Three, two, one.
- No, let me do it! - No, let me do it.
I think that was faster.
Fast enough to win?
It depends who we're racing.
How much do Ma and Pa owe Miss Henderson again?
- Six dollars? - Six dollars and thirty cents.
I'll win the slingshot competition and the ring toss.
That's ten cents.
You'll win the embroidery competition and the essay contest.
That one's worth a whole dollar.
It won't make up all the debt, but it'll make up some of it.
Shh.
I don't want them to know that we know.
- I wanna win the money and surprise them. - All right.
- Admiring your corn again? - That's right.
Next year we'll plant twice as much and buy a milk cow
and get to building a bigger house…
one with bedrooms.
Mortgage payments will come in any day now.
The crops will be in. I'll do more winter hunting and trapping.
We'll have plenty of furs to sell. Dream big.
I'll dream big when that mortgage starts coming on time every month.
- What do you think about a bigger house? - Yes.
We want a sleeping loft.
- And a bookcase for our treasures. - And a sitting room. And a stove.
Never hurts to know what you want.
Dream as big as the sky. Make a plan to get it.
All I'm dreaming about right now is Founders Day.
Our plan is to eat popcorn and dance at the dance.
Solid plan.
I wanna dance.
Independence is a town named after a way of life.
The families who came here were hoping for freedom
and a fresh start in a new place.
You see, I much prefer your cobbler.
I didn't know that you could play the piano, Mr. Scott.
Years of lessons.
In the West, I'm all about the new songs. Any requests?
There's a raffle and kettle corn and lemonade. Come on!
Silly me, thinking it would be a family day.
It's hard to compete with lemonade.
Not wrong about that. It's good to see you both.
Mm.
I heard the Osage are riding out next week.
Most of them, yes.
Will you go with them?
- We haven't decided yet. - No.
We heard school's starting in September.
Thank goodness. The girls have had enough of my lessons.
Oh.
- I thought you'd be teaching. - I don't know. I… I have my hands full.
Ladies and gentlemen of Independence,
may I have your attention, please?
Let me be the first to wish you all…
…a Happy Founders Day!
Hit it, Scott!
Here you go.
The ring toss is at the same time as the three-legged race.
- You're not gonna be able to do both. - I could enter the ring toss.
If I win, I could give you my prize money.
- You told her? - She won't say anything.
- We don't need help. - We do need help.
If we end up staying, you could teach me how to make flower crowns.
Then we'll be even.
That's fair.
Pa says to dream as big as the sky, and then make a plan to get it.
So let's go get it.
And no one knows where he went?
Apparently, he asked Dr. Blake in Elk City to take on his patients,
and then he rode right off the face of the earth.
- Haven't heard anything since. - Mm-hmm.
Maybe he went back to his wife.
- Why would you… - Or maybe he went off to divorce her.
It's 50-50. At least now you know.
Know what? I don't know anything except that he was untruthful.
I wouldn't give up on him, not yet.
- Since when are you an optimist? - Uh…
- I am not an optimist. - Mm-hmm.
I just know a girl in love when I see her.
Who said anything about love?
Oh, we're almost out.
Do you want to go shoot some holes in this barrel?
I always feel so much better when I shoot holes in things.
No. No, thank you.
How romantic.
Mind if I borrow her?
Go on. I'll finish up here.
Why'd you tell him we hadn't decided yet?
Because we haven't.
You've said you didn't wanna walk away from everything we've built here,
so what changed?
I felt like I made a difference at the signing.
I'd like to keep doing that. Translating, negotiating, looking out for our future.
Your father wouldn't like it, not after everything you put into the house.
I don't care what my father likes.
It was one thing when the land was in limbo, but the deal is done.
I'm afraid we won't be welcome. We won't be safe.
- On our own land? - That's not how they'll see it.
Louis said he'd buy the house and the farm.
Maybe starting over will be the best thing for all of us.
