While awaiting the arrival of Charles on their anniversary from a freight trip, Caroline reminisces about how they first met and fell in love.
Tropes associated with this episode:
- Abhorrent Admirer: Harold Watson, a colleague of Caroline's during her childhood (and son of the local schoolteacher) who insists that he's her beau, even though she wants nothing to do with him.
- Age Lift: Real-life Polly Ingalls was Charles' younger sister. Here, she's older between Peter and Charles. Charles himself is aged down to be closer to Caroline's age in their flashback.
- Big Brother Instinct: While Peter Ingalls never misses a chance to tease his little brother, he's quick to get back at two boys who beat up Charles so that he couldn't dance with Caroline. He lures them into an empty room, where it's implied that he beat the tar out of them.
- Irrational Hatred: Mr. Watson takes an instant dislike on new student Charles when the Ingalls kids have their first day at school, misintepreting Charles' confusion and shyness for mocking him and punishing him harshly at the end of the class. Later on, he seems to find every opportunity to strike Charles, to the point that his father has to threaten him if he ever learns about the teacher giving him unfair punishments.
- Papa Wolf: Although Lansford allows Charles' sadistic teacher, Mr. Watson, to (briefly) whip him as punishment for Charles having trapped him in the outhouse, the elder Ingalls then confronts Watson over the latter's mistreatment of his son and warns the teacher that if he ever hears of it happening again, he'll personally come to the schoolhouse and thrash Watson in front of his entire class.
- Retcon:
- In "The Love of Johnny Johnson", Charles recalled that Caroline was about four years his junior (Truth in Television as the age difference between them was three years and eleven months in real life), but in the flashback, they are played by children about the same age (Kid Caroline's actress, Katy Kurtzman, was slightly older than Matthew Labyorteaux.
- In "Times of Change", Caroline tells that she fell in love with Charles when he first saw her in the dress she gave to Mary, presumably when she was a teenager. Here, she meets Charles when she's a preteen and it's implied that they developed feelings for each other by this point.
- Sadist Teacher: Mr. Watson, who takes an instant dislike to new student Charles, frequently whipping him for minor infractions before his father Lansford intervenes.
- Stood Up: Charles arrives late at the party where he and Caroline would have their first dance after being beaten up by bullies. Once she figures it out after she's at home and he explains, they have their first dance outside her house.
- Happens again when Charles is delayed for their anniversary due to an accident where one of the wheels was pulled off his wagon, and he arrived home after midnight. They dance outside again.
- Whole Episode Flashback: Most of the episode is composed of a series of flashbacks telling how Charles and Caroline first met as children, and ultimately fell in love.
- Would Hurt a Child: Schoolteacher Mr. Watson, who regularly dishes out corporal punishment.
