Little House on the Prairie Season 3 Episode 17

In this episode, Grace Snider and Laura have a heart-to-heart talk, just the two of them. Actress Bonnie Bartlett (Grace) has said that these scenes with Laura were among her very favorites.

In a previous interview, Melissa Sue Anderson (Mary) joked that when this episode aired on television during her adulthood, she was flipping channels with her young daughter Piper, and she couldn't for the life of her remember what Mary was in the hospital for. "All of a sudden, I saw myself packed in ice, and I couldn't remember why!" laughed Anderson.

With this episode, all of the Ingalls family members have been in near-death situations. Charles Jr. died in Season 1's The Lord Is My Shepherd, Laura had a dangerous raccoon bite in Season 1's The Raccoon, Caroline had a major infection in her leg in Season 2's A Matter of Faith, Carrie fell in a mine shaft and almost died earlier in this Season 3's Little Girl Lost, Charles was accidentally shot with a gun by Laura in Season 3's The Hunters, and now Mary faces major surgery after being kicked in the stomach by a horse.

It was a bit unprofessional of Doc Baker to not only run and tell the Church congregation that Mary was seriously ill, but also inform them that the Ingalls couldn't afford the bills and to request a donation for them. Even though everyone was very kind, generous, and understanding about it, most doctors are not that quick to conceal personal information about patients and their families.

When Mary gets kicked by the horse at the beginning of the episode, Charles--who was washing up by the creek--ran to the barn, screaming her name over and over. It's very unlikely that Caroline and Laura did not hear him and come bolting out, especially since Charles ran right past the house.

When Charles comes home from Rochester to try and find some money for Mary's hospital bills, he is practically on his feet begging Mr. Hanson to purchase his entire farm and everything he owns, but Mr. Hanson is not in a financial position to do so. Mr. Hanson then goes on to say that he can't think of anyone around who would be able to offer that much money. If Charles was that frantically desperate, why didn't he at least try going to Nels Oleson? Harriet may have been difficult about it, but they had more money than Mr. Hanson, and probably could have at least given Charles something. Charles may have been uncomfortable doing so, but certainly this was a time where he was not concerned about his pride.