Richard Mulligan guest stars in this gripping episode about a Civil War "hero" who returns to Walnut Grove after living in Philadelphia for the past twelve years after the war. Granville Whipple seems like a mild-mannered man ready to set up a music teaching business for himself, but it is clear very early that the demons of battle still haunt him. That, and an obvious addiction to morphine. Granville's mother, the local seamstress, finds a small package of the addictive substance in his things and asks if his leg is still bothering him. Granville denies that he still uses the stuff and hasn't touched it in nine months. His bugle from the war hangs over his bedpost, and just looking at it brings back some painful war memories.
In public, Granville Whipple puts on a happy face and seems to be in control. He quickly gets several local kids to come over for lessons, and even hires Mary Ingalls to create sheet music for him. Alas, the painful war memories combined with his longing for morphine soon reduce him to acting like an angry junkie. He angrily rejects Mary's work in one scene, then finds out to his dismay that the Olesons' store does not stock opiate painkillers anymore. Doctor Baker knows what Granville is up to and wont prescribe him any morphine, either. Later that night, Granville breaks into Dr. Baker's office and steals all of his morphine. The conclusion of this story is harrowing, and not uplifting as so many endings were on this show.
One subplot reveals that Granville was actually a coward in battle. In flashbacks, we see him running from enemy fire and leaving a friend to die on the battlefield. In town, he meets this man's son, and that is what seems to help push him over the edge. Later, he tearfully admits to his mother that he was in fact a coward at Shiloh where he was awarded a medal. This episode may have been very timely due to many American soldiers returning from Vietnam at the time with perhaps similar demons and afflictions. Overall, this is a somber episode made at a time when the series was firing on all cylinders. 10 of 10 stars.
The Hound.
In public, Granville Whipple puts on a happy face and seems to be in control. He quickly gets several local kids to come over for lessons, and even hires Mary Ingalls to create sheet music for him. Alas, the painful war memories combined with his longing for morphine soon reduce him to acting like an angry junkie. He angrily rejects Mary's work in one scene, then finds out to his dismay that the Olesons' store does not stock opiate painkillers anymore. Doctor Baker knows what Granville is up to and wont prescribe him any morphine, either. Later that night, Granville breaks into Dr. Baker's office and steals all of his morphine. The conclusion of this story is harrowing, and not uplifting as so many endings were on this show.
One subplot reveals that Granville was actually a coward in battle. In flashbacks, we see him running from enemy fire and leaving a friend to die on the battlefield. In town, he meets this man's son, and that is what seems to help push him over the edge. Later, he tearfully admits to his mother that he was in fact a coward at Shiloh where he was awarded a medal. This episode may have been very timely due to many American soldiers returning from Vietnam at the time with perhaps similar demons and afflictions. Overall, this is a somber episode made at a time when the series was firing on all cylinders. 10 of 10 stars.
The Hound.