‘When Calls the Heart’ Season 10 Episode 6 Recap: Rosemary Heals From a Loss, Nathan Takes a Chance

Grief hits in unexpected ways, as Rosemary realizes in this episode of When Calls the Heart Season 10. In “The Heart of the Problem,” the new mom confronts her complicated feelings about her own mother, who left her family when Rosemary was just five years old. Plus, Lucas helps the children of Hope Valley solve a problem and Nathan takes a step forward with Faith. 

[Warning: This article contains spoilers for When Calls the Heart Season 10 Episode 6.]

Rosemary confronts her grief 

Rosemary (Pascale Hutton) spent years dreaming of becoming a mother. So, when she learned last season that she and her husband Lee (Kavan Smith) were expecting, it was cause for great joy, especially since they’d almost given up hope of being able to have a baby. But the impending arrival of her little one inevitably had Rosemary thinking about her own mother, with whom she had virtually no relationship. 

When Calls the Heart has addressed Rosemary’s anxieties about being “a motherless mother” several times, but this episode features the deepest dive yet into this storyline. During a visit with Dr. Faith (Andrea Brooks), Rosemary admits she feels lost without a mother of her own to turn to for support. Faith is supportive and shares that she too has lost her mom. 

But Rosemary’s anxiety is about more than not having her mom by her side now. Giving birth has reawakened her grief for her mother, who died when Rosemary was 18, before the two could ever reunite. She’s also trying to come to terms with her feelings of abandonment – now that she has a baby of her own, she can’t understand how her own mother left her when she was so young. 

Unsurprisingly, it’s thanks to Lee that Rosemary gets some closure for her grief in this episode. That mystery trunk we saw early in this season actually contains items that belonged to Rosemary’s mother, which she received when her father died. Rosemary never opened the trunk and even ordered Lee to give it away. Lee handed it off to Joseph, who fortunately still has it. And once Rosemary finally opens that trunk, she finds the answers she’s been looking for. When her mother left her father, the law gave him sole custody of their children. Rosemary’s mom – who was named Goldie – sent her daughter letters, but Rosemary’s father never gave them to his daughter. It’s a bittersweet moment for Rosemary, who lost out on the chance to really know her mom. But the letters prove that she was loved and not forgotten. 

The discovery of the letters also settles an important issue for Rosemary and Lee. They’ve still been debating what to name their daughter, but now the answer is obvious: She’ll be named after her grandmother.  

Lucas teaches the kids a lesson

Hope Springs is continuing to draw all manner of visitors to town, much to the dismay of Allie (Jaeda Lily Miller) and the rest of the town’s young residents. They discovered the hot springs, but now the tourists have taken over, and they can’t find time to swim. 

Elizabeth (Erin Krakow) tells them they need to find a solution that works for both them and the tourists. But the visitors aren’t willing to budge. Fortunately, savvy businessman and poker player Lucas (Chris McNally) gives them some advice about negotiating tactics. 

“Each side needs to feel like they are getting what they want,” he says. Also: “Keep your cards close to your chest.” 

Eventually, the kids come up with a plan, thanks to a comment from Hickam (Ben Rosenbaum). Offering the visitors another activity (a new-fangled thing called calisthenics) means they won’t always be a the hot springs. The scheme works, and the kids are once again able to go swimming before school. 

Minnie and Joseph stage a barbecue contest 

Since arriving in Hope Valley in season 8, Minnie (Natasha Burnett) and Joseph (Viv Leacock) have become the glue that holds Hope Valley together. This week, they’re hosting another one of their community dinners, this time with a twist. They’re serving barbecue, and the guests are going to vote on whose is better: Minnie’s St. Louis-style cooking or Joseph’s Kansas City recipe. 

“Two of our three homes,” Minnie explains when talking of her family’s recipes. “Nowhere has felt more like home than Hope Valley.” 

Of course, both are delicious. And it ends up being Bill (Jack Wagner) who discovers the true winner. He mixes both together, creating a unique concoction that’s 100% Hope Valley. 

Nathan asks Faith to dance 

The barbecue is a true celebration for the town, complete with games of cornhole, football, and a little dancing. Nathan (Kevin McGarry) is chatting with Bill, but he can’t keep his eyes off of Faith. 

With a little encouragement from his friend, Nathan makes his move and asks Faith to dance. She accepts. It’s good to see these two back on friendly terms, though we still don’t know what happened to cause the initial tension between them. It’s also a sign that Nathan is moving on after his heartbreak with Elizabeth – and vowing to act on his feelings rather than keep them bottled up. “Take it from me,” he tells Bill earlier in the episode. “Missing out, it’s the worst feeling of all.”  

Elsewhere in this episode of When Calls the Heart Season 10: 

• Last week, it seemed like Madeline (Stefanie Von Pfetten) was going to stay in Hope Valley. But now it seems like she’s having second thoughts. If she leaves, it will surely disappoint Bill, even though his “Mountie intuition” tells him there’s something up with her.
• Nathan rides up to Eagle Creek and discovers that conditions are as bad as Harry (Brendan McRae) said. The drought started just after “some Union City big-wig started buying up the land.” As soon as Harry mentions the Union City Holding Company, Madeline, who is standing nearby, starts acting a little shifty. What connection might she have to the mysterious company?

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

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