The newest Heartland episode was all about saying goodbye and starting over someplace else. It also featured a blast from last season’s past and Georgie’s first competition. So here is my recap of Heartland season 11 episode 4.
Warning, spoilers ahead!
The Mongolian connection
For the first time in a while, the main focus of this Heartland episode was Amy working with horses. But not just any horses, wild Mongolian horses, Przewalski’s horses to be exact.
At the beginning of Heartland season 11 episode 4 we saw Ty get a call from someone while he and Lyndy were visiting Bob. And it turns out it was the owner of a nearby animal sanctuary, Alan Shore, who wanted Ty’s opinion regarding some Mongolian horses. And once he and Amy went to the sanctuary the problem was clear – the horse Alan wants to send back to Mongolia to keep this horse breed from extinction, Attila doesn’t want to stay in his shipping crate. Which means that shipping without heavily sedating the animal would be impossible.
However, since that can prove to be dangerous for the horse, Amy and Ty managed to persuade Mr. Shore to let Amy try and work with the wild animal. And, at first, Amy had no luck. The Mongolian horse even charged Amy, which wasn’t the best indication of progress. Yet, once Amy realized that the reason Attila doesn’t want to stay in the crate is that he is missing his family, she managed to find a way how to fix that.
So, after Amy had Attila’s mare and foal brought to Heartland, she rubbed Lydy’s baby blanket against the mare and foal’s coats, so their scent lingers on the blanket. And then used that blanket to lure Attila into the trailer. Miracle girl strikes again.
Yet, although I really loved this storyline about the Mongolian horse family, because it let Amy flex her horse whispering skills. I think the best part of it was the fact that it perfectly tied in with the other big storyline of this episode.
McMurtry family sadness
Which was that Casey’s brother Curtis, who also was Wyatt’s (remember him from episode 1015?) dad died and how everybody was dealing with that.
Heartland season 11 episode 4 started with Georgie being distracted during practice because Wyatt was arriving soon and she didn’t know what to say to him. And Wyatt himself wasn’t making thing better since he seemed to be burying his emotions and was trying to act as if nothing happened. So, naturally, it created a bit of a rift between the two of them.
But the worst thing was that Wyatt wasn’t just pushing Georgie away. He was doing the same to his aunt Casey, his step-mom Jen and his little brother Brick. Fortunately, there was one thing that seemed to help Wyatt to deal with his pain, and that was seeing Amy working with Attila and the horse’s separation anxiety. Mainly because in many ways it was the same thing Wyatt himself was going through with his dad’s passing.
So by the end of the episode, we saw Wyatt finally let his emotions show and really mourn his dad’s death. With Georgie by his side, helping him through it. Of course, it was after Brick went missing, only to be found by Jack in one of the Heartland’s outhouses. Which also in a way helped Wyatt realize that he was not really dealing with his dad’s death well. Yet, I think Amy’s soothing words to Attila was what really drove it home for Wyatt.
And good thing that it did, because now with this sad storyline out of the way, maybe we will see more of Georgie and Wyatt’s relationship explored on the show. And no matter if it will be just a friendship or something more romantic, I can’t wait to see that!
Jack and Lisa
And last but not least, on Heartland season 11 episode 4, there also was a quite prominent Jack and Lisa storyline that had a rocky start but ended on a beautiful note.
Ever since Lisa admitted to Jack that she is having money problems on episode 2 the couple’s relationship hadn’t been solid. And, thanks to Tim, all this unsteadiness seemed to come to a culmination during this episode.
At the beginning portion of the episode, Lisa heard Jack say to Tim that he is quite good on his own because Tim was bothering him about Lisa not being around. And when Brick went missing and Jack and Lisa teamed up to try and find him, frustrations reached a breaking point. Lisa admitted that her week hasn’t been going well at all. While Jack expressed his dislike to Lisa not telling him her problems even though they are married and that’s what married people do.
