Photo: ERIC ZACHANOWICH/NETFLIX

It might be Mary and Laura (and Good Eagle, too) getting lessons, but “A Softer Note in the Sound of the Wind” reveals that it’s actually Charles and Caroline who have done the most learning during their time in Kansas. Look at those two, growing and changing and admitting their mistakes! It’s almost like the deeper Charles’s v-neck goes, the more his eyes are opened to the truth of what’s going on around him.

And what is that truth? Well, winter has passed and it is finally time for the Osage chiefs to decide if they’ll sign the updated treaty with the U.S. Government — a removal agreement that will send all the Osage in Kansas to Indian territory in modern-day Oklahoma. (And if you’ve read or seen Killers of the Flower Moon, you know how that works out.) It’s not referred to as such in Little House on the Prairie, but in real life, this was the Drum Creek Treaty of 1870. It’s a historical moment and so when Eli James, who couldn’t be more jazzed about the whole thing, asks Charles if he’d like to attend with him — this is about their future as much as the Osage’s future, he says — Charles decides to go.

Thankfully, once he’s there, he links up with Mr. Edwards who can give him a dose of reality after spending so much time with Eli “oh this is totally fair and everyone wins” James. Edwards is there to support his Osage friends and to show his respect. When Charles relays that he was told this was a fair deal, Edwards’s response, “depends on your definition of fair,” hits him right in the gut. He only feels worse the longer this council meeting goes on. Eli James introduces him to the Indian Agent, Isaac Gibson, and after Gibson’s line of questioning about if the reason Charles chose this specific place to move was because of flyers about free and abundant land, it dawns on our Pa that those flyers were propaganda made by the railroads, lying to get people out here and force the Osage to leave. He, and so many others, were pawns. He does not feel great about this!!

As the meeting continues, Charles realizes how blind he’s been to so many things. It’s Little Puma who jumps up to reject the thought that it’s somehow fair to not only force the Osage off their lands, but send them to a territory where they will have to be farmers instead of the hunters, the warriors they are. Not to mention, they’ve been lied to and cheated by the U.S. Government so many times before. What are they even doing here? One of the chiefs, Joseph Pawnee-no-pashe (also known as Governor Joe), quiets him. But when it’s Governor Joe’s turn to sign the treaty, he, too, rejects it. Speaking about their fathers, their ancestors, who died on this land, he wonders how they would be able to answer their questions about what kind of future they’ve left their children. “Did we keep the ways our grandparents gave us alive for them to carry?” He drops the quill to the ground. This is not a done deal just yet.

Eli is panicked and doesn’t hesitate to throw around the fact that they can have the army come in and force this treaty to be signed. It was just supposed to be a formality anyway. Mitchell, who acts as the translator between Gibson and the Osage — a responsibility he does not take lightly — responds with one of the most affecting lines of an episode full of them: “There is no such thing as a formality when it comes to the future of an entire people.” Mitchell has been in the peacekeeper role for most of this series, and while he is a calming presence, he’s no pushover. He’s there to do what he can to protect his people. Perhaps it’s seeing his friend stand his ground that inspires Charles to finally realize what side he wants to be on because when Eli looks to him for support, he refuses to give any. “This is their home. They have the right to decide whether or not they stay or go. Not you. Not me. Not the railroad.” Oh, Pa is big mad!

The problem, one that everyone is aware of, is that the Osage don’t actually have a real choice here. This is being forced on them and even Edwards and Charles know that they are going to have to live with the role they have played in that by being here on their land.

Mitchell goes to talk to Governor Joe to find some way to figure this out. There’s no good answer here. If they don’t sign, they are aware what will happen. If they do sign, there’s a good chance promises made will be broken. They’d be resigning themselves to life as farmers, which is not who they are. Governor Joe wants to make sure that their dignity remains intact no matter what. Not a tall order, but Mitchell is going to try.

Back at the council meeting, he proposes two amendments: the Osage will be allowed to hunt the buffalo outside the borders of the Indian Territory and instead of doling out individual parcels of land, the new land “will be held by the Osage communally. As a tribe. As a people.” When Gibson balks, Mitchell doesn’t back down. He won’t let it end like this. “We were once the largest, most powerful nation on this continent. But treaty after treaty has shrunken our land and our numbers but not our pride. The Osage must stay together for our children’s future.” It’s a big hero moment if ever there was one on this show. He gets Gibson to agree and the seven chiefs sign the treaty.

