Mortal Mission

Season 5, Episode 23, Aired

Episode Summary

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Determined to make it through the winter season, a pair of men earn money by selling tainted meat to the Walnut Grove community. Several townspeople later become infected with anthrax, including Laura, Albert, Adam, Alice, and Nels. The victims are confined to the blind school, and with time running out to help them, Charles and Jonathan go out to retrieve some medicine.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (2)

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  • When two brothers knowingly sell tainted meat, they and many others in the town become victims of anthrax.

    8.5
    "Great"
    By Lady_Lancaster, May 08, 2011
    Two brothers have sick beasts, but they don't want to lose money on them, so they slaughter them and sell the meat to unsuspecting people across Hero Township. The result is that many of the key players end up with anthrax and the blind school is turned into a hospital.

    Of course, it's a repitition of "The Plague", but I found this one enjoyable in its own right, especially as Harriet Oleson showed a human side for the second time in the season! The part that I found the most annoying was when Jonathan and Charles were dispatched to the train station to collect medical supplies which Doctor Baker had ordered. On the way back, they are hijacked by a desperate man with a gun who wants their wagon and horses. He takes them prisoner in his home where his son is ill with anthrax and their home makes the Ingalls family look positively prosperous by comparison. I felt that this entire sub-plot was unnecessary and took away from what was happening in Walnut Grove itself. The two brothers died with anthrax and so did several others but the main characters survived (as we knew they would) and Ketty Lester treated us once again to her lovely singing voice.

    I enjoyed it, overall.moreless

  • Residents of Wlanut Grove eat tainted meat; the result is anthrax.

    6.0
    "Fair"
    By ceosmom, Oct 30, 2006
    Yet another installment where characters are introduced and die in the same episode. When two brothers sell bad meat to the residents of Hero township, the result is anthrax. Many main characters become ill, but of course it's only the ones we've never seen before who die. This episode already played out in season 1's "Plague". The "mission" in the title refers to a trip Charles and Jonathan take to retrieve medicines, only to be held hostage (another recurring theme in seasons 5 thru 10) by a deranged father. Not bad, but don't go out of your way to see it.moreless
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • TRIVIA (5)

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    • Goof: When Mr. Oleson is bringing the medicine to the blind school, two men come out of the school with a cot with what is suppose to be one of the dead people that they are carrying out. But when they walk by Mr. Oleson's wagon, you can see one of the men holding the cot reach up to hold his hat as a gust of wind comes. When he does this, he lets go of one side of the cot and it tips completely sideways, yet no body falls off, making it clear that nobody was actually on it.

    • Goof: When Caroline brings a sick Andy to Doc Baker at the blind school, they put him in a chair, and Caroline leaves to go get her children and Alice. Doc Baker is seen unbuttoning Andy's coat from the top to the bottom. But when it zooms in on Hester Sue, then back to Doc Baker, you see him unbuttoning Andy's coat from top to bottom again!

    • Notice the look on Patrick Laborteaux's (Andy Garvey's) face as the camera pans the room while Hester Sue sings at the end of the episode. His expression is almost a sneer; he looks like he can hardly stand the sound of her voice. Why this wasn't re-shot or edited out is a mystery, but it's laugh-out-loud funny to see his expression, especially compared to the beaming faces of those around him at what is supposed to be a very profound moment.

    • Charles and Jonathan arrive home from their out-of-town trip to find a note stating their families are at the blind school, sick with anthrax, yet Doc Baker has not officially diagnosed the illness, and doesn't until a few scenes later, as he looks under his microscope.

    • When Laura goes temporarily blind during her illness, Caroline calls her "Half-Pint" for the first and only time in the entire series. Normally, that is just Charles and Mr. Edwards' special nickname for her.

  • QUOTES (2)

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    • Nels: (tending to her ill husband) Oh, I do love you, Nels Oleson. Harriet: Do you? I.....well, honestly, I just don't know how you put up with me sometimes. Nels: I don't put up with you. I love you.

    • As another body is removed from the blind school (and temporary hospital) Dr. Baker: I'm not a doctor anymore, I'm a funeral director.

  • NOTES (1)

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    • Actor Matt Clark appears in this episode as Seth Berwick, an anguished father who is watching his child die after being infected with anthrax. Clark also appeared in Season 1's Plague, which had a very similar plot and featured Clark as a man who lost both his wife and son to a vicious plague.

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