Little House: The Last Farewell (1984 TV Movie) User Reviews

The grand finale...of the best series ever!

[mda-63188 · 9/10 · 31 March 2017]

Did I cry? Yes. Sure I did. When everything you have loved from the first second of Little House is blown up in the air, well, you just can't help it.

But let me tell the story:

As the movie begins, we see Caroline talking on the phone with aunt Tess.(whoever she is,Aunt Tess is someone whom Charles doesn't like and is coming for a visit). Since Charles has a one-month holiday, they decide to leave the children with Aunt Tess and so they go to Walnut Grove...only they didn't know they would be there to bid their last farewell, hence the title.

On the same train there were a few rich gentleman meeting: owners of land development companies, they want to take over the towns of Hero Township. Meanwhile,the Ingalls, the Wilders, Mr.Montague and Mr.Edwards are reunited in a merry family gathering when John Carter comes in and asks for someone to watch over the house while he's away with Sarah. Charles and Caroline readily agree to stay there...just like the old times, remember?

That Sunday in church, Lassiter has the pleasure to announce that Walnut Grove was his, but don't worry, gentle citizens, you can stay and work for him as salaried employees...INDEED! Then there's talk of confront, Caroline and Laura deeply worried because their husbands will do anything for their lands. Lassiter and Almanzo have a confront, but he's okay. That Friday, the town makes a move, but Lassiter has the United States cavalry ready, so he gives an ultimatum: they have to leave Walnut Grove on Sunday.

Laura is so angry,she smashes the windows of the house and a couple of dishes. At the meeting in town, the reverend prays for all those who will be touched by this sorrow..Edwards is still angry, but Laura gets up and, grand lady she is, she says to give them what for, and leave them a Walnut Grove buried in chaos..John Carter has a load of dynamite they can use...And so, next day, one by one, the buildings are blown up: first the boarding house, then Nellie's restaurant, the Oleoson store, the post-office, the mill... As each one of them was being shattered to pieces, I was crying and wailing "NO"...

Lassiter arrives and immediately orders the cavalry to arrest the citizens, but they have done nothing wrong according to the law. So everyone marches away, singing "Onward Christian Soldiers", and..it's over. Little House on the Prairie is over...

Some may say that Michael Landon wrote this in anger because they had canceled his show, but, it's a very good ending. If Little House had ended happily, perhaps we would have forgotten it..this way, we learn to appreciate all of the nine seasons, because Walnut Grove was destroyed, there's no more Little House on The Prairie.

Regardless to say, everyone was great: Melissa Gilbert was wonderful, Richard Bull was very convincing, and it was incredible. Don't miss this!!!!

An Explosive Farewell to Walnut Grove.

[ExplorerDS6789 · 8/10 · 18 May 2012]

Charles has finally made it big. He's been awarded a four week paid vacation, but as luck would have it, at the exact time his vacation begins, Caroline's aunt was coming to stay. Charles hated her and caused a scene in the restaurant where they were eating when he found out. He got in a fight with a patron and got his ass kicked. How the mighty have fallen. But maybe Caroline's aunt coming won't be so bad, as they can burden her to watch the children while they take their vacation to...where else? Walnut Grove. While Charles and Caroline enjoyed the train trip, a meeting was being held in a private car. Men in business suits, lead by Nathan Lassiter, discussed land they'd purchased, namely almost all of southeast Minnesota. There were a few towns which he wanted checked out. Among them, Walnut Grove. These men were railroad tycoons and they wanted this land to run lines through and make a mint. So after another day or so, the Ingallses arrived in Walnut Grove, where Caroline is tearfully reunited with Laura, Almanzo and little Rose. On the same stage that brought them also brought a man named Drew Coleson, one of the aforementioned railroad tycoons, come to survey the town. That night, the Ingallses, Wilders, Willie, Rachel, Edwards and Montague had a fine dinner and Montague outshines Charles on his own fiddle. John Carter stops by, looking for a house-sitter as he was going on a freight run and taking Sarah with him. Charles jumped at the chance to stay in the little house again. It would be like old times, especially when Charles went to have one of his world-famous talks with Jason, who was experiencing younger-brother blues. Meanwhile, Coleson got back to Mr. Lassiter about his findings, which gave him an evil grin. What are they up to? Lassiter came to town that Sunday to address the entire town in church about some big news. Lassiter took the pulpit and, in a nut shell, his company owns the land on which Walnut Grove stood and he informed all the residents that they were now officially his employees. Nels stood up and decreed they would fight this to the bitter end. They needed a lawyer. Charles and Nels seek out Mr. Davis in Sleepy Eye, who informed them that Lassiter's case was legit and the Grove stood no chance in court. Lassiter & Co. owned the land and could do as they pleased. I'd say this time they're really up the creek without a paddle.

