Going Home

Season 2, Episode 22, Aired
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Episode Summary

Feeling pleased and hopeful about the success of his current crop, Charles and his family must confront serious devastation when it is completely destroyed by a tornado. Never one to get discouraged and throw in the towel after facing adversity, Charles stuns his wife and children with his reaction to this loss, and he makes a life-changing decision without consulting them first.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (2)

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  • An excellent way to end Season 2 as good fortune turns to great failure and the Ingalls family just may have to leave Walnut Grove.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By Lady_Lancaster, Dec 12, 2011 Report Abuse
    With a bumper crop ready to harvest, Charles and Caroline are delighted with their future prospects until the whole thing is destroyed by a freak tornado which wipes out everything. Naturally, the Ingalls family are devastated, but Caroline, the girls and family friends are stunned when Charles announces that he cannot take anymore of Walnut Grove's disappointments and wishes to return to his family home in Wisconsin.

    Needless to say, this side of Charles is one seldom seen and nobody is really sure hope to cope with it as he has always been able to start again before. Finally, it is Caroline who raises his spirits and tells him they will indeed start again - in Walnut Grove. They may have lost everything but to her, that is no reason not to put everything back together again and pick up the pieces. Which is exactly what they do. A lesson for us all and a fantastic episode for all "Little House" fans.moreless

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  • Probably the best episode of Season 2 and among the series' best.

    8.6
    "Great"
    By Mac-Ale, Aug 23, 2011 Report Abuse
    The Ingall's have their crop wiped out yet again, but this time Charles decides to give up and leave Minnesota.

    I sometimes think this episode is overlooked, it doesn't have the drama of "His Father's Son" or the tragedy of "Remember Me". What it does have is a real commitment to the values that Landon wanted to establish for the series -- the worth of a united family. There are many memorable lines and conversations, including Laura saying that a family that "pulls together can do anything", and Charles' out-loud realization the he decided to sell the farm without ever asking his wife or children ( a nice nod to 70s era sensibilities, and at the same time, to a recipe that probably was pretty important to pioneer families). This episode also sets up the romance between Mary and John Jr., something that continues into the next season and ends abruptly the season after that (pretty nice acting given that Radames Pera and Melissa Sue Anderson didn't like each other). The use of the older couple, the Simms, is also effective as a reminder of the type of people who established the midwestern farms of the American frontier.

    David Rose really does an excellent job with the musical scoring here, adapting his bouncy and rather 70s style "young kids in love" trumpet arrangement common to "For the Love of Johnny Johnson" and "To See the World" into a full orchestral string composition, making it much grander and more sentimental. His theme for Mary Ingalls is also embellished, and there are flourishes added onto the main musical score near the end of the episode.

    Maybe my only quibble is with the impossible time line hinted at in this episode and common to many entries in the series. Its seems possible that the Simms did homestead the land that the Ingalls owned forty years earlier, but its a lot less plausible that they were married in the same church that exists in Walnut Grove at the time of the story.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Mary and John Jr express their romantic feelings in this episode, when the character of Mary is only 13 years old. In a 2006 interview, Melissa Sue Anderson stated that she "couldn't really get into the idea of being in love at such a young age," and that actor Ramades Pera (John, Jr.) was "more interested in making our scenes work than I was." Edit
    • In this episode, Laura turns to the devout Reverend Alden for support with her family's troubles. In Season 1's The Lord is My Shepherd, Part 1 Laura had a similar heart-to-heart with the Reverend after her baby brother died--although in that episode, she didn't tell the Reverend exactly what she was upset about. Edit
    • Early in this episode, when Mr. Edwards attempts to offer Charles some comfort and understanding, Charles quickly balks, "No, you don't understand! You still have your crop!" It's certainly very out of character for Charles to speak this way to a friend, and what's more, Charles was aware of the turmoils that Mr. Edwards went through in losing his wife and daughter--pain that arguably goes well beyond having your crops destroyed. Charles should not have instantly assumed that Mr. Edwards didn't understand his troubles, and it was not like him to behave that way. Edit

  • Notes

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    • Filming Locations: Filmed at Big Sky Ranch, Simi Valley and Paramount Studios, Hollywood, California. Edit
    • In this episode, Charles' entire crop of "corn as high as your head" is destroyed. This would lead the viewer to believe that he's decided to stick with growing corn, a crop intorduced to him in season 2's Money Crop. However, just four episodes before Going Home aired, Charles and Isaiah Edwards were attempting to sell their bumper crop of wheat ("The Long Road Home") at market. Apparently, the writers couldn't make up their minds which crop he was growing! Edit
    • A tornado impacted the Ingalls family in this episode. Laura would come close to being killed by a tornado a second time in Season 8's Days of Sunshine, Days of Shadow, Part 2. Edit

  • Quotes

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    • Charles: Did you finish your supper already? Laura: I wasn't hungry. Charles: That doesn't sound like you. Laura: I'm just too sad to eat, I guess. Charles: Just because you're sad, that's no reason to starve yourself. Laura: You didn't eat, either. Charles: (long pause) No, I guess I didn't. Laura: (runs and hugs him) Please, Pa, let us stay here! Charles: Half-Pint, we can't. I tried. I want you to know that. Laura: But we can do it, Pa! I know we can! I'm bigger now, and I can work like Mary does. You even said yourself that when this family pulls together, we can do anything. Please, Pa, just try! Charles: Half-Pint, I can't. I want you to understand. Laura: I do. I do understand. You quit trying. We could've done it together, but you quit trying! Edit

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