All of us.
So you just wanna leave Julia here.
She'll always be with us.
- Happy Founders Day to y'all. - Happy Founders Day.
- You told me the money would come. - It's from my father.
He put Carrie's name in the Bible.
What?
Mr. Gustafson had a stroke.
- Oh no. - He's alive. He's still recovering.
His wife says they can start payments once their son comes to help,
but that would be long after the harvest.
- No money for a year? - At least.
The girls need new clothes, new shoes, books for school.
We're already low on cornmeal, flour, beans.
And we're in debt.
I hate kicking a sick man out of his house,
but we could repossess, look for a new buyer.
I'd have to go back to get things settled.
Even if we had money for the trip, I… I can't be here alone, Charles.
I need to get that teaching job.
What about Carrie?
I'll find someone to watch her. Or I'll bring her with me.
This town's growing like a weed.
They'll need good carpenters before the snow comes.
Every time Eli James opens his mouth, it's about that railroad.
There must be jobs there.
Something will turn up.
Dream big.
On your mark, get set,
go!
Go, go, go!
- You got it! - Come on!
We have our winner!
Bravo!
All right, let's go.
- Good job, girls. - Come on!
You must've been a good father.
I tried.
They were lucky to have you.
Okay, enough slush.
I have a slingshot competition to judge.
Both of you pull at the same time.
No, pull together. You're pulling separately.
Okay, now hold on the left. And on the right…
Okay, it's… it's… Oh!
It's a spectacular day.
I did have a vision, didn't I?
Yes.
I hear Mary is Romanzy's big competition for the essay contest.
I haven't heard a word of it, but she's been practicing for weeks.
Oh! May the best speaker win.
I've been thinking about how much I miss teaching.
Higher on the right side. Exactly, like that. Hold it. Hold it.
Perfect.
I'm sorry, you were saying?
I… I'd like to take the teaching position when the term starts.
Caroline, that position's been filled. A young woman Margaret recommended.
She has two years' experience and comes with very high marks.
Oh.
You know teaching's for unmarried women.
Those are not my rules. They're just the rules.
You've got your baby and your family.
And I'm sure you'll agree this town needs as many young, fresh faces
as we can tempt.
Of course.
Besides, I've got something else for you.
Once the railroad comes in,
I'll be entertaining and hosting new arrivals.
Eli is planning to run for mayor.
That's a secret. Don't say a word.
I'll have my hands absolutely full,
which means I won't have much time for the Women's Society.
I'd like you to take it on.
I'd still be the director, of course, but you'd manage the day-to-day.
The women look up to you.
I'm flattered.
Unfortunately, I need paid work right now.
Oh, I didn't realize.
I'll let you get on with your day.
The Judson's planning to expand their restaurant and bakery.
They'll be looking for an excellent cook.
I'd be happy to recommend you, if that's of interest.
Yes, thank you.
And you'll let me know about the Women's Society?
You'd want a working woman to head your society?
We're all working women, aren't we?
I was wondering, now that the treaty is signed,
if the town might be getting some railroad work.
If so,
I'd appreciate you putting in a good word for me.
There certainly is work,
and I'd be happy to recommend you as a potential foreman.
We could use a man like you.
Thank you.
Of course, a railroad in Independence will take some time,
but there's plenty available on the extension lines.
Could be Nebraska, or, more likely, Colorado.
I don't know if I like the idea of being that far away from my family.
It would only be for a year or so.
I'll imagine you've got big plans for that land.
- Yes. - Think about it.
Now I need to go see about my girls.
They have a knack for finding trouble. They get that from Jemma, not me.
I am pleased to announce that our first-prize winner
for excellent design, color choice, and stitchwork is…
Mary Ingalls.
- Thank you. - Well done.
Excellent work. Very good.
Congratulations.
Thank you. You won something too?
Gingersnaps, first prize. Didn't have much competition.
