Jim Davis usually plays the rough tough guy. This episode has him as not only a lawman, but a family man. It shows a "good" man takes on the responsibility of a ready made family. It takes a special kind of person to be a lawman & a special kind of woman to be a lawman's wife. I don't think I have ever seen Jim Davis play a part that he backs down from anyone. At first I wish they had not had the young boy get mad & think he was a coward but when I thought about it & put myself in the mind of a small boy, this is more than likely the reaction a child might have. In the days of the West I am sure there were a lot of women that were left alone with a family to raise and they were very lucky to have a man take that on. Although, there have been other episodes that a man took on a ready made family and they were mean to them & I know this happened in real life.