Heartland Season 16 Episode 14 Recap

The second to last episode of Heartland season 16 is here and it saw the long-awaited return of Georgie Fleming-Morris.

But Georgie’s return to the ranch wasn’t all roses. And each family member had their own set of problems to deal with in this episode. Want to know more?

Then keep on reading this recap of Heartland season 16 episode 14.

Georgie’s home

The episode started with a horse trailer arriving at “the Fleming-Morris ranch”.

Jack was not happy to hear Heartland called that (since it’s actually the Bartlett ranch) but the fact that it was should be an indication of where things are heading. Because Phoenix was the horse that stepped out of that trailer.

It confused the whole family, of course. What was Phoenix doing at the ranch? And where was Georgie?

But they didn’t have to wait long to find out because moments later Georgie finally arrived.

Her arrival was met with big smiles and tight hugs. But nobody had expected Georgie to just show up at Heartland like that or the announcement she made upon her return.

After the initial pleasantries were done Georgie announced that she had quit showjumping and had returned home to figure out what’s next for her.

That shocked everyone. From Lou, Peter, and Katie to Amy, Tim and Jack, nobody could understand what’s happening with Georgie. However, over the course of the episode, we slowly started putting the pieces together.

Re-learning to fly

After the bombshell that Georgie dropped about her not continuing her jumping career, Lou jumped into fix-it mode and started talking about dusting off those university applications. However, Georgie was not sure what comes next now that the Olympics didn’t seem to be on the table anymore. And luckily, Peter and Katie were there to put the brakes on Lou trying to fix Georgie’s life.

And that night Amy finally managed to get Georgie to talk about what’s really going on and why she doesn’t want to continue showjumping.

Georgie admitted to Amy that she can’t stop replaying the accident in her head and how close she and Phoenix were to getting even more hurt or worse. So, Georgie told Amy that she had stopped jumping after the accident. And it’s not even that Georgie doesn’t want to compete, it’s more that she doesn’t want to jump anymore in general.

So, Amy decided to try and help her niece find the joy in jumping again.

Georgie, of course, was reluctant to let Amy or anybody else help. But she did agree for Amy to play coach again for just one day to see if Amy could reignite that spark for showjumping in Georgie.

They went to an indoor arena where Amy brought Shadow and got Georgie to ride him to help her remember how much she loves to jump. Why Shadow instead of Phoenix which is Georgie’s actual showjumping horse, you ask?

Well, Amy had a feeling that much of Georgie’s anxiety associated with showjumping comes from Phoenix and not wanting to injure him. So, Amy thought that riding a different horse and just having fun in the arena might be just the medicine.

However, after Georgie took a turn jumping on Shadow, Amy had a better grasp of what really was going on with Georgie.

To Amy, it seemed that it’s not fear that is keeping Georgie from jumping, it’s actually Georgie feeling like she has to be perfect all the time which has sucked all the joy out of showjumping for her.

And since Georgie walked out of the arena after her turn on Shadow, it seemed that she was done letting anyone help her.

But Amy didn’t give up on her niece.

The next morning Amy took Phoenix out to do some jumping herself. And although at first, Georgie seemed to not be susceptive to Amy’s efforts, after seeing how much Phoenix loved the exercise and then talking to Jack about the good old days when Georgie first got to Heartland and took off on Phoenix, no saddle, nothing, Georgie was the one to ask Amy to go on a ride with her.

And it finally seemed like Georgie is coming back to her old self. During their ride, Georgie seemed to be much more relaxed and they also had a good heart-to-heart about Georgie’s struggles in Florida and the accident.

Although what Georgie admitted to Amy was pretty heavy stuff, it seemed to help Amy better understand what’s going on in Georgie’s head. And it also seemed to help Georgie shed some of that heaviness she’s been carrying because Georgie was finally able to admit to herself that she still wants to jump. She even jumped over the fence when they returned to the ranch and seemed to really be back in her element.

However, in the end, despite the fact that Georgie had found the joy in jumping again thanks to Amy, her mind was still unchanged about not competing in showjumping events. So much so that Georgie refused to go look at the jumping event that was happening during the Winter Fair, even after Amy tried to entice her with seeing Georgie’s old nemesis Peyton Westfield compete.

Is this really the end of Georgie’s showjumping career or will she manage to get back to the dream of competing in the Olympics? It’s hard to say.

