Hope Valley: 1874 - S01E06 - Common Ground

[00:00:01] Why does it go to that? We'll start up. Go. This is a Bramble Jam Podcast. Hi, I'm Brian and I love Hope Valley, 1874. Hi, I'm Jax and I like Hope Valley, 1874. I'm Dan and I'm so sick of Bran and this is the Deck The Hallmark Podcast.

[00:00:31] Deck The Hallmark, it's this podcast. Friends host this podcast. Whoa, whoa, whoa, everybody. I'm not really sick of you, Bran. That was a lie. I can't wait to say that. It's a pun because Bran is sick. You see what I did there?

[00:01:00] Maybe it's just from being around you. It could be. I mean, I feel great. So maybe I'm just like an energy vampire, you know, like Todd Robinson in What We Do in the Shadows and I just like take everyone's energy and I just like... I'm gonna come over to your house tonight and hover over you and then suck out all the good energy. I hate everything you just said. You're welcome. Jax, how are you? I'm good. Really good.

[00:01:27] Can we talk about the setup you got at home? Sure. Are you being attacked by plants? Bran, you have done what so few people have managed to do, like produce a successful podcast and you're like, you're incredibly talented.

[00:01:51] But like this at home setup, I feel like when you logged on and the way it sounds on your mic, it sounds like when people log on and we're like, okay, we need to fix this. Something's happening. Is it just on mine and that it sounds weird? No, it sounds weird. I appreciate that. It sounds weird? Is my mic not working? That's better. There's a little... I mean, it doesn't sound so weird that we need to stop and start over.

[00:02:17] But I mean, it's just like there's some ambient noise in the background. Yeah. Can you hear my dogs that are fighting? The dogs aren't what I was hearing. What I'm hearing, maybe it's me. Because what I'm hearing is sounding like you're like, there's an echo. There's a little bit of one, but like, it's not like, I know what it sounds like when your mic's not working and this is not it. But it just, you know, it does sound like we run a podcast network, but somehow when you're at home,

[00:02:47] it's full gorilla radio. So I don't know what to do about that. I kind of, but like, I love it. It's more just like, I'm marveling at it. Of course you love it. New York airport of sounds brand. But we get to go behind the scenes and brand. Most people would just be like, Oh, I'm not doing it today. I need to take care of myself. Not this guy. No, we know the beat goes on. We keep marching. We have, listen, we hope value it's for no man. I'm going to go put my dogs up though. So you guys vamp for a few.

[00:03:17] Wait, you put them up. No, no, no, no. You put them up. No, I'm guessing. No, I'm going to put them down. He's going to lift them up and that quiets them down immediately. That's how that works. Oh man. Like we, we don't have to put them down. It's not that serious. Yeah. Please don't put them down. We don't. I know that. There's a quick brain has a quick fuse when it comes to getting angry, but please don't put your dogs down. Uh, Jax, how are you? How are you doing? I'm great. I'm, I'm, I think we're finally getting, so New York is that now at the perfect place

[00:03:47] where there are spring allergies, but it's still really cold. So what a fun mix. Yeah. You know, the best of both worlds there. We were on like a 30 day drought around here and then we finally got some rain. It's raining right now outside and actually, Oh, it is raining. The pollen is probably the genesis of how brand ended up getting sick. It just hung around so long that it finally just like, you know, probably got caught in there. Yeah. And then now, now he's got something else entirely. Yeah. Honestly though.

[00:04:14] I think it's brand like you really are pushing through and you're not feeling well, and you should give yourself a pat in the back, but make sure that you're getting razzed. I mean, well, it's podcasting before. Yeah. One, one is podcasting, but two, before you brag on too much, we did cancel you. We didn't postpone you yesterday to do this today. Yeah. But like, but, but, but that, you know, like, you know what brand is like some people, you know, they talk about man cold. Some guys would be down for a week with this.

