It’s been a long wait, but new episodes of When Hope Calls are finally here. Season 2 of the When Calls the Heart spinoff series premiered April 6 on Great American Family, more than five years after the show’s 2019 debut and three years after the show’s 2021 Christmas special.
As expected, there have been some changes in Brookfield since we last checked in on the frontier town. The season 2 premiere introduces two brand-new characters, played by Cindy Busby and Christopher Russell, while also setting the stage for the exit of one familiar face.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for the When Hope Calls Season 2 premiere.]
Lillian worries for her sister in the ‘When Hope Calls’ Season 2 premiere
When Hope Calls Season 1 followed two sisters, Lillian (Morgan Kohan) and Grace (Jocelyn Hudon), who were orphaned as children. Each girl was adopted by a different family, leading to a long separation. After reconnecting as adults, they opened an orphanage in the small town of Brookfield.
While Lillian and Grace have a close bond, when season 2 opens, they are separated once again. Grace has moved to London (as revealed in the Christmas special), and she’s now married to Chuck and expecting a child. But the pregnancy has been difficult, and Lillian has decided to travel abroad to be with her sister.
“No ocean will keep me from being by your side in your hour of need,” she says in a letter to her sibling.
Lillian is leaving the orphanage in the capable hands of Eleanor (Elizabeth Saunders). But traveling abroad means a separation from the love of her life, Gabriel (Ryan-James Hatanaka), who is away on a mountie mission.
Lillian discovers a special family connection
As Lillian prepares to leave Brookfield and Gabriel behind, an unexpected visitor arrives at the orphanage. Nora Anderson (Busby) is a lawyer who has personal business with Lillian.
“I knew your mother, Ethel … She’s was my sister. Lillian, you’re my niece,” Nora tells a stunned Lillian, who can’t understand why she’s just now learning she has an aunt.
“My parents forbid your mother from marrying your father,” Nora explains. When Ethel went through with the wedding anyway, her family cut her off completely. For a time, Ethel wrote letters to her younger sister. But Nora and her family moved to San Francisco, and she and Ethel lost touch. Years later, Ethel’s parents learned their daughter had died, but they did not realize she had children. Recently, Nora set out to discover what had happened to her older sister. She hired a private investigator to find Ethel’s grave. In the process, she learned of Grace and Lillian’s existence.
At first, Lillian doesn’t greet her aunt with open arms. She’s hurt that her mother’s family never thought to find out what happened to their daughter. But as she gets to know Nora and watches her interact with the children at the orphanage, her attitude shifts. At the end of the episode, she invites Nora to stay in Brookfield. Nora accepts.
“I’d love nothing more than to spend more time with you,” she says.
Will Nora become a permanent resident of Brookfield? With Lillian leaving town (at least temporarily), Nora seems like the perfect person to take over the orphanage. And will Nora’s meet-cute with the town’s new Mountie (Russell) blossom into something more? Find out when new episodes of When Hope Calls Season 2 air Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on Great American Family. Want to watch new episodes early? Pure Flix subscribers can stream new episodes weekly on Thursdays, before they air on TV.
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