When the “Previously on Heartland” intro rolled before last night’s episode, I was pretty sure that darned grizzly bear was going to show up and cause trouble. I was wrong, but Sunday’s instalment wasn’t without danger.

Seeing Ty tumble off the cliff was certainly dramatic, and he’s lucky he escaped with just a large bump on his head. (Kudos to the producers for making sure they covered the whole concussion thing rather than assuming he was all right.) The male bald eagle rescue itself may have gone without a hitch—I did wonder how he or Amy would get to the top of the tree if the situation called for it—but getting back to the truck didn’t. Note to self: always carry a bag of trail mix with you. Also? Make sure you have a horse like Bear along. The newest equine member of Heartland seems destined for a future on the Calgary Police Force, and that’s a pretty cool gig if you ask me. (Those hoping Amy and Ty will have a baby soon had to make do with the two cradling a male bald eagle rather than a sprite of their own.)

Aside from the drama out on the trail with Amy, Ty and the horses, “Over and Out”—written by Pamela Pinch—had some heart-stopping moments at the ranch and the Reserve. After bonding during their own near-death experience—telling Bob they trashed the ATV—Adam and Georgie seem headed for romance. After all, why else would they be texting after-hours? And how will Stephen react when he returns from the summer? The fact Adam hinted his mother is exerting pressure on him to succeed will likely cause he and Georgie to bond and, perhaps, share a first kiss before the fall leaves fly.

I always enjoy it when Lisa is kicking around the ranch—her feisty attitude leads to some great moments—so I was glad to have plenty of scenes with she and Jack, Katie and Lou. With Lou struggling to keep her packed calendar in order, Lisa stepped in to try and help and a defensive Lou got her back up. The thing with Heartland is, grudges never last long; by episode’s end the ladies were on the same page and Lou even got some alone time with her daughters.

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

Life is complicated for Amy Fleming. The beloved Heartland character has a lot on her plate so far in Season 8, including a rich Prince who keeps sending her presents, a fiancé who’s struggling to make ends meet in his first business venture and a girl whose vision of Amy has been shattered.

For actress Amber Marshall, having her character go through these struggles represents the natural evolution of Amy, a gifted horse trainer who isn’t without her flaws. Georgie (Alisha Newton) was crushed after viewing an online video of Prince Ahmed (Jade Hasounné) kissing Amy during a farewell party for his European Equestrian team. Now Amy is feeling the effects of tumbling off the pedestal Georgie put her on.

“The fans may not agree with it right now, but there has to be a moment when the characters that you’ve seen as heroic people need to fall,” Marshall says. “They need somewhere to climb back up to. If you just have your characters going on this nice, mellow journey where they’re the hero of the show … what is interesting in that? There is no real life. There are no lessons to be learned. I was so happy when the writers took Amy and threw her down to basically starting from scratch.”

Marshall has literally grown up on the set of CBC’s Sunday night stalwart and she’s gained an immense amount of knowledge since filming the pilot episode when she was 19. And, unlike shows such as Degrassi, where the setting is high school and the characters have to be kept in a certain age group, Heartland‘s young folks have gotten older, matured and moved on to new stages in their lives.

Marshall has evolved too, adding the title of consulting producer to her list of responsibilities on the family drama. The London, Ont., born actress explains she was already on the set and involved outside of her acting role anyway. An experienced horse person, she was there to help the show’s writers tweak scenes that dealt with those four-legged co-stars; a discussion with Heartland‘s producers led to the additional credit. When she’s not on-set filming, Marshall educates herself on all aspects of production, an easy thing to do when you’re surrounded by folks you’ve been working with for years. Can executive producing or showrunning her own project be in Marshall’s future? Not until she learns more.

In the meantime, Amy is getting an education in the dangers of the Internet and her naiveté when it comes to Prince Ahmed. His peck on her lips not only has driven a wedge between Amy and Georgie, but Amy and Lou (Michelle Morgan) too. It all comes to a head this Sunday when Amy is forced to make a tough decision that affects her relationship with not only the Prince but Ty (Graham Wardle) as well.

“There is some very interesting conflict coming up,” she teases. “It’s going to have a huge impact on the whole Heartland family, not just Amy and Ty.”

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

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