Actually Pretty Funny: When Laura throws a sassy response to one of Nellie's remarks about her fancy school and Laura having to study on a barn, Willie laughs at it and even compliments Laura on her response.
Bad Boss: Mr. Standish, who owns the Winoka hotel where Charles and Caroline find employment in said city. Not only does Standish refuse Charles an advance on his pay needed to buy a birthday gift for Mary, but he also allows his bodyguard Harlan to continually harass Caroline.
Cousin Oliver: This is where we meet young Albert Quinn for the first time, adding a new dimension to the series. That said, the series continued to proposer on NBC, in an era where successful programs on the Peacock Network were starting to become fewer and farther between, and in fact "we really, really believe in" concepts like Supertrain and Cliffhangers would become abject disasters … and in fact, several of the top episodes of the entire run, both from a fan and critical standpoint, would feature Albert as a central character.
In real life, the Ingalls' only son died in infancy (referenced in both the books and the Season 1 episode "The Lord Is My Shepherd"), and there is no evidence – either in the books or otherwise – that they adopted any boys.
Culture Clash: The Ingalls and Garveys when they adjust from their small-town, rural upbringings and values to the big city of Winoka. And Nels, too … although his wife and children are social climbers to the nth degree.
Doomed Hometown: It's confirmed in the opening that Walnut Grove went completely bankrupt and most of the people were forced to move from there, including the Ingalls.
Albert initially seems the typical Street Smart urchin, but when Charles corners on his shelter under a cellar, he's shown to have books he reads when he's not stealing and working to provide for himself. It's Foreshadowing for his academic skills he'd show in the future.
Willie never seems as comfortable with the things in Winoka as his mother and sister. It's signs that he too is homesick, like his father.
Hilarity Ensues: Carrie gets stuck under a wardrobe when it falls on her after she tried to climb it to guard clothes. It's played for comedy, even though she could have been seriously injured or even killed in such an accident.
Innocent Swearing: When Carrie drops her fork at the dinner table, she exclaims "Oh, damn!" and is reprimanded by Caroline, though after Laura explains it was just something her sister innocently heard from the saloon across the street, Charles gently asks his youngest daughter to come to him in the future if she hears a word and doesn't know whether it's good or bad.
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: En route to the hotel, Adam and Mary are accosted by Harlan (who has also been frequently harassing Caroline) and fellow goon Glover; outraged, Charles confronts the pair, but is beaten to a pulp. Angered by what happened to his friend, the hulking Jonathan tracks down Harlan and Glover at the saloon and gives them a taste of their own medicine, which so impresses Standish that he immediately offers Jonathan a job as his new bodyguard.
Potty Failure: Carrie needs to "go" right when Laura gets busy trying to help Albert get his dime back. When Laura goes back to her and asks why she isn't moving, since she'd said she needed to go, Carrie says "I already did", and Laura makes an Oh, Crap! face and drags her inside the hotel as she leaves a trail of urine.
Story Arc: The first four weeks of Season 5 concern the Ingalls, Olesons and Garveys (the three main families in the series) traveling to Winoka to start a new life.
This episode would start an annual tradition that would continue through the rest of the series' run: the multi-part episode where new characters and storylines are introduced, or pick up from previous years' storylines. Season 6's "Back to School" introduced Almanzo to the cast; Season 7 saw Laura and Almanzo get married; Season 8 brought the evil Nancy Oleson; and Season 9 saw overriding changes involving the departures of Charles and Caroline Ingalls and the introductions of the Carters and Jenny Wilder.
Street Urchin: A young 11-year-old boy named Albert Quinn, who had run away from his Orphanage of Fear, is taken in by the entourage.