Well, sir, you can bet they won't give up without a fight. Almanzo spent all night oiling and loading his double-barreled buddy to combat those grease-balls. Just as expected, Lassiter and his boys paid Almanzo a visit next morning. They must have some kind of death wish. Lassiter ordered Almanzo off the premises in 48 hours, or else. Manly lunged at him, but became overpowered by his goons who beat him up, then nearly killed poor Mr. Montague. What a dick. This means war! Despite Reverend Alden's protests, this is what had to be done. So when Lassier and crew came back on Friday, they're met by all the men folk, sans the reverend, carrying rifles. But the evil Lassiter called in the army. Colonel Forbes and his armed cavalry arrived almost immediately, and sadly, the Grove was outnumbered and had no choice but to give in. They had until Sunday. Then Lassiter would take control of Walnut Grove and rule the world! Laura was livid. She took her frustrations out on the house, smashing every window to pieces. She shared this at a town meeting that night, and then it hit them. They had a marvelous idea about how to stick it to Lassiter: get some dynamite and blow the whole town to smithereens! By God, that's just crazy enough to work! On Sunday, they did it. Tragically, tearfully, they wired all the major buildings in town and armed the detonators. First up, Almanzo blew up their boarding house. Next, Edwards blew up Hanson's Mill. Next, the Feed & Seed and the livery stable. Then Nels detonated Oleson's Mercantile. Doc Baker detonated his office and the post office. Finally, Willie blew up Nellie's Restaurant. All that remained of Walnut Grove was a mass of wood and splinters, but the church/schoolhouse still stood. Um, why? When Lassiter and his cronies rode in to what was once Walnut Grove, they received the shock of their lives: a hell of a mess to clean up. That, and the mayors of neighboring towns promised the same if Lassiter tried to take them over, so the Grove did not die in vain. The entire township marched away singing "Onward Christian Soldiers." I wonder what they're going to do now. Maybe they can all move in with Charles, he seemed to have a big enough house. R.I.P. Walnut Grove 1840-1890.

The Last Farewell. It was sad. Very sad indeed. Sad, frustrating, and a little over-the-top. How long was Lassiter going to wait before unveiling this scheme of his? I wonder if Mr. Hanson was ever aware of it? Was blowing up the buildings really necessary? In the long run? For Michael Landon, it was. You cancel his show, he's gonna leave you with a great big mess. Oh well. Wonderfully acted by everybody involved. Landon wrote and directed it to perfection. James Karen was great as that transparently evil prick, Mr. Lassiter, and the fact that this TV movie didn't win one single Emmy is the greatest crime of all! Landon, Dabbs Greer, Melissa Gilbert, Victor French and James Karen deserved Emmys for this! But anyway, if you were with Little House in the beginning, why not be here to see it all end? Very tragic and depressing, but there is a sliver of hope at the end. Check out The Last Farewell, as well as the rest of the series. It has left an everlasting impression.

Very sad!

[mitchrmp · 10/10 · 1 December 2013]

This is probably one of the most heart-wrenching "episodes" of the entire Little House series! Here we see most of the main characters (with the exception of Harriet Oleson who is in a hospital). We watch in agony as the citizens of Walnut Grove, including Charles and Caroline, say goodbye to their town.

There's really not much I can say about this movie. The last thirty minutes is just agonizing! We watch the buildings blow up one by one and see the realistic tears on the faces of the actors and actresses. The tears were will! The town was REALLY being blown up! The actors and actresses were really crying as they said goodbye to this beloved era of television!

Loved Little House

[Mattswife97 · 28 October 2001]

I love Little House On The Prairie so much. I cried when they blew up all the main buildings. I think it would have been great if they left all the buildings up so people could actually visit "Walnut Grove". I would have loved to see what it was like practically growing up there. I think it would have been so much fun to make that kind of a television show. I still watch it everyday on TBS even though I've seen every single episode. =)

TV now vs then

[katken-06561 · 10/10 · 30 September 2015]

I would much rather see this type of movie and/or show on TV anytime than some of the weird, grotesque things that are on now. What is this world coming to with all the zombies and vampires, etc. and wacky, idiot, reality TV that we have to see now? Why can't we have nice wholesome shows like they were back then? Why shouldn't they have blown up the buildings? I think that it was only fair that the townspeople took with them what they brought. The "landowner" should not be able to get that for free, too. He was only showing how very greedy he was and how unreasonable he could be. If he had been a "real" human being, he would have tried to negotiate with the townspeople to try to be fair.

