I watched Little House on the Prairie from Seasons 1-6 and bits of 7 this year. I agree with the majority of reviewers that Season 4 was the last point of purity in the show, 5-7 were the downward slope and 8 was jump the shark with the addition of new characters that aren’t all that interesting. (Nancy, Jenny, James and Cassandra.) I can separate the books from the show and enjoy the latter for what it is. The only things that really bothered me were two times Michael Landon chose to take the cheap way out in the narrative instead of coming up with a well thought out story for the situations that were coming.
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If John Jr. had married Mary, he would have been the one to take care of her and be strong for her and give her hope when she looses her vision. That would definitely have developed John in a powerful and compelling way because it would give him the chance to discover a hidden strength and courage, he didn’t know he had so he wouldn’t have to be haunted over the bear incident anymore. (Like Syndey Carton who finds his worthiness in the end of A Tale of Two Cities after struggling with low self-esteem and alcoholism) Apparently, Landon said “Nah! I’m too lazy to do that. I’ll have him ditch her for some rich bitch in the big city, Willoughby style (Sense and Sensibility) to get him out of the way.
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I think we were all anticipating an episode where blind Mary would learn how to take care of a sighted toddler and overcome the obstacle of it wandering off. After all, she voiced this concern to Adam in “The Wedding” episode. Once again Landon said “Nah! I’ll kill her kid off to spare myself the trouble of writing a story about that.”
So I wrote a story where John Jr. does not forsake Mary at the ball but marries her and learns to be a strong and devoted husband during the greatest storm of her life and one where Mary finds a system to take care of a sighted child. It’s a two-part story that covers events from Seasons 2-7 and ends with them leaving for Pennsylvania and Laura and Almanzo leaving for Dakota to start a new life-which would have been the perfect way to end the series. I liked Adam, but felt that John Jr. was a more complex and interesting character because of his wistful, melancholy personality and creative writing obsession.
Part One
What if John Jr and Mary married? (Little House on the Prairie), a little house on the prairie fanfic | FanFiction
Part Two
What if John Jr and Mary married? (LHOTP) Part Two, a little house on the prairie fanfic | FanFiction
To cut to the chase for the story about Mary learning to take care of a sighted child, go to the chapter titled “Mary’s Perseverance” in Part Two, towards the end.
Also, have no fear. “May We Make Them Proud” is not included in my story.