Heartland Review Ep. 1504: Sins of a Father
(A very truncated version of this was posted elsewhere, as usual.)
Ep. 1504 (“Sins of a Father”) written by Alexandra Clarke picks up almost immediately after the previous episode, which saw the family rolling up to the ranch, only to find it has been broken into. Yep, they’re the latest victims of the serial break-ins happening around their neck of the woods. This was an excellent episode in many ways. It even held a few good surprises. With the exception of one particular plot point that I’ll rant about later, I really enjoyed it.
Much of the plot had to do with Jack dealing with memories stemming from his stolen watch. Yep, that gold engraved watch was taken in the break-in along with other valuables that included Tim’s prized All ‘Round Cowboy Trophy. We’re treated to several flashbacks from Jack’s perspective that include OH MY GOSH! Is that Young Jack? That’s right. Shea Johnston, Shaun Johnston’s own son, has reprised his role this episode, and was doing a fine job of it, too. Another plot point of note was Parker’s interest in tracking down the stolen items. She immediately gets the watch actually was important to Jack, despite his protests to the contrary. (Anybody get the sense she’ll soon earn the nickname “Nosey Parker”?) We also see Parker developing an Instant Crush on Logan when they meet for the first time. The third subplot gives us more development of the Logan character. Amy continues to be impressed by his horse instincts, and is therefore disappointed when she learns he’ll probably be moving away to make a fresh start when his dad is paroled. The final subplot is minor, in a sense, but it’s the only part of the episode that actually angered me on a few levels. Lou cannot find her Mayoral laptop. It could have been stolen in the break-in, or it could just be missing. Get ready for a rant, which I have not done in many long years. (Skip over these next few paragraphs if you don’t care to be subjected to it.) I’ve given lots of thought to the “Lou’s Laptop” subplot. It was terrible on all counts, in my opinionated opinion. I know it was probably intended to be played off for levity, but the episode did not need another Lou snafu for giggles. I cannot for a second believe the woman holding the *highest office* in Hudson has a.) such poor security on her WORK laptop, and b.) lacked serious judgment in what she allegedly kept on it. In real life, her I.T./security people would have been mandating a password change like every bloody week with 32-characters-including-capitals-numbers-special-characters, and she would have been schooled on what is appropriate use of her laptop and what isn’t. She deserves to called “Mayor Skroob” for apparently having a lame password something close to “1234”.
And you mean to tell me businesswoman “Spreadsheet” OCD Lou has a desk so messy she misses a note placed there telling her exactly where the laptop is being kept? Isn’t she Miss Organized?!
And don’t get me started on the pictures she was keeping on the laptop “inappropriate for my children to see” she mentioned that nearly gave Rick a coronary. I doubt it was anything *too* incriminating, and possibly stuff just embarrassing for Katie and Georgie, but just the suggestion Lou could have had something scandalous on her hard drive was poor judgment both for her and for whoever greenlit that odious plot point. “Bad pictures” are no joking matter, especially when in the real world, we’re becoming *very* aware of the connection between “bad pictures” and human trafficking. Big FAIL on that, and I’m not apologizing for calling it out. Don’t ever go there again, Heartland, even for laughs.
End of rant.
