‘When Calls The Heart’: Kavan Smith, Pascale Hutton Discuss Jack’s Death, Show’s Future

It’s always hard when a character you love gets killed off of a show, and Hearties felt that in full force when Jack Thornton (Daniel Lissing) died in the Season 5 finale of “When Calls the Heart” in April.

Both fans and cast members alike were forced to say goodbye to both Lissing and his character two months ago. While Hearties have been very vocal with their mourning of Mountie Jack, the cast hasn't said much. Now, two stars of the Hallmark Channel series are finally opening up about both the character's death and Lissing’s decision to leave.

“First and foremost, Daniel is a friend, and so I want him to do what he feels like is right for him,” Pascale Hutton, who plays Rosemary on the show, told International Business Times. “And he did. He made the decision that he felt was right for him at this time in his life, for various reasons.”

Once that happened, the writers were left to decide how to write him out in “the most interesting, satisfying way,” she explained. Hutton was sad about Jack’s death, but she understood why it needed to happen. On the flipside, she also understood why viewers went into deep mourning.

“Fans were very invested in his character and invested in him and Elizabeth [Erin Krakow] as a couple,” she told IBT. “It was really the only way to proceed and keep the show and keep the story going. And to especially keep Erin’s character in a space where she can move forward and move on. And so, I get it. I totally get why and how fans were so upset about it and so sad to see that happen.”

Kavan Smith, who plays Hutton’s on-screen husband, Lee, on “When Calls the Heart”, also easily sees the reasons behind everyone’s — fans’, writers’ and Lissing’s — decisions and reactions.

“I think I can understand why people are disappointed if they’ve invested so heavily in those characters and one of them has decided to move on,” Smith told IBT. “But Daniel’s also a really good friend of mine and he gave five years of his life to a show and that’s a lot. That’s a big chunk of somebody’s life, and if he feels it’s time to move on, then I feel that from my point of view anyway, I feel like I just want to wish him well and hope he does great and has a great career.”

Smith continued: “I know it’s a dramatic ending and I know it’s very disappointing because it’s really like being pushed off a cliff because you just didn’t see that coming, and the abruptness of it all is so shocking and jarring. I think a lot of people have had a hard time getting over that, but I hope that they can come around because there’s still a lot of stories to tell.”

The two shared the same sentiment that the series will still remain the same at its core, continuing to focus on the community and how they all come together. While fans loved Jack and his relationship with Elizabeth, both Hutton and Smith shared that “When Calls the Heart” still has more to offer besides that story in Season 6.

“This show was, and is, about so much more than just their love story,” Hutton said. “I think, truly, it’s about the community, about hope and it’s about the community coming together to support each other. And a community doesn’t hinge on just one person. It’s all of them coming together. I think that this show will focus on the town and the people in this town, as it always has.”

Smith said fans can expect to see that “the same philosophies are still in play in the other characters.

“When one guy goes, there’s still those same philosophies in play and that same heart is there,” he continued. “It’s not gone. We’re just going to explore it and see where it goes and, hopefully, we can fill up the void. I mean, it’s a big void, with Daniel going. But, we’ll see what happens and do the best we can.”

Season 6 of “When Calls the Heart” is expected to start filming in July and premiere on Hallmark Channel in early 2019.