READ NEXT: Heartland season 16 episode 15 recap

But luckily, we have one more episode in this season to find out because Georgie isn’t going anywhere for now and I’m sure we will have at least some sort of resolution to Georgie’s storyline in the season finale episode.

The Winter Fare

Speaking of the Winter Fair, the second big thing that happened in this episode was Hudson’s first-ever Winter Fair – a fair to showcase Hudson’s best and brightest that Lou was putting together.

All through this season, we’ve seen Lou and Rick referencing the mayoral elections and not being sure whether Lou will get reelected or not. And at the start of the season, it seemed like it might not be the case.

However, lately, Lou has been redeeming herself as Hudson’s mayor and a Winter Fair featuring local artisans was just the thing to solidify her chances of reelection. Especially, since campaign season was right around the corner.

So, Lou threw herself into organizing the event. And since Tim and Caleb’s rodeo school wasn’t doing so hot after Jack got seriously hurt in front of the crowd during the rodeo school’s showcase in episode 1610 (low enrollment and bailing sponsors meant they were running out of money and now that Caleb was getting a divorce he really needed the school to succeed if he was to single-parent his son Carson), Tim had the idea of adding an equestrian component to the Winter Fair.

Putting on a show

Tim suggested that since the Fair was meant to showcase the best of Hudson’s small businesses and one of the best things about Hudson is its equestrian community, Lou should put on a showcase during the fair that showed off that community – Hudson’s stables, rodeo, and rodeo schools.

At first, Lou was hesitant. However, after hearing about Tim and Caleb’s rodeo school being in trouble, she reconsidered.

The three met up at Maggie’s to plan the showcase. And although Lou was all for featuring the rodeo school’s young riders (it would not only allow them to cash in on the cuteness factor but also let Caleb and Tim show that their school is safe), she still wanted them to find a “wow” factor to convince the Fair’s visitors to leave the vendors and go watch the showcase.

But that was easier said than done.

And after a lot of brainstorming and failing to secure any celebrity that would come to the showcase and endorse the school, Caleb decided that their “wow” factor will be All-Around Andy, the new school’s mascot complete with a mascot outfit that Caleb himself would wear.

Tim was skeptical about the mascot and asked Caleb to look for something else. However, on the day of the Winter Fair, All-Around Andy was a huge hit among the crowd gathered to watch the showcase.

But that wasn’t all. Apparently, Caleb had come up with something else.

After Lou opened the showcase, she had a truck bring in a screen and on it was shown a message from someone very special.

Caleb did manage to get a celebrity to talk up the school after all, and who better than rodeo royalty who had gotten her start at the school?

That’s right, we got a message from Jade Virani.

And it felt extra special for it to be a surprise for Tim since Caleb was the one to set it all up.

So, was the showcase at the Winter Fair the redeeming event Tim and Caleb were looking for to get their enrollment up and bring in new sponsors?

After that successful showcase and Jade’s message, it sure was. The rodeo school got a lot of new recruits and Tim even had a line on a new sponsor.

Which, hopefully, means that we will continue to see Caleb and Tim grow their school and Lyndy hone her barrel racing craft at her grandpa’s school.

Real people, real images

But the rodeo school and Lou’s reelection campaign weren’t the only family business that benefited from the Winter Fair. Thanks to Tim and the Fair Jessica’s photography career was back on track, as well.

Early in Heartland season 16 episode 14 we saw Jessica agonize over the photos she took for Grayson’s new clothing line.

Although Jessicas photos themselves were amazing and she had a great experience taking them, the end result was something Jessica couldn’t get on board with.

Grayson’s team had retouched the photos to oblivion. And instead of a campaign featuring the authentic cowboy lifestyle full of gritty and raw images of real people, they had turned the photos into an airbrushed, glossy, unachievable version of that. Something, Jessica didn’t want to be associated with.

And the worst part about it was that she couldn’t really do anything about it. Grayson owns the photos and therefore can do what he wants with them.

Tim, of course, encouraged Jessica to fight for herself hoping that Grayson had just gotten caught up in the fancy fashion life and lost the vision he had for the campaign. However, sadly that wasn’t the case.

Because, after Jessica listened to Tim and called Grayson, she realized that he’s as fake as his ads. And she also thought that her career in the ad industry is over before it really began since her calling Grayson might have branded her as being “difficult” forever.

