Little House on the Prairie (TV Series) Days of Sunshine, Days of Shadow: Part Two (1982) User Reviews

The Blessing of Hitting Rock Bottom!

[spasek · 9/10 · 28 February 2020]

Hitting rock bottom in life is actually a blessing. Why? Because you have nowhere else to go but up! I have personal experience of this, and I found it to be absolutely true. It is sad when someone has to suffer even more, because they are unable/unwilling to break free of their situation. This invariably leads to rock bottom.

Eliza Jane, without consulting Laura, is making plans for the Wilders to move with her to Minneapolis. Laura is furious when she finds out, and rightfully so. Almanzo, however, goes along with it because he sees no other options. What no one realizes, until he confesses to Eliza Jane, is that he's lost the will to live.

Just when things seem to be at their bleakest, a tornado destroys the Wilder house. Laura, who was injured in the storm, has no idea the extent of the damage. When she finds out, however, she hits her own rock bottom and it ends up being the last straw for her.

Somehow, Almanzo, after seeing how his geranium plant survived the wreckage, finds himself reinvigorated and is finally determined to set things right. Well, better late than never! It is fascinating how things in nature can teach us valuable lessons!

First things first as Almanzo dives into his physical therapy like Rocky Balboa. He finally reaches a point where he can walk with a cane that Charles made for him. Next, he and Charles set to work on building a new house. Laura, however, has no idea about either one as Almanzo, not only wants to surprise her, but also wants to make sure that he can deliver.

The end of the episode is taken right out of the LHOP playbook, when Laura is shocked to not only see the skeleton of her new house, but to finally have her husband back as he walks to her. These two episodes are arguably the best two of Season 8.

Spread Your Wings and Fly.

[ExplorerDS6789 · 8/10 · 15 June 2011]

Previously on Little House, Almanzo went against doctor's orders and tended to his crop, despite having a cold and it was pouring rain. Thus, he came down with diphtheria which lead to a crippling stroke. He had just started making minimal progress when his annoying spinster sister Eliza Jane showed up to treat him like a baby, setting back any and all progress and force the morose young man to start using a wheelchair. Even the birth of Rose didn't stir him. Worse yet, Eliza Jane made preparations for them to move to Minneapolis where Almanzo could get a sit-down job. Well, as we rejoin the Wilders, we find little has changed. Almanzo decided he'd like to go watch Charles pitch bales of hay, so Eliza Jane reluctantly took him. When Laura got home, she found the house empty, except for that darn cat that kept coming around for handouts. As if the Wilders hadn't had enough unwanted company, another visitor was on its way...a twister! Laura quickly grabbed Rose and raced for the storm cellar, and then left the baby to go after that cat... I've never seen such fickle people in all my life. Well, actually I have, but this is almost too much. En route back to the storm cellar, Laura was knocked unconscious. When she came to, she had a feeling she wasn't in Walnut Grove anymore. That's when she met three interesting characters: a scarecrow that looked like Toby Noe, a man made of tin who resembled Eliza Jane, and a cowardly lion who looked and sounded like Almanzo...nah, only kidding.

