“Sometimes you make decisions for people even though they’ve told you it’s not what they want.” And with that Georgie finally got through to Lou.

Yes, Heartland fans, it looks as though the writers are going there. Lou and Peter seem set on separating, even though by the end of “Eclipse of the Heart” they were smiling at each other. Of course, there are still a handful of episodes left in this season for the pair to right their listing marital ship, but those smiles looked rueful and full of what has been instead of happiness to come.

Or perhaps, over the next few weeks as they prep for Amy and Ty’s nuptials, Peter and Lou will realize their marriage is fighting for and we’ll see a vow renewal alongside the wedding. I’m kind of on the fence about how I want things to play out. Part of me is interested in how Heartland‘s writers would handle the Lou and Peter being apart and the affect it would have on the girls, while another wishes they would stay together and have them both make some changes in the way they treat each other.

Marriage consumed the other two major storylines as well, with Jack stopping Tim from driving to Moose Jaw and possibly making a fool of himself in front of Miranda and her fiancé. I was thankful for the back and forth between the men by the side of the highway, first when Jack told Tim his truck wouldn’t start (an obvious ploy to slow Tim down) and then by taking his truck keys and pretending to throw them into a field.

As for Amy and Ty, they’re full speed ahead on wedding prep, with plans to use the hall for the ceremony and Amy narrowing in on the perfect dress. I was actually surprised she didn’t tell Lou she’d rather wear her mom’s old dress, but I’m sure that’s to come. After all, having the girls in the dress shop enabled the writers to continue Lou’s flashbacks to the good and bad times in her courtship, marriage and child-rearing with Peter and reflect on whether all that is worth saving. What do you think? Will Peter and Lou really separate? Will they renew their vows at Amy and Ty’s wedding? Comment below or via @tv_eh.

Notes and quotes

• Congratulations on Heartland‘s season renewal!
• “You’re not planning on driving to Moose Jaw and making a fool of yourself, are you?” Jack to Tim.
• “The heart wants what the heart wants.” — Caleb
  “I don’t think you’re thinking with your heart. Or your head.” — Amy

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

Sunday’s latest episode of Heartland covered the theme of quitting through several storylines while setting up what could be some pretty dramatic scenes as this season draws to a close.

“Riders on the Storm” saw the return of Georgie’s brother, Jeff, to Heartland where he made an immediate impression on Jade, even if part of the reason he was visiting was the result of a little white lie. I understand Jeff wanting to put blame on his boss rather than admit he quit because he didn’t like the new guy in charge. Thanks to Tim, Jeff got his confidence back and prepared to return to his job and prove he could handle more responsibility.

Quitting seemed to be in the cards for Scott’s nephew, Emmett, too. The latter was feeling the pressure of trying to live up to the former’s status as an award-winning relay horse racer and seemed to have an easy out because his horse kept bolting. Once Amy had solved that problem with a set of blinders, Emmett had to come clean to Scott about his feelings. I appreciate Heartland‘s writers for—for the most part, anyway—having characters admit to their true feelings within the same episode rather than drawing it out for weeks on end.

Speaking of quitting, Ty’s mom was still in rehab attempting to kick her addiction to alcohol and didn’t want her son visiting because she was ashamed she fell off the wagon. Ty took two steps back with regard to his maturity by responding badly to her request before coming to the conclusion that supporting his mother was more important than worrying about whether or not she wanted him there. He wanted to attend Family Day, so he was going.

I knew that, by the end of Sunday’s storylines, Tim and Jack would work out their differences—and hurt feelings—to emerge as equals in the rodeo school. Jack simply has too much experience for Tim to ignore what he has to say. I did love the back-and-forth jibes about age and inexperience on the road to a solution though, as well as the heart-to-heart where Tim revealed he’s been in a bad mood because Miranda is preparing to get married. Will Tim and Casey make it a dual wedding with Ty and Amy by season’s end or will he dump her and ask for Miranda’s hand? We’ll see.

Notes and quotes

• “I’m not interested in training the next generation of weekend cowboys.” Jack has some of the best lines, doesn’t he?
• “When was that guy’s last rodeo? When they were bucking dinosaurs?” Nice comeback, Tim.
• As a die-hard Blackstone fan, it was great to see co-stars Nathaniel Arcand and Justin Rain on Heartland.
• Does anyone else have a horrible feeling that Lou is coming back to Heartland by herself?