A must see .

[DPDOLL · 10/10 · 7 September 2001]

If your a little house fan , then this the final episode is a must . Even for those who are not fans , this one was a real tear jerker . As most little house episodes where . Still glad to see those reruns . A reunion would be wonderful , even though , it would never be the same without Pa . They could do it up like the Andy Griffith reunion without Aunt Bee . Wasn't the same without her , but they never forgot her . Just hope that we get to see Albert in it as well , because they've never really shown us whether or not he kicked the blood disease, to live his life out as Dr. Albert Ingels . And it would just be awesome to see Melissa Gilbert as our Laura Ingels once again . I highly recommend this final series of little house .

RIP Walnut Grove

[coreycitn63 · 8/10 · 27 December 2021]

The reason that Michael Landon blew up Walnut Grove was that he was ordered to destroy the sets when the final movie was filmed. He brilliantly incorporated it to be in a movie. Only two buildings was sparred. One was the church cause it would upset the Christian community and would be in extreme poor taste. Second was the Ingalls house cause it was iconic.

The very last time of the prairie

[Paulldavidson · 7/10 · 18 May 2022]

Lassiter a land developer marches into walnut grove taking ownership of walnut grove no respect he has his men inckuding himself beat almonzo up infront of his daughter whos just a toddler clearly no respect what kind of person does that i mean I'm sure we've had fights but infront of toddlers i mean like really seriously i was disappointed that a show that ran for 9 seasons had to end like this. The show is based on laura ingalls wilders books walnut grove was destroyed but in real life the town still exists and theres a museum called the laura ingalls wilder museum.

You goofed one of your goofs.

[ouize · 10/10 · 22 July 2020]

You say they goofed when Charles asked the driver to stop at the boarding house to "save a trip into town." You said it wouldn't have saved a trip because the stagecoach had to go into town anyway. But Charles isn't referring to the stagecoach saving a trip; he's referring to Laura and Almanzo saving a trip. Context is everything!

Ending on a bad note

[gregorycanfield · 6/10 · 13 February 2022]

I agree with some of the other reviewers. It wasn't necessary to end the series in this way. They could have done a story that left viewers with a positive image to remember. This story was a big build up to a complete letdown. At first, everyone was determined to fight the evil man who had "bought" Walnut Grove. Ultimately, everyone accepts defeat, and prepares to leave their beloved town. Not without leaving their mark, however. Everybody blows up all the houses before they depart the town! Was some form of satisfaction to be taken from this? I don't think so. Reportedly, the "explosive" ending was Michael Landon's personal reaction to the series being cancelled. Landon should have left his personal feelings out of it.

"Little House On The Prairie" Goes Out With A Bang!

[Paris4242 · 10/10 · 14 November 2006]

"Little House On The Prairie" was one of those rare shows that actually had a final episode for it's original run. Perhaps Michael Landon's long relationship with NBC had something to do with that. The plot is simple. A evil miner takes advantage of the law and buys Walnut Grove forcing the people of the town to take action. James Karen plays the bad guy "Nathan Lassiter" to perfection. At the time Karen did a lot of commercials on television, and after playing "Lassiter" sponsors were afraid to use him as their spokesman. Luckily for us he would go on to find more work in film and television. Michael Landon's writing and direction on this final show was wonderful. He was always able to get a lot out of his actors. Dabbs Greer, who plays "Rev. Alden" should have won the Emmy. His performance is both moving and touching. No doubt Michael Landon had something to do with that. How sad shows like this aren't made anymore.

Needlessly traumatic ending to a wonderful series.

[LaverneandShirleysucks · 5/10 · 15 October 2021]

They could have ended this beloved series a million different ways that would've been great. I'll never understand why they chose to have everyone of Walnut Grove forced off their land and to blow up the whole town the way they did. It was so unnecessary and a kick in the gut to viewers.

I get that Michael Landon didn't want to have the set used by others, but he could've blown the town up after filming the finale instead of doing it in front of millions of loyal viewers.

