Little House on the Prairie season 1, episode 2, opens as a new day breaks, and Charles is awoken from his sleep to the sound of whistling. He gets out of bed and heads outside in search of the sound as he sees a young man approaching.
The pair embrace as Charles greets the man wearing a soldier’s uniform, whose name we come to learn is George. As they pull away from their hug, Charles asks George what he’s doing here as he smiles ear to ear, clearly thrilled by the surprise. When he asks what he’s doing there, George replies, “You gave up on me, Charlie,” as Laura comes to her father and asks who he was talking to. It seems George is someone from Charles’ past, but the question is who.
After Laura snaps Charles from his dream, he returns to the tent and tends to Caroline’s leg as she jokes about his mom telling her he used to sleepwalk as a child. As they talk, he suggests George for their baby’s name. They realize they can’t hide the news from Laura and Mary and inform the girls of Caroline’s pregnancy. While Mary is thrilled, Laura doesn’t seem too happy about the news.
John arrives and quickly bonds with the Ingalls family
John arrives with gifts for the girls and greets Charlie as the pair head off to begin working on the house. As they saw logs, Charles admitted he couldn't stop thinking about what John said about the land belonging to the Osage and that they’d be back. John can’t recall the remarks but makes it clear that maybe the land doesn’t need to belong to anyone; they just need to live their lives in peace.
The conversation moves along as John asks Charles if he served in the war. While Charles did not, his brothers did, including his brother George, who ran away at 13 to be a drummer boy. John quips that Charles was smart to stay out of the mess as he admits he wishes he had done the same.
Laura struggles with the news of Caroline’s pregnancy
Down at the river, Mary is talking with excitement about the new baby and suggests they can give the baby their ribbons, to which Laura interjects they’re not giving their ribbons to a baby they don’t want. Mary notes that she wants a real sister, one who lets her teach her things, won’t tease, or hog up Pa’s attention all the time. To that, Laura replies that Pa doesn’t want a girl; he wants a boy, to which Mary coldly notes means she won’t be the favorite anymore.
John sees Laura storm by and goes to check on her, bringing her something to snack on. He mentions that her Pa told him she’s a world-class hunter as he tries to lift her spirits. He asks for her help sharing some points on how to use her slingshot, to which she replies that Pa wants a boy, and if she has a brother, she’ll probably have to give it away to him. John suggests that by then she’ll be ready for her own rifle or maybe a bow and arrow.
He then asks her if she’s found the secret road yet and shows her to an Osage road that they use to travel back home after the hunt is done. She’s curious about where it leads, but John notes that he’s unsure as she ponders it leading to another world.
John’s battle with alcohol begins to surface
Later, the family sits down with John to enjoy a meal and we notice a quiver in John’s hands which he quickly brushes off before anyone notices. He then joins the Ingalls in a song around the campfire as we roll into a montage of John working alongside Charles on building the house and Laura taking a liking to him.
As the montage ends, John arrives and is accompanied by William and his daughter Good Eagle. When John informs Laura that he knows the pair, she excitedly tells him about finding Good Eagle’s doll and wanting to be friends. He suggests that perhaps she and Good Eagle can each pick out a kitten together, as one of his cats just had a litter.
Jemma James arrives to introduce herself to Caroline and comes bearing gifts. Jemma originally was from St. Louis, but her husband is a railroad man. She mentioned their Women’s Society and the big plans they have for the town, including setting up a school, a church, and a library. We learn that Caroline was a teacher before she had Laura and Mary, and she admits she misses pieces of her old life, as Jemma notes they all do, but they can build new lives together.
She remarks about Charles hiring John to work for them, and Caroline admits he’s been a godsend to the family. To Caroline’s surprise, Jemma warns her to be careful, as he’s not the kind of man she wants by her family. He makes whiskey and has a tendency to hit the bottle, as she offers to help put them in touch with a respectable man from Boston if they need the help.
While working on the house, John loses his grip on a log, and we see his hands shaking again. He assures Charles he’s fine, but it’s clear he’s hiding something, and it’s not hard to put two and two together that it’s connected to his alcohol withdrawal.
Later, as John sits by the fire, Mary asks him about Caleb. It turns out that he showed up a few months back out of the blue and Emily took him in. He doesn't say much, but he’s great at chess. After he mentions playing chess with him, she asks for John to pass along a letter to Caleb, and he happily obliges.
Charles asks Caroline about her visitor, and she fills her in on Jemma’s big plans for the town. It seems like Caroline is about to mention what she said about John, but she chooses not to in the moment.
While sitting around at dinner, John’s hands begin to shake again, and he excuses himself to grab his coat, remarking that he must be chilly. He ducks away and grabs a bottle of whiskey from his bag as Caroline approaches. He assures her he doesn’t drink in the day but uses it at night to take the shakes away.
Caroline tells him about how her father’s captain always needed something to take the shakes away and how the captain’s drunken ways led to the death of her father and all of his men during a storm. John swears to her he will never do anything to put her family in danger as she recalls that was exactly what the captain told her mother. As John heads out for the night, he pulls Charles in for a hug and admits he doesn’t come by friends very easily.
