After the credits, we flash back to Avonlea, summer 1912. Lally Cadeau/Janet kicks off with some reminiscing about the good ol' days ("There once was a time, in a place called Avonlea, where life was simpler...."). We get shots of the town, then we cut to "So Dear to My Heart" where Olivia announces to Alec, Janet, and Hetty that she and Jasper are going to leave and move across the pond to take advantage of a position offered to Jasper at the Royal Society. While Janet's thrilled, Hetty's in complete shock and announces, "You can't!" To which Olivia retorts, "Well, we're doing it, Hetty." And that's that, you old broad!
But enough of Olivia making her big sister/mother figure mad! We need to see some happy times. The script mandates it! So we go back to "Out of the Ashes" and the opening of the Foundling Home during the summer of Stupid McBarf...um, I mean Stuart McRae, then immediately back to "So Dear to My Heart" and one of the Dean boys--which you can never tell apart, even though they're not twins--asks a bespectacled Gus (remember, he can't see! oh noes!) if he and "Miss King" (read: Felicity) are going to be away from them for long. Aww. How sweet. Gus assures them they'll come back, and he'll live with them in the Foundling Home.
Gus and Felicity suck some face on their wedding day, we see 87.9% of the King/Dale/Pike clan (the other 12.1% consisting of Andrew and Roger; Great Aunt Eliza; Abigail, Malcolm, and Robert "Lucky" MacEwan; and Captain Crane and his Eliza--who were all either sucked into the Vortex of Characters That Once Were But We Refuse To Acknowledge Ever Again or missed the boat back to Canada completely), and we...what? You mean we're going to witness a flashback scene we've NEVER seen before until now? Holy Dinah! Ahem. Felix is in the kitchen reading the paper along with his mom and dad. "Mr. Tremayne says you have to nowadays," he says. Have to do what, Felix? Ignore your family? Move out of your parents' house by the age of seventeen? Hop the next boat to Bermuda and become a pirate, matey? What? Unfortunately, we never find out. Instead, our intrepid young man informs his folks that, according to his then-boss, there may be a war brewing in Europe soon with all that's happening there. (Coincidentally, the paper is dated June 28, 1912, which is two years to the day before the event that would trigger WWI takes place--the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Was Simon Tremayne the town's Nostradamus?) Janet thinks this whole war business is, pretty much, stupid, and walks out flabbergasted. Felix tells his father he thinks "they're trying to start something; and if England gets involved, we'll be in it, too." Alec also thinks it's, pretty much, tabloid trash. Now it's on to another recognizable scene from the series finale: Felix mentioning the brochure Elbert gave him--which included Naval enlistment as one of the "Opportunities in Canada for Young Men"--to Gus. Remember Felix mentioning his parents would have a fit if they found out? What about Izzy?! I suppose we'll never find out.
Our final flashback is that penultimate moment in the final episode midway through Hetty's speech/toast. She acknowledges that "Avonlea will never vanish" although some may leave, and that Gus and Felicity would go on with the Foundling Home and would, hopefully, start their own family one day. Throughout this, we get to see various family members, a shot of Muriel and Izzy Pettibone (savour it while it lasts!), and of Rachel Lynde. Heck, even Sara gets a little more face time. (Enjoy it now; you ain't seeing her again, either.) Then Hetty finally reminds everyone that no matter what happens, everyone has a place to come home to. "The dearest spot on earth, our Avonlea!" Unfortunately, now the doom and gloom is about to hit us, thanks to Janet's final words...ironically spoken while we watch scenic footage of the Island shoreline. "But we were to learn that all things change; for, beyond our shores, the clouds of a distant war loomed. And soon, nothing would ever be the same."
