Daniel is deaf and Laura takes on the challenge of teaching him sign language, which goes well at first. However, the lad develops feelings for her. Feelings that cannot be returned. And this teacher-student relationship involving Daniel falls far from Daniel-San's karate story.
Though nothing is too tragic or too dramatic, every single character and their motivations, delusions, fears have been worked very well throughout the episode. Daniel's father has his reasons to at first object to Laura's offer, as he loves his son but doesn't want him to reach for the stars only to be disillusioned. And in a strange way, his fears prove to have merit even though both he and Daniel learn sign language and begin to communicate much better.
I, too, have felt like Daniel has, many times in my teens, and even much later. An unreturned love is a tough thing to stomach. I wish such episodes had managed to make all of us ready for what would be coming as we navigate life. They do signal a lot, but maybe these emotions are impossible to tackle with before experiencing them first hand.
Albert's dog house story helps ass fun to the separate main story, and Laura using sign language to say "I love you" while watching Almanzo Wilder begins to stroll with another, older girl was a gem of a shot in and of itself.
A very strange high note from the episode is when Mrs. Wilder, upon being asked by Laura if any of her students had fallen in love with her. Laura's intention was to figure out what to do herself, but Mrs. Wilder takes that as a compliment and gleefully thanks first, only to then say "No" in a somewhat disappointed manner. So she DID wish some boy in her class would fall in love with her?
Very balanced episode that can summarize to a first-time watcher what the hype with LHOTP has been about.