Boys Fight Over Girl Like Tragedy Didn’t Just Happen

Walnut Grove, Minn.- Recent events in Walnut Grove have indicated that the old adage “boys will be boys” holds true even in the wake of unspeakable tragedy.

Walnut Grove’s new girl, Penelope, has caught the eye of local hooligan Albert Ingalls. Unfortunately for Albert, however, Penelope has eyes for only Andrew Garvey. As Albert works to find ways to win Penelope’s heart, witnessing events like Penelope holding Andrew’s hand really flips his lid. Bickering over the minor issue is escalating at an intensity that is all the more remarkable when one remembers the tragic events of just one episode ago.

As Albert asks his father for advice on how to win the girl over, he seems remarkably recovered from having just burned down the blind school in the last episode. In fact, Albert pursues Penelope with a focus that suggests that his mind is uncluttered by recent events and the slew of deaths and displacement of blind children that occurred at his hand. 

Albert likewise seems to assume that Andrew is equally recovered. When asked if he really thought it was appropriate to call his best friend “Judas” only one episode after his smoking had killed Andrew’s mother, Albert insisted that there is no problem. “The best way to honor a person’s legacy is to get exactly what you want. You can’t hold back just because there was tragedy. Tragedy strikes the prairie all the time, and the past is the past. You can’t let it hold you back.”

Meanwhile, Charles Ingalls seems to have recovered from recent events equally as well. Rather than dwell on the recent loss of his grandson, he occupies himself with trying to direct Laura’s affections toward Almanzo Wilder’s younger brother.