[00:04:45] I love how you're not putting brand in that boat. That's very, I appreciate that. I appreciate that. So talk about, right. You're not recording from bed and you could be. Yeah. I'm up, right. I'm for, I, I don't, I would love to say that I resent the man cold thing, but I know that there are dudes that do that. Um, did I come to work with mono for a week and feel like I was going to die? Yes. So I feel like I have my, my tough cart, but, uh, but I do.

[00:05:14] That doesn't surprise me that you were just walking around with every day. I was like, I don't know what's every day I would come to work and I would be like, and I will say this. If I felt congested, like brand, I would record from home to not cough on everybody, but I would come to work with mono. I'd just be like, I think I'm good today. And then by lunch, you bring the test. I was just laying down in the floor, in the carpet, just like face down. Just like, I need a break. I just give me five minutes and I'll be good to go. I just, I just need a power nap. Yeah. That's all I need. Quick. This is what it's like to be 41.

[00:05:44] You know what I mean? Right. Right. You forget. That's the thing you forget. And then you're like, Oh no, I'm actually. I'm actually have a really, my liver's failing. No big deal. No big deal. Right. Yeah. All right. Are we ready? Yeah, let's do it, man. We are. Hope Valley, 1874. It's episode six. What's it called? Common ground. I looked it up. Common ground. I looked it up. I'm sorry. I just happened to, I didn't look it up. I remembered it from the thing when I hit the thing.

[00:06:14] So I didn't play along. I'm really disappointed. That was disappointing. You want me to do it again? I'll do a fake one. Yeah. What's it called? Yee-haw. Oh, that's pretty good. Jax? A skimmy toilet. Skimmy toilet. Skimmy toilet. I would have loved it. I would have loved it if Jax was like, it's common ground. Jax said the thing the kids were saying before six, seven. That's what Jax just did. Yeah. It's back again. It's back again? Skimmy toilet is back. Skimmy toilet is back. Back?

[00:06:43] Man, second run for skimmy toilet. Yeah, I literally, so this week, as I've been coaching kids, skimmy toilet's back. So, I feel like I'm ahead of the curve. You are. Yeah. So hip. Nothing made me feel more old or older, I guess I should say, than going into Target and seeing a skimmy toilet merch. That's right. Yeah. It's in there. It's a head coming out of a toilet. Yeah. True story. Real talk.

[00:07:13] Yeah. It's a thing. Okay. It's what we live in. Tell me what you can do about it. Yeah. All right, we ready? Let's do it. Originally aired on April 23rd, 2026. That's this year. Yeah. And a little something like this. The music band. Oh, whenever you're ready. The boarding house is really coming together and it's time for Rebecca and Sarah to actually have a room.

[00:07:41] She's kind of freaking out over the curtains and Hattie checks on her. Rebecca explains that she's trying to stay busy because Jim's birthday is coming up. His first birthday since his passing. Clayton brings the new table and it's real nice. Alexander shows up and asked if his room is ready yet. She says no. And he's like, I'll just take it as it is. It doesn't matter to me. I just don't want to be outside anymore. Uh, he asks Olivia if she's ready.

[00:08:11] Uh, if she's missed it. Oh, wait. He asked Olivia if she missed him and she's like, I, we, we always do. So I don't know what to do with that. Rebecca reluctantly agrees to let him stay in an unfinished room. How he notices that Sarah is uncomfortable with the Mountie around. And she says that she just didn't know that there were going to be police around here. And that's tough luck for her.

[00:08:38] Alexander tells Rebecca that he wants to make, uh, the boarding house is base of operations. And he promises that he's going to keep it tidy and give her an extra $2 a month. Wow. I know, but she needs a week. Yeah. Oh, okay. Yeah. But she needs to sign a contract. He says that he promises that he'll, uh, that he's here to protect and not to bring danger to their door.

[00:09:06] She finds Tom out there, uh, trying to break a horse and they have some flirty, flirty fun time. But there's an issue. Doyle has damned Tom's stream. That's the, the, the process of damning, not the profanity. Um, while prospecting has caused Tom's farm to flood. So Tom applies for a land patent to keep Doyle from prospecting on his land. Um, but what he doesn't know is that Doyle has also applied.