The house was destroyed by the tornado, but Eliza Jane still wants to sell the property regardless. Incorrigible! When she finally felt better, Laura decided she wanted to go home, so she walked with Grace to their old property and saw the tumbled, broken down remains of their house. That was the straw that broke the camel's back, for Laura flipped out and started smashing the windows, which surprisingly survived the tornado. Well, just as Almanzo began contemplating suicide, he suddenly had an epiphany: visiting the wreckage of the house, he saw the geranium he'd tended to starting to grow. Then it hit him: it needed time alone to grow for itself, same as he. With Laura and Eliza Jane doing things for him, he never recovered. He finally started to see sense, and from that moment on, Almanzo Wilder set some new goals: not only would he build them a new house, he would walk again! With Charles' help, he just might reach those goals. So, day and night, Almanzo did his walking exercises. In no time at all, he was able to upgrade from wheelchair to a cane. So while Almanzo was down the road to recovery, Laura was now the one giving up hope. Well as they say, it's always darkest before the dawn. Gotta have days of shadow, before days of sunshine. So with Almanzo being able to move his legs again, he and Charles set to work on building their new house. They'd better hurry, because Eliza Jane received a letter from Minneapolis regarding a job for Manly. She'll start badgering him into moving again. I say Charles and Almanzo build a crate and ship Eliza Jane to Antarctica, but I digress. Anyway, Almanzo got to feeling real proud of himself and higher than ever before. Yep, he was high on life. Unfortunately Eliza Jane showed up to try and rain on his parade by mentioning the job offer. As politely as he could, Almanzo told her to take a flying leap, causing his over-protective, insecure sister to run away to dramatic music. Good riddance! Now to get Laura to come home again. Thankfully Caroline managed to get her out for an afternoon drive, and took a "detour" by the old Wilder place and saw the framework for their new house. But the biggest surprise of all was that Almanzo was walking again...with a cane, but still walking nonetheless. Sure they would be dirt poor and without certain luxuries for a while, but at least they had each other. So as they all sat down in the new house for a lovely picnic, Eliza Jane shows up for a slice of humble pie. She admits her selfishness, they forgive her and invite her to join them, and from then on, things were really looking up. Oh, and the cat survived. He wasn't seen again after this either.

An excellent conclusion to this two-part drama. Dean Butler was excellent as Almanzo, he really pulled off a crippled, morose, self-pitying lump of a man really well. Michael Landon was great as Almanzo's rock who inadvertently gave him the literal push he needed. For if he hadn't have pushed Manly towards the destroyed house, he never would have spotted those geraniums that eventually got him off his ass. Melissa Gilbert, Karen Grassle, and of course Lucy Lee Flippin (funny name, by the way) were also excellent. This is the last appearance of Eliza Jane Wilder, and once again, good riddance. What a pitiful, annoying character she was. I'm surprised she and Harriet Oleson didn't become friends, they're equally as annoying and gabby. Anyway, if you want to see the Wilders' marriage put to the ultimate test and see the birth of Rose, which almost glanced over in this two-parter, I mean, Half Pint giving birth is a big deal. We watched her grow up and now she has her very own baby, it's a big deal. But instead we focused a little too much on Almanzo, Laura and their pity parties. Anyway, Days of Sunshine, Days of Shadow (or Sorrow) is worth checking out.

Night is Darkest Just Before Dawn

[annykins-26542 · 8/10 · 9 December 2023]

Whenever there's an episode of this show with melodramatic soap opera music and actors acting horribly out of character, rest assured Chris Abbott's name will appear as a writer. Never fails. What utter tripe!! Laura would NEVER smash a treasured family heirloom and break her mother's heart in a fit of rage. Eliza Jane would not have mollycoddled her brother and stopped his physical therapy. Charles would not tell lies to his daughter. What were they thinking?? Or smoking??

Why do this crapola with a cast of such caliber? The ending was predictable, but the music was so horrendous that I had to watch Almanzo relearning to walk with the TV sound muted. By all means watch this episode and learn how a hit show kills its audience.

Awesome Conclusion

[mitchrmp · 10/10 · 23 November 2013]

This second part picks up in the depressing tone the previous part left off. Things are pretty bad for Laura and Almanzo. Eliza Jane is still an annoying wrench who needs to get back on the train and leave. I just cannot stand how she is treating Laura and Almanzo! Almanzo even has thoughts of dying because he doesn't think life is ever going to get better - but that's after things get much, much worse.

Just when we thought things couldn't get any worse, a tornado comes and destroys the Wilder home. Charles, Caroline, and Almanzo decide not telling her the truth was best because she was under so much pressure. But when she's feeling better, she discovers the truth for herself.

Finally, Almanzo gets a wake-up call. In probably the best scene in all of Little House history, Almanzo wakes up and see's the sunlight! He loves Laura so much and shows her in the best way possible - a way that leaves Eliza Jane with nothing...