Yes, I like happy endings and this is Little House on the Prairie, where happy endings are expected to happen. I wish Landon would've had the foresight to know that this series would be watched and still loved for decades after it's original airing and it would've been better closure to see all the characters continue on in their home happy and together. Why kill Walnut Grove? Why punish the viewers?

For me, Walnut Grove still exists and I choose to ignore that this movie ever happened. I give it 5 stars for Caroline's return and her reunion with Laura. But that's it.

For die-hard "Little House" fans only

[sjbradford · 17 September 2001]

The main problem with this TV-movie finale of the "Little House on the Prairie" series is that it features the cast of the show's final season, by which time many of the better characters had been replaced by blander carbon-copies. So, you get the Carters instead of the Ingalls (with a few exceptions), Nancy Oleson instead of Nellie, Miss Plum instead of Miss Beadle, etc. The return of original series stars Michael Landon and Karen Grassle helps, but where's Mary, Adam, Albert, and Carrie? And, worst of all, Katherine MacGregor, who played town villianness Harriet Oleson, is nowhere to been seen. The Oleson family was the saving grace of "Little House", helping to cut through all the treacle, and the two most important Olesons, Harriet and Nellie, aren't in this movie. The story doesn't help, either. Couldn't they come up with a more uplifting plot than the destruction of the entire town?

Unless you're a die-hard fan, skip this one (as well as the other two sequel TV movies), and seek out the original pilot movie instead.

Michael Landon ends Little House with a bang and lets corporate America know how he feels about them

[filmgoer249711 · 10/10 · 14 December 2021]

A lot of people were upset with how Michael Landon ended LHPOP with this abbreviated 10th season television film, but he stood his ground and for what he believed in. This film is all about what property rights, hard work and life are really about. We learn, correctly, that property rights do not believe what the people of Walnut Grove and most of us assume that it means. If the government thinks that it would better serve society for a corporation, in this case a railroad, to have your property, then they can take it, but Michael Landon shows us with a bang, that we can stand together against this forces.

the last episode

[sweetmolalla · 10/10 · 4 February 2007]

this was by far one of the saddest shows i have ever seen i grew up watching reruns of this show and my mother was raised on it when they blow up the entire town at the end it is so sad cause we just spent the last 10 years watching them build it up just to have to destroy everything and we never get a chance to see how everyone does with there future no so uncertain it was also strange to see how everyone was dressed after not seeing the show for a few years all i could recall was the older prairie clothes so when this episode started it was strange seeing them all dressed up in city clothes all in all this is a sad end to a great show

Great TV made movie

[garyldibert · 8/10 · 6 July 2008]

This show aired on TV on February 6 1984 starring Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls Wilder, Dean Butler as Almanzo Wilder and Richard Bull as Nels Olesen. Little House: The Last Farewell was the third and last TV movie based on the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder, though it was telecast out of sequence, shown before the second film. Charles Ingalls and his wife Karen leave in another town far away from Walnut Grove. So Charles gets a vacation and the only place that Charles and Karen wants to go back to is Walnut Grove. So the two get on a train and then takes a stage coach that's drops them of in front of the Wilders house three hours early. So Melissa who's overwhelm with emotions after seeing her mom for the first time in 5 years. Out of nowhere a vaster shows up at the Sunday church service and makes an announcement that sets off a chain of reactions that no one dream of. This was the third of three "Little House" telemovie sequels, and the last story to be filmed, but not the last to be broadcast it debuted during Easter of 1984, while the film made before it, Little House: Bless All the Dear Children in 1984 would air eight months later, in December of that same year. I wasn't a big Little House on the Praire fan but this movie made for TV. Caught my eye. I love the action and drama and it kept you on the edge of you seat. Based on that, I give this movie 8 weasel stars, because there was no real leading actress.

Literally Going Out With a Bang

[shelbythuylinh · 10/10 · 4 December 2021]

Well when a greedy tycoon comes over and buys the Walnut Grove as they the residents can't do a thing about it and in the Army and law take the former's side over the latter

And that the only way to seek revenge is in the form of dynamite and how that despite the fact they will miss their old homes and businesses the nasty tycoon will take years to build.

Serves him right. A lot of the actors like Victor French and Michael Landon are now deceased. But really wished they would had made a movie there about their new lives.

The Last Psychotic Farewell

[tracywinters-44332 · 1/10 · 5 August 2015]

The cynicism of Michael Landon (and Hollywood in general) is very apparent in this final episode of Little House (in fact, this was a TV-movie which aired after the show had already concluded, not the official 'final episode').

