Meanwhile back on King farm, Janet is hectoring Alec, telling him that as head of the family, he must talk to both Blair and Hetty and convince them to make peace for Sarah's sake. Alec tries reasoning with Blair but he's too angry to listen, so Alec then heads to Rose Cottage to talk to Hetty. She refuses to budge and Alec eventually loses his temper, telling her bluntly that she's going to lose Sarah for good, just as she lost Ruth. Sarah has been listening from the stairs, but pretends to be asleep when Hetty comes to check on her. She then climbs out the window, goes to King farm, and climbs in through the children's bedroom window (Felix and Andrew are bunking on Felicity and Cecily's floor so that Uncle Blair can have their room). Her plan is to stay in hiding until Hetty and Blair make up, so the children sneak her into the barn loft.
The next morning Blair arrives at Rose Cottage to find Hetty and Olivia frantically searching for Sarah. He at first accuses them of hiding her but soon comes to his senses, realizing that Sarah has obviously run off. They go to King farm to check there... the children deny having seen Sarah, and everyone joins in the search. Hetty and Blair can't stop sniping at each other, Hetty saying this proves that Sarah doesn't want to go, and Blair saying that Hetty obviously isn't capable of taking care of Sarah. Eventually Alec catches the kids in the pantry filling a basket of food for Sarah and the truth comes out. Everyone rushes to the barn, where Sarah refuses to come down from the loft until her father and Hetty stop fighting. She tells them that they aren't being fair; she loves them both and they're trying to make her take sides and choose between them. While talking, Sarah leans against the loft window shutter, not realizing that it's unlatched; it flies open and she falls out, plummeting to the ground outside. Rushing out to find her there, spread-eagle and unconscious, they frantically send for the doctor. It turns out that she has a broken leg and a concussion. Sitting by Sarah's bed as she slumbers, Hetty and Blair realize that their endless fighting is to blame for this happening and finally bury the hatchet. It's obvious that Sarah won't be able to travel back to Montreal for a while, and Blair tells her that she can take whatever time she needs. He stays for an extended visit then returns to Montreal to rebuild his business and the season ends with it up in the air as to when Sarah will decide to leave Avonlea for Montreal.
This feud between Hetty and Blair is one of long standing and, frankly, is mostly Hetty's fault. She blames him for taking her sister Ruth away from the Island and her subsequent death although this is clearly irrational. And, as we've seen on multiple occasions, Hetty is not one who easily admits to her mistakes, and she can hold grudges for years. She also deals with fear (ie. losing Sarah) by taking refuge in anger and lashing out, which we see her do at both Blair and Olivia. But of course, these behaviours merely exacerbate the problem, pushing away the people Hetty most fears losing. This doesn't let Blair off the hook though: he's quick to lose his temper, and by insisting that Sarah leave with him right away, he's completely ignoring the fact that Sarah loves her newly discovered family and it's going to hurt her to be ripped away from them so suddenly. Both he and Hetty are so wrapped up in their bitterness and resentment that they're not considering what their constant fighting is doing to Sarah. It's only when Sarah's hurt takes physical form that the two of them come to their senses and realize that they need to do what's best for her (and themselves) which is forgiving each other and uniting in their shared concern for her.
This episode is also about the necessity of Hetty accepting that change is inevitable. Whether Sarah stays or goes, her relationship with Hetty will change as she gets older, becoming a teen and then an adult. More change is on the horizon as well, as it's obvious in this episode that the shy, tentative friendship between Olivia and Jasper is slowly and awkwardly but steadily progressing towards romance. Hetty can see this and it has led her to being rude, and just this side of hostile, towards Jasper. Yet if she can't bend and learn to accept that change happens and that isn't necessarily a bad thing, she risks making the same mistakes with Olivia- and Sarah- as she made with Ruth. As season one closes out, it remains to be seen whether or not the lessons Hetty's learned in this episode will leave a lasting impression, or if she'll slip back into her old controlling ways.