Little House on the Prairie (TV Series) I'll Be Waving as You Drive Away: Part I (1978) User Reviews

Blindness

[mitchrmp · 10/10 · 19 July 2013]

This is one of the most famous episodes of the entire series. It's a landmark episode that really starts a lot of changes in the show. From here on out, Walnut Grove, the family, and the cast are no longer the same. This is the last episode we will ever see Miss Beatle in - actually the next episode will be the last episode...We say goodbye to Mary as a member of the Ingalls household. After this episode, she will never live in that little house again.

The episode starts out light with Luke Sims coming down with the measles, so of course his step-mother has to stay home with him. That means the kids will be out for two weeks. This is the build up to the entire story. Mary meets Seth, a nice looking, sweetheart of a man and she falls in love. But before their relationship can ever really start tragedy strikes. She is going blind.

This story is so heart-wrenching. We have to watch Charles and Caroline struggle with this, then we eventually see everyone else struggle with this as well. Melissa Sue Anderson does an excellent job in this episode. In fact, she wrote an article in Guidepost all about her experience with learning her part in being blind.

And if you don't think the first part of this two-part episode was depressing enough, just wait to watch the second part. It starts out heart-wrenching, but never fear...it ends in classic Little House style!

Hell in a Handbasket...

[ExplorerDS6789 · 9/10 · 14 June 2011]

This is one really tragic tale. If what you've seen on the show so far hasn't been enough to rattle your nerves and make you burst into tears, this one just might. So it begins at school, Mary took it upon herself to ring the bell and assemble class, when Harriet ran up to inform everyone that Mrs. Simms is quarantined with the family because Luke had the measles, so no school for two weeks! Laura decides to go fishing, and sitting at the hole was the new boy in town, Seth Barton. He took a shine to Laura right quick and the two hit it off...until he met Mary. Laura was not pleased. But it stands to reason Seth would go for Mary, since she's closer to his age. Laura having a desire for older men would carry over later in the series when she meets Almanzo in Season 6. Back to this episode, Mary began experiencing problems with her eyes. She attributed it to studying too hard for her upcoming teachers exam, but at Charles' insistence, she went in for an eye exam. Dr. Burke performed a few tests, and everything seemed to be fine. Just a little eye strain. He recommended she wear her glasses more often.

According to the papers, the railroads were at war, so to speak. As a result, all shipments to Sleepy Eye and Springfield were on hold indefinitely, so the demand for seed dropped rapidly, which could spell bad news for the mill, and if the mill went under, so would Walnut Grove. Mr. Hanson dropped the bombshell that morning. So while Charles had that to worry about, Mary's eyesight seemed to be getting worse. They go back to Dr. Burke, who discovers Mary once had scarlet fever, which he deduces might be the cause of this. He told Charles the awful truth: Mary was going blind. He was devastated, and worse yet, there was nothing that could be done. He didn't dare tell Mary, but I think she's going to find out sooner or later. That night, a fire broke out in the house, due to Mary having accidentally dropped a lantern. Charles struggled with his burden and for the life of him couldn't figure out how to tell Mary about her condition. He confided in Reverend Alden for guidance. According to him, it's all God's will. So he finally was able to tell his daughter the awful truth. She was beside herself. Now some of you may be wondering what became of Seth? Personally I wasn't, but for those who want to know, he wanted to see Mary again. He found Jonathan at the mill, shutting it down. Yep, this was the beginning of the end for Walnut Grove. The bank shut down and the blacksmith was gone too. It was there that Jonathan told Seth about Mary. Well, folks, the next morning, Mary Ingalls woke up into a world of darkness. The most tragic scene in this entire series. There are really no words that can do this scene justice, it's THAT powerful and dramatic... and after that, Mary had pretty much given up on life. She refused help from her family, and she furiously blew up Seth, scaring the oaf away. Doc Baker had a solution: schools for the blind. The best one around was in Iowa. Mary tearfully begged not to be sent away, but Charles and Caroline knew it was for her own good. So in Part II, Mary heads off to Iowa, but I have the feeling it won't be so bad.

