When Calls the Heart Season 13 needs to happen and this devastating storyline proves it

Season 12 has finally silenced its “this is boring” haters (including me). When Calls the Heart has just dropped a plot that will rip our hearts in two… and hopefully secure Season 13.

If you’ve been watching When Calls the Heart and Hallmark’s other hit show The Way Home at the same time, you’ll know the tonal whiplash I go through on a weekly basis. The latter is absolutely unhinged, assaulting its audience with more ridiculous storylines than Riverdale.

Time spent in Hope Valley meanwhile feels completely the opposite. Sometimes, the most exciting storyline we have going is Mike and Mei struggling to read a recipe for cookies, and that ain’t exactly gripping TV. The Garrison gang case has had more bite, but it’s been inconsistent. So why would we keep watching?

Fans want When Calls the Heart Season 13, but up until now, I don’t think there’s been enough of a reason to give it another go. It’s almost as if Hallmark heard my internal complaints, because they’ve just delivered an absolute gutpunch of a storyline that definitely can’t be wrapped up in the remaining two episodes. 

When Calls the Heart putting Little Jack in danger won’t just disappear

Hallmark

Just as Season 12 Episode 10 was ending, Elizabeth and Nathan found Little Jack collapsed in a bush. He’s been struggling to stay awake at school, always complaining about being hungry and thirsty. Typical behavior for a six-year-old, right? Nope! Jack officially has diabetes, and that’s a problem.

Remember, we’re in 1921. While diabetes can be controlled with daily insulin injections now, that wasn’t the case 100 years ago. Insulin wasn’t even invented until 1921 and wasn’t made publicly available until 1923. Read between the lines and that means Jack is in trouble.

We left Episode 10 with Elizabeth and Nathan in tears, while the Episode 11 teaser suggests Faith will put Jack forward for a “risky” treatment program. Things will definitely get worse before they get better, and in a twisted way, that’s excellent news for the show.

Hallmark

Arguably, When Calls the Heart hasn’t been this dark since Jack (his dad, not the little one) died in a landslide accident, and even that was off-screen. We’re not only about to see his son potentially killed off, but having to deal with a perilous lifelong condition as a best case scenario. 

Clearly, this isn’t an issue that’s magically going to go away, and as much as we love watching Elizabeth and Nathan’s relationship or Rosemary’s blossoming radio show, Jack’s health is the strongest reason for why Season 13 should be renewed. Nobody is going to be mean to a sick kid and his struggling family, are they? Not even Hallmark.

I should say that When Calls the Heart’s everyday charm (let’s call the boring bits that) is what makes the show so endearing. People tune in because there isn’t as much sensationalism as you might find in a Netflix series, but still. There’s got to be some gusto somewhere. 

Frankly, Hallmark’s choice to make said gusto giving Jack diabetes is a shocking one. Even I was taken aback when I watched the final few scenes – the episode synopsis made it seem like a runny nose, for God’s sake. But expect the unexpected, as they say… and that’s how you get your show renewed after an 11-year run. 

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. You can also check out the best Hallmark TV shows of all time.