When Calls The Heart Recap & Spoilers 01/18/26: Season 13 Episode 3 “Back to School”

Tonight on the Hallmark Chanel When Calls The Heart airs with an all-new Sunday, January 18, 2026, season 13 episode 3 episode and we have your When Calls The Heart recap below.

On tonight’s  WCTH season 13 episode 3 called, “Back to School”  as per the Hallmark Channel synopsis,

“Elizabeth welcomes new faces into her classroom while Nathan and Bill launch an investigation into the wildfire. Stars Erin Krakow, Kevin McGarry, Pascale Hutton, Jack Wagner.”

So make sure to bookmark this spot and come back between 9 PM – 10 PM ET for our When Calls The Heartrecap. While you wait for the recap make sure to check out all our WCTH news, spoilers, recaps & more, right here!

Tonight’s When Calls The Heart recap begins now – Refresh Page often to get the most current updates!

In tonight’s When Calls The Heart episode, it was the start of the school season. The kids weren’t really happy about returning to school. Especially Gwen. Gwendolyn, otherwise known as Gwen, was staying with the Colters. Her dad was still in the hospital and he wasn’t expected to be released until a good month into school.

Gwen couldn’t miss so much by waiting for him though she did give it a good try. She resisted Rosemary putting her into a dress. Lee got her to agree to go to school in return for not wearing the dress. Gwen was very much a tomboy.

Lee was quick to notice it. Rosemary was trying to do right by Gwen. She just didn’t know how and that’s why it’s good she’s part of a team. Lee was helping at home while still pursuing the cause of the fire. He suspected it was arson. He knew that McGinty was sprouting off at the mouth in town.

McGinty hated the park. He hated the loss of power that came with it and so he was Lee’s best suspect. Lee put fliers up all around town. He asked for tips on the fire. He wanted to know if anyone saw anything that might bring McGinty down.

In his rush to do so, Lee brought Molly to the mounties. Molly told him that she saw someone head into the park with what she thought might have been a cannister of kerosene. She was too far away to know for sure. The same goes for the man’s face.

She more saw the back of him and it was at a distance. He looked like he had white hair. He also appeared to have a limp. Lee became convinced that it was McGinty. He brought Molly to the mounties to give a statement. He then demanded to know when they were going to arrest McGinty.

The mounties were friends of his so they tried to make him see sense. They pointed out that Molly hasn’t seen McGinty enough to know what he likes much less recognize him at a distance from the back. She also wasn’t sure that it was kerosene. It could’ve been anything.

It’s why Molly didn’t go to the mounties on her own accord. Not that it seemed to matter to Lee. Lee hated that the national park named after his daughter and that his wife’s playhouse had both burned down. He wanted someone to blame.

His friends assured him that the fire was being investigated. It might not be arson at all. There were plenty of fliers around town. Maybe if Lee wasn’t pushing to make this into a crime, more people would come forward. There were four kids in the park that day.

The girls went one way. The boys the other. The boys have been acting off anytime someone mentions the fire. They were even uncomfortable at school because they were sharing classes with the kids from Benson Hills. The town still wasn’t safe to return to. And so it wasn’t just Gwen going to school in Hope Valley.

The kids were upset. They didn’t want someone’s charity. Or sleeping in a hotel. Or even to be surrounded by the sympathetic people of Hope Valley. They wanted to go home. Elizabeth tried to be understanding. There were some of the new kids that were a little more taxing than others.

Like Gwen. Gwen managed to sneak out one of Rosemary’s forks that was a family heirloom from her grandmother. Gwen used it to carved into her desk. The fork had to be taken away as contraband and it was late returned to Rosemary after class.

Elizabeth thought maybe the kids needed a day of exercise. The kids loved the obstacle course. Cooper and Toby were the only ones that didn’t do it. They sat on the sidelines just so they could miss out on the fun. Gwen enjoyed herself. She also took part in wood carving back at the Coulters’.

Lee does it to relax him so he introduced her to it and she enjoyed it. Lee was needed at home. Rosemary was at a loss on what to do about Gwen and she couldn’t take another night with Lee in the jail.

Lee spent the night in jail after he got into an altercation with McGinty. He confronted him about the fire. McGinty claimed not to know what he was talking about and then he deliberately walked into Lee just so he could fall. Lee spending the night in jail had actually earned brownie points with Gwen.

She thought Lee was amazing. Lee disagreed. He knows now he shouldn’t have lost his temper. McGinty didn’t press official charges and so Lee didn’t have to worry about an assault charge or more time behind bars.

Only everyone was beginning to feel overwhelmed. The Mayor of Benson Hills has been on her feet nonstop. Maisie wouldn’t accept help from her brother and so Higgins was at a loss on what to do.

That was when his wife agreed to talk to Maisie. Sue felt she knew what to say from sister to sister to get Maisie to agree to sleep in their guest bedroom. The people from Benson Hills were working things out with their lawyer. Their lawyer was Edie.

The Governor agreed to be there when they met with their insurance company. Yet, he missed the meeting because Edwin scheduled him in with Camberwell. The man trying to unify the national railway.

The railway employees were on strike. Lucas thought it could resolve it, but Camberwell was a horrible man who was more focused on beating out other millionaires to buy a horse.

It was a waste of a meeting and Lucas let down Edie. Someone he didn’t want to disappoint.

Cooper and Toby finally told Elizabeth that they started a small camp fire to warm up food in the park. They remembered their lessons on putting it out and they did it.

They made sure it was out before they left only they weren’t sure if it was fully out. Or if they started the fire that destroyed Benson Hills.

THE END!