‘When Calls the Heart’ Teases the Return of an Old Character: Who Is Earl Wyatt?

A familiar face is returning to Hope Valley. In the Jan. 19 episode of When Calls the Heart, Allie (Jaeda Lily Miller) is intrigued when an old resident returns after a long absence. 

Who is Earl Wyatt on ‘When Calls the Heart’? 

A sneak peak at “All That Glitters” (via YouTube) teases the return of Earl Wyatt. 

Earl is a character who appeared briefly in When Calls the Heart Season 4. He’s the nephew of Ray Wyatt (Jeremy Guilbaut), a shady character who worked for the railroad. Earl and his brother Chad briefly moved to Hope Valley when their father, Ray’s brother, took a job with the railroad. They enrolled in school, where they ended up causing quite a bit of trouble in Elizabeth’s (Erin Krakow) classroom. 

Earl and Chad bullied the other students, particularly Opal (Ava Grace Cooper), and vandalized the school. Eventually, Elizabeth had to expel them both. However, she later realized they were acting out because they were upset that their mother had abandoned the family. Elizabeth encouraged their father to give Chad and Earl more attention in order to change their behavior. He ultimately decided to quit his job to spend more time with his boys. 

Earl returns in the ‘When Calls the Heart’ Season 12 

It’s been a long time since we’ve heard anything about Earl, but he reappears in season 12. In the sneak peak, he greets a skeptical Opal after he rides into town on a bicycle. 

“I remember,” she says when they meet in the street. “You and your brother thought it was funny to embarrass a second grader.”

“Oh come on, we didn’t mean it,” Earl replies. “But hey, let me apologize. Earl Wyatt, no longer a bully. But you can call me Wyatt.”

Opal clearly isn’t thrilled to see her old nemesis again. But her friend Allie, who is with her when Earl arrives, has a different attitude. She nudges Opal to introduce her to Earl.  

“I like the pigtails,” he says, as Allie giggles.  

While Earl is back in the new episode of When Calls the Heart, he does look a little different – and not just because he’s older. In season 4, the character was played by Nikolas Dukic. In “All That Glitters,” he’s played by River Codack.

Earl’s return isn’t the only intriguing development in the next episode of When Calls the Heart. Ned (Hrothgar Mathews) is thrilled when he comes across a rare double-headed eagle coin. The discovery prompts Bill (Jack Wagner) and Rosemary (Pascale Hutton) to given an old case a second look. Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Nathan (Kevin McGarry) uncover Oliver’s (Jacob Shoemay) secret.

When Calls the Heart airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel. Episodes stream the next day on Hallmark+. 

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