Reflections from the Heart(land)

Having won the right to advance as far as the Fall Finale, the championship show of the local season, thanks to a second-place finish in the Hudson Equestrian Jumping Event, the show that immediately preceded it, Amy has qualified for the last show of the season. Stunned and disappointed by her daughter’s poor performance (only third place, behind Amy and another rider), Val threatens Ashley with much less financial support if her jumping does not improve. Lou, having been fired from Strickland and Cooke (we’ll hear more about the latter of those partners much, much later, so don’t forget about her), has tried to return to New York, having gone there for an interview. We can assume from the other characters’ reactions that Jack indeed knew Lisa was about to arrive, and yet his choice had been to hide that from them. It is clear that Lou’s Type-A personality has rubbed off on Mallory, and in Lou’s absence, Mallory becomes Amy’s hypercompetitive peer foil. Yet again, we see a t...

The episode begins with Amy and Spartan in the jumping ring with her new (read: inexperienced) coach, Ty, and as she finishes going through a course, Val, Ben, and Ashley arrive. The local competition in Hudson and many other local (and indeed professional) shows base their entries on whether someone has enough points to qualify for a prestigious show. This late in the competitive season, Amy is intent on qualifying for the Fall Finale, the local season-ending championship show, but, unless she does very well in one show before then, she will not qualify for the Finale. Ben and Ashley, in direct contrast and opposition to Ty and Amy, do not need the points, since they have done well enough since early enough in the season that even if they don’t enter the show Amy must enter, they’ll still have enough points to go directly to the finale. Throughout the conversations between Ashley and Amy and Val and Jack, the differing economic conditions of Briar Ridge and Heartland have neve...

Attempting a deliberately risky dismount, Amy falls into Ty's arms, and he catches her, unaware that such a dismount was deliberate. Following the dismount, the romantic tension between the two reaches yet a new high, once both are standing firmly on the ground. Lou pics a perhaps inopportune time to break the news of the rekindling of her relationship with her father to Jack, at a time when Jack is wielding a large chef knife, and surprisingly is actually exhibiting good technique. (I point this out because I am quite an experienced home cook and I just wanted to make a quick mention of how good and thorough the research is in this show in all aspects even down to the way that Jack holds the knife he's using.) Ducking out of the situation by blaming her sister, Lou breaks the news that Tim is coming to Heartland for lunch to Jack. Lou is initially troubled by what seems to be a somewhat positive response, which at any rate is far more positive than she was expecting. Mallo...

The harsh reality of mustang’s precarious lives—and indeed their very existence—is earth-shattering news to Ty, and probably also to many viewers in 2007 and even still today. There are certain true mustang bloodlines, and there are others that are simply escaped horses who have commingled into a wild herd, or their recent offspring. Genetically, these two populations (the ones that have been wild for hundreds of years and the ones who only recently became wild) are quite distinct. Lou opens the episode on the phone with a certain Ms. Wiley and strikes a deal with her to give her a horse for her daughter. Overhearing Lou’s end of the conversation, Mallory, who fits the character description of the woman’s daughter—though she isn’t her—is desperately worried and displays the constantly-overthinking, easy-to-panic side of her personality we see frequently brought to light in the early seasons of the show. At the mention of Copper’s name (Mallory’s horse), and Lou’s kicking her out of th...

The episode begins with Ms. Bell singing to Sugarfoot; remember the song she sings to him. It will become an important plot device later. A leisurely trail ride originally intended to deliver groceries as a courtesy to Ms. Bell ends when Amy arrives at her house and discovers something far worse than either she or Mallory (who was with her on the trail ride) could ever have imagined. Ms. Bell, alone at home were it not for Amy’s visit, has collapsed and has had a heart attack. Having already seen the trouble brewing between them in an earlier episode, Maggie once again rejects daughter Soraya’s attempts to spend time with Ben Stillman, nephew of the famed local breeder Lisa Stillman. A new arrival who claims to work for Briar Ridge, Kerry-Anne, as her first act in Hudson, steals money from Maggie’s. This theft is not an isolated incident and is in fact a symptom of kleptomania and a life of petty crime, perhaps a parallel exploration of what Ty might’ve made of his life if he had...

Gallant Prince was a racehorse at the top of his game before he was injured in a barn fire that started under mysterious circumstances and which also injured his trainer, Ryan Bailey. Under a cloud of allegations, Ryan is fired and becomes despondent. Prince, who has become aggressive, is brought to Heartland as a last resort. For the first time, Mallory notices and confronts Jack about possible romantic tension between Jack and Lisa Stillman, the famous breeder. Dan Hartfield, Lisa Stillman’s ex-husband and presently the owner of Brookland Stables, where Prince was bred and trained, and the rival operation to Lisa’s Fairfield Stables brings Prince to Heartland with videos of his past races. Prince is at imminent risk of being turned down because he is seen as too dangerous and damaged nearly beyond repair as the episode begins, but Amy’s profound compassion wins over even the stern Grandpa Jack, who agrees to have Prince brought for examination. Mallory, opinionated as ever, belie...