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Little House on the Prairie Season 9 Episode 10

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 11/29/82

Laura's childhood friend, Jane Canfield, comes back to Walnut Grove. Despite her blindness, she develops a fondness for Isaiah Edwards (who is twice her age), and the two gradually fall in love. Jane's vision is restored when she receives the rare opportunity to have eye surgery, and Isaiah is hopeful about building a future with her, but negative input from his friends may turn this into one of the most difficult decisions of his life.moreless

Fan Episode Reviews (4)

Another May-December Romance...Foiled Again

6.7

By millerem99, May 11, 2011

In this episode, just like in Doctor's Lady, an older Walnut Grove gent (this time around it is Isaiah Edwards) loses a younger babe/wife-to-be thanks to drawing his own conclusions that he's too far over-the-hill.

A couple problems with this episode, besides the fact that it's essentially a repeat on Doctor Baker's dashed dreams: What male have you ever known who would deny himself a young, pretty woman...especially if he was genuinely in love. I thought the age difference (which was common in those days)a poor reason to kill a budding romance and the chance for happiness (at last!) for poor Mr. Edwards. Give the guy a break!

Additionally, what really irks one is Laura's uppity attitude and advice to Mr. Edwards in telling him he is too old. Laura spent the greater part of Season 6 trying to convince a man who was too old for her to take interest in her! She threw temper tantrums when her parents agreed that she was too young for Almanzo as well! It seems calloused and out-of-character that she would try to derail dear Mr. Edwards' latest attempts to alleve loneliness.moreless
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A young blind girl named Jane and Mr.Edwards fall in love. She undergoes a succesful operation to regain her sight and though she still wants a relationship. Mr.Edwards turns her down because he has concluded that he is too old for her.moreless

3.5

By richarddye, May 11, 2011

I signed up just to review this episode. I wondered if my personal experiences dating much younger people and my mixed feelings about it were making me biased toward this episode in some way. I am relieved to find other reviewers here feel the same way. Something was very wrong with this episode. Admittedly, they did not go for the easy, obvious, feel-good ending and indeed, Mr. Edwards was probably a bit too old, however, the end result is that a genuine love both people felt was simply ignored because of peer pressure and societal expectations. Laura Ingalls Wilder, who is Jane's friend, displays her unspoken disapproval through a complete lack of support when Mr.Edwards shares his feelings with her. Edwards noble gesture ends up being a huge disappointment because he is right when he in anguish tells Laura that she(jane) is an "adult". I do not recall if they state her age but they do say he is 45 and she is "1/2" his age. So I'll say 22. At that age, should she not be allowed to pursue it?? She is, or should be, perfectly capable of making her own decisions and even her own mistakes. Did Laura forget that she was barely 19 when she married an older man?

Victor French does a remarkable job bringing depth to the character as he portrays the deep loneliness and agonizing struggle the character feels as he acknowledges and then resists his own feelings and the feelings of Jane. Still, the writers dropped the ball here. Having Mr. Edwards voluntarily and willfully choosing the sad and hollow ending would be acceptable or noble if in fact he was absolutely doing the "right" or "moral" thing. However, in this case, the decision is at the least, debatable and not entirely clear.moreless
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We remember this plot material from Season 1 with Doc Baker, and quite honestly, it was done much better that time around.

5.0

By ecgirl08, May 11, 2011

Eight years ago, in Season 1's "Doctor's Lady," a very similar episode was filmed, only that time, it focused on Doc Baker falling in love with a woman half his age. In this episode, we are subjected to watching poor Mr. Edwards--whose marriage to Grace Snider shattered about a year ago--attempt a relationship with Jane Canfield, a young blind woman who has a chance at an eye-restoring surgery. The kicker? She is the exact same age as Laura, whom Mr. Edwards has treated as a daughter ever since he met her in the pilot episode.

I'm sure this episode had good intentions, but it is a carbon copy of a plot that was written way back in Season 1, and quite honestly, it just isn't very interesting to watch. I think most audiences would have much rather seen Mr. Edwards have a chance at running into Grace again and repairing his relationship with her, instead of diving head-first into a romance with an 18-year old that is simply doomed to fail. Mr. Edwards was always an incredibly complex character who brought all kinds of pain and disappointment upon himself by making foolish choices. Personally, I think that the writers would have been much better off to bring Grace and their two younger adopted children back into the fold, giving Mr. Edwards a truly legitimate shot at finding happiness again with the family that helped transform him into a better person in the first place. Sadly, that road was not taken, and I'm sure they had their reasons for it, but it is still disappointing.

As for Jane, she is a plenty likable character who supposedly attended Mary and Adam's blind school and befriended Laura when they were stationed in Walnut Grove (which was during Seasons 5 and 6). My question is how and when Laura ever made friends with any of the children at the blind school when she had her own school and her own life. She visited the blind school on occasion, but she certainly never appeared to have any particular friends there. I guess that could be considering nitpicking, however. The story written was good about Jane regaining her sight by being one of the first recipients of a special eye surgery, although the whole thing seemed rushed and slapped together poorly. It just seemed like they were itching for some quick plot material and resorted to this, which may have been more interesting if Mary and Adam were still part of the series, but they moved on a couple years ago, and we haven't heard anything about the blind school/children in quite a while.

