Heartland Season 14 Episode 2 Review

After last week’s heartbreaking season 14 premiere it was hard to imagine what the follow-up episode would be like. However, this week the show managed to deliver a quintessential Heartland episode that really highlighted all the aspects of why many people love Heartland so much.

Want to find out what happened on this episode? Then keep on reading this Heartland season 14 episode 2 recap!

Just a reminder, a spoiler warning is now in effect so read this review at your own will!

Meet Parker

When I said that this was a classic Heartland episode, I meant it. Largely thanks to the fact that at the heart of it was something that we’ve come to associate with the show – Amy working to help a horse and its rider.

In episode 1401 we learned that ever since Ty’s death a year ago Amy hasn’t been working with horses be it client horses or the colt that she was halter-breaking at the end of season 13.

However, this episode changed that because Amy finally took steps towards getting back in the saddle so to speak. And it came about unexpectedly, too.

At the start of the last episode, we met Parker, the girl protesting outside Lou’s new office. Well, in this episode we found out that Parker is actually Jade’s new step-sister.

Jade’s mom recently married Parker’s dad. And since Parker’s mom had become famous by publishing a best-seller and now is on a book tour, Parker had to move from Toronto to Hudson to live with her dad.

What does this have to do with Amy, you ask?

Well, Parker’s dad bought her a paint horse named Mickey that they are stabling at Heartland. And according to Parker, her dad only bought her the horse to make up for his guilt.

So, Parker’s not really a horse person. In fact, she’s a little afraid of them and definitely doesn’t know how to ride one. But despite all that Jack still offered to find someone to teach Parker how to ride. And that someone turned out to be Amy.

Back in the saddle

At first, Amy was reluctant to agree to Jack’s scheme. But after thinking about it she reconsidered and offered Parker to not only teach her how to ride but to also teach Parker how to take care of Mickey. And they decided to start by taking Mickey for a walk in the field. However, just as they started on their stroll something spooked the horse, and he ran off.

Seeing that Amy’s instincts kicked in and she decided to figure out what’s wrong with the horse. And while in the round pen Parker told Amy that Mickey used to be a therapy horse. So Amy decided to find out more about Mickey’s previous life.

As it turns, Parker’s dad bought him from New Day horse therapy. But it was recently sold to a new owner along with most of the livestock. Fortunately, the new owner remembered that a few days ago someone else was there looking for Mickey, so she promised Amy to have the man call Amy. And it worked.

They met Ibrahim (played wonderfully by Armin Karame) at Heartland and he told Amy and Parker that during his time as a client at New Day Ibrahim had developed quite the bond with Mickey. The horse helped him overcome the anger he felt after he was forced to move to Canada from Syria with his mom.

And although Parker was still reluctant to accept that she’s Mickey’s owner now, Amy seemed pretty convinced that they’re a good match for each other. Especially since the hose was calm and mild-tempered now that Mickey and Ibrahim had a chance to see each other again. I have a feeling we will be seeing more of Parker and Miskey this season.

So, in the end, Parker’s dad’s unwarranted gift turned out to be the thing to get Amy back to doing what she loves most – working with horses. And at the end of the episode, we even saw her ride Spartan and track down the colt from the wild herd. Which, hopefully, means we will be seeing her work with the colt again in later episodes.

The cattle drive

Another reason why I thought that this was such a quintessential Heartland episode was because during it we saw Jack and Tim go on their bi-annual cattle drive. Only this time they had two unusual companions – Jade and Quinn.

How did that come about?

Well, it all started when Tim and Jack were asking if anyone were able to go with them. But unfortunately, everyone already had other things planned. Everyone except Quinn that is.

Jack and Tim quickly made up an excuse not to have Quinn with them on the round-up. However, when Lou walked in and asked Georgie why she bought two tickets to Florida. And then Georgie explained that Quinn’s family had invited her to train at their world-class facilities for a few months. Tim quickly changed his mind and decided to take Quinn with them on the drive. After all, he had to get to know Quinn better if his granddaughter was to go off to America and live with the guy.

Luckily, Georgie roped Jade into going with the trio so she could act as a buffer between Quinn and Tim and Jack. But it didn’t help much.

Right from the get-go, Jack of all people was acting hostile towards Quinn. And surprisingly Tim even defended Quinn to Jack when Quinn accidentally caused them to lose three cows. After all, this was Quinn’s first cattle drive so he didn’t quite know what he was doing.