I haven't seen Caleb anywhere.
He was a little down this morning.
Wouldn't tell me why.
Maybe you can find him, cheer him up?
Thank you, ladies.
Hello.
Dr. Tann, welcome back.
- I was hoping we could, uh, talk. - Well, I need to get going.
I don't require company, thank you.
- I'm just back from Philadelphia. - Well, I hope you had a nice trip.
- Emily, I'd like to explain. - There's no need. A no is a no.
I sent divorce papers home just after our Christmas.
My wife wouldn't sign them.
I see.
When you asked about the future,
I knew I had to go and get it settled immediately.
So I did.
Hm.
Enjoy your day.
Want some?
Fought off Old Man Spencer for the last of it.
It's fine. He doesn't have any teeth anyway.
Cheer up.
It's Founders Day. Two years of Independence.
Sam Parker just told me a crew of young men came into town
to work construction last week,
charging half the rate.
Half the rate?
They even know one end of a hammer from the other?
Does it matter?
The couple that bought our land in Wisconsin just defaulted.
Thought I might try to pick up construction work this fall, but…
I just can't seem to get ahead.
I have a spot of work chasing strays on a cattle drive coming up.
Happy to split the job.
Probably give you a milk cow for free.
The calves, they struggle to keep up with the herd.
Sure your girls would love some fresh butter.
- Now, that's generous. - Nah, purely selfish.
If you don't stick around, you don't help me build my house.
- A house? - Hm. Things are settled with the land.
Figured
maybe I should get settled too.
Look, don't worry about those young men and their cheap work.
First gust or gale that hits, people want good work from professionals.
What do you say we go into this rail-splitting competition,
show these young men who's boss?
Hi, Laura. Who's your friend?
This is Good Eagle.
Good Eagle, this is Edith and Romanzy.
- How come you never came to play with us? - You were mean about Caleb. That's why.
Have you finally learned to read?
Or will you have to sit with the babies when school starts?
I can read.
Next competitor, step forward.
So I guess you were lying about being able to hit a rabbit from 20 paces.
I won the embroidery contest.
You should've seen Romanzy's face.
Congratulations.
Are you all right?
You got a letter.
From my mother.
Your mother?
After Christmas, Emily put notices in newspapers all over the country.
My mother saw one, and she wrote to me.
She said that she didn't know what had happened to me.
She's living in Cincinnati now, and she wants me to come home.
Oh.
I wanna see her more than anything.
But what if Emily gets upset at me for leaving?
Emily won't be upset.
She'll miss you.
But she won't be upset.
What about you?
Family is everything.
I want you to have that.
But I'll miss you too.
Independence, the word, stands for freedom and self-sufficiency.
And Independence, the town, stands for those same values.
I don't want to go to school next year.
Forget about those girls.
We'll sit together,
and no one will bother us 'cause we're smarter than all of them.
You don't even know if you're staying yet.
I might be all alone next year.
You have your sister. You'll never be alone.
You're right.
…for other like-minded individuals.
His hard work paid off.
Our town is more than Independence.
It is home.
First.
Well done, Romanzy James.
Last but not least, Mary Ingalls.
Miss Ingalls?
- You should go up there. - Miss Ingalls?
- No. Mary's the smart one. - Last call for Miss Ingalls.
You're just as smart.
Then the competition is concluded.
Wait!
I'm Miss Ingalls.
Independence…
is a town named after a way of life.
Independence is actually a funny name for a town like this.
The prairie is so big, and we're so small.
The truth is
none of us can make it alone here.
We need help from each other
when we need a place to live
and when we get sick
and when we get lonely.
Independence isn't about self-reliance
or liberty or freedom or any of those things.
It's a place to come together,
a place to find out who you really are.
Independence means getting to know people who have been here a long time
or people who have just arrived,
people who are different from anyone you've known before
or people who feel like family.
Independence isn't really a place.
It's an idea.