We've reached our "current" destination, time-wise: Late November 1914. But I don't think we're in Avonlea anymore. Nope. This is the battlefield, baby! There's some courier running around trying not to get himself blown up; after all, he's got orders to deliver. (I wonder if this order would've been free if it didn't show up within 30 minutes.) A bomb goes off, knocks this guy to the ground; but that will never stop him. If only the US Postal Service and Canada Post could be like this; but I digress. Courier Guy finally shows up in a bunker and gives the orders message to the captain. Nearby are Elbert Werts and...Felix King? Hey, wait a second. Wasn't Felix in a Naval uniform a couple of years ago? Shouldn't we be on a submarine or a boat somewhere in the Atlantic? On the other hand, Felix and Elbert have been joined at the hip before, so this could've been a weird case of "monkey see, monkey do". Unfortunately, Elbert isn't the monkey. Captain tells everyone to get into position. Then the Sap-o-Meter goes up to Level 1. Elbert wants Felix to go see his folks if something should happen to him. Felix says they'll both go see them and promises it won't be long before they're back in Avonlea. How sweet. Too bad there's no room for a nice, manly hug here, because the next thing we hear is... "ADVAAAAAANNNNNCCCEE!"
And they're off! Soldiers are running with their guns at the ready to shoot every Jerry (read: German) they come across. Felix has a commanding lead on his ol' comrade Elbert; but then...zip! Elbert's shot! Felix, being the dutiful friend he is--unless your name is Izzy, and it's still 1912--goes to check on him. Holy crap; there's blood on Felix's hands...maybe even shrapnel? Felix looks off to the left; did he see Izzy's spectre over there? Maybe it was a pissed-off Andrew risen from the Vortex. Maybe he saw his mama. Or maybe it was a bunch of Huns about to launch their evil cannonballs. Whatever it was he saw, Felix then bolts up and starts dragging Elbert away reassuring him that "we're gonna go home!" Then things get all slow-mo; all important events happen in slow motion, you know. Felix is getting desperate. "Come ON!" All of a sudden...BANG! A grenade goes off and...
...we're back in Avonlea in the daytime?! Wow. It's a pre-Christmas miracle! Hey, there's singing! Schweet! Unfortunately, it's not an angelic choir; we're being subjected to Hetty's students rehearsing "Silent Night" in the Town Hall for their upcoming Christmas concert, under her watchful eye. Meanwhile, various Avonlea townswomen--including Janet, Felicity, and Ada Hubble--are working on decorating. We then see a now-circa-nine-year-old and brown-haired Daniel singing, looking at someone (again, who?), while sporting some awesome angel wings. (Is he trying to be Michael? Also, what's up with the hair colour?) Then we see a young brunette girl who is in dire need of a voice coach. "Sleeeeeeeep in heeeaaaavnleeee peeeeee--eeeeece!" It must've been Providence--or something--for us to see shots of Ryan Cooley (Daniel) and Lauren Collins (brown-haired wonderless one) in succession, only a few years away from being a prankster and a snooty preppie girl at some famous fictional high school not-quite-in Toronto.
The kids finish, the mothers applaud dutifully and dotingly. Hetty mentions that this performance "hardly warrants an ovation". Let me assure you; she will NOT be happy unless everyone is sounding like an angel! Then, to the brown-haired girl--who turns out to be one Libby Hubble, Ada's daughter--Hetty admonishes, "A semi-tone flatter, my dear, and you will be singing the alto line." Libby's about to rip her teacher a new one, but her mother stops her just in the nick of time. Then it's time for one of Hetty's big speeches--you know, one insisting that, with the war on, they have to be better singers than ever; after all, it's for Mother England! After her pep talk--which did not seem to impress anyone in the room at all--the students were freed. Poor Libby is immediately consoled by her would-be beauty queen mother; Felicity is summoning the Dean boys to get their coats; and Janet decides to give Hetty some reassurance about the students, and to express concern with how this is all so tied in with the war. "Couldn't Christmas be the one part of their life [the war] didn't touch?" It could be if they lived south of the border; but since they're not "Godless Yanks", the Great War must tug on them. Hetty reminds Janet about that whole duty thing again. Gawd, she's practically a Master Drill Sargeant about the importance of "duty", isn't she?