So ends Part I, which sees Walnut Grove and Mary spiral downwards to Hell, but perhaps they can be saved? This is probably the most gripping, dramatic episode of Little House on the Prairie, and I know I said that "May We Make Them Proud" was the grand champion, but unlike that episode, this one is based off of real life events. The real Mary Ingalls did lose her sight, but unlike her television counterpart, she never married or had children. She lived at home until her death in 1928. I understand Melissa Sue Anderson was nominated for an Emmy for her performance here, and I think she should have won. She was magnificent in that role. Also good were Michael Landon, Merlin Olsen and Dabbs Greer. Why this show didn't get more Emmys is beyond me. Anyway, while I wouldn't really recommend this episode because of it's heavy dramatic nature, it's still very well put together and deserves a viewing.

Bad new, but great perfomance.

[drfernandogil · 10/10 · 15 March 2024]

I thought it was an excellent chapter. Far from the miracles that usually give a happy ending to the episodes of this series, this time the drama is treated with realism and strength. Furthermore, Michael Landon's performances in terms of his gestures of pain at having to tell his daughter such bitter news, like those of Karen Grassle, demonstrate a brilliant performance from every point of view. The same goes for Melissa Sue Anderson, who was sensational.

Although it runs down a side lane, I didn't like that the two sisters were talking about "stealing a man" from each other, when the eldest, Mary, is still a 15-year-old girl, and Laura is even younger.

I also don't understand that reaction of running away aimlessly when faced with bad news. In the chapter we see two: Laura does it, and then Mary's fleeting boyfriend, Septh, repeats it, in both cases upon learning of Mary's imminent blindness.

All in all, it is a brilliant and very emotional chapter, despite the bad news it brings.

Blindness

[michellemaxwell-10010 · 10/10 · 28 September 2023]

Mary Ingalls begins to study for the state teachers exam she will take after she graduates from the Walnut Grove school. She falls in love with the new boy in town, Seth Barton. Mary begins to have tiredness in her eyes. Charles takes her to visit her eye doctor. At first, it's just eye strain, but her vision gets worse. She goes back to the eye doctor. After another exam, Dr. Burke tells a devastated Charles that Mary is going blind. Charles is in denial and can't bring himself to tell Mary. After Mary accidentally drops a lamp and says it seems dark in the room, Charles realizes he needs to tell Mary she's losing her eye sight. Charles finally tells a devastated Mary. Mary wakes up blind and scared. Dr. Baker suggests sending Mary to a school for the blind. Mary begs her parents not to send her. By the end of the episode, Mary leaves to go to the school.

Rose or Goldsmith. Who actually composed it first?

[rebeccakocher · 10/10 · 24 March 2024]

In part one when Laura is fishing at the pond and meets Seth Barton and brings him back to the little house, they play a love theme in the background. I could be wrong, but it sounds like the music from the movie Medicine Man, I believe it's called jungle trees, composed by Goldsmith. When they're climbing to the top of the jungle on the rope pulley system. My question is who actually wrote that tune? Because it's by two different composers into different movies/series. I've seen every episode of Little House, hundreds of times and I couldn't figure out where this music was from but I knew it was from something I had seen. So it's only the tune from the composed piece but it's very identifiable.

Another tragedy for the Ingalls

[gregorycanfield · 9/10 · 25 November 2021]

This episode is well-acted and pushes the obvious buttons. However, why they chose to take the show in this direction might not be so obvious. A significant amount of time passed since Mary simply started wearing glasses, and that was the extent of her vision problem. Since then, Mary was shown without glasses in several episodes, and her vision problem not referred to at all. All of a sudden, Mary is going blind. What a bummer! The episode is superlative in terms of the performances, but the story was an obvious setup for taking the show in a different direction. There was also an unneeded subplot of Laura meeting a new guy, who then starts to like Mary. Laura starts to resent Mary, even spewing some hateful words about her sister. However, this situation is not followed up on. It seemed to be simply forgotten about, in light of the bigger tragedy. Didn't make much sense. But, of course, everyone would tune in for Part 2.