A land developer owns rights to Walnut Grove real estate and forces everyone from their homes. Disgusted with the idea, the townsfolk come up with a 'wonderful' solution: they will BLOW UP the town! This seems like a good thing to do to all involved -- no one protests that this prospect might be rather demented, as well as violent and destructive to the children.... "This is the way to solve any problem, kids. If you can't have something, DESTROY IT with vengeance and hatred so no one else can have it".

At one point, Half-Pint goes berserk and smashes dishes on the floor, followed by pulverizing all the windows in her own home. Um.... does anyone know if Doc Baker practices psychiatry, as it would seem Half-Pint is in need of some serious therapy.

What a terribly pathetic way to end a mostly beloved family series, besides being an extremely selfish final statement by executive producer Landon, who reportedly ended the series this way because he was enraged that in canceling 'Little House', NBC did not tell him anything about it until the last minute.

The best of them all

[Luv-being-cute · 6 February 2004]

This episode happens to be my favorite one. The reason why Mrs. Oleson is not in it is because (if you have ever seen it) she is in the hospital in Minneapolis. She has been in there for 6 months. But Katherine McGregor (the person who plays her) was on a pilgrimage for India. I would recommend watching it, especially if you have seen the rest of the series, because I feel that I the best of them all.

A boring and horrible way to end what was once a great series the first 5 years

[alswindle · 1/10 · 29 February 2012]

According to Melissa Gilbert (Laura Ingalls) in her autobiography, Michael Landon (Pa Ingalls) was FURIOUS that NBC canceled "his" series without formally telling him after 25 years of acting on NBC's Bonanza and Little House. Michael Landon had a crazy sense of humor and said, "I am going to blow the set up because I am "mad."" This episode is ridiculous. Basically a few men white claim they own the land, the town, and the people, and violence ensues. Either the people have to get out immediately or become the "property" of the white corporation. Laura gets mad, smashes dishes and breaks windows. Then John Carter (who moved into Laura's old childhood cabin)tells the town he has a wagon full of dynamite and they will blow up the entire town! Gee- what a terrific idea! 75% of this episode is just the camera going from set to set, the towns people crying, and the sets being blown to smithereens. NOT COOL!

Michael Landon's Ego Goes 3 More Rounds

[XXniteXX · 1/10 · 21 March 2023]

The 9 Seasons show overall gets a 10 star rating, but not the 3 movies. I'm going to give my thoughts on all 3. I've always seen these 3 final movies as dreams / nightmares that Laura has, (they've done dream sequences before), there's just too much inconsistencies and all around messed up, never really cared for them and I grew up with this show in the 80s.

The 1st movie, Albert, who Laura was close to the most, has a bloody nose all the time, goes back to Walnut Grove, probably finds his future wife and even gets a scholarship to be a Dr, finds out he has a blood disease (leukemia?), most likely dies. The 2nd movie, years later in 1896, Rose is still only a toddler and no one has aged, it's Christmas time and Rose is kidnapped by a crazy lady. The 3rd movie, the town gets taken over with the worst possible scenario, everyone has to leave, to prevent them from getting their homes and buildings also, they blow everything up.

The 3 movies are stories that would totally break Laura and everyone else involved and just doesn't go. I know Michael Landon was difficult and stubborn by accounts of co-stars, he was mad that Little House got canceled, didn't want the set recycled, wrote or greenlit these messed up, absurd stories on purpose, which is childish. With the style of the show and certain major canon already established, like Albert returning to Walnut Grove as a Dr, it makes zero sense to end it this way. True fans of Little House would not be giving it 10 star ratings.

Poor quality and unnecessary.

[awarlock-17703 · 5/10 · 27 August 2023]

This made for tv movie really seemed thrown together. It was liked the script was written on the set while they were filming and even ad-libbed in spots. Anyway, long story short, a land developer arrived claiming the property Walnut grove was built on. He offered to allow the people to live there, but as employees of his company. The towns people did not like the terms, so they ultimately blew up about all the buildings there out of spite (yeah, kinda stupid). When the land owner showed up with the town leaders from neighboring communities, he got threats from them as well. If he was going to go to their communities, he can expect the same thing from them. The Reverend then said, you see, this wasn't done in vain. Then they all marched out of town

Just so everyone knows, Katherine MacGregor wasn't in the episode because she had just converted to Hinduism and was on a pilgrimage in India during the filming of this movie.