For the Cartwright patriarch and the young newcomer to Virginia City, making it rain is "A Matter Of Faith."
Tropes:
- Cousin Oliver: Hard to believe that this veteran series was still going very strong in 1970, some 11 years after its premiere. Still, there was a need to inject some youth into the show and to draw back younger fans ... and Jamie Hunter was just the ticket to do so. While the addition of Mitch Vogel to the cast as the handsome young orphan (and ward of Ponderosa ranch hand Dusty Rhoades) didn't damage the ratings — the show still ranked in the top 10 of the Nielsen ratings at season's end — there were a few loyal fans of the show who thought that their beloved Bonanza was starting to stray from its original storyline.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: Jamie earnestly and truly believes his late father's book, the manual on rainmaking, is legitimate and vows to keep working until things do happen.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It does finally rain at the end of the episode but, it is not confirmed if Jamie or his father's book had anything to do with it.
- Tragic Keepsake: Jamie's father book with notes on rainmaking. It is destroyed when it is thrown in the fire by one of the men who attacked Dusty and Jamie's camp because it hadn't rained yet.