John hits the road as we come to learn more about George
The following day, John fails to arrive for the day, and Charles suggests he might have just needed a day off. Later, he and Laura head out to John’s place in search of him. Upon arriving, they bump into Good Eagle and William. Laura and Good Eagle quickly connect as they look over the kittens as Laura tells Good Eagle about her dog.
Outside, William assures Charles that John tends to disappear from time to time, often selling his whiskey or chasing wolves, and assures him he always tends to come home.
When Charles returns, he suggests that John is used to being on his own schedule and will show up soon. Caroline informs him that she found him drinking, and she told him not to come back until he didn’t need something to chase the shakes away. Charles points out that John has lost his wife and his kids and went through so much in war, and he’s all the help they have out here in this ocean alone.
Caroline reminds Charles that what they do is dangerous even when you’re sober, and she will not see him dead because he tried to save another broken person. She reminds him that John isn’t George, and he can’t bring his brother back.
Charles saddles up and heads out to search for George and eventually makes his way to the Mitchells in search of William. White Sun is short with him as she heads inside as William comes out, and Charles admits he could use his help.
Laura and Mary get lost on the Osage road
Back at the homestead, Laura is feeling antsy and wants to help her Pa search for John. Caroline sends her and Mary down to the creek to fetch some water, and as the pair walk along, Mary assures Laura Pa will find him as he always found Uncle George and brought him back. As they speak, Laura remembers the secret Osage road and how John mentioned if he ever disappeared, he said this is where he would be, and the pair head down the road.
Charles and William head out to look for John, and Charles notes that he got the sense he didn’t make a good impression on his wife. William tells him not to take it personally, as she doesn't take kindly to outsiders. Charles notices how William doesn’t seem to share this same view and he admits he doesn’t see any sense in making enemies. As the pair ride along, he tells Charles about how he built his home with help from his father after the war and the men bond over their wives not exactly sharing their visions for the future.
Mary and Laura continue down the path, which seems never-ending as they walk along. As they walk, they hear music playing and break from the path, assuming it’s John. Unfortunately, when they emerge from the field, there is no one there, and they head back.
Charles and William arrive at the town watering hole where William introduces Charles to Lacey Aubert, who is an acquaintance of John’s. Lacey informs the pair that John has left town, pulling up stakes and heading up north. He sold her everything he had, and the only thing he left behind was a box of kittens. Lacey admits she truly thought that John had settled in with Charles and his family, as he couldn’t stop talking about him and the girls. They made him feel like he had a future to look forward to and mattered to someone.
Charles just wants to make sure John is okay as Lacey reminds him that people come and go out here and you have to make your peace with that.
As Laura and Mary re-enter the field, they struggle to find the trail and quickly get turned around. Back at the homestead, Caroline realizes the girls have gone missing just as Jemma arrives to drop off some books. Jemma offers to run down to the creek to fetch them and assures her everything will be fine.
Laura and Mary are officially lost, as Laura admits to Mary that a real sister wouldn’t have gotten her lost and left her out in the middle of nowhere hungry. Mary pulls out a peppermint stick and breaks it in half to share with her sister as she notes that her sister wouldn’t have been brave enough to look in the first place. The pair embrace hands as they set out to find a road before it gets dark.
Charles and William have made it back to William’s place as Jemma arrives to inform him that his daughters have gone missing. She’s working to pull together a search party, and Charles quickly rides off to return home, where he assures Caroline they’ll find them. Everyone pitches in and begins searching the area for the girls.
John returns just in time to save Laura and Mary
As Laura and Mary wander through the woods, they hear music and spot a group sitting around a fire. One of the women spots the girls and calls them out from the woods. When the girls approach the group, Laura informs them they’re looking for John, and the woman informs them that John is with them and just went off hunting. They invite the girls to sit by the fire and wait as they offer them some food.
The girls can sense something is not right, and when Laura tells the woman they should get back to their Pa, the woman grabs her by the arm and won’t let go of her. Laura bites the woman’s arm in an attempt to get away just as John shows up to help save the girls. He loads them up on his horse and guides them back to the homestead.
As they arrive home, Laura confronts John about why he left. He admits her mom was right; he doesn’t belong here, to which Laura quickly dismisses. He says he’s not her family and he’s not anyone’s family. Laura says she thought they were friends, and he remarks that she doesn’t need a friend like him.
Laura tells him he’s wrong and turns to walk away as John admits that he knows she thinks her Pa will love a boy more than her, but he won’t. He wouldn’t have traded his girls for anything in the world. Caroline calls upon John and asks him to wait as he begins to saddle up to leave and rides off.
Charles and William return as Charles takes his girls in his arms. He reminds the girls they’ll be fine.
The next day, White Sun finds William awake early and asks him about the girls. While she might seem uninterested in the Ingalls, she’s relieved by the news as she embraces her husband. Meanwhile, back at the Ingalls', Jemma arrives to introduce Charles to Adam Scott, a young man who is eager to learn from Charles and work alongside him. Meanwhile, in town, we see Caleb reading Mary’s letter, which brings a smile to his face as Good Eagle finds a pair of kittens waiting outside her door in a basket.
As the episode draws to an end, Charles and Caroline spot the Osage riding through, having returned from their hunt.
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