We can all breathe easy, Heartland fans. After a pretty rough go this fall–Peter and Lou accused of child abuse, Amy and Ty broken up and those wild horses looking like dead meat–Sunday’s return set everything right.
“The Heart of a River,” written by Heather Conkie, closed out with the best news of this season: Ty and Amy are getting married. Yes, I know, it’s early days and I can’t help but think there will still be challenges along the way (the Prince will return or perhaps Ty will be hit with a bout of rabies), but for now the couple are truly happy. And Tim is pretty sure he’s the reason why. (We won’t tell him the truth, will we?) Both Amy and Ty have been on emotionally personal journeys this year–I’ve really enjoyed Ty’s character growth as a man and businessman–and they both know the future includes each other.
Cue Lou, who is clearly glad she’s got a new project to take on now that Peter and she are on the same page and have excised Crystal from their lives. Crystal’s attempt to have Georgie taken from the ranch with trumped-up charges of child labour and abuse failed when she tried to blackmail Lou and Peter for money; having the social worker there to witness the attempt was savvy (where did the social worker park her car?) and sent Crystal packing, hopefully for good. I mentioned earlier this season how fantastic Alisha Newton has been as Georgie and she proved it once again in an emotional scene with the social worker, explaining that Crystal was someone she didn’t want to associate with and concluding with the heart wrenching lines:Â “You’re supposed to be helping us. You’re supposed to be helping me!” Needless to say, Georgie is staying put.
The final piece of Sunday’s puzzle were the wild horses, Will and Matt. Before the Christmas break Matt was poised to have Amy and Ty arrested for loosing the horses from his pen. They returned them to Matt–rather than be arrested–and the poor, proud animals seemed destined for the glue factory. (The fact Matt blamed the horses for the death of his father rang a little hollow for me; perhaps it would have been more believable if he’d said he was ignored in favour of the beasts all his life.) An impassioned plea by Will finally sunk in and Matt released the horses back into the valley where they belonged. It was as Amy walked slowly through the herd that Ty finally realized he couldn’t live without Amy and he made the move to make her his wife. Awwww. Are you happy Ty and Amy are finally tying the knot? Let me know in the comments below or via Twitter @tv_eh.
Heartland airs Sundays at 7 p.m. on CBC.
Thanks for another good episode recap, Mr. David.
I, too, was moved by Georgie’s plea for real help from Social Worker Abby. Alisha Newton has impressed me from Day 1 of her arrival, and she continues to get some lines she can really sink her teeth into.
Re: Matt’s reasons for wanting the cull… I initially thought the death of his father was a lame motivation, too. That said, I was struck by the line “He had years” (left to live), and it got me thinking as to what could have been going on deep in his heart and his mind… So while I don’t think Malcolm ever ignored his son in favour of the horses (which, as you pointed out, would have been a better reason to hate the beasts), I do think Matt’s reaction may have been motivated by grief and spite. I could imagine him fuming: “You loved those horses, Dad? Well, they were the death of you! Who’s gonna take care of them now that they’re gone? Not me! So how ya like ’em now, eh? Now that they’re glue, how ya like ’em now?!”
Moving on… Ty has probably grown the most as a character from Season 1, and he’s been one of my favourites, thanks partly to Graham Wardle’s portrayal. I’m glad you’ve picked up on that growth, because it can’t be easy for someone to come into a show without the benefit of having seen all 100+ episodes prior.
Thanks for your comments and thoughts. I just wish Matt’s motivation had been rounded out a little more. I understood his feelings, but time didn’t permit for viewers to really understand what he was feeling. Of course, there was a lot of stuff that had to be wrapped up in the episode! Heartland was one of those shows that I just took for granted and never considered reviewing on a regular basis. I’m glad I’ve gotten the chance. Is it sometimes a little obvious with the tugging on the heartstrings? Of course, but it’s an entertaining show.