Mary goes out on her first remote teaching job, only to find that she has more than her fair share of work cut out for her when the community happens to be one of the most ignorant and insular in the lands, and they all submit to Miss Peal, a cantankerous Bible-banging hag who has them all convinced that she can turn the wrath of God on anyone she disapproves of and smite people on command.
Tropes appearing in this episode:
- Bolt of Divine Retribution: In the climatic scene, what Miss Peal was hoping to summon from the heavens after Mary exposes her inaccurate teachings as coming from someone who is illiterate. Peal holds her Bible up to the tip of her reach, hoping to summon the lightning that would strike Mary down. It never comes, and Miss Peal is forced to admit the truth.
- Broken Tears: Mary has these as she completely breaks down in Charles’ arms upon returning home, sharing her ordeal with Miss Peal and others. Charles gives her a little time to feel sorry for herself before giving her a pep talk and promising to back her up if needed when they return to the community on Sunday.
- Cannot Spit It Out: It would have saved Mary a significant amount of trouble if Katie had used her words to explain that the chicken was not trapped by mistake, instead of just screaming, watching Mary release it, and running away.
- Domestic Abuse: Although no instances are shown onscreen and it is never stated outright, it is strongly implied that Mr. Fisher physically abuses his wife ... and very possibly his 7-year-old daughter as well.
- Enthusiastic Newbie Teacher: Initially for Mary when she begins her teaching job, but this quickly fades as Miss Peal, Mr. Fisher and other parents cruelly interfere with her job to teach.
- Historical Beauty Update: A nod to this is given through Mr. Fisher's attitude toward Mary ... specifically, how she dresses. He reflects an era where women were expected to dress in neutral, drab colors and is aghast when he sees her wearing bright blue.
- Never Learned to Read: Miss Peal's secret, and why she is unable to back her teachings and claims.
- Out-of-Character Moment: In any other episode, Reverend Alden is a living saint of a family friend. This time, he comes off as throwing Mary under the bus to get the task of scratching up a teacher off his plate. While he technically mentioned the possibility of a few difficulties, we immediately discover that he was painting an unreasonably rosy picture of an extremely bleak situation (even outright lying that the local parents were fully on-board and would have the new teacher's back). He knowingly let adolescent Mary choose to be in a situation far more hellish than she could possibly have understood it to be before arriving.
- Prefers Going Barefoot: Katie. She prefers to go barefoot, as do practically all of the schoolkids. For the schoolkids, it would seem to be a simple case of Barefoot Poverty, since the community is very stunted and they are always shown barefoot, even outside. Katie, however, is shown to wear shoes outside, and ditches them at home and at school.
- Sadist Teacher: Miss Peal, who leads the community worship services and rules the town by fear. She is also completely against education, constantly interrupting the school day. It is implied she had driven several other teachers from the community.
- Schoolmarm and Big Sister Mentor: Mary staying with the Fishers during her teaching assignment is much how it was with one-room school teachers in the 1870s: Teachers were from out of town and typically stayed with a student's family. The family has a 7-year-old daughter, Katie, with whom 15-year-old Mary becomes close to.
