Is Jack Thornton Coming Back to ‘When Calls the Heart’?

The eleventh season of the long-running Hallmark series When Calls the Heart has just wrapped up and fans can not stop talking about it. Specifically, they can not stop talking about its ending. The series was left on a shocking cliffhanger that could alter the course of the series. In fact, it might lead to the return of a beloved character after an absence of several years. There is one question on everyone’s minds: Will Jack Thornton make his big return to the show? Here is everything we know about Jack and his potential future.

The series begins in 1910 and follows Elizabeth Thatcher, played by Erin Krakow , a teacher who comes from high society. However, she is quickly assigned to teach in Coal Valley, later called Hope Valley, which is a small coal mining town in Western Canada. It has a rural environment that has a lot of differences with Elizabeth’s previous home. Fortunately, she is able to make some friends and find her rhythm in the town. Nevertheless, that does not mean there won’t be some difficulties coming her way. In addition, after a terrible mining accident, many women of the town have to start going to work in the mines, which tests everyone’s beliefs and attitudes about their world.

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Jack Thornton was played by Daniel Lissing. He was a Mountie police constable that was originally set to watch over Elizabeth. When they first meet, Jack immediately expresses his irritation with Elizabeth, as he was given the task of looking after her by her father and he feels there are better uses for his police skills.  However, as time goes on, he grows to like her and an attraction builds between the two. Those feelings eventually turn into an official courtship, which then culminates in a wedding in season five. However, just a few days after the couple gets married, Jack is sent off on an official police assignment. While on a mission, he ends up being killed by a landslide, devastating the town. Shortly after his death, it is revealed that Elizabeth is pregnant with his child, a boy that she names Jack Jr. While she tries many times to move on, her husband always remains in her heart.

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In the most recent season, Elizabeth was building up a relationship with the current constable, Nathan Grant, played by Kevin McGarry. The two have had a back and forth connection over the past few years, but the penultimate episode of the season showed the two finally getting together. However, towards the end of the season’s last episode, Mountie superintendent Andrew Hargraves, played by David Lewis, informed Elizabeth that he had to tell her something about Jack. What was that something? Fans will have to wait until Season 12 to find that out.

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When Jack died, it was said that his body was found. However, after the ending of Season 11, many viewers are starting to have suspicions that are to the contrary. They think it was possible that no one actually saw his corpse and the thing that needs to be said to Elizabeth is that Jack is actually alive. Unfortunately, the watchers’ wishes may not come true. In an interview with TV Guide , showrunner Lindsay Sturman stated, “Jack is not coming back, but we did want to keep his memory alive.” When asked about the impact of the impending news, she said, “It adds to the cliffhanger and creates a challenge, but it’s not meant to upend everything we’ve built.” So it looks like there will not be an exciting comeback or return to the dead, but season 12 will likely still start on a juicy note.

The series was renewed for twelfth season in May , an announcement that came right in the middle of the eleventh season. There will be a slate of twelve episodes, which has been the case for every season of the show dating back to Season 8. Filming for the series will start back up in July. Judging by the pattern on previous seasons, it is likely that the next one will premiere sometime in spring of 2025. That means that fans will have to wait almost a year to learn the truth about Jack.

Through the past eleven seasons, When Calls the Heart has seen a lot of ups and downs as well as many twists and turns. Even loyal viewers often never know what will happen next. The recent cliffhanger is just the wrinkle that has appeared in the Hallmark show’s storyline. Anything could happen next for Elizabeth, but if her past resilience has proven anything, she will be able to make it through anything that comes her way.

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