It's the people you carry around in your heart.
Good job, Laura!
- Whoo! - Yeah!
Bravo!
Amazing speech!
Laura!
Bravo!
Good for you, Laura.
Her speech was just great.
And the winner is…
Romanzy James.
- Well done! - Bravo!
Bravo!
Thank you.
Here's to more.
It doesn't matter.
That was the best speech I've ever heard
and the truest.
What do you say we go have some music?
All right.
Yeah!
This way.
What's rattling around up there?
You ever thought about settling down again?
I've tried my hand at a settled life.
It doesn't agree with me.
See, I think I've realized that I am… I'm at my best when I'm part of a family.
I wish I could give that to you.
Can we talk?
Just because we danced doesn't mean I have anything to say to you.
- You have every right to be upset. - I'm glad we agree on that.
You made me feel like a fool.
- I'm sorry. - Why didn't you just tell me?
I don't know. I… You caught me by surprise, I suppose. I…
I didn't expect to fall in love again.
I thought about you every moment I was away.
And I very much want you to be part of my future…
if you'll still have me.
Now maybe we just…
have another dance for now.
I remember the first time I saw you dance.
I remember you barging in with a wagon full of books
in the middle of our cotillion lesson.
You offered to show me the library.
I wanted your Jane Austen.
- Come on. I was charming. - You certainly thought so.
We had no idea what was ahead of us.
Love.
War.
Loss.
- Promise. - We thought everything was possible.
- We wanted to find a new way to live. - It's not what I thought it would be.
I'm not sure it ever is.
I wanna try again.
To start again.
I wanna feel that promise,
that possibility.
You were right.
She'll always be with us,
no matter where we go.
I'll, uh… I'll talk to Louis about the farm.
Mm.
Hello, sweet, happy.
Yeah.
May I have this dance?
We can watch Carrie.
I know the day didn't go exactly the way we hoped.
It never does, does it?
I know we can make it work.
We always do.
What have you done?
What have you done? You've ruined lives.
What are you gonna do? You're not gonna walk away from me.
- Hey! - I won't.
I'll be right back.
Don't walk away from me, James.
Hey! Don't you walk away from me, James.
I said not here, Kind.
Pay for it? I paid with my sweat.
Leave him be, Russell!
Hey.
He's a snake.
He lured us all here to watch us get thrown out of our homes.
Go on! Tell him, James.
Now that the deal with the Osage has gone through,
the government wants to kick us all off our claims
unless we pay up in the next two weeks.
- What do you mean? - The Homestead Act isn't any good here.
Now that they bought the land from the Osage,
the government wants a return on their investment.
Eli and his railroad sold us a lie, and now we're left with the bill!
I did no such thing.
How much do they want?
Dollar fifty an acre.
Fair market value.
And if I don't have it?
The marshals will see to it that you and me and any other fool who can't pay
will be cleared out behind the Indians.
Progress isn't without its bumps and bruises.
To hell with you and your progress.
I could arrange a loan from the railroad.
A foreman's salary would be more than adequate to pay it back,
even double your land.
It would just be for a year…
maybe two.
What do you say?
How much did you hear?
Enough.
What will the harvest bring in?
I… I don't know.
Enough to buy ten acres?
We could sell off some of the furniture,
the pocket watch, the combs, the fiddle.
If our jobs come through, it might get us through the winter.
Or I could take the foreman position.
We didn't come all this way to be apart.
What is that?
Prairie fire.
Let it burn.
Let Eli's town burn to the ground. It's what he deserves.
Fire! Fire!
Eli, go.
Here.
Take it. Be careful.
We need to dig a firebreak!
Fast and straight!
Keep going! Keep going!
They'll put it out.
- What if they can't? - Then we can run to the creek.
That's where all the birds and rabbits and snakes would go.
Then that's where we'll run.