This kind of undeserved anger from Jack was unusual. So once the evening fell and Jade and Quinn went to sleep Tim confronted Jack about it.

And, it wasn’t about Quinn at all. It was actually about Ty not being there since all through the day we saw Jack remembering the first time he took Ty on a cattle drive.

Fortunately, Tim was there to set Jack straight. He admitted to Jack that he’s angry too that Ty’s not here anymore. And advised Jack not to take out his anger on Quinn.

So, in the morning, we saw Jack seemingly came to terms with his feelings towards losing Ty. He placed Ty’s cowboy hat, the same one Amy gave him before Ty’s first round-up, in the stream that’s next to where Ty fell off the cliff, and let it float away. Bringing things full circle.

And later, Jack even apologized for the way he treated Quinn. Which was definitely warranted seeing how in the morning Quinn and Jade tracked down the missing cattle and brought them back to the herd.

The pains of being the mayor

Lastly, during the episode, we also saw Lou having to deal with even more challenges when it comes to being the mayor of Hudson. And it all started with a plumbing leak.

When Lou walked into her office she found her Chief Administrative Officer Rick staring at the ceiling where water was leaking onto the couch and being generally unhelpful. After all, he didn’t seem to be doing anything about the leak. Okay, he did call the maintenance guy but he was on vacation and the leak was happening right now.

Lou, of course, suggested he call a plumber. But for some reason, Rick asked if she really wanted to do that. However, as it later turned out, there was a good reason for Rick questioning Lou’s orders.

The next morning an article appeared in the Hudson Times that claimed that Lou used taxpayer money to renovate her office and even buy a new couch. And even though Lou asked Rick to call the newspaper and ask them to print a retraction, it wasn’t possible. After all, Lou did use public funds to pay for the repairs and a new couch since the old one was damaged in the water leak.

Lou was exasperated with the situation but Rick seemed to take it in stride. Why? Because Rick had it in his head that Lou had to ask him for his opinion as to what would have been the best course of action in that situation. Instead of him just telling her since he is more experienced than Lou in these things having served under multiple mayors.

So, after Lou told her CAO that in the future he should just share his thoughts with her instead of waiting to be asked, Rick brought up another issue.

Lou had asked the committee planning the Hudson Fall Harvest Festival to use Heartland beef for the BBQ. Her reasoning was that she could get the beef at a fraction of the cost and therefore save money for the town. Yet, Rick pointed out that the public might see it differently. From the outside looking in it might seem that she’s lining the pockets of her family business with public funds. So she had to go back to the old supplier.

Add all that to Parker and Katie protesting the use of pesticides in Hudson’s parks during the Fall Harvest Festival and Lou felt like she just couldn’t win. Like any good that she planned to do as mayor will be buried under mountains of paperwork and ill-worded press.

Fortunately, her grandfather was there to give her a nudge in the right direction and to remind her that there are still ways for her to do good as Hudson’s mayor.

So during her speech at the Fall Harvest Festival, Lou promised not only to form a committee to look into the use of bee-harming pesticides. But also to make a personal donation to the Canadian Bee Research Fund. Which seemed to not only please Parker but also restore the publics’ trust in her as their mayor.

Last thoughts on Heartland season 14 episode 2

I loved how in this episode we saw both Amy and Jack sort of saying their last goodbye to Ty. Amy in the form of a recurring dream of a morning where she’s saying goodbye to Ty before he heads to work. And Jack in the form of letting go of the cowboy hat that Ty wore on his first cattle round-up in season 1 episode 7.

It felt real and authentic. You could clearly see people still grieving the loss of a loved one. Yet the scenes also seemed to indicate that they might be finally ready to move on. Not to forget about Ty, of course. But maybe cherish all the great moments they had with him instead of being consumed by the pain of losing him.

Which I think can give hope to people going through similar situations. And which also shows that even though the pain might never fully go away, it will get better, and eventually you will be able to start living your life again.

READ NEXT: Review of Heartland Season 14 Episode 3

And that is also what Amy nudged Georgie to do when Georgie admitted that she doesn’t think that she should go to Florida. Because after all, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to train at as prestigious of facilities as Quinn’s family owns. So Amy told her that Georgie should worry less about what Amy needs and start living for herself.

So who knows, maybe we will be seeing Georgie and Quinn in Florida this season. Or perhaps in season 15? Fingers crossed that we get more seasons!

First look at Heartland season 14 episode 3

Let me know what you thought of this episode in the comments below! I’d love to hear!

And here’s your first look at next week’s episode titled “Making Amends”: