Some words about the Season 14 finale of Heartland.
HONESTY! That’s all I’ve ever asked of these characters, so thanks to episode writer Heather Conkie for giving me the satisfaction.
And boy, did we get it. Lou and Mitch. Finally they say what needed to be said. Why, yes, Mitch really does want kids of his own. (The way he looks at little Carson Odell is one clue Lou picks up on he might not actually be okay with no kids of his own.) Thanks for finally dropping that pushover “I want whatever you want, darling” garbage, Mitch. That’s not honest. And even if you risk “rocking the boat” by saying it, much better to say so right now before you get married and find it’s a real wedge later on between you and your wife.
Lou stands her ground and says she’s through with having more kids and wants to focus on her career. Honesty!! Lou also drops another truth-bomb only-child Mitch needs to hear: that void inside you can only be filled by you—not some other relationship or kids or whatever. It crushed Mitch to hear from Lou that they needed to take a break, but the way these two were going, he needed to hear that.
Peter. Oh, boy... That man looks rough. I’m actually worried about him. He looked like a man who might do something drastic in the face of his ex’s upcoming marriage, as in he might harm himself, or be considering it. But again, he was honest at last in coming clean about how he’s not cool with Lou getting married to someone else, and how he still has feelings for her. Wow. I mean, we knew he was still carrying the torch, anyway, and yet it seemed he was okay to let her go and “be happy” with someone else. Now, the truth comes out. Even if Lou doesn’t “take him back”, at least he got that out of his system.
Jessica and Tim. I’m so happy Jessica came back to tell Tim she had feelings for him and that she was just running scared. How falling for someone wasn’t part of her “plan”. And Tim totally gets it. He’s glad to let her go off and travel and take her photos all she wants; no expectations, really, but he’d sure prefer if she came back to him. But—total brainwave from Jessica—what if he travels with her? Tim’s sold on the idea, even joking she’ll get sick of him like everyone eventually does.
Honesty.
Whatever happens with these characters in a hypothetical future Season 15, I’m utterly relieved those things got said that needed saying.
The rest of the episode was pretty predictable, but enjoyable nevertheless. I loved how Parker totally stepped up with her “activism” and advocated for Cooper’s outfit after both the grant money and donor fell through.
The kid has a whole display at Georgie’s showjumping competition, handing out pamphlets and passionately singing the praises of Cooper’s vision to help troubled kids through horse therapy. People listen with interest, until a chagrined Amy shows up and quietly tells her she can’t be doing this (probably because she thinks it’s already a lost cause and no good can come of it.)
But Amy has a rare foot-in-mouth moment when she is recognized by one interested listener as Amy the “Miracle Girl”. The woman did not know Amy was involved with Cooper’s plans, and Parker shows off a video she had shot of Amy doing a join-up with one of the wildies at Cooper’s ranch. So Amy goes on about how sad it is that Cooper’s donor dropped him after the grant fell through—blithely unaware she was talking to that very donor. Oops!
Georgie, of course, crushes it at the competition, leading her to be approached by a representative from Equestrian Canada. They’ve had their eye on her for a long time, and he gives her his card. Quinn and Georgie happily celebrate, because they know this means they’re one step closer to the Olympics.
For what must have been an insanely challenging season to plan, write, direct, perform, etc., for so many reasons, I give a standing ovation to the entire cast and crew of Heartland. Season 14 has been one of the very best in a long time, and I have enjoyed almost every minute of it. I am encouraged this has been billed as the “season” finale and not the “series” finale, meaning there’s a very good chance we will see our beloved show return for a 15th season.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but we never did see this particular angle in the finale, did we (or any other time, except for the Extended Season 14 trailer), right?