[00:09:35] Could it be up to Alexander to figure out what's what late one night, Rebecca goes to look at a picture of her husband. She's real sad. And the next day, finally, some good news. The furniture for the boarding house is here. And despite not having the money that she needs to pay for it, the trading guy says that he knows that she's good for it and drops it off. Anyway, Ned's dad finally finds some goals. He's happy about it, but is disappointed to find out that it's only worth $10.

[00:10:06] Rebecca is getting a little lightheaded while working and ends up fainting. Luckily Tom is there to catch her as she falls. He brings her inside and she finally comes to, and she says that she just stood up too fast. Okay. Alexander tells Tom that he's going to hold an emergency hearing to deal with the land dispute. Olivia goes to check on Sarah. She says that, uh, she says that they said, oh, she says that my, they said that my dad would be okay too, but he never got better.

[00:10:35] So she's worried about her mama and really misses her pa. Rebecca and Sarah have a heart to heart about Jim and takes turns sharing memories about him. Ned's parents decide that they're going to try their luck somewhere else and they head out to move. Tom shows up for the meeting and brings other town members who are worried about losing their lands to the prospectors. Doyle shows up and brings a crew of his own.

[00:11:01] Alexander allows each of them to make a statement as to why they deserve the land. Tom explains that he's been working this land for three and a half years. It's his. Doyle's daughter explains that it's the law that the first person to file for the land gets the land. That's the law. Alexander decides that the law is clear. The first in file gets the land. Doyle did it first. However, in a world of right and wrong uphold what is right.

[00:11:30] Tom has been working the land for years before the prospector arrives. And the law is for land that hasn't already been claimed. Not this situation. So Tom gets his land, but Doyle gets to cross to get to other streams so that he can continue to prospect. Doyle is not pleased as he's going to take it up with Alexander's superiors. Ned's parents come to say goodbye to Rebecca. She's like, wait, you can stay here for free if you run my mess tent. And they agree to stay.

[00:11:59] And the episode ends with Rebecca and Sarah planting an apple seed in honor of Jim. While in Chicago, we see someone who I assume is Jim's mom looking at a picture of Rebecca and Sarah in the paper. And that my friends was. Hope Valley 1874 season one, episode six common ground. We did it. Yeah, there it is. All right, let's take a break. We'll come back. We'll break this episode down with four segments here on the homework.

[00:12:38] Welcome back, everybody. We're talking about Hope Valley 1874 episode six. It's time for us to share our hot takes on this episode. I'll start with you, Jax. Jax, what did you think about episode six of Hope Valley? Okay, so I am fully in on Alexander now. Like, I don't find him particularly attractive for myself, but like, I am all in on this character. Like, I know, I think Dan, you mentioned in one of the initial episodes, like, it took him a while to like get going. Yeah.

[00:13:06] And weren't sure, like, I'm fully in on him. You know what? You know what? I think he's doing a brilliant job. Benjamin Ayers is doing a brilliant job, but I don't like Tom. I don't like him. There we go. Now we're talking. I just don't like him. And that doesn't take away from the incredible performance of Benjamin Ayers, but I just don't like Tom. So I'm in an interesting situation with this because I wanted Doyle to get the land. I'm into Doyle now too. I'm like, you know what? Right? Right.

[00:13:34] I thought I was going to be alone on an island with this take, but I am thrilled by Jax's take right now. No, I was, I was really upset because I'm like, okay, you have your, your daughter who managed to, it's not a loophole. It's actually the law. And I understand that, that Alexander's following the spirit of the law and Tom's been prospecting. Like I do get that nuance, but honestly, like, I think they deserve the land.

[00:14:01] And I also think Doyle's a pretty decent guy that they want us to think isn't a decent guy for some reason. So I, I am sort of not knowing how to feel about all this and where it's going to go, but I hope we see more from Doyle and we get to know him better and his daughter. I'm into that. And you guys, I mean, Olivia, I could watch her all day long. Like what a beautiful conversation with her and Sarah that I'll talk more about later and her and Alexander and their chemistry.

