bill into selling her his land. However, Madeleine – who knew nothing about the plot to steal the town’s water – stalled on filing the paperwork because that was the only leverage she had over Montague.

Bill doesn’t immediately forgive Madeleine for her deception, but he’s more understanding of her situation. Later, she visits him in Hope Valley. She hands over the deed, explaining that she doesn’t want to play a part in the town’s destruction. Bill still has feelings for Madeleine, and he urges her to stay in Hope Valley. She says it’s time to move on. But is she gone for good? It feels like she and Bill still have unfinished business.

Did Hickam miss his chance with Mei?

While Elizabeth, Lucas, and the other characters attempt to foil Montague’s plans, most of the residents (who know nothing of the threat facing the town) are busy preparing for the big ball in the governor’s honor. With formalwear in short supply, Elizabeth and Rosemary (Pascale Hutton) step up and lend some of the other women their old dresses. (Is this storyline just a way to explain why the show is obviously reusing some costumes from past seasons? Maybe, but it kind of works.)

Fiona (Kayla Wallace) and Faith (Andrea Brooks) also continue their matchmaking efforts. They urge Mike Hickam (Ben Rosenbaum) to ask Mei Sou (Amanda Wong) to the ball. But he’s so nervous that he misses his chance. Harry (Brendan McRae) unknowingly swoops in and offers to escort Mei to the dance.

But Fiona and Faith aren’t going to give up so easily. Faith asks Harry to dance, giving an extremely awkward Mike the opportunity to ask Mei to take a spin around the room. She accepts, and it seems this romance might have finally gotten off the ground.

Elizabeth is disappointed by her wedding dress

Lucas and Elizabeth’s wedding is just a few weeks away, but there’s a big problem (and we’re not just talking about the bride possibly getting cold feet). Somehow, the dressmaker has sent Elizabeth the wrong dress. “This doesn’t feel like me at all,” she says when she tries on the poofy monstrosity. (Seriously, this dress is so unfortunate that even the usually upbeat Rosemary struggles to find something nice to say about it.) Rosemary promises Elizabeth she can alter the dress to look more like the gown she envisioned, but that seems like a tall order.

However, there’s at least one person who isn’t disappointed by the dress mix-up. Nathan stops by as Elizabeth is having her fitting, and his eyes light up when he sees her. Elizabeth is noticeably flustered by his reaction. Earlier, Elizabeth mentioned her pre-wedding jitters to Rosemary but was adamant she wasn’t having doubts about saying “I do” to Lucas. But doth the lady protest too much? These scenes – along with her adoring look as Nathan accepts an award at the ball – will only add to speculation that Elizabeth might really be in love with Nathan.

Lucas takes a stand against the governor

Once the truth about the governor’s connection with Montague comes out, Lucas – always the poker player – hatches a plan. First, he, Elizabeth, and Bill (Jack Wagner) confront Balfour and Montague and plead their case. But the governor’s not willing to stand in the way of what he sees as progress. “I’m on the side of whatever does the most good,” he says.

Lucas asks to speak to the two men alone. He pretends to see things their way, and they immediately (and somewhat unbelievably) offer to bring him into their scheme. They also show him their plans for future aqueducts. Could Lucas really have turned on Hope Valley to make a quick buck? Of course not.

Lucas gets up to give a speech – broadcast live on the radio – at the ball. At first, he starts out praising the governor. Then, he reveals the truth about Balfour and his plans for “the greater good.”

“I don’t believe the greater good means leaving people out,” an increasingly impassioned Lucas says. “I don’t believe the greater good means decimating towns, valleys, lives, communities that we have worked hard to build here.”

Lucas’s speech is a rousing success, except in the eyes of Montague and Balfour, who quickly scurry out of town. The next day, the members of the press are clamoring for an interview with Lucas. He’s happy to talk, but as he turns to chat with the reporters he awkwardly bumps into Elizabeth. That forces her to step back and stand behind him. It’s an odd interaction. And it adds to a sense of distance between the couple. Could Lucas be headed for bigger things, leaving her behind in the process? With just two episodes left in season 10, we hope we’ll soon get clarity on what’s happening with her, Lucas, and Nathan.

New episodes of When Calls the Heart Season 10 air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on Hallmark Channel.

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