WCTH Fans Got a Sure Way to Make Season 11 Better – And We Can't Help But Agree
Season 11 is disappointing, but there's a way to fix it. Take notes, writers!
Summary
- It's almost halfway through WCTH Season 11, and so far, fans are dissatisfied.
- Fans feel that the pointless storylines with Elizabeth add to the imbalance of the story.
- While we'd like to see less of these storylines, maybe we should rethink the show's attitude.
The long-awaited eleventh season of the romantic period drama When Calls the Heart, based on a series of novels by Canadian author Janette Oke, has begun its run on Hallmark. Fortunately, the series wasn't frozen due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, so seven of the twelve episodes have already been released to our small screens. And just seven episodes was enough for fans to form a less than favorable impression of the new season.
What is the issue, you ask? After all, the show was not originally conceived as an incredibly serious story, and therefore it had enough campy and sometimes even awkward moments from the very first episode. That's true, of course, but now more than ever in the show's history, fans seem to genuinely cringe. Instead of getting a decent development of the storylines established in previous seasons, we are once again stuck in a limbo of endless protractions with seemingly exhausted Elizabeth-related storylines.
And now the fans seem to have a great idea of how to improve Season 11, and frankly, in many ways, we agree.
Fans Have Grown Tired of the Elizabeth Storylines
From finding out who was responsible for Lucas' assassination attempts to the arrival of Jack's brother Tom in Hope Valley, there's not much that's fundamentally new in the new season so far. Everything is the same: the writers are incredibly slow to move the romantic lines of the other residents of the town, countless new characters are introduced, and Elizabeth is still being thrown from one side to the other, from Lucas to Nathan. This time we see a rapprochement with the latter, but for how long?
The overabundance of plot twists leaves no time for thoughtful development of important storylines, including, for example, Mike and Mei's romance, which is so woven into the story that it's just not fair that they don't get married until the end of the season... or maybe not at all.
Instead, we got the unnecessary return of Thomas Higgins and Anna, which could have been a fascinating conflict of the season but was really just an unnecessary plot device for Elizabeth. And geez, wrap up the town merger storyline already!
But Aren't We Forgetting What the Show Is All About?
Rather than a thoughtful development of each arc, we get ragged and incoherent stories, sudden political intrigues uncharacteristic of WCTH's overall tone, and overstretched moments with Elizabeth. But the audience wants decisive plot developments that give each character enough attention, with Elizabeth herself finally choosing between Nathan and Lucas.
However, it seems we've started to forget what made When Calls the Heart so much fun for a decade. After all, it's primarily a lighthearted Hallmark romantic drama that is really about Elizabeth's love affairs and the difficult choices she makes in her search for happiness.
The writers should also take note, as many storylines, including politics (we love seeing Lucas' political career develop, but not when it takes up all the screen time), have become a heavy burden that outweighs the value of any other plot point. All in all, a balance is needed where there is enough time for both Elizabeth and the other characters.
Well, we'll see how things develop in the coming episodes. Could it be anytime soon that Elizabeth finally realizes that Nathan is the man of her dreams? The next episode of the eleventh season of When Calls the Heart will air on the Hallmark Channel very soon, on Sunday, May 26.