[00:14:30] Like, yes, please all day long. So I really think that, you know, it's still, I'm not, this isn't a story that I'm particularly interested in, but these actors are managing to make it really enjoyable for me. Yeah. To be clear, this episode is about land dispute. Um, and you watched.

[00:14:52] So, so, you know, any, if this was a, a when calls the heart episode, I would have been hard out, but there's something about this show. That's just still working for me. And it made it compelling and it made it interesting. I enjoyed the episode. Um, yeah, I mean the Tom versus Doyle of it all is interesting because. You know, it's the, you're right. Jax, they're trying to make Doyle seem like a bad guy, but I don't know what he's done.

[00:15:20] You know, he kind of talks like a bad guy, you know, like, Hey, I don't know. Bad guy accent. But he hasn't done anything really. Like, so I don't really know. Maybe we're going to find out that he's a murderer or something, but as the right now, it's, it's an interesting situation. Uh, but yeah, I really liked this episode of dispute and all. I thought it was really interesting and, uh, the show rules. Yeah. Yeah. So this feels like a little bit of a calm before the storm episode before our last two episodes of the season.

[00:15:49] Uh, so there is that about it. Having said that I have a lot of strong opinions about this episode and I'm glad you guys touched on most of them. I I'm thrilled that they resolved Bethany Joy Lynn's character continuing to show up at the mess tent to do a, like a third job. Like I'm thrilled that they figured out a way to have someone else do that job. Like that made me so, I don't know if either of you cared about that. That made me so happy for them to be like, just took her fainting.

[00:16:19] That's all like it, but like it just was like my least favorite part of this show was Bethany Joy Lynn's is such a strong, independent frontier. This is a frontier's woman that she's going to do every job. And it's just so unnecessary. And I'm thrilled that they have this deal worked out. I don't know if she's financially capable of making this deal, but she made it. And so great.

[00:16:41] Uh, listen, a land argument over frontier land between two white settlers should always, you should always feel like both are wrong. You should always feel like both are wrong. And I did feel like both were wrong. I think that Ben Ayers is giving an amazing performance, maybe the best performance on the show.

[00:17:05] And, but to act like he's the righteous guy, I think he does a great job of making sure you understand he's not completely righteous. At least that's how I take it. Yeah. And Doyle isn't either. I mean, I've said this before on this program, but both of those characters are out for very, like for very much the same thing, right? Like they're out for power and wealth and notoriety. That's what they're out for.

[00:17:33] That's what the frontier really was about by and large. So this whole thing, like it's neither of their lands. I, how often do you get the, the little guy in this scenario, having an upper hand because they read the law and the guy with all the money and power didn't read the law. That was a fun wrinkle on this and, and, and them coming to court with something.

[00:17:56] And then, yeah, I have kind of questioned whether Lachlan corn bees Mountie really had a, a, a point in this show. I didn't think, I thought he had watched a lot of tapes of Daniel listening's delivery and like demeanor and it just didn't really vibe. And I thought this week was a bit of a coming out party for his character. I thought he had some nuance and I could see the chemistry with Olivia. And so I liked all of that.

[00:18:22] Um, it's not the most exciting episode, but I, I'm starting to care about all these characters. I'm glad that we got rid of the Bethany joy lens also cooking for all the miners to make ends meet storyline. At least I hope that's what we've done. We've done. We didn't really add any new characters this week. So yeah, I think the show's on firm footing and I'm, I'm fascinated to see what happens in the last two weeks. It's time for all the feels. This is where we talk about what in this episode gave us feels, uh, Jack's.

[00:18:52] Um, yeah, you know, I love a love triangle and I love what it does to the Hardys. Um, myself included, I considering myself that group. I, uh, when Alexander says he's going to be, you know, hunkering down here and he looks at Olivia and her other suitor and he's like, I like the area. I was like, Oh, okay. Like about it. Um, that.