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

Tim is back! And with big news. Yes, Amy and Ty began the first serious steps  toward their wedding day with the touching discovery of Marion’s old wedding dress and Georgie and Steven’s relationship is blossoming thanks to a case of chicken pox, but the most memorable moments for me during “Cowgirls Don’t Cry” were the scenes between Tim and Jade.

Jade is quickly evolving into one of my new favourite characters on Heartland. Maybe it’s her spunk, or the way she gets under Lou’s skin, but her evolution from rich brat into bona fide cowgirl has been pretty impressive. Yes, I knew that Jade would have some raw talent in the saddle even before she climbed up there (with no help from Caleb), but I still got a charge out of her impressing Tim and shaming the boys a bit. Tim, meanwhile, learned quickly that his tough approach to teaching wasn’t winning anyone over. In fact, it was driving his students away from him.

I admit that I yelled, “No!” when I realized that Jade was going to ride the bronco, and I was relieved when she wasn’t hurt from the fall. (This is Heartland, and broken limbs occur almost as frequently as broken hearts.) Luckily, she’ll be back for the next set of classes along with at least three more kids that are interested in learning the rope from Tim.

Raise your hand if you knew that Wade was working two jobs to pay for Lily’s rehab. Yeah, me too. It’s a well-worn trope, but it was still an effective way of teaching Ty that people can change, even a former gambler like Wade, who has left his mistakes in the rearview mirror in order to make a better life for Lily. It was a bold—but expected—move for Ty to give Wade money to help pay for his mother’s rehab, though I noticed he didn’t give it all away.

He’s got to leave some for the wedding day that’s fast approaching.

Notes and quotes

• Thanks to Lisa, I now know the difference between embossed and debossed.
• “You are like a wedding planning lioness ready to pounce.” I’ve missed Jack’s quips.
• I love watching Katie in family scenes, like last night when she was poking her food at dinner.
• Things got a little dusty on my couch when Amy revealed yellow and blue were her mom’s favourite colours.

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

“Broken Heartland” certainly lived up to its episode title, as the growing tension between Lou and Peter finally reached an explosive head. Heartland is never afraid to shy away from the drama in it’s family drama description, but even I was a little shocked by how loud their argument was following an increasingly cringeworthy family lunch.

As with most fights between couples, a re-hash of previous mistakes were dragged out into the open: Peter’s failure in Dubai and him insisting on working in Vancouver, Lou buying a house and getting a specialist for Katie without his consent. As Lou rightly pointed out, they’d both made errors. But suggesting he had someone on the side in Van-city seemed like a bit of a stretch, especially for Heartland. How many die-hard fans would be devastated if Peter and Lou’s marriage ended in divorce because he was messing around? Still, it could happen. As an aside, I agreed with Peter when he retorted that he and Lou couldn’t even get enough privacy to have a fight. Although, with all of that land around them, perhaps going out into a nearby field would have been a good idea.

By episode’s end, Lou was jetting to Vancouver to talk to Peter about the state of their marriage. I’m hoping Heartland‘s writers simply have him be happily surprised by her arrival rather than have a nasty shock awaiting Lou when she lands. (Of course, Heartland is on hiatus next week, so we’ll have to wait.)

Like Lou and Peter, Amy and Ty were finding it tough to score some alone time too. The pair were headed off to Montana for a couple of days but had that dashed when an impromptu horse ride resulted in the truck stolen by a hitchhiker. (WHY would Ty put the keys in the sun visor???? He’s got pockets!!! Why would they leave their cell phones in the truck?? What if something had happened??) Luckily for them, Brooke the hitchhiker didn’t get far; they caught up to her when the truck suffered a flat front tire. But rather than report Brooke to the police, they gave her a ride, and it was on that trip—and hearing of Brooke’s relationship struggles with her mom—that Ty realized that, off the wagon or not, his own mother deserved to be invited to he and Amy’s wedding.

Ty’s decision was a mature one, and I was impressed he came to it. I still think that he and Amy are going to elope—maybe with Brooke singing to them under that tree—but offering an olive branch to his mom was still nice.

Notes and quotes

• I think Katie’s got the right idea; a cupcake tree would be awesome
• “Your daughter thinks you live in an airplane.” I know this was supposed to be serious, but I laughed out loud at Lou’s line
• “I’m never gonna live this down!” Luckily for Ty, Tim likely won’t find out about Brooke stealing the truck
• Georgie and Jade provided much-needed levity on Sunday, first at the vet clinic and then when Georgie finally asked Steven to the Sadie Hawkins dance
• Where’s Tim?!?

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