Previously on Little House, Caroline announced she was with child. Nine months passed in ten minutes, the baby was born, the baby died, Laura felt responsible and now she decides to run away from home to right her wrongs. Reverend Alden had told her the closer she was to God, the better she could be heard, so she climbed the tallest (and only) mountain in Minnesota so she could literally be closer to God, and there, she confessed her mean feelings and not preying for her ailing little brother. In short, she was willing to trade herself for Charles Jr.... somehow, I don't think she gets the point, but that's still very sweet and very generous of her. So while Charles and Edwards search all over creation for the elusive Ingalls daughter, she awakens the next morning in the presence of a kindly old man named Jonathan. Turns out, he was the mountain's owner (built it himself, I guess) and Laura was apparently trespassing. It seems Jonathan was very close to God, talked to Him often. Well, Laura and Jonathan began to bond before much longer. He even made her a cross with her name on it and everything. But unfortunately, when she went down to the creek to scrub behind her ears, she lost the cross and it floated away down stream.
Charles and Edwards continued their search, still coming up empty. At this point it seemed hopeless, but they refused to give up. They would find Laura if they had to turn the countryside upside down. When pausing to fill the canteen, Charles found the cross. With this solid lead, they headed up stream, knowing she'd be there. Up the stream and up the mountain, to be exact. At this point she was frustrated over God not listening to her and granting her request. Jonathan came up with the perfect solution to help God find them: a fire. A big, tall, roaring inferno. Well, God wasn't the only one to see that fire. From way down at ground-level, Edwards and Charles saw the smoke. Stopping at the base, Charles climbed all the way up. Laura didn't want to be found until her prayer was answered, but Jonathan convinced her this was His will. And so, father and daughter were tearfully reunited, and Jonathan mysteriously vanished.
And so ends "The Lord is My Shepherd." To be completely honest, I preferred the first part to the second. I think this episode could have just been in one part. It felt very drawn out, like it went longer than it needed to. It was good though. Ernest Borgnine was fantastic, a great character actor in his day, and even today, he just recently made a cameo appearance in Red with Bruce Willis. Props to young Melissa Gilbert too. So in closing, I say give this episode a try. As I said, the second part felt very drawn out and there was no real story, but it was okay. Check it out.
Charles and Edwards continued their search, still coming up empty. At this point it seemed hopeless, but they refused to give up. They would find Laura if they had to turn the countryside upside down. When pausing to fill the canteen, Charles found the cross. With this solid lead, they headed up stream, knowing she'd be there. Up the stream and up the mountain, to be exact. At this point she was frustrated over God not listening to her and granting her request. Jonathan came up with the perfect solution to help God find them: a fire. A big, tall, roaring inferno. Well, God wasn't the only one to see that fire. From way down at ground-level, Edwards and Charles saw the smoke. Stopping at the base, Charles climbed all the way up. Laura didn't want to be found until her prayer was answered, but Jonathan convinced her this was His will. And so, father and daughter were tearfully reunited, and Jonathan mysteriously vanished.
And so ends "The Lord is My Shepherd." To be completely honest, I preferred the first part to the second. I think this episode could have just been in one part. It felt very drawn out, like it went longer than it needed to. It was good though. Ernest Borgnine was fantastic, a great character actor in his day, and even today, he just recently made a cameo appearance in Red with Bruce Willis. Props to young Melissa Gilbert too. So in closing, I say give this episode a try. As I said, the second part felt very drawn out and there was no real story, but it was okay. Check it out.