[00:19:19] And then for me, I thought the conversation between Sarah and Olivia who have both lost their dads was a really beautiful conversation where Olivia, even though Olivia is technically like an adult, she's a young adult. She didn't brush aside her things and say, no, no, no, no, no. Your mom's going to be okay. She really listened when Sarah said, well, they said that about my dad. And so, and she, you know what? She held space. She held space. And I just thought it was a really beautiful conversation.

[00:19:48] So that got me in my fields. Um, I got, uh, apple tree planting fields. Uh, I've planted a lot of apple seeds in my day with my kids. None of them have taken root. Um, best I can tell out there. Um, so hopefully they have better luck with it, but, uh, you know, if you haven't planted an apple seed with your kid, go out there. Wow. Wow. That's inspiring.

[00:20:16] Hey, it's really inspiring stuff. I worked on that speech all night. Um, uh, yeah. If you could go try box. Cause I do want to see, especially Jackson's reaction to this. Cause I had this fields and I want to know if anybody else was with me on this. This is a world class, maybe best of all time faint by Bethany joy. Lynn. Like it is. And I'm not, this is not a joke. She fully did a trust fall.

[00:20:43] Like go and watch this faint is not, we've seen some bad feints, brand. We, we've watched some movies where the fence is like a three part faint where it's like, I'm fainting. Let me, let me hold myself up. Delay, delay, fall. BJL closes her eyes and fully goes weightless and falls back. And if Ben Ayers doesn't catch her, she's going to have head trauma. It is. I, I, I, I have to know more. Like I was, I rewound it.

[00:21:13] It was such a world class faint. The trust in her acting partner to, to make sure he catches her was next level. I want to know how many takes they did. She did a little spin with the phone. Yeah. She literally like full on. And there was no hitch in the giddy up. There was no point where she was like, oh no, I'm falling. I, I, I couldn't have Jackson. Right. Am I crazy here? No, no, no. Not only that.

[00:21:43] Yes. Yes. Yes. And it also makes for a very sensual visual when she's like, like in it, like she looked, it looked like the cover of a romance novel. It did a little bit. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was very over the top dramatic, but she pulled. Great. Oh my goodness. I like you, you have to 100% commit to that. You, you, you have to commit to that faint or, or, or you look like an idiot or they have

[00:22:12] to pull away or they have to use a stunt double and they just didn't do any of that. She just, and I bet you it was one take. I bet you she just did that in the first take. And man, I was so impressed. I was like, that's a world-class faint. You don't see faints like that on TV every day. And we've seen some bad ones. So that probably helped too. Yeah. What if she didn't tell him that she was going to do that? That'd be really, that also wouldn't surprise me hearing stories about her. So that wouldn't surprise. She just wanted to see how he would react.

[00:22:42] Yeah. If I fall, I fall. You know what I mean? Let the chips fall in your face. Yeah. All right. Let's take a break. We'll come back. We'll get to the wait. What? And the hopes and valleys. You're on deck the hallmark. You got it. You say it. Nice to learn there. Hi, everybody. Welcome back. We're talking about whole Valley, 1874 today. Let's share our wait. What? We're talking about what in this episode made us go.

[00:23:12] Well, sir, with you, Jax. Um, yeah, I'm a little bit waiting and a what in over the Yoast's. Like, I'm not sure exactly how this is going to work out. Now we know it works out because we know Ned is still in Hope Valley. Um, but yeah, it's like, okay, well, he's not making money prospecting.

[00:23:37] I know they're taking over the job from BJL, but like, how much is that paying? Is this actually sustainable? I don't know. It's okay. It doesn't matter because BJL got to save the day as we knew she would because we know that there was, I mean, we knew that they're still in Hope Valley. So we knew that there was no danger of this, but I'm, I'm just not sure. Are they going to make Ned's dad a little less dweeby soon?

[00:24:08] Like, you know what I mean? Have you seen Ned? And it's not the act, the act is playing it really well. It's just like, I'll be interested to see. It seems like his wife is also having to do a lot of emotional management and she's postpartum. So maybe like get it together. Maybe get it together. Maybe. Yeah. Is that it? That is it.