The timing couldn’t be better. Back in town, word had spread fast that the treaty had stalled, and Independence’s resident scumbag Russell Kind gets so angry about it that he gathers a group and plans to get all of their weapons and go to war against the Osage. Why anyone is listening to this fool after the whole Edwards horse debacle, I will never know. I mean, racism probably. But violence against the Osage is not the way, and there is only one person in town brave enough to try and stop Russell: Caroline Ingalls. Fresh off a huge win over Jemma James with the new Reverend — who immediately can tell that Caroline is a real leader in the community — she busts into Russell’s little meeting. She reminds them that there are children and families in the Osage village and that they are good people who are simply trying to make a life just like the rest of Independence is. He spits at her that they are nothing like him. “I came here with those same ideas,” she tells him, “but I was wrong. And so are you.” Look at Caroline Ingalls growing. Thankfully, just before Russell is about to explode, Dr. Tann walks in with the news that the treaty has been signed.

Caroline isn’t the only one admitting to being wrong. Back at the treaty signing, Charles sits with Mitchell. He “wanted to believe everyone was getting treated fairly,” he says, admitting that he willed himself “not to see the truth” and he apologizes for it. It’s big of Charles to admit this and surely Mitchell appreciates the sentiment, but there is still a sadness cast over everything. Whatever comes next for the Osage won’t be easy and it certainly isn’t fair. Little Puma, upset and angry, comes over and in Osage, tells them that tomorrow they will hear the Osage song of mourning because leaving this land means “we leave our ancestors, our history, and part of ourselves behind.” There’s nothing anyone can say to that. All Charles can do is bear witness to that mourning and he does, standing outside as the sun comes up with Laura at his side, listening to the Osage sing their song.

While Little House does a nice job of giving us a bigger-picture look at the tragedy of the removal of the Osage, it also shows us that tragedy on a smaller scale, in the most intimate way: By showing us how this could mean the end of Laura and Good Eagle’s friendship. The girls spend the day together — Laura has made an entire treasure hunt to celebrate Good Eagle’s birthday — and while there are moments of joy, there’s a lot of sadness weighing down on their tiny shoulders, too. Good Eagle finally opens up to Laura about the loss of her sister Julia and brings her to the persimmon tree she decorates with pebbles to honor her. Julia was her best friend. Laura feels awkward then, when the final gift in the treasure hunt includes a note about how happy she is to have Good Eagle as her best friend — but Good Eagle knows Julia wouldn’t mind.

So, when White Sun comes by and tells the girls that the treaty was signed, they are heartbroken. She doesn’t know what that means just yet for their family — they haven’t decided if they’ll stay or go with the Osage — but she knows for sure things will be different now. “I wish we could all stay here together,” a teary Laura says. How can you comfort someone so small feeling such big feelings? White Sun tells Laura about the story of where the Osage come from and how it’s full of this idea that moving and changing helps bring you closer to understanding Wah’kon-tah — the great mystery — and that there is always more out there “to see, to learn, to feel.” That’s about as close as you can get to finding comfort in a situation like this one.

• Oh, come on! There’s so much sadness in this episode, did we need to add to it by having Emily put it all out on the line for Dr. Tann — to basically propose to the guy — just for him to reveal that he hasn’t been completely honest and he’s still technically married? The devastation in Emily’s face!

• Mary spends time at the General Store helping Caleb with customers and notices that her parents have a lot of money sitting on their tab. She’s angry that her Pa lied to her when she asked about it. Caleb reminds her that she’s lucky to have parents who are trying to protect her from the bad stuff…and then these two nuggets almost kiss. Get it, girl.

• Edwards mentions how after Julia died, he would sit up at night with Mitchell, just staring at the stars. Just these two grieving hot dads supporting one another? I love them so much.

Sign Up for the Vulture Newsletter

Entertainment news, for the pop-culture obsessed.

Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice