After a brief cameo on When Calls the Heart’s season 13 premiere, Brooke Shields is headed back to Hope Valley for a two-episode arc that fans won’t want to miss.
“Everybody’s in a very different place in their lives [after] these past years, and a lot’s gone on,” Shields, 60, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, February 26, ahead of her first episode back as Charlotte Thornton on the Sunday, March 1, episode. “There’s many different emotional story lines that they all need to sort of reconcile.”
The actress, who initially played Charlotte during season 3 in 2016, noted it was “interesting” to jump back into the role for season 13 now that it’s a “completely different year.”
When fans saw Charlotte during the season 13 premiere, which aired in January, her daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Thornton (Erin Krakow), was staying with her in Cape Fullerton to get better access to insulin for her son, Little Jack (Hyland Goodrich).
Elizabeth shared Little Jack with her late husband, Jack Thornton (Daniel Lissing), who was Charlotte’s son who died during season 5.
Elizabeth and Little Jack were joined by her boyfriend, Mountee Nathan Grant (Kevin McGarry), and his daughter, Allie (Jaeda Lily Miller), in Cape Fullerton for the summer. Fans previously learned that Nathan and Allie formed their own connections with Charlotte while away from Hope Valley, which viewers will continue to see play out in the next two Hallmark Channel episodes.
Shields told Us that in addition to “having a relationship with Elizabeth,” Charlotte is “learning [about] Nathan.”
She teased that because Charlotte comes from “a different place” as Nathan and Elizabeth, “There’s so much at stake and there’s so much that could go wrong.”
Shields added that in both episode 9 and episode 10, “You just see these people try to grapple with loss, new beginnings, possibility, their history.”
Shields previewed what fans can expect from her next two appearances on WCHTH below:
Bridging the Gap Between Jack and Little Jack
During season 13, episode 9, which premieres on Sunday, Shields told Us that Charlotte will leave Cape Fullerton to surprise Little Jack in Hope Valley.
The episode, titled “Lost and Found Again,” focuses on Little Jack or “LJ” struggling after losing his late father’s medal on a hike. To help him deal with the loss, Elizabeth and Nathan organize a “scavenger hunt of memories” to add to LJ’s stories of his dad — and grandma Charlotte has many stories to share.
“We’re talking about her grandson and her deceased son,” Shields told Us, noting that it made perfect sense that Charlotte would come to town for such a big mission. “What I love about what the show does is it really taps into in a modern way.”
The actress explained, “We all want to be connected. We all want to know we came from somewhere. We all want to know we’re part of something with other people. And a young child has nothing but questions that they want answered.”
Shields added that Charlotte being “a part of that journey and that conversation” was just as “big” as everyone else who contributed.
“You watch people come together for this little boy, and sort of putting aside anything that they needed, per se, and really focusing on him,” she revealed.
There’s a Pivotal Moment Between Nathan and Charlotte
During season 13, episode 10, which airs Sunday, March 8, Charlotte is still in Hope Valley and this time her mission is even more emotional.
According to the logline for “Blessings,” Nathan and Charlotte “visit Jack Sr.’s tombstone together” where they have a meaningful conversation that will change the trajectory of his and Elizabeth’s future.
Shields told Us that Charlotte and Nathan’s discussion “gave room and freedom for whatever new types of relationships [need] to be formed and nurtured.”
She teased that the episode serves as Nathan’s “gift” to Charlotte and her “gift to herself,” noting one pivotal moment will mark a “new chapter for everybody.”
Watch Shields’ return to When Calls the Heart on Hallmark Channel Sunday, March 1, at 8 p.m. ET. Her second episode airs Sunday, March 8, at 8 p.m. ET. Both episodes are available for streaming next day on Hallmark+
