Isaiah Edwards has made it his life's mission to be the best darn pa any child ever had, and since he and Grace adopted the Sanderson children, he's been doing great with all of them. Now, Edwards holds that when a boy comes of age, he ought to get out and start doing the work of a man, like hunting. To prove his point, he decided to buy John Jr. a rifle for his upcoming birthday. It'll shoot the hide off a wooden turkey in a 10 yard radius! Oh would that boy be surprised when he opened that gift. You see, John Jr. wasn't really up on all that hunting stuff, he was more of a bookworm and he was destined to one day write poetry as good as the ones he reads about in his book. Well, the night of John Jr.'s birthday arrived. He received many fantastic gifts, like a quill and ink set, a book of Keats, and the Winchester '73 from his surrogate Pa. Secretly John Jr. wasn't too thrilled with the rifle, but Edwards decreed they would go out Saturday morning and kill them some game...whether he liked it or not! Despite Edwards being told that John Jr. didn't want the rifle and couldn't shoot anything to save his life, Edwards still forced the boy to go hunting against his will.
John Jr. attempted to write out his feelings, but Edwards paid very little mind to it. He was hell bent on that boy breaking the cherry on that new rifle he spent $7.50 on. As the fearless hunters trudged through the woods, Edwards heard a strange sound coming from them bushes out yonder. He proceeded alone, rifle cocked. Suddenly out of nowhere a big ol' black bear attacked him and horrifically mauled him with an inch of his life, while John Jr. just stood there like a pussy and didn't help. Do something! Get Doc Baker, you lunk. So anyway, Edwards is given treatment and, thanks to being the tough, burly, mountain man he was, he would be up and about singing the praises of Ol' Dan Tucker in no time. John Jr. blamed himself for the accident. He actually convinced himself that Edwards wasn't proud of him or didn't even love him. Charles tried his best to console the grieving boy, but it did no good. That night, John Jr. experienced his first psychotic episode, hearing Edwards yelling "shoot him" over and over accompanied by some weird tune. Hastily, John Jr. grabbed the rifle and loaded it to the brims... this is not going to end well. So while everyone is relieved that Edwards will make a full recovery, they soon come to the grim realization that John Jr. had disappeared, plus Grace found the note he'd written Isaiah, and there's a reason why he passed it over without so much as a glance: he can't read. A dark secret he'd kept hidden so his kids wouldn't think any less of him. After that, Charles went off in search of John Jr. Where could that boy have gone to? Turns out the lanky lad is walking through the woods with his loaded birthday present. He's gonna try to kill himself a deer, but unfortunately he just couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. Charles found the boy weeping in the woods and brought him home, where he finally got to sit down and read the note to Edwards, detailing his doubts about their father/son relationship. Edwards was deeply touched, and from then on, they were closer than ever. So, John Jr. tendered the rifle and Edwards decided it was time to learn to read.
Very heartwarming episode. A really great character builder for both Isaiah Edwards and John Jr., and for me personally, I could relate to John Jr., because I could never bring myself to kill a living thing. I also enjoy spending my time reading and writing, so it would appear we're in the same boat. Victor French was fantastic, as always, I mean if he's in an episode, you're guaranteed a great performance. Radames Pera was good as John Jr., really showed the nervous young man who tried endlessly to please his pa, but to no avail. Bonnie Bartlett gave a strong performance as Isaiah's ever-loving, ever patient grace. Now, rumors speculate that Michael Landon was in that bear costume as he attacked Edwards. Whether or not that's true, I'm not sure. So anyway, if you like Mr. Edwards then this is the episode for you. Even though the bear scene is difficult to watch and a pretty violent scene for this show, but it's pulled off very well. His Father's Son is highly recommended.
John Jr. attempted to write out his feelings, but Edwards paid very little mind to it. He was hell bent on that boy breaking the cherry on that new rifle he spent $7.50 on. As the fearless hunters trudged through the woods, Edwards heard a strange sound coming from them bushes out yonder. He proceeded alone, rifle cocked. Suddenly out of nowhere a big ol' black bear attacked him and horrifically mauled him with an inch of his life, while John Jr. just stood there like a pussy and didn't help. Do something! Get Doc Baker, you lunk. So anyway, Edwards is given treatment and, thanks to being the tough, burly, mountain man he was, he would be up and about singing the praises of Ol' Dan Tucker in no time. John Jr. blamed himself for the accident. He actually convinced himself that Edwards wasn't proud of him or didn't even love him. Charles tried his best to console the grieving boy, but it did no good. That night, John Jr. experienced his first psychotic episode, hearing Edwards yelling "shoot him" over and over accompanied by some weird tune. Hastily, John Jr. grabbed the rifle and loaded it to the brims... this is not going to end well. So while everyone is relieved that Edwards will make a full recovery, they soon come to the grim realization that John Jr. had disappeared, plus Grace found the note he'd written Isaiah, and there's a reason why he passed it over without so much as a glance: he can't read. A dark secret he'd kept hidden so his kids wouldn't think any less of him. After that, Charles went off in search of John Jr. Where could that boy have gone to? Turns out the lanky lad is walking through the woods with his loaded birthday present. He's gonna try to kill himself a deer, but unfortunately he just couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. Charles found the boy weeping in the woods and brought him home, where he finally got to sit down and read the note to Edwards, detailing his doubts about their father/son relationship. Edwards was deeply touched, and from then on, they were closer than ever. So, John Jr. tendered the rifle and Edwards decided it was time to learn to read.
Very heartwarming episode. A really great character builder for both Isaiah Edwards and John Jr., and for me personally, I could relate to John Jr., because I could never bring myself to kill a living thing. I also enjoy spending my time reading and writing, so it would appear we're in the same boat. Victor French was fantastic, as always, I mean if he's in an episode, you're guaranteed a great performance. Radames Pera was good as John Jr., really showed the nervous young man who tried endlessly to please his pa, but to no avail. Bonnie Bartlett gave a strong performance as Isaiah's ever-loving, ever patient grace. Now, rumors speculate that Michael Landon was in that bear costume as he attacked Edwards. Whether or not that's true, I'm not sure. So anyway, if you like Mr. Edwards then this is the episode for you. Even though the bear scene is difficult to watch and a pretty violent scene for this show, but it's pulled off very well. His Father's Son is highly recommended.