[00:24:35] I mean, as nice as the fainting was when he picks her up and brings her inside and lays her down on that beautiful, nice white couch with her muddy boots. I couldn't help but be concerned. And it got me thinking about how white, like they probably like, we have a lot of cleaners now that can help get stains out. I don't know what their stain situation was. Probably. Yeah.

[00:25:02] So it's like, dude, she's going to come to, she's going to come to, and she's going to see that you put her on that white couch with her muddy boots and she's going to be pissed. It's bold to have a white couch in 1874. It really is. It really is. Bold decision. And then just like, how many rooms are there in this boarding house? Because like, you know, she and Sarah are going to be staying in a room, right? She is renting a room to Alexander.

[00:25:31] And then now the Yosts are moving in. How many, and not, she's not going to be getting money for that either. They're going to be working the mess tent, but this becomes the queen of hearts where he has people stay there. Right. That's this building. Yeah, that's right. So it's always in, in wind calls the heart. It's always kind of like people come in and they stay there and there never is a cap on how many rooms. It's just like, how many do we need it to be?

[00:25:59] It's like, you know, the house just keeps going. And so in my head, 10, in my head, it's one of those classic, like Western saloons that you go upstairs and it's got all of these rooms in it. Yeah. So in my head, 10 is the number. I don't, I know that that's weird. It doesn't seem like there's enough for 10 in just the upstairs, but in my head, it's 10 brand. That's my, in my, in my, in my head, it's seven and seven. Great. How many is it for you? Yeah. Right. Six, okay. Seven.

[00:26:29] Ah, skibbity toilet. I'm going to use one of the room. I, I will say like if her and her daughters are in a room and then, uh, Mountie's in a room and paying her the $7 a week. And then she's giving a Yoast a room. I, but she's making money on that Yoast deal because they're, they're selling food at the mess tent. Yes.

[00:26:54] So like, yeah, he's still making the money from the sale of the food at the mess tent. Right. Minus the, whatever it is a week to stay at the, that's right. So she is, uh, she's doing well then. I think she's off to a great start on the, uh, she's still going to be cooking or is, are they going to deal? Yeah. I don't know what the deal is there because if they, yeah, that would be maybe a, uh, a hopes and valleys, but like how, like they, they, they have free room and board now.

[00:27:23] But how are they going to make money if they're working for their room and board? How are they going to make money to live? They still like, now they have a roof over there. Well, I think, I think he's still going to be able to go out and prospect. Okay. She's going to run the mess tent with the baby. Yeah. Baby net. Yeah. Gotcha. Gotcha. All right. Dan. Yeah. Yeah. I only have two. One is, uh, Bethany Joy Lynn says very casually that my husband went to war right after our child was born.

[00:27:51] Um, and what, uh, so the, the only war near there in 1860 was a pretty famous one called the civil war. Uh, but hope Valley is in Western Canada. Right. But they were in Chicago. Oh, they were in Chicago. Yeah. Oh, that's where they're from. I thought they moved from somewhere else in Canada. No, they're from Chicago. So time out.

[00:28:20] Now I have a bigger question then. So she moved from Chicago to Canada. Yeah. I thought they were from just a big city in Canada. They were from Chicago. Yeah. I guess I've heard that in the show before. Why did she move to Canada? Because there wasn't going to be any policing in the, uh, in that part of Canada. There wasn't supposed to be. That's why she, how in the world for hope Valley is Western.

[00:28:47] How are, how is the, how is her in law getting that picture all the way from Western Canada? It's a good question. It was in the Chicago Tribune. Yeah. Now that you're saying it was Chicago. It's the Chicago Tribune is a real newspaper. It was like the Chicago, like whatever, whatever it was, whatever it was. It was a, but it does say Chicago. It does. You're right. You're 100% right. Why are they getting Mountie pictures from Western Canada in Chicago in 1874?

