His Father’s Son vs The Hunt

Tonight I was rewatching the Waltons (for those who don’t know, another period TV drama from the 70s, this one set mostly during the Depression in rural Virginia), which, like Little House, I watched as a child growing up, and Tonight’s episode was The Hunt, where John Boy, the eldest Walton son, goes on a hunt for the first time with his father, and is unable to bring himself to shoot a turkey. It has a similar plot and theme to the Little House episode His Father’s Son, where Isaiah is gung ho about taking John Jr hunting, but John Jr as we know dreads the trip because he does not want to kill. Like John Boy, he is a poet and writer, and has the heart of one. Unlike Little House, Daddy Walton is understanding of his son, and doesn’t want to push him to shoot the turkey unless he’s ready (and has a lovely talk with him about how he’s already a Walton man, and shooting a turkey is t what makes him a man). Eventually in each episode, things happen where each young man is confronted with a situation where they must confront their fears and misgivings and act decisively. I’m not sure if it’s because The Waltons was less of a kids show than Little House, or just had better, more nuanced writers, but I thought the story was handled so much more thoughtfully in The Hunt than in His Father’s Son. For sure Daddy Walton was for the most part a more understanding father than Isaiah. Has anyone else seen both episodes and compared them? I hadn’t seen The Hunt in many years, so I was struck by how similar the plots were! Any thoughts from others?