Outside, Ada--accompanied by Libby--is talking to a couple of the gossips. She's mad as hell (or is it Halifax?), and she ain't gonna take it anymore. In short, she thinks Hetty hasn't changed at all "since she taught any of us" (I think it's just the pageant girl mom part of her talking), and believes "[Hetty] should be retired". Meanwhile, Felicity and Hetty exit the Hall, the former expressing excitement about seeing "Aunt Olivia, Uncle Jasper, and the children". Hetty is also looking forward to it; she's about to go pick them up from the train station. Felicity is now wistful, wishing Gus could be home instead of working in Halifax. Yet another mention of duty escapes Hetty's mouth, mentioning her pet student-turned-nephew-in-law understood the importance of duty and--later--praising his Naval telegraphy work. Felicity agrees, adding Gus would've joined up with Felix, if it weren't for his eyesight--which, you know, is almost non-existent. Kind of like Sara Stanley...where is she? Did she go back to France and decide not to come back even though she would be in the heart of all the action? Is she back in Montreal in a strange role-reversal with her Nanny Louisa--with Sara acting as a maid to her? Did she flee to the States and look for Shaggy...err, I mean Booth Elliot? Gawd, where is the Story Girl? Get the still-alive-when-this-came-out Robert Stack on this, stat! Meanwhile, Hetty has a Town Hall door to lock--a door with a mind of its own.
Good lawd, there's the penultimate pageant queen mother again. "Miss King!" Ada Hubble is still angry. She demands she comment on Hetty's teaching methods. Hetty thinks it unnecessary. She is the Master Drill Sargeant of Avonlea School, after all; and Libby Hubble is nothing more than one of her personal whipping girls! Ada mentions there are modern modes of teaching that exist, "besides bullying and a drill". Hetty snaps back, saying modern methods did nothing for her niece--as in Hannah "Hi-ya Baby" Hubble--who, apparently, ran off to "the city" to snag herself a man. Now she's done it; Ada's really on a short fuse now. She did everything for Hannah, after all! EVERYTHING! Finally, Hetty pwns Ada with, "Apparently, that was your problem." Ada goes down! Hetty King is still the undisputed Tongue-Lashing Queen of the Island! However, Felicity doesn't let her aunt get off scot-free. "In Mrs. Hubble's defence, Hannah was incorrigeable." Master Drill Sargeant King blows off her niece, then reminds her she has something more important to do than fuss over the pageant queen mother--go pick up Aunt Olivia! Oh, and Uncle Jasper. Already, Jasper is starting to become an afterthought. Poor fella.
Did Avonlea's train station expand? Oh, wait. It's stock footage, and we're out of Avonlea again anyway. It's Carmody Train Station. There are a bunch of people there, no doubt townsfolk reuniting with their traveling relatives in time for the as-festive-as-it-can-be-during-a-war season. Hetty is looking for her daug....err, I mean her baby sister. Finally, Olivia peeks out--looking very stylish in a purple winter coat, I may add--and the two women have a beautiful reunion. Hetty says hello to little Alicia (who, like Cindy Lou Who, is now no more than two); and Olivia starts searching for "Monty" (fortunately, the Python was left far behind). A sad-looking brown-haired seven-year-old boy emerges from behind his mother. "Cat got your tongue?" Hetty inquires. "'Cat got' my what?" Montgomery wants to know. An amused Hetty points out he sounds like an Englishman. No, Hetty. Montgomery doesn't sound like an Englishman; he sounds like a Canadian speaking with a very bad English accent. Don't you know the difference? Also, I don't care that it's been two years since the Dales moved across the pond, Olivia; Montgomery is a Canadian, and he should sound like one, darn it! Meanwhile, Hetty also notes Monty is looking more like his father and hopes that Monty has more "in his sense". Olivia doesn't want Hetty to start ripping on Jasper. Say, where is Jasper? After first denying her husband's existence, Olivia informs her big sis that "he couldn't get away". Instead of sympathy and warm regards and regrets that he couldn't be there, Hetty decides to make Jasper her whipping boy again, angrily questioning why he'd send Olivia and two small children across the Atlantic by themselves. I could've sworn they buried the hatchet after he and Olivia got married; I guess wartime is making her doubly bitter. Olivia insists that they not discuss this in front of the children and suggests they just enjoy themselves; after all, it's Christmas. Hetty looks for a porter to collect the Dales' luggage.
