Spin the Bottle, I mean Egg!

How do you think Elizabeth will Respond to Nathan's DTR Questions?

I’m still thinking about our first-ever WCTH Easter Egg Hunt. I enjoyed last Sunday so much. And I’m so glad we’re back to more school-related scenes and Elizabeth shining as a teacher too. Remember back in Season 1 how she was trying to find her footing? We all know that it’s much easier to talk in theory than to put it into practice. 

One of my favorite early lessons of Elizabeth’s was about INERTIA. Elizabeth defined it as the STUBBORNNESS of a physical object to change its motion. She demonstrated this by spinning two eggs on top of the desk. But one egg was fresh (uncooked) while the other was hard-boiled. So one egg stopped spinning and the other kept going. When she asked the kids why that happened– someone said “Magic!” She smiled and said, “No, it’s science!” Now that she had their attention, she taught them the “Law of Inertia: An object in motion tends to stay in motion, but an object at rest usually stays at rest.”

I think it’s perfect timing to bring all this back up in light of the previews for this week’s episode, Stronger Together. Nathan asks Elizabeth the main questions on all our minds– “What am I to you? I mean… are we just friends?” To figure out how we think Elizabeth might respond to him, let’s back up to look at the patterns between them when hard questions are asked. We have lots of data over almost 5 seasons to pull from. 

The more I thought about it– the more I think the big idea of Inertia applies here. Is there such a thing as Romantic Inertia? There is now! But here’s the key– up until recently, I don’t think both of them were in motion at the same time– one was being stubborn. 

Have you ever heard this? EVENT + RESPONSE = OUTCOME or (E + R = O)

I’m borrowing it here to sum up key events and questions from Nathan and Elizabeth’s past. 

S7– Elizabeth is the main one initiating and trying to put things in motion while Nathan stubbornly resists. Here are two good examples and a turning point or “big spin”: 

EVENT: Nathan gets promotion. Allie finds out and is upset. She tells her teacher.

RESPONSE: Elizabeth goes to talk to him and Nathan responds angrily that nothing is keeping us here. Elizabeth says what about the friends she's made? The friends you've made? 

OUTCOME: Nathan turns down the promotion. Allie tells Elizabeth they are staying. Nathan and Elizabeth make eye contact from across the room as Elizabeth hugs Allie and smiles in happiness.

E: There’s a windstorm while Elizabeth and class are up on the mountain. 

R: Nathan goes to check on Elizabeth and helps her rescue one student out in the windstorm. He's upset with her for not being safe. They argue and Elizabeth later goes to the Mountie office to push him further–  “What is this really about?” He doesn’t want to talk and uses work as an excuse. 

O: Nathan goes to Elizabeth's house late at night to apologize. He admits he was upset because "You matter to me".

E: Nathan asks Elizabeth to go on a date at the cafe. Elizabeth pauses to consider. 

R:: So Nathan says “Let me know when you're ready.” 

BIG SPIN: Elizabeth thinks Nathan was shot and killed during a prisoner transfer.

O: Elizabeth rushes to hug him when he shows up back in town unharmed. 

S8– Nathan is the main one initiating now, trying to put things in motion while Elizabeth stubbornly resists. But in his mind, he’s continuing the conversation from S7 and feels encouraged by the big hug. He (and most fans) don’t realize she’s hardened her heart in fear.

E: After being gone a while, Nathan asks her on that date. She hesitates again. 

R: So he repeats, "You let me know when you're ready." She nods.

O: Nothing happens. She continues to look stressed and tight whenever talking to him.  

E: Elizabeth runs into Nathan going into store. He's on his way to look at Bill's property all excited. He says he’s ready to settle down.

R: Elizabeth asks to talk with him later, then she meets Nathan on his way back from the property. He thought it was perfect. But she tells him can't give him what he wants. She can't LOSE him. 

O: Nathan says he's in LOVE with her. She says "I can't" and rides off very upset. 

BIG SPIN: She tells Lucas she wants to try dating him. This continues into S10.

S10– An engaged Elizabeth is moving forward with Lucas. Nathan is moving forward with Faith. Both are in motion but with other people. They want the other person to be happy.

E: Elizabeth sees Nathan dancing with Faith. Later when he's over helping Allie babysit LJ at her house, they talk while both kids are sleeping. 

R: Elizabeth mentions they looked really happy. Nathan admits she called it off before. 

O: He says he’s not very good at this. Elizabeth jokes that he’s giving up on love. He agrees, “Maybe I should”.

BIG SPIN: Nathan is taken hostage and Elizabeth has a panic attack over it. Henry sees her. She recovers when Nathan comes back to town safely. When Henry questions her, she says he’s just a friend. 

E: Nathan runs into Elizabeth in street and says he knows she’s proud of Lucas. 

R: She talks about how the town is the thing that matters. She goes on to talk about raising LJ in Hope Valley and everything it means to her. She shares she’s been taking it for granted. Elizabeth asks Nathan how could they find any other place like it? 

O: Nathan replies, “I don't think we can.” They both startle and head off in different directions.

E: Nathan sees Elizabeth looking upset in the street when Lucas announces his plans to run for Governor. Bill also mentions that Elizabeth will be moving 22 hours away if Lucas wins. 

