Blessed Are They

EPISODE: Blessed Are They

Episode 96, Season 3, aired April 22, 1962

Guest stars: Robert Brown, Ford Rainey

Written by Borden Chase and Frank Chase

Directed by Don McDougall

SUMMARY:

The feud between the Mahans and the Clarkes started when a son and daughter from each family married and had twins. Both families drove their kids crazy with trying to tell them what to do, and they moved away. The Mahans and the Clarkes blamed each other and the feud started, resulting in fights and shooting. Ben explains all this to Adam, Hoss and Joe at the breakfast table, which is where they always seem to have their family chats. Ben is reluctant to get Involved, but finally decides he must (after all, one of those stray bullets could hit a Cartwright!). He comes up with the idea of having members from both families meet at church on Palm Sunday, to greet the new minister. Ben figures even the Mahans and Clarkes won't be tacky enough to start a fight at church.

On Palm Sunday, both families show up and trouble seems to be brewing when the new minister suddenly appears in the doorway of the church, calming the situation and getting everyone to drop their guns and enter the church. Ben and the rest of the crowd are a bit surprised to see the minister, since no one has seen him until now nor did anyone see him enter the church. After the service, in which the minister not so subtly tries to bring peace between the families with his sermon, Ben learns that the son and daughter of the Mahans and Clarke were killed in an accident and only the twins survived. Ben is distressed by this news, and becomes more distressed when he learns he must choose which of the two families will get custody of the twins.

When the two little ones -- a boy and a girl -- arrive in Virginia City, Ben takes the children to the Ponderosa to live until he can make a decision about what to do about them. The Cartwrights quickly find that having two little children around can be quite disruptive. When the minister and judge arrive to talk with Ben about his decision, they find Adam dressing a doll, Joe chasing the little boy who is running through the house with a baby pig, and Hoss getting in everyone's way as he =

tries to help. Ben seems the least upset by the chaos -- well, after all, he raised three rambunctious boys! -- and at the end of the scene, when he discovers soap in his pipe, Ben merely blows bubbles, to Adam's amusement. In the meantime, the minister and the judge urge Ben to make a decision, which he agrees must be done but he can't seem to find the right answer. The minister encourages Ben to pray and ask for God's help, telling Ben that he knows Ben will do the right thing. Ben finally consents to announce his decision at church on Sunday, which is Easter Sunday.

After finally getting the children dressed properly for Easter (a task which proves difficult with Kenny, the little boy), Ben, his sons and the twins arrive at church. Ben announces that he has decided one child will go to each family, a decision which pleases no one. The children are upset at being separated, and their unhappiness discomforts both the Mahans and the Clarkes. When the minister and the judge start to chide Ben about his decision, he tells them to wait, obviously implying that he hopes both families will do the right thing on their own.

The Clarkes are so upset about the children's distress that they reluctantly agree that both children should go to the Mahans. The Mahans then start to feel guilty about taking the children, since they have other children, and decide the twins should go to the now childless Clarkes. Both families reconcile, and the Clarkes tell the Mahans that they should feel free to get involved with raising the twins. Everyone smiles at the decision, especially Ben, who had his fingers crossed that this would happen. As he turns around, Ben sees the minister is gone. Ben is even more confused when the doors of the church open, and another minister walks in, announcing he was delayed a week but is finally here to preside over the church. Everyone gets a stunned look on their face, realizing that the first minister was something other than what they thought. The final shot focuses on the altar, implying that the first man was really an angel or some type of messenger from God.

REVIEWS:

“This is a lovely episode, which has a religious overtone while still giving us moments of fun. The episode also emphasizes family -- both the good and bad side of caring so much. Ben is the focus of the episode, showing how reluctant he is to both get involved initially in the feud and to decide on the children's future. But Ben, being Ben, takes charge and ultimately makes the wise decisions.” Susan Grote

“I haven't watched this episode for awhile but I love to watch Adam carrying the dolly around. LOL. And Ben blowing bubbles through his pipe and doesn't Joe come running in chasing a pig and say pigs aren't allowed in the house or something like that?” Sheryl

It was such a charming contrast... the juxtaposition of hunky manly huge cowboys who fought rustlers, wild Indians, stampedes and fought bar room bullies being so melted down by two tiny sweet little kids. On one hand, I couldn't believe Ben...and even Adam, who raised his kids being so unable to keep those two in line or put on shoes or give a ranch kid a pig as a pet (Did Hoss say "We were all out of kitties, puppies and those Derby Royal bunnies so have some pre roasted pork...er a piglet.") ...but to see Adam dressing that doll and Ben blowing bubbles was hilarious. One of my favorite lines was Joe, covered with flour running through the dining room shrieking like a 1950s house wife. He said something "I can't keep the kids in line and keep the piglet out of the living room and make dinner too!" Sort of like a Little Joe/Donna Reed/ Laura Petrie/ Three Stooges?” Robin

“Has anyone noticed that the thing with Kenny's shoes is a blooper? Shoes didn't have right and left feet at the time period that Bonanza was set in, especially children’s shoes. It was awfully cute, though, the scene with Ben and Hoss and Joe!!!!” Sparky

“I always had a feeling, by the way LG & ML looked at each other, that the incident with Kenny's shoes (putting them on the wrong feet) was not scripted, just something that happened, and since it was cute, it was kept in.” Ginny

“When I saw this episode, it was obvious that the little girl was Adam's little sweetheart. It was so cute how he was always with her! And it was very funny how taking care of the kids brought out some child in Adam.” Katie

“I had not seen that this episode for too many years. I remembered the church scenes and the "late" arriving minister. I had completely forgotten the other amusing insanity, which are displayed on various web sites. Thanks for the walk down memory lane.” Miss Maggie

“It really gives me goosebumps when the minister disappears. It's really a Blessed episode!” Gina