Albert Ingalls is finally taking the first steps to becoming a doctor, but a heartbreaking discovery reveals that his own health is in rapid decline, and there's no turning back. He and his family must face the miserable truth that Albert is going to die... but not without a fight.
Tropes associated with this episode:
- All Love Is Unrequited: A neat little subplot that's nearly forgotten is Jason's crush on his classmate, Amy.
- Armor-Piercing Response: Nancy asks Albert what it's like knowing he's going to die. He replies that, while he was scared and angry at first, what's important is to make and have good memories that you can look back on. Everyone is moved to tears after his speech, especially Nancy.
- The Bus Came Back: Charles and Albert return to Walnut Grove to help start a cooperative for the region's farmers.
- Cruel to Be Kind: When Laura gets in denial about Albert's fate, Charles forces her to say "My brother is going to die" so that she can accept it. She eventually spits it out: "Oh my God. He's gonna die".
- Deadly Nosebleed: The driver of the main plot — Albert suffering from nosebleeds that have an unknown cause, and Charles and Laura being devastated that the illness is terminal.
- Face Death with Dignity: Albert eventually resigns to his fate, and chooses to make as much as he can out of the time he has left.
- Retcon: The end of "Home Again" featured a narration from Laura indicating that Albert would return to Walnut Grove someday as Doctor Albert Ingalls, but this story seems to indicate he will die much sooner. And considering what happens to Walnut Grove in the finale, there is later nothing to go back to. The only way this fits the timeline is if he came back during the years between the last of the special TV movies and somehow got a doctorate very quickly under special circumstances (though unlikely, it's not unheard of), and probably died Offscreen.
