Waltons 6.10: “The Flight”

Airdate: 12/1/77

Sheriff Ep Bridges and his newlywed, Sarah, return to the Waltons fold in an episode dealing with another recently ignored Waltons staple: the runaway. This time, he’s Joe Douglas, an aviation enthusiast who naturally gravitates to Jim-Bob, and the two strike up a close friendship. The truth emerges that Joe is a runaway orphan who plans to ride the rails down to Florida with his sister, who is currently in a foster home (their parents had died the year before). When Ep gets wind of the situation, he takes the two children back, but guilt, and the desire for Sarah to have kids of their own, causes him to consider adopting Joe and his sister.

Charming offering follows the Little House on the Prairie rulebook that all orphans must be adopted by episode’s end. The treacle is held to a minimum however thanks to David W. Harper's performance as Jim Bob; the skeletons of his closet, namely the infant death of his twin brother, drive his yearning for a brother figure, and the guilt over his betrayal of Joe is quite palpable.

Lush, John Barry-esque score underscores the drama here quite nicely. Zeb and Elizabeth have a heartfelt scene in the beginning about Grandma’s absence, although they refer to her as doing well in the hospital.