Review: Silent treatment on Heartland

Communication is a big thing, whether it be between family, friends, business partners or horses. That was driven home on several fronts during Sunday night’s newest episode. And while the episode may have been called “The Silent Partner,” the subtitle could have been “The Silent Treatment,” especially when it came to Peter and Lou.

It’s no secret that the couple’s marriage has been rocky of late, with him quite happy to be jetting to Vancouver for work, something that gives him a much-needed respite from life on the ranch. And who could blame him? It seems like Lou has got a new bee in her bonnet every week. This time around it was pressuring Peter to find a job in Calgary so he would be closer to home. I thought she was crossing the line by having Amy serve as the go-between to land Peter a job with Tanner Gunn (Patrick Gallagher, Endgame). In the end her plan backfired in a major way. Not only did she fail to communicate her feelings to Peter directly, but she learned the worst news of all via Amy: Tanner offered Peter a lucrative job that he turned down. Now Lou (and we) can only wonder what Peter has planned. Is he leaving Lou, or has he got a business plan cooked up to keep him at home and he’s just getting ready to surprise his wife with the news?

Speaking of surprises, Caleb had a big one for Ty (and Amy). Despite Ty’s advice to the contrary, Caleb is in business with Jesse, which led to windfall of cash for Ty in the form of his initial investment and profits to the tune of over $41,000 in cash. What will the the engaged couple do with all that green? They could certainly pay for their wedding with it, but I’m suspecting a business of their own is in the cards. After all, Amy could train horses and Ty could care for them. It’s the perfect business idea.

Communication was the word of the week for Jack and Georgie too, the former between he and Lisa over planning Amy’s wedding and the latter regarding letting Steven ride Phoenix to take some of the pressure off her mounting responsibilities at school and Heartland.

But back to Lou and Peter for a second. I may complain a lot about Lou’s meddling in everyone’s affairs, but I don’t like to see her hurting. Sunday’s final scene—preceded by a weepfest with Jack—found her the odd (wo)man out, witnessing Peter and her two kids watching Phoenix ride while she wondered where her marriage was headed. Do you think it’s over between she and Peter? Let me know below or via @tv_eh.

Notes and quotes

  • Hey Heartland fans, does anyone know how far Calgary is supposed to be from Heartland ranch?
  • “Can’t a man spend some time in his own home with people thinking there’s a crisis?!”—Jack
  • I could watch Heartland‘s horse riding footage all day long

Heartland airs Sundays at 7 p.m. on CBC.

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5 thoughts on “Review: Silent treatment on Heartland”

  1. Heartland is supposed to be located near High River which is 66km from Calgary. I actually just found that out today from a client who was watching the show and who actually is from around their originally. I am surprised just how many people watch the show. With the reruns on APTN, a lot of people watch it. I do home visits (I’m a Home Healthcare Worker) for my job and so I am in probably 30 different homes a week and I constantly see it on peoples’ tvs. I guess it’s just a show that appeals to a wide array of people with its family-friendly and multigenerational focus.

    1. Thanks for letting me know where it’s supposed to be. I’ve always wondered that and Lou makes it sound very close. Yeah, it has a wide appeal, that’s for sure!

  2. I believe from post on other blogs that the Heartland Ranch is closer to Millarville than it is to High River. I am from Georgia USA and I visited (Sept 2014) a lot of the areas that Heartland was filmed and a lot of the beautiful country side. Went horse back riding in the foot hills of the Rockies. Planning on making another trip this year if I can.

  3. “Real world” locations notwithstanding, it is in the show’s canon that the fictional town of Hudson is “an hour away” from Calgary (by car). This was established in Season 2 when Amy confronted Ty about his lengthy absence after he left the ranch to work with his dad in Calgary.

    As for Lou and Peter… I hope they find a way to make things work, but I’m not optimistic. Georgie has had enough upheaval in her life already. The grown-ups in her life need to figure their stuff out, and they need to do it quickly.

  4. Lou’s plan was definitely a bad one. However to say Lou has a ‘bee in her bonnet’ seems unfair. I’ve always felt Peter was fairly unsupportive and unsympathetic. As far back as season five he was dismissing her career as being less important than his and critiquing her approach to raising Katie. Lou runs the dude ranch, owns Maggie’s, writes her blog and raises Katie and Georgie. Where’s her ‘much needed respite?’ Peter seems to come home with a fed-up and impatient attitude. He’s obviously been working hard in a stressful job but Lou also financially supports their family. It seems Peter feels that coming home should be like a vacation, when to Lou it’s just another day at the office.

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