Mary Ellen marries Jonesy but they don't exactly have a good start.

Most of the Waltons have split up in the days approaching Thanksgiving 1947. But most of the family begins to arrive at Walton's Mountain begging with John-Boy recovering from a case of writers block in New York followed by Jason now a struggling musician as well as John Walton whom tries to get everyone together for the special event for Elizabeth, while newlyweds Erin and Paul plan to move out of the Walton homestead.

US Army Sergeant Jason Pate returns home after three tours of duty in Afghanistan. The battles he has endured have led to minor injuries to his body, but the toll taken on his mind are immeasurable. As he attempts to adjust to life at home with his wife Emily and their four year old daughter Savannah, he struggles with the things he has missed, the effects of the war, and the ability to find meaning and purpose of his life in the civilian world.Jason begins to turn to alcohol and pills to ease his pain.

Jonah and Ella Mazer are typical teenagers, but strange and frightening things are happening at their new school. They learn that all of their classmates are descendants of witches -- and the two are destined to die.

It's Christmas Eve, early 1930s on Walton's Mountain. As the family prepares for the holiday, they anxiously await Pa's return home from his job in the city some 50 miles away. He is late, and Ma and the grandparents hear on the radio a report of a bus accident that worries them. Oldest son John-Boy must step up to help grandfather cut down a Christmas tree, and upon learning the concern about Daddy sets out to find him.

Erin Walton is considering marrying her boyfriend Paul but her old boyfriend Ashley, who left for the war and married someone else, lived through his wife's death and would like to get Erin back, but Paul is not going to give her up so easily. Also Mary Ellen's boyfriend Jonesy who's a veterinarian is trying to establish a practice but everybody doesn't think he is competent. And Ben who has been minding the lumber business while their father's with their ailing mother in Arizona is having some problems and everybody's worried that he's digging himself a hole that he might not get out of.

After the death of his parents, 10-year-old Jackson Mayhew moves in with his Aunt. But when he befriends an elderly man, he begins to suspect that the old man is actually Santa Claus.

A small-town janitor / motivational speaker, stumbles along through life, until he has a personal revelation and begins 'un-motivating' the town, turning everything upside down in the process.

This is the story of the clocklike movements of a giant, big city New Orleans hotel. The ambitious yet loyal manager wrestles with the round-the-clock drama of its guests. A brazen sneak thief, who nightly relieves the guests of their property, is chased through the underground passages of the hotel. The big business power play for control of the hotel and the VIP diplomat guest with a secret add to the excitement.

In 1969, John-Boy is a TV news anchorperson in New York and he is in the throes of writing a new book. He and a very pregnant Janet are making plans to return to Walton's Mountain for the celebration of John and Olivia's 40th wedding anniversary. Accompanying them to see the place John-Boy lived as a child is Aurora, a Time magazine photographer, who is doing a story on John-Boy. Meanwhile, Elizabeth arrives back from her travels and announces to Drew, who is still working at the mill with Ben, that she is back to stay. She is very upset to find that Drew did not wait for her, and that he has a new girlfriend. Also, problems arise for John-Boy and Janet because the longer John-Boy stays on the mountain, the more he becomes convinced that he would like to settle down there, raise his family, and continue with his writing whereas Janet wants to stay in New York.