When Calls the Heart Season 12 trailer plants major clue for shocking new storyline

Stars have already told us When Calls the Heart Season 12 is about to get dark, but the new trailer might have given away exactly how the bad times will unfold.

Where the first half of Season 12 was full of life, laughs, and dancing, future episodes aren’t set to be so rosy. Stars Kevin McGarry and Erin Krakow revealed a darker storyline is set to “shatter” Hope Valley, though what that is remains unknown.

However, we do know one thing – whatever is coming, it’s going to be “poignant” to the times. When Calls the Heart is now set in 1921, with Episode 7 officially welcoming in the Roaring 20s with Toddy’s raucous party.

Rosemary’s take on The Importance of Being Earnest is quite literally stealing the show, but a behind-the-scenes look at rehearsals might have just given away the dark times to come in Hope Valley.

Hope Valley illness could be devastating for When Calls the Heart Season 12

In the below teaser for When Calls the Heart Season 12 Episode 8, the majority of Rosemary’s cast come down with illness – potentially flagging a disease pandemic is on the way.

Alongside characters literally telling us (and each other) that they’re unwell, our “poignant” marker comes into play here. At the turn of the 1920s, the world was at the mercy of the Spanish Influenza pandemic, which claimed the lives of allegedly up to 100 million people.

At the time, the US was still dusting itself down from its involvement in World War I, with the flu afflicting over 25% of the US population. In one year, the average life expectancy in the United States dropped by 12 years.

Sticklers for detail will say 1921 puts this just outside of the official pandemic reach, but there are two reasons why we can’t rule it out completely. Firstly, TV shows don’t tend to stick rigidly to historical accuracy, meaning there’s definitely wriggle room for when Hope Valley could be affected.

Hallmark

The second is Hope Valley itself. Being such an isolated, rural community – it’s only just got radio, for God’s sake – chances are townsfolk would have been exposed to illness at a delayed rate. Therefore, it’s totally possible disease would have hit When Calls the Heart a lot later on.

Of course, none of this is confirmed yet. All we know for definite is that Rosemary’s play is affected, and will be adapted ingeniously into a radio play. Bill, Lee, and Mike are all sick, with Elizabeth still recovering from her fever in Episode 6.

All in all… it’s not a very healthy time to be in the Valley.

When Calls the Heart Season 12 is airing weekly on the Hallmark channel. Catch up with its episode release schedule and how to watch outside of the US.