[00:29:17] I think part of this campaign was that it was like, we're going to encourage people to come and settle on the frontier. Why would they encourage people to move to Canada in Chicago? Actually. Yeah. Why are they doing that in Chicago? They wouldn't move to the America, to, to United States. Yeah. Like that. All of that region was settled. That is all where Hope Valley is, is British North America. It is not American territory. Yeah.

[00:29:43] Why would they be advertising for people to go to Canada in Chicago? Let me see if I can see what the headline is on the. No, it is Chicago, but it's definitely Chicago. You're 100% right. Yeah. I just want to see what the. Also. I love that. That photo is so accurate. That's my next. That's my next. Wait, what? So I only have one more. Wait, what? And it is, this is a drawing. This is a hand drawing. Hey, it's tech. The homework. We're back.

[00:30:13] This is a hand drawing of Bethany, Joy lens and her daughter that they have printed in a printing press. And Bethany, Joy lens is mother-in-law in Chicago is like, that is my daughter-in-law. Definitely. Definitely.

[00:30:31] And, and here's the thing is if you drew someone by hand in the year of our Lord, 2026, and you printed it in a printing press and then sent like prints of that print across the country, I would say there are mother-in-laws out there. That's wouldn't, wouldn't recognize it. Now in 1874, that's bonkers. That's a bonkers. That's a bonkers take that a mother-in-law in Chicago can see a hand drawn picture.

[00:31:01] That's been reprinted on a printing press and go, I know who that is. That's crazy. Right? Jax. That's insane. Oh, completely. But you know what I did love? I love how this actress in a good way played it like a mustache twirling villain. I'm like, Oh, she's going to kill them. Like, like, yes, it was so cool. But for her to idea it and then be like, yeah, that's definitely them. I'm going to get them.

[00:31:26] And then, but now my biggest weight, what maybe of the whole Hope Valley universe is why are people in Chicago, Illinois advertising to send people to Canada? Yeah. The headline is just opportunity in the Northwest. That's crazy. That is just about guys frontier offers possibility.

[00:31:47] The idea in 1874 that any American publication would send people to the Brit to what it was called British North America at that point is one of the worst historical things they could do. Like, that is not a thing. They would have sent you to the United States. They would have sent you to the land that the U.S. had claims over.

[00:32:13] They would not send you to, to claim British land and help establish British presence. That doesn't make any sense. That is, that is terrible. For women of the frontier opportunity takes a difference, but equally vital forms. Households must be established provisions prepared. Yeah. And you know where that was happening? Oklahoma. That's where in the sooner, like there were a lot of women who stake the claim for their families.

[00:32:43] First, when the land opened up. California. Sure. In 1874, the idea that the United States of America would be like, go to Canada, help the British. That is crazy. Like, write better TV guys. Just write better TV. You could have easily made it capital city or whatever is up there. Make it. Well, Dan, sorry for not being smarter than this.

[00:33:10] But was there like any chance in the late 1800s that that part of Canada was like up for grabs could become a part of America or. No. In fact, there were some disputed territory in what's now like Washington and a little above it. And that disputed territory was settled by a lot of like nonviolent wars and like stand ins, like very quick wars.

[00:33:34] But you would have never sent folks like you would have sent folks when no one was there. So like in a little bit south of where Hope Valley, I think is like in like the Washington state area, you would have definitely sent folks there to took the more people that were there. The better your chances were that that nation could claim it. But an already settled territory in what is very clearly British North America, what now is known as Canada.

[00:34:03] That is where they like you would never. And if you look at by 1874, that was that was the done deal. Chicago, Illinois would have never sent folks there just like. Well, I mean, this is, you know, relatively still new. Like it doesn't even they don't have a name yet. And that's true. Land is still up for grabs, you know, and when when what's her name? Rebecca went out there. She went out there with the understanding that it was a free for all.

[00:34:30] So the problem is, is that I looked it up to make sure the Canadian border at Washington state, all of those like I there were there were several skirmishes that happened in that area. All of that was decided on the Oregon Treaty in 1846. So 30 years before this, like this is a this is a gaping hole in logic. And I in the chat, Katie says it would have made more sense for that letter from her friend to say your in-laws are in Canada and looking for you.

