- - After the Fire, Hope Valley Faces Its First Reckoning in When Calls the Heart Season 13 Episode 3

K.L. Connie WangJanuary 18, 2026 at 9:01 PM

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[WARNING: The below contains major spoilers for When Calls the Heart Season 13 Episode 3, “Back to School.”]

Hearties! We're slowly inching toward the midpoint of Season 13. We'll be there before you know it. Do you think we'll discover who or what started the wildfires before then? Or will we see more suspects pop up? Read on for more about season 13 episode 3 episode, "Back to School," of When Calls the Heart, which aired Jan. 18, 2026.

Here's our spoiler-filled recap of the Season 13, Episode 3, of When Calls the Heart.

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When Calls the Heart Season 13 Episode 3 RecapA New School Year Begins

The school year has begun and Elizabeth (Erin Krakow) is busy trying to clear the classroom of the ash from the fire. Her "Welcome Back" banner looks a little far too perfect to be hand drawn, am I right, Hearties?

When the school day begins, the school house is packed. Along with the regular students from Hope Valley, the kids from Benson Hills are now in attending class until other arrangements can be made. There’s a somber mood in the classroom. The kids from Benson Hills don’t seem to want to be there and the Hope Valley kids don’t seem to want the Benson Hills kids to be there either.

The Investigation Begins

There are flyers all over town asking for information leading to information on who or what started the fire. Molly (Johannah Newmarch) mentions to Lee (Kavan Smith) that she saw a man walk into the forest with what might be a can of kerosene. Lee insists she tell Nathan (Kevin McGarry) and Bill (Jack Wagner) and marches her over to the Mounties office.

When Molly describes the man she saw it sounds a lot like McGinty (Kevin McNulty). Lee is insistent that they go get McGinty but Nathan and Bill try to calm him down as they don’t have enough evidence to arrest anyone. Nathan’s charted a burn pattern and hopes to get back more information from Capital City in a few days which may lead them to a culprit.

Related: Who Started the Goldie National Park Fire on ‘When Calls the Heart’? All the Top Suspects

Lucas and Edie Go Up Against Vendors and Insurance Companies

Lucas (Chris McNally) is fighting with vendors who are trying to price gouge the families dealing with the aftermath of the fire. Edie (Miranda MacDougall) helps him with legal statutes he can quote to scare them into submission. She invites him to a community meeting she’s holding to help the families deal with the insurance process. He says he'll be there, but when Edwin (Erik Gow) arrives, insistent he take a dinner meeting with the head of the railroad, Benjamin Camberwell (Seth Ranaweera), who will donate to his campaign and endorse him, Lucas agrees even though it will cut into his time at the community meeting. When the dinner with Camberwell runs long because he is wasting his time with Lucas, spending part of it calling his broker to buy a racing pony, Lucas leaves to try to the community but arrives too late.

It's Field Day at the School

It's Battle of the Network Stars over at the school when Elizabeth ushers the students outside for some fun. To get their minds off the fire and to build community amongst the students, she has the students pair up from before - one each from Benson Hills and Hope Valley) and they run through an obstacle course.

Kavan Smith, Pascale Hutton. Credit: ©2025 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Ricardo HubbsLee Gets Arrested

McGinty comes into the saloon so Lee calls Molly at the switchboard and tells her to come by to see if he’s the man she saw go into the forest. He calls the Mountie office also. When McGinty is about to leave, Lee confronts him. The two get into an argument and bump into one another. McGinty feigns a fall and calls for Lee to be arrested. Nathan comes in at the tail end of the argument and has to take Lee off to jail.

Gwendolyn Acts Out

Gwendolyn (Alex MacIsaac) does not want to go to school until her dad returns, especially not in the dress that Rosemary (Pascale Hutton) has for her. Rosemary tells her that her father will be in the hospital for a while and it’s far too long for her to be out of school. Lee makes a deal with Gwen that if she goes to school she doesn't have to wear the dress. This prompts her to go to school. Lee tells Rosemary she doesn't need to solve all the world's problems in just one day.

At school, Elizabeth finds Gwendolyn carving into her desk with a some of Rosemary’s prized heirloom silverware. Elizabeth lets Rosemary know of Gwendolyn's side project and Rosemary is ready to give up on her, but Elizabeth convinces her that she and Lee are are just what Gwendolyn needs right now.

When Lee returns from his stint in jail, he's a bit in the doldrums and even though Rosemary made his favorite brownies, Lee’s not in the mood and decides he wants some alone time outside with this woodworking project (Essentially, the turn of the century version of a man cave.) He heads out and Gwendolyn soon arrives home. She’s being her usual self so Rosemary has an idea and has Gwen take a brownie out to Lee. The two end up bonding over his woodworking. Lee is the same calming influence on Gwen as he's always been on Rosemary.

Related: 3 Babies in 6 Weeks?! A Massive Baby Boom is Blessing the Cast of When Calls the Heart—See Which Stars are Expecting!

Mike and Mei Offer a Hand to Maisie

Mayor Hickam (Samatha Ferris) wants to be there for her townspeople and refusing any help, but her younger brother, Mike (Ben Rosenbaum) insists she stay with him and Mei (Amanda Wong). She brushes him off and it's only when Mei comes by to talk to her that she reconsiders.

Jacob Shoemay Credit: ©2025 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Ricardo HubbsOliver Goes the Extra Mile to Impress Allie

Allie (Jaeda Lily Miller) tells Oliver (Jacob Shoemay) about Rupert (Rhys Slack), a Benson Hills student and his obsession with Rome and Julius Caesar. Oliver is surprised to discover Caesar was a real person and a character in a Shakespeare play. He feels at a loss in the conversation with Allie so he makes his excuses and leaves. Elizabeth later finds him in the town library trying to read Julius Caesar. She offers to meet up with him one morning a week to discuss poetry and other writers and starts him off on Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass which he later quotes to Allie, leaving her impressed.

Toby and Cooper Come Clean to Elizabeth

Toby (Billy Christos Jr.) and Cooper (Elias Leacock) come to see Elizabeth and we find out why they've been acting strangely. It turns out the day of the fire, they stopped to eat some stew Cooper had. They built a small fire to heat the stew and put out the fire, but wonder if they didn't put it out correctly. What if it was they that started the fire?

Did Nathan propose to Elizabeth this week on When Calls the Heart?

No proposal this week, Hearties! Nathan was busy investigating the cause of the fire with Bill to plan a proposal. Do you think he'll do an elaborate proposal and something really simple? Let us know in the comments or tweet us on X.

What did you think of this week's episode? What or who did you think started the fire? Let us know in the comments below.

When Calls the Heart airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on Hallmark Channel and can be streamed the next day on Hallmark+.

Next, When Calls the Heart Family Tree, Explained.

This story was originally published by Parade on Jan 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the TV section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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