Luckily, all this didn’t end up breaking this pillar of a couple apart. It actually only brought Jack and Lisa closer, because by the end of the episode Lisa moved in with Jack. So it looks like Lisa will be a bit more permanent fixture in Heartland from now on. Which is great because I love Jack and Lisa as a couple and Jessica Steen, who portrays Lisa, as an actor.
Last thoughts on Heartland season 11 episode 4
It seems that this episode was setting up Ty going on another extended trip. This time it wasn’t to Mongolia, rather to BC to help save wolves that were being injured from areal gunning there. And I don’t know how I feel about Ty leaving again.
Even though Amy expressed her support to her husband. It still means that Ty will be away from his family for a longer period of time. And as much as I can understand the fact that this means that Ty is getting recognized in the vet community as a valuable asset. It still doesn’t mean I have to like it. How do you feel about this potential storyline?
And can we just take a moment and talk about the awkwardness between Georgie and Wyatt that was on display on Heartland season 11 episode 4? It was due to Wyatt’s dad’s death, which is why I loved that is was portrayed that way.
A death in a family of a close friend is never easy. However, in many ways knowing what to say or how to act around said friend is even harder, and I say that from my own, very recent experience. So to have Heartland tackle this issue and show Georgie struggling with it and in the end figure out how to be there for Wyatt was great to see on television!
I think it could help a lot of young people when faced with similar situation. So I tip my hat to the Heartland writers who decided to go with this storyline and wrote it this way. You don’t know how much seeing someone dealing with a similar situation, even if it is on TV, really helps!
Episode highlights:
• Ty and Lyndy visiting Bob
• Bob’s concern about the wolves
• Amy and Ty as parents (still one of the cutest things ever!)
• Ty praising Amy’s skills to Alan Shore
• Amy getting to work with Mongolian horses
• Georgie getting better at jumping
• Wyatt being back on the show
• Georgie trying to help Wyatt
• Tim and Casey reuniting
• Jack inviting Casey, Wyatt, Jen, and Brick to the ranch
• Ty’s concern about Amy working with Attila
• the fact that the show decided to explore the death storyline
• Wyatt and Amy’s talk
• Amy figuring out how to get Attila stay in the crate
• Amy supporting Ty going to BC
• Georgie placing second in the show jumping competition
• Ty asking Bob to come to BC with him
• Lisa moving in with Jack
• Alan being impressed by Amy
• Ty being still amazed by Amy’s skills with horses
• Georgie being there for Wyatt
Episode low points:
• Wyatt pushing everybody away
• Lisa and Jack fighting
• Bob being jealous that everybody calls Ty not him
• Brick going missing
• the possibility that Ty is going to BC to save the wolves
Quote of the episode:
Ty: “You think you can cool him off a bit?”
Amy: “Yeah. You told Alan I could. Thanks for that by the way.”
Was really put off by their use of Fjord horses as Mongolian wild horses. And in this episode, they even referred to this horse as a “breed”. That’s like saying a wolf is a breed of dog lol. Mongolian wild horses have 66 chromosomes, whilst all other horses have 64. Meaning these horses are practically their own species or “subspecies” of horse, not just some random breed of domestic horse. Its these little details that show either a lack of education, or a lack of care. Either way, just a bit of a washed up put together.
Fjords as a breed in themselves have such rich history which could have been good inspiration for its own show.
I LOVE heartland but the second I heard Amy call them “Mongolian” I cringed. Those are fjords!!!!! As much as I love this show I was a little disappointed. For us equestrians and others who may know a bit about horses watching this, it kind of ruins a what could have been a good episode. It’s actually quit obvious there fjords. If they had used a horse that looked similar to the Mongolian breed *i understand its extremely hard to get an actual Mongolian pony cause there wild* they would have been better off! Don’t get me wrong, I love heartland and everyone did an amazing job but just out of all horses why fjords!? They are so different which is what makes them so easy to identify!
Fjords are very similar to Przewalski’s horse. I believe many episodes are to bring awareness to various equines and equine practices.
The only thing that’s similar to “Mongolian” horses or Przewalski’s horses is the color and the black stripe on the back.