[00:35:00] Yes. Yes, that's really smart. And then they see the ad in the Union City paper. That makes all sense to the world. As soon as you said Chicago, I was like, I'm so stupid. They've been saying Chicago this whole time. Then why didn't I think of it? And the reason I didn't think of it is because it doesn't make any. It doesn't make any sense for people in Chicago to be being sold on the idea of going to Canada. Like, do you dish pizza yet in Chicago? Oh, God, I could one could only hope. You know what I mean? One could only I doubt it, but one could only hope.

[00:35:29] I it's called also Dan, the Chicago progress progress progress. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's 250 a year to get that paper. It's a Canadian newspaper in Chicago. So because Chicago progress. That's right. To find out about the progress of. That's right. Chicago. You get it. Yeah. Well, okay, let's get to our hopes and valleys. Although I feel like we're here. Yeah. But Jax.

[00:35:55] Yeah, I'm hopeful that Olivia and Alexander are going to kiss big ones. As my friend Brandon would say, I want them to kiss big ones. Um, and my valley is Rebecca are going to kiss big ones and I don't want her to kiss him. I love that. That I love that, that, that character is going to like, they're clearly going to kiss. And I'm actually fine with them kissing. I love that.

[00:36:23] They're at least giving us something that isn't just a pure unadulterated night and shine in Roman character. Completely. I love, I think it's more interesting to watch. I just don't like him now. He becomes, you know, Boaz, the kinsman redeemer. If he becomes like this, this dude that's here to right all the wrongs. If he becomes that guy, this show is going to suck in a hurry. So like, I am fine with them getting together as long as he continues to be a, I'm not entirely

[00:36:53] sure about him guy. I know that sounds crazy, but that's where I am with it. And that would be my hope as well. So I'll, that's my brain. Um, my hope is that Doyle and daughter have, um, a wonderful career in prospecting and prosperous for them both. And I also hope that we find out that he's a really bad guy because if not, I'm confused by.

[00:37:20] I think that's the joy lens, his daughter's doing a fine job by the way. Like she is to like almost like spit dip out of the side of her mouth and her scenes. And it's fantastic. Fantastic. And her, her telling him you shouldn't, you should have stood. There's nothing. I want more than Doyle to be a more upstanding citizen than Tom. That would be the best. Like if we find that out, then I will have been like, man, they really learned something from when calls the heart. Like they learn now, is it going to be Gwen trying on the dress and loving it? Yeah.

[00:37:48] It's probably going to be that let's be honest, but it can I hope, can I hope that Doyle is actually has more honor than Tom? Yeah, I can hope. Yeah. Um, all right. Do we have a, what's called my heart, Dan? We don't, we don't. Okay. Send us an email. Hello. And tell us what's calling your heart this week. We're going to skip it because we don't have one in that. What's calling our heart. I feel he's like, thank God. I, he's not mad at all about it. Yeah.

[00:38:15] I've never been so happy to not have an email who is thundering outside. Yeah, it is. Okay. Um, all right. We did it, everybody. Congratulations to us. We're back next week, two more episodes. So we're coming down to it. That's right. Back for that. Until then, we're the first to wish you a Merry Christmas. Deck the Hallmark is a Bramble Jam podcast produced by Brandon Gray and yeah, that Greenville, South Carolina for more information on the show, go to deck the hallmark.com or at deck the

[00:38:42] Hallmark on the socials, leave us a rating and review on Apple podcast five stars. If you please, please then head on over to Facebook to find the best community on the internet, ad free podcasting, live video, watch ones, movie chats, and so much more. You can join at Bramble Jam plus.com. You're about to hear some ads that help keep the lights on here in the old studio. Thanks for listening or don't listen. It's really up to you at this point.

[00:39:12] It's at the end of the show. I mean, you're listening to me. Hi, but here they come. I promise they're coming. Yep. Here they are. Happy day. Bye.