Let us pause in life's pleasures
And count its many tears
While we all sup sorrow with the poor
There's a song that will linger Forever in our ears
Oh, hard times, come again no more
'Tis the song, the sigh of the weary
Hard times, hard times Come again no more
Many days have you lingered Around my cabin door
Oh, hard times, come again no more
It's not working!
We need to fall back!
No!
We have to keep fighting!
No one's losing their life for your town, Eli!
- Get back! - Fall back!
- Get back! - Get back!
Fall back!
Everyone, fall back!
Come on!
Get away from here!
The wind is shifting.
It's shifting! It's shifting!
It's finally over.
Oh, Mother, I knew I'd see you again.
Awful.
That was, like, awful.
Hey.
It's all right.
We're safe.
Let's go home.
Whoa, easy.
Jack!
Come here. Jack!
Let's see the damage.
Jack!
It's not enough to salvage.
No.
Where will we go?
Back to the Big Woods?
Is that what you want?
I like who we are here.
We came here to be the best versions of ourselves, and we did that.
We could do it again.
Let's keep going.
Go where?
I'm afraid we can't stay.
What do you mean?
I'm sorry.
Mary, give him the money.
You could use this to pay off the debt at the store.
We didn't win as much as we hoped, but we could get work somewhere.
It's got nothing to do with that.
You keep it.
You earned it.
Come here.
You said this was forever.
I wanted that to be true.
When I imagine the future,
when I dream about us,
I always see the best possible outcome.
You have hope.
I do.
Sometimes it's not enough.
I'm sorry, Half Pint.
I wish I'd done everything differently.
Hope is everything.
It's the only thing.
Don't give up on it.
Don't give up on us.
I won't.
Will people come to say goodbye this time?
We'll make sure of it.
Oh man.
- No. - No? Don't say it out loud.
- We're gonna pick a date. - Nope.
Exactly. It stayed there.
Where's Mr. Edwards?
I'm sure he'll be here soon.
It's too much.
It's all worth three or four times what you owe.
We can't take it with us.
These won't last long in the store window.
Let me at least pay you for the plow.
Consider anything extra an early wedding present
when the day comes.
Oh!
There we go.
Go, go, go, go!
Keep going.
Yes!
When do you ride out?
Next week.
You?
Tomorrow morning.
Thank you for your kindness.
I hope we meet again.
Don't forget me.
Never.
I'm trying to take a picture with my mind.
Me too.
Will you write to me?
I like the way you see the world.
I'll write you every week.
I'll write you back.
We'll have so many letters we could make a book.
I'll take a piece of you with me in my heart.
Let's go.
The first to welcome us and the last to say goodbye.
Thank you for everything.
Look after yourself, Charles, after that family of yours.
Be sure to steer clear of those chutes.
He couldn't bear to say goodbye.
But he loves you both very much.
Tell him thank you…
…for finding Santa Claus on the prairie…
and for being my friend.
I will.
Think of how much fun the rabbits will have eating our garden.
Who's gonna live here now?
Maybe a new family looking to make their own memories.
Maybe one of the Osage staying behind.
Or maybe just the flowers and sky
and rabbits.
There is a happy land, far, far away
Where saints in glory stand bright Bright as day
O, to hear the angels sing Glory to the Lord our King
Loud let his praises sing praise Praise, praise for aye
Come to the happy land Come, come away
Why were you doubting stand? Why still delay?
O, we shall happy be When from sin and sorrow free
Lord, we shall live with thee Blest, blest for aye
Jack, come! Jack!
Pa, stop the wagon. Stop the wagon.
Whoa.
Jack, come back!
Jack! Jack!
Jack!
Mr. Edwards?
It's Mr. Edwards!
Whoa.
Thought I might join you, if you don't mind.
My wife's cousin lives in Minnesota.
Town called Walnut Grove. Husband owns a store there.
Heard the land is good and the people are kind.
- What do you think, girls? - Yes.
Lead the way.
All right.
Come on.