Meanwhile back at King farm, the family is sitting in the parlour and it's assumed by all (except Cecily) that Felicity is sulking in her room. Sarah has of course returned to Rose Cottage for the night. Great Aunt Eliza is reminiscing about when she was Felicity's age, saying that there was a boy with whom she was infatuated, and her father forbade her seeing him. But, Eliza says roguishly, she was a headstrong girl and wasn't about to let that stop her. As she talks, Alec gets a funny look on his face and asks Cecily where her sister is; Cecily guiltily crumbles and reveals all. Alec grimly throws on his coat, hitches up the wagon, and heads for the dance in pursuit of Felicity, with Janet calling after him to be patient with her.
Back at the dance, Felicity has encountered David Hawes who asks her to walk on the veranda with him. She does so, but that's when Alec arrives, making his way through the elegantly clad dancers in his old farm coat. Someone tells him that Felicity was seen going outside with a young man and he charges out onto the veranda. Felicity, seeing her father advancing with a martial gleam in his eye, panics and tries to escape by climbing a trellis which then breaks, landing her on top of David Hawes who quits the scene with more speed than grace. Felicity is humiliated and embarrassed, sobbing heartbrokenly all the way back to the farm. Alec has by this time calmed down; he thanks Gus, who's worried he did the wrong thing, for trying to keep Felicity safe and then brings his crying daughter home to a sympathetic and comforting Janet.
A little later, Alec is working in the barn and Janet brings him out some sandwiches for lunch. Just as she comes in the door though, she falls over in a faint. Alarmed, Alec gets her to the house and tells her that's it: she's been feeling ill all week and now she's fainted- he's going for the doctor. Janet starts to say hesitatingly that it almost seems like... but Alec is already halfway out the door and doesn't hear her. Aunt Eliza however, once she figures out what all the excitement is about, tells Alec not to be ridiculous. Janet isn't going to need a doctor for at least seven months. As Alec processes what she's saying, Eliza holds up the knitting she's been working on: it's a blue bootie. She informs Alec and Janet that it's going to be a boy.
This is an important episode for Felicity's character development, showing that she's starting to mature, but is still childish and naive in many ways. And that she's often her own worst enemy.
How Kissing Was Discovered also introduces us to two new recurring characters: Great Aunt Eliza Ward and Gus Pike. I derive a good deal of amusement from Aunt Eliza, who is often eccentric, querulous, and fussy. But she can also be humorous, and downright invaluable when there's a crisis. Although her presence in this episode is mostly played for laughs, or used to further aggravate Alec and exhaust Janet, we do get an inkling that she has hidden depths which we'll see more of in the future.
Gus is also a great foil for Felicity in this episode. His plainspoken common sense is in complete contrast with her flowery romanticism, as shown by her dreamily clutching Hawes' handkerchief as Gus asks her exasperatedly how she's planning on returning the "nosewipe". Also, as Felicity chafes and seeks to escape from her parents' protective and- she thinks- smothering rules, we can see that there is nothing that Gus would like better than to have a family to care for and about him. As he leaves Avonlea to find work, it seems obvious that, as Felicity says to Sarah, we haven't seen the last of him.
Right at the end of the episode we find out that Janet is pregnant, and this might feel tagged on to an already jam-packed episode if the revelation hadn't been so well set up. Throughout it, we've been led to think Janet is tired and stressed out because of Aunt Eliza's endless complaints and demands, and Felicity's shenanigans. This also explains why she's so uncharacteristically touchy and weepy... until, of course, we find out what the real reason is. It's also heartwarming to see both Janet and Alec's immediate joy at the knowledge that they're going to have another child at least 10 years after Cecily, their current youngest, was born. Because, despite what a lot of prissy naysayers will tell you these days, large loving families are a gift. At its core, Road To Avonlea is about family and community, with positive examples of strong hardworking men and fathers and strong, spirited women and mothers, all of whom are devoted to home and family. Really, it's a miracle that this show appeared on the CBC; nothing like it would ever get aired there today, more's the pity.