Back at Cooper’s Centre, Clint has bad news for Logan. His dad has failed to make parole. This upsetting news causes Logan to run off. They try without success to find him on the Centre grounds or in any of the buildings. Cooper seems at his wits’ end with both this and his funding crisis—later even abandoning his dream project and leaving Clint in the lurch. Amy returns to Heartland to continue gentling the wildie when Logan rolls in on his bike. But he’s not there to help. He’s there to say goodbye. He has decided to make a fresh start on his own without his dad, wherever that may take him, and Amy seems unable to convince him running away isn’t the answer. “Father and son relationships... they can be tough... and fragile,” Jack tells Amy when she mentions how angry Logan is at his dad. He speaks about looking up to Jefferson, and how he idolized the man... and how tough it is when that hero trips up; to discover he’s just a person. He reminds Amy it’s not her responsibility to fix what’s broken between Logan and his father. Cue another flashback to when Young Jack has another uncomfortable exchange with a drunken Jefferson. They’ve been fighting over Young Jack’s rodeo aspirations and his duties on the ranch. Jefferson throws the gold watch at his son, snidely saying “Happy birthday”; Young Jack throws it down on the hearth shouting that he doesn’t want it; that he doesn’t want anything from his father. It all boils down how Jefferson accused Young Jack of challenging his authority, of thinking he knew what was best for the ranch. “You think you know what’s best for this place? Prove it!” Jefferson taunted. Those mocking words haunt Jack this entire episode. At one point, Lyndy wakes up in her room, convinced something’s outside her door. That sends Jack rushing outside in the dead of night with his rifle. Of course there’s nothing there, but Jack can’t seem to shake the feeling he’s failed to keep his family safe. Jack finally admits to Lisa he’s not actually feeling guilty about the break-in, he’s angry about the watch, and the memories losing it has conjured up. Lisa hears how drunken Jefferson took out his grief and anger over June’s death on Jack, causing him to feel unsafe in his own home. She tells Jack what Jefferson did was heartbreaking, but that he cannot be angry at himself for what happened. Jack asks why not, since he believes he made her feel the way his dad made him feel. “I promised I would never do that to anyone,” he says. Lisa insists he always makes her feel safe, and that he is not his father. She encourages him to pull himself out of the past and to appreciate what he has now, because he made Heartland into what it is. Jack fortunately takes her advice to heart. Wrapping up the remaining plot points: Logan’s Run was short-lived. He’s back to help Amy after realising he didn’t want to be on the road on his own. (He’s probably also realised he should pursue this connection he has with horses, and Amy even gives him a riding lesson.) Parker and Tim track down both the watch and trophy at a local pawn shop. It seems the thieves were not from Cooper’s outfit; they were a gang involved with the fair that was moving from town to town, a pattern Parker identified during her sleuthing. Jack takes Lyndy fishing at the pond, which provides a bookend flashback to a happier time when Jack was a kid and Jefferson was still his hero, teaching him how to fish, perhaps the only time Jack heard Jefferson tell him he was proud of him.
End of Review; onto personal commentary...
I was really impressed by everyone’s performances in this episode. Shaun Johnston was particularly great, I thought. Jack’s not usually the one to show much emotion, but this episode gave him the opportunity to really show a great deal of emotion without having the luxury of words. Just watching him, sitting on the bench on the porch as he fumed over the robbery, or how he remembered the difficult past with this father... wow.
We’re of course still completely ignoring the havoc the “June dies” timeline has wreaked on previously established Heartland canon. We’ll never be able to reconcile it, so I guess I’ll just have to let it go. Jefferson Bartlett’s grief and anger over June’s untimely death, and maybe even his resentment over his son’s aspirations led him down a very dark and destructive path. It wasn’t made overt, but one gets the sense Jefferson might have even been physically abusive towards Jack (beyond the drunken shoving match that could have happened).
I’m feeling a little better now about the “There was a time I couldn’t wait to leave this place” quip from Jack when we were first hit with the “Jack had a sister and a bad relationship with his dad” backstory due to what Lisa said to Jack during their talk.
She was grateful to Jefferson for one thing: and that was instilling in Jack a sense of responsibility for Heartland. Jack didn’t actually have to stay with the bitter old man. He could have taken off on the road, taking in every rodeo he wanted. But he still felt responsible for the ranch that both his granddad and his dad promised would be his to take care of one day.
Because ever since Day 1 of knowing Jack Bartlett, I’ve known two things: he’s proud of those 600 acres of Heartland, and he’s a homebody.
Jack’s reasons for wanting to leave weren’t because he wasn’t interested in taking care of the family homestead. His reason for wanting to leave was more about not feeling safe in his father’s presence after June died.
It makes sense he’d feel better about being there after the old man died, and perhaps in and through marrying Lyndy, brining her there to live, and having Marion. He must have put great effort into making sure they felt safe and secure when he was around, the same effort he’s been putting into it for his family now.
I’m so pleased to see how Jack was quick to counsel Logan, given what they’ve both experienced. The parallels between Logan and Ty cannot be ignored, but I’m also glad the Writers don’t seem to be beating us over the head with the comparisons. Ty, for example, wasn’t a prodigy with equines. Logan seems to have a preternatural ability about them, and Amy is all too keen to help him harness that. Ty was in juvie; near as I can figure, Logan simply ended up in a group home because he got too old for foster care and has never had a criminal record.
I feel like I could say so much more about this episode, but it’s late, and I’ve already ruminated about it enough for now.