Overall, it's not one of my favorite episodes, and the plot is so contrived, you can sense right from the beginning exactly how it's going to turn out, and you know it's going to be a painful "Let's kick Mr. Edwards down" type of thing. I always appreciated the depth and strong development of his character, but sometimes you just don't feel like watching him plunge into yet another hopeless situation. Jane was a sweet, solid character to see, but because she was a "one-hit wonder" who never appeared again, we don't get to see much growth there, which is a shame. Not only that, but at this point, Mr. Edwards had very recently adopted former "Wild Boy" Matthew, and rather than take the time to provide a more in-depth look at their new life together, a wasteful, recycled episode like this was formed. I can only give it 5 stars out of 10 this time.moreless
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A childhood friend of lauras who is blind come to Walnut Grove Mr Edwards is very kind to her in the process they both fall in love

5.0

By bengolly, Aug 20, 2007

I found this one having so much potential and the writers blew it in the end. A childhood friend of lauras who is blind come to Walnut Grove. Mr Edwards is very kind to her in the process they both fall in love, but age difference and outside opinions of the various towns people and Laura sway Edwards mind to do not as he feels strongly in his soul but what other may say obout him. Which breaks both their hearts.

Mr Edwards and Jane should have gotten together. Their feelings were true. No lust just true human emotion and caring. I liked this episode until the last 5 minutes.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Dean Butler	Almanzo James Wilder (co-star prior to season 7)
Melissa Gilbert	Laura Elizabeth Ingalls/Wilder
Kevin Hagen	Dr. Hiram Baker
Richard Bull	Nels Oleson
Katherine MacGregor	Harriet Oleson
David Friedman	Jason Carter (1982 - 1983)

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Lorrie Blower	Nurse	Guest Star
Jill Schoelen	Jane Canfield	Guest Star
Walker Edmiston	Dr. Vanderan	Guest Star
Elmore Vincent	Floyd	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (4)
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- At the beginning of this season, Mr. Edwards said he couldn't read, but in this episode, he read the letter that Jane gave to him.
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- When Laura handed baby Rose to Jane, you could see that Rose was wearing a disposable diaper. That was almost 100 years before they were invented.
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- Mr. Edwards had adopted young Matthew by the time this episode aired, but we never see the child once, and it is mentioned a few times that Mr. Edwards is "alone." Apparently, they forgot that they paired him up with Matthew a few episodes ago, because it's like the boy doesn't even exist here.
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- Goof: Mr. Edwards tell Jane Canfield that Charles got the name Half Pint from him. He says "She got that from me; I started calling her that about the same time I taught her to spit." However, we hear Charles calling Laura by that name in the pilot, long before Mr. Edwards even came into the picture. So, either Mr. Edwards was lying to Jane, or by complete and miraculous coincidence, he and Charles both came up with the exact same nickname for little Laura, and Mr. Edwards never realized that Charles invented it first.
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QUOTES (3)
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- (after Mr. Edwards leaves the store worring about Jane)
  Nels: What a fine and caring man.
  Harriet: Oh yes, he is.
  Nels: I know you don't like Isaiah, but even you can see what he's going through.
  Harriet: I can. I can. Just imagine, a smelly old grizzly bear going after such a sweet and innocent young girl.
  Nels: Is there any limit to the low things you say about a person? I think that's positivly evil, and I'm shocked and horrified!
  Harriet: Well let me tell you somthing, Mr. Shocked and Horrified. Your fine and caring Mr. Edwards is in love with a child!
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- Hester Sue: Honey, they want to operate!
  Jane: No.
  Laura: But, Jane, there's a chance you might see.
  Jane: And there's an even better chance that I won't! Please try to understand. For as long as I can remember, since I was old enough to know I was blind, I had one dream: to see. To see the light of a sun-filled day.
  Laura: Then have the operation.
  Jane: No! I can't! I'm sorry. I won't be disappointed again.
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- Mr. Edwards: You think I'm too old, don't you? Well, answer me!
  Laura: I think only you can be the judge of that.
  Mr. Edwards: She is a grown woman, I am a grown man, and we have a right to a life! You're just a child, what would you know?
  Laura: (pause) I'm the same age as Jane.
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NOTES (2)
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- Featured character: Mr. Edwards
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- Walker Edmiston appears in this episode for the fourth and last time in the series. Most recently, he played Mr. Stohler in Season 7's Goodbye, Mrs. Wilder. He was also in Season 3's I'll Ride the Wind, and then he played the doctor of the overweight man in Winoka in Season 5's The Man Inside. So, 50% of his appearances on the series were spent playing a doctor.
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ALLUSIONS (0)
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