R: Nathan goes to the schoolhouse and says the town isn't the only thing that matters. What she does (teaching) matters. Her being in Hope Valley with LJ- what she said before- matters. He challenges her to be honest with herself about what she wants. He asks “What do you want?”

O: Elizabeth says she wants Lucas to win and will move if he does.

E: Elizabeth breaks down in the middle of the night crying. Rosemary sees her light and comes over. Elizabeth shares that everyone is asking her what she really wants. She claims not to know.

R: Rosemary challenges her that she does know. Elizabeth admits that she chose Lucas because he was safe but now her heart was getting louder and louder.

O: Elizabeth breaks her engagement with Lucas at the train station instead of going with him.

BIG SPIN: Elizabeth and Nathan both end up at the log. But before they can really talk, Bill rides up saying something has happened to Lucas. 

S11: We’ve just started the season but we see hints of movement from both Elizabeth and Nathan trying to figure out where they stand with each other because of what’s happened in the past.

E: Rosemary encourages Elizabeth to invite Nathan to celebrate his birthday with a small group at the saloon. 

R: Elizabeth does but Nathan doesn’t believe her. He assumes it's a trick and thinks that Allie is planning a surprise party. 

O: Rosemary further insists that Elizabeth help Allie pull off a surprise party even though Elizabeth knows it's not his thing and he really doesn’t want it. 

E: Elizabeth makes Nathan’s birthday banner in the rowhouse while LJ makes him a special card with all 4 of them plus the animals. He wants it to be "just right" and Elizabeth agrees.

R: Like Nathan promised, he does act surprised and seems happy to talk with people. 

O: Nathan goes outside for a break so Elizabeth goes looking for him. He gets a sparkly star out of her hair and then they are interrupted by singing so go back inside together. 

BIG SPIN: The singing is not for Nathan, it’s for Lucas who is suddenly back in town. 

E: Lucas is staying in town to figure out a resort. He talks to Elizabeth about helping with Easter Egg hunt. 

R: Nathan offers to help her with it. While helping her hide the chocolate eggs, Nathan puts one way up high. Elizabeth says the kids won't be able to reach out. He counters that if they want it badly enough, they will find a way. So she says but what if they get hurt? Nathan says, “Then they have to decide if it’s worth it or not.” Elizabeth goes to get it down. Nathan cautions her and offers to do it instead. 

O: Elizabeth falls off the bucket after getting it in her hand. Nathan is right there to catch her. They stare at each other as he continues to hold her close and Allie interrupts by calling out for him. After Elizabeth walks away, Nathan puts the egg right back up there. 

E: Nathan’s with Allie and sees Lucas/Elizabeth talking in the street after Jeanette bombshell. 

R: He shows up at Elizabeth's late that night with the chocolate egg in hand to admit she was right– no one could reach it. So he wants to return it to the one that "risked" life and limb. 

O: Elizabeth holds part of his hand as she reaches for it and admits that it might be worth it. Then LJ interrupts by calling out for her. Elizabeth says she has to go-- and Nathan says “I know”.

3 EVENTS COMING UP just in the PREVIEW for Episode 5: 

*Nathan sees Elizabeth and Lucas talking in the street again-- Elizabeth reaches out to touch his arm.

*Allie also tells Nathan she doesn't want him to get hurt. 

*Lucas says he’s willing to just be Elizabeth’s friend if it keeps her in his life.

HIS RESPONSE: Nathan wants to Define the Relationship. So he asks her directly (no subtext)-- 

"What am I to you? Are we just friends?”

So how will Elizabeth respond?

Inquiring minds want to know what THIS OUTCOME will be!

To RECAP What’s happened in the past when one pushes the other for answers:

1. Many times, it takes more than one conversation to work things out or resolve things.

2. She could make an excuse to try and leave the conversation because she’s uncomfortable.

3. She could pause for long enough that he lets her off the hook and gives her more time. 

4. She could tentatively but bravely admit she wants to try being more than friends. 

5. She could push away to protect herself and run. (I’m hoping we are past this as she likes him.)

6. She could say the wrong thing if she feels backed in a corner and have to go back to fix it. 

7. She will talk it through with Rosemary. She might even need a push or challenge by Rosemary.

MY GUESS: Honestly I’m terrible at predictions. And I’m not worried because I like everything Lindsay and team are putting out there. I’m pleasantly surprised every week. I do like to look at patterns though. 

So it’s possible it will be a cliffhanger, but I hope not. Most of the other “tough talks” were resolved eventually but I think it will take a few starts and stops, interruptions even, over the whole episode to get there. I honestly don’t think they are going to kiss this week. I think it’s likely Elizabeth originally freezes up and he gives her more time to figure out what she wants to say back, but he might even pull back a bit to protect himself while he waits for her to respond. I think Elizabeth will panic some, talk to Rosie and then seek him out. I hope she does something a little creative and sweet like he did bringing her the egg. Could she write him a note asking him to go stargazing and she holds his hand on the stoop? I think it will be a soft step forward– together. Possibly the last scene of the night– as 3 of the 4 have shown them side by side in some way in S11.

YOUR TURN TO TALK: How do you think Elizabeth will respond based on their history together? Anything else you want to chat about?