Run the Wild Fields (TV)

"On those bright mornings, my hope and I would run those wild fields searching for some piece of him (my father) or for some other small seed, left to grow wild and untended, like me," Pug. Run the Wild Fields is told by a woman reflecting on her childhood memories when she lived on a farm with her mother in North Carolina during World War II, a period of fierce patriotism in America. She reminisces about her mother and a drifter called Tom, who made a major impact on her life when she was 10. Although Pug's (ALEXA VEGA) father has been missing in action for three years, her mother Ruby (JOANNE WHALLEY), who has let the farm lie fallow ever since, firmly believes he will return home. She reinforces her hope by a nightly ritual with Pug, winding Frank's watch, which helps keep him alive in their minds. When a mysterious and gentle drifter Tom (SEAN PATRICK FLANERY) enters their lives, Ruby and Pug befriend him. Ruby's wealthy neighbor, Silas (COTTER SMITH), who's been courting her, is jealous, and, with the sheriff's help, discovers that Tom served time in a Civilian Public Service camp after refusing to fight in the war, an act that brands Tom as a coward and draft dodger in the eyes of the townsfolk. Tom, who remains silent on this issue, brings new life to Pug and Ruby. His presence on the farm inspires Ruby to start working the land again. Despite others' views to the contrary, he instills hope in them that Frank will return one day. As all three work sowing seeds together, Tom becomes a father figure to Pug and a love relationship begins to build between himself and Ruby. When a 4th of July festivity erupts into a potential fight, Ruby and Pug find themselves defending Tom against the town bullies. Pug is so taken with Tom, she hides a letter from Frank, who released from a prisoner-of-war camp, is coming home. As the seeds begin to sprout on the farm, the entire town explodes with joy when the end of the war is announced. During the ensuing celebrations, Tom, in an act of bravery, risks his life rescuing Pug and one of the bullies, from a burning stable. Simultaneously, the townsfolk discover the poignant and justifiable reason why Tom is a pacifist—he was a hero in the Spanish Civil War where his younger brother had died in his arms. Back at the farm, the attraction between Tom and Ruby becomes almost insurmountable. But when he discovers Frank's letter, he realizes he must make the ultimate sacrifice. As he leaves, he meets a soldier on the road. They exchange brief words as the soldier lights Tom's cigarette in a symbolic exchange of the torch. Ultimately, we realize, the soldier is Frank on his way home. "He gave my mother and me his hands, his heart and his hope… in a very small way and for a very short time….", Pug.