Over at Rose Cottage, Hetty's Boston marriage partner, Rachel Lynde, is given a suitcase and asked to look after the wee Dales so Hetty can give Olivia a tongue-lashing about Jasper. Olivia suggests that she and her brood can stay elsewhere if it is too inconvenient. Hetty insists Rose Cottage is still Olivia's home even after marrying Jasper. Of course, when Hetty's referring to Jasper, it's with an air of disgust. Olivia tries to hide her annoyance. Then Hetty goes for the jugular. "Where. Is. Jasper, Olivia?" Olivia reminds her that Jasper couldn't come. Hetty is incredulous. Olivia explains that Jasper is doing important work with the Royal Engineers in London--work that has "an important military application." One would think Hetty would be thrilled by such news; after all, she's obsessed with duty and honour these days. Yet, we learn that duty to and honour for the Empire only applies when it's in regards to either her students or her nephews; when it's "that Jasper Dale", on the other hand, it doesn't mean a thing. Time for Hetty to rip the fella a new one yet again, insisting he was always an "idle dreamer, prone to distraction". Olivia doesn't want to hear it. Hetty informs her baby sister she's stating the facts--that Jasper "never had the sense God gave geese"! Olivia has had enough; she grabs her suitcase. You go, girl; you don't need to hear the tyrant sister's guff! Olivia first decides she and the young'uns will stay at the hotel. Hetty, of course, disagrees. Hotels aren't good enough for a King, after all--never mind the fact that, as far as anyone knows, Hetty is still a partner in the White Sands. Olivia changes her mind; she'll stay with Alec and Janet instead. I wonder how many rooms they have this time...hrm... Hetty still protests. If Olivia is back in Avonlea, dagnabbit, she's going to be under her control, no ifs, ands, or buts! She wants Olivia to be reasonable; in other words, think like HER. They fight over Olivia's suitcase, Hetty has a back spaze, causing her to give The Finger without actually giving it. If Olivia wants to leave and stay with Alec and Janet, she can! But before Olivia leaves, she's going to give her big sis a piece of her mind. She's changed since she's left Avonlea. Hetty scoffs at the notion and says that change isn't all that simple, "Olivia King!" Oh, that's a major dis right there: calling your sister by her maiden name. But Olivia has a sharp tongue too. Change is definitely not simple for the Master Drill Sargeant, who is still "as inflexible and narrow-minded as ever". Now for the ultimatum: When Hetty learns to treat Olivia and Jasper with respect, she can come to King Farm and apologize. Olivia walks away, then turns back to let Hetty know that Alec will come for their luggage. After the tirade, finally, some REAL reason! Rachel wants Hetty to apologize. "Typical" Hetty refuses. Hey, she's right; everyone else is entitled to her opinion. Rachel wonders what Hetty's going to do about it, reminding her it's Christmas! Stubborn mule-Hetty will have none of it. To Hetty, the world can do whatever it wants; she's going to remain in the Dark Ages. I guess it was Rachel's turn to get pwned. That's alright. Hetty always gets pwned herself...somehow.
A depressed-as-ever Olivia--who fancies herself as becoming a new case study for hypothermia--is sitting on the porch swing at King Farm...at night...in the cold...with only a shawl to keep her warm. Fortunately, it's big brother Alec to the rescue with a listening ear and some comfort. He wonders how she could let Hetty get to her like this; she's always had a big, sharp bite to her. Olivia lets him know she "wasn't going to give her the satisfaction." Alec is confused. Now for the rest of the story (with apologies to Paul Harvey), so long as Alec keeps it confidential: Jasper missed the boat. He missed the train to the docks, the sailing of the ship, and the launch for late passengers. Yeowch. Then Olivia says something very bizarre: "He's so irresponsible, Alec. It's like having a third child and no husband at all." Okay, hold up. First, Olivia is defending her husband's honour; and now she's agreeing with her sister?! Was Olivia abducted by aliens while heading to King Farm; and, if so, did they plant that notion in her head? Or maybe Janet's cooking was the culprit. Nah. Alien abduction sounds better. Alec assures her that Jasper's just been occupied otherwise--which is more tactful than asserting his brother-in-law has NEVER been irresponsible, particularly when it came to his family. Olivia finally comes back to her senses, thankfully. She's just missing him terribly. That all said, she also wonders if she and the kids should go back to England at all after Christmas, given all the work Jasper's been involved in. Alec offers help; Olivia doesn't know what she wants yet. So Alec offers some brotherly cuddles, "just for starters". The Sap-o-Meter has now reached Level 2, y'all.