The sad thing is that the Mongolian horses they’re talking about are very rare and endangered. Hence the Fjords for the episode
I am with Codi!! I started watching season 11 and when I saw the opening scenes for episode 4… I thought, “FJORDS”!! how cool!! (I have 2 Fjords) Then they called them Mongolian Horses???? I fully understand the ANY TV show is “entertainment” but please, please don’t confuse your audience just because of your budget! This was a BIG detail to be accurate about….and I assume there will never be a story line now that actually centers around a Fjord horse, because your audience will think YOU are confused and you used a MONGOLIAN horse instead!!
As a lifelong horse owner/lover, pony club member, 4H member, APHA, AQHA, and PtHA member Ive always found the horse aspects of Heartland terribly difficult to watch, particularly the first few seasons. After about season 5 I did start to see a general improvement in actor riding/horse skills and general horse facts/information. That was until this episode. MONGOLIAN HORSES?!?!?! Who on earth’s “brilliant” idea was it to use FJORD HORSES and call them MONGOLIAN HORSES. No, no, no no no. There are *many* very distinct differences between Fjord’s and Mongolian horses, and honestly Im only 6 minutes in to the episode and this one MAJOR issue is making my skin crawl just watching the people call FJORDs Mongolian horses. Heartland has had some terrible issues in the past, but this honestly beats the miserable spray paint job they’ve done on “Ghost” the “Appaloosa” the last couple seasons. Is Heartland looking for someone to just quickly vet/verify horse related things for season 12? Cause Ill do it for free, just so I never have to witness this again.
I think Heartland caters to the average watcher who doesn’t know that much about horses like myself. And since budget and time constrictions are a huge deal in the TV world they probably just physically can’t make every single detail of the show completely accurate. However, you do make a good point, Codi!
Man, I just cant wait til Season 12 is released. This is actually my favorite series ive ever watched and right now im on season 11 and when I seen 12 wasnt released it made me sad but its def okay cause its not to much longer until all of us Heartland fans cant wait. But yes, it is very questionable why Ty left again, but then again watching this as a 17 year old boy actually helps me and honestly I cannot wait to have a family one day and live on a ranch. So thank everybody who has played roll in this series because its an amazing show but also real life living too. I cant wait till season 12 in January!
This show has always impressed me for the importance it has for family. Having Ty leave behind his wife and baby to work elsewhere on an animal project undermines the thread that has kept the show going for so many seasons. Sad to see this happening. I do not like to see a family unravel. Same with Lou being away from Georgie. It is tv though so l hope the people are not unraveling in real life.
I think they are trying to balance the importance of family versus the importance of your carrier with these storylines. Because just like on TV in real life too we have both our carriers and our personal lives which are equally important and have to be equally nurtured for us to feel fulfilled.
Rigjt before Ty agrees to leave for BC he just finished telling Amy how it’s so hard for him to leave the baby for the day while at work. Why then, did he decide to go? Think he’s like his dad after all, maybe not running off but leaving none the less. Don t like this storyline st all. Stupid and doesn’t make since.
Jerry Richards 23/1 0/17 I think Ty will start spending more and more time away and in his own way abandons his family. Amy by let him go unknowingly set up the beginning of the end of her marriage. Ty will break her heart, as much as she loves him.
Seasons 1-9 were great couldn’t get enough watched it on Netflix. Season 10 TY goes to MONGOLIA for the bear and leaves his pregnant wife. STUPID!!! Now leaving his family who should be first place in his life for the Wolf…come on. Show should have ended season 9.
I am not happy about Ty leaving again. He and Amy are a huge part of the show and we will miss him a lot and I know that Amy and Lyndy will too. Do we have any idea how long he will be gone and is it his choice or the writers? I under stand that they have other projects that they are working on, but for the fans it is disappointing to have them gone for a long period of time.
I feel the same way, Betty. And, unfortunately, no news yet as to how long Ty will be gone. I guess we will just have to watch and see.