Yet, despite what Jessica thought of herself and her work, Tim knew how good his wife’s photographs are. And he tried to get her to stop seeking validation from Grayson and the rest of her New York friends and believe in herself. Tim even suggested that Jessica should take part in the Winter Fair as one of the vendors.

However, Jessica refused. So, Tim decided to take matters into his own hands since he always said that at home her photos would sell like hotcakes.

He set up a booth at the Fair for Jessica anyway and displayed some of Jessica’s best photographs. And on the day of the Fair, he surprised Jessica with it.

Still reeling from the defeat she felt over Grayson’s campaign photos, Jessica wasn’t happy when she first saw what Tim did. But then a woman came up to them and asked Jessica to tell the story behind one of the images and just like that, Jessica found the joy in photography again.

Jessica was stunned by the response her photographs got from the people visiting the Fair. People not only wanted to talk about her art but many also bought one of her pieces. Which convinced Jessica to continue her photography career.

So, Jessica decided that she doesn’t want to focus on editorial or fashion photography, instead, she wants to focus on real images and real people.

And as a thank you to Tim for always believing in her and never giving up on her, Jessica decided to put all the money she earned from selling her work at the Winter Fair towards a scholarship for girls at Tim’s rodeo school “so that young girls can pursue rodeo and all the Jades of the world can flourish and know what it’s like to have a Tim Fleming in their corner”.

It was such a beautiful gesture on Jessica’s part and it beautifully showcased how solid and loving the relationship between Tim and Jessica is. They support each other through thick and thin and have found a perfect match in each other. And I can’t wait to see more of them in the future.

Moving home?

Lastly, let’s talk about the Fleming-Morris family. And first, let’s touch on Lou and Peter because Heartland season 16 episode 14 also saw a pretty significant development in their relationship.

After their big fight in episode 1612, at the start of this episode, their relationship seemed to be more solid than ever. The two were happy, and even more so now that both of their daughters were home.

However, then, much like their elder daughter at the start of the episode, Peter went and dropped a bomb on Lou – he was thinking about retiring early and moving to Heartland permanently.

Lou, of course, was caught off-guard in a big way because before this early-morning conversation, Peter had never expressed interest in quitting his job and living at the ranch. So, she didn’t know how to react and just said that they should talk about this big decision and rushed off to get ready for a meeting.

However, Peter interpreted Lou’s weird reaction as her not wanting Peter to move home and their relationship got more and more strained every time Peter’s future got brought up.

And it didn’t help that first Katie overheard about Peter potentially moving to the ranch and got excited and then suddenly the whole family knew about this being a real possibility.

Both Jack and Tim were surprised by Peter’s decisions and questioned him about what he’s planning to do after he quits. And Peter, being put on the spot, started talking about possibly helping Jack and Tim out with Heartland Beef on both the business and ranching sides.

That got Peter a weird look from Jack and a laugh from Tim who literally called Peter the new Mitch. But after Tim bailed on Jack, putting priority on planning the rodeo school showcase with Caleb instead of inoculating their cattle, Peter was eager to prove himself and invited himself to help Jack with the task.

And as you imagine, it did not go swimmingly.

Peter struggled all through the process and could barely move that night. So much so that Lou had to hold ice to Peter’s sore shoulder after the day was done.

But even if the ranch life wasn’t for Peter, he still was seriously thinking about quitting. He even started talking about getting a local job, a regulator in the oil industry, or something along those lines, if they need the extra income. 

That got Lou questioning if Peter would be happy with a job that’s a step down from what he’s currently doing. Which, in return, had Peter thinking that Lou might actually not want him to move home because she’s more comfortable with them living apart.

In the end, Lou did admit that she had reservations about Peter moving home. And how could she not, they had already gotten divorced once. And now that they have found their way back to each other, what they have is working, so it’s scary to shake up that balance with a sudden, big change.

But Peter and Lou both agreed that even though they might want things to stay the same or even go back to the way they were before their divorce on Peter’s part, they can’t. Things change and they have to change with them.

So, at the end of the episode, Peter told Lou that he doesn’t want to leave his job after all and admitted that the retirement talk was a reaction to both Georgie’s accident and being apart from Lou and Katie so much.

And even though Peter isn’t moving to Heartland, they did decide to do something big for their anniversary to mark their commitment towards each other. Well, technically what would have been their anniversary if they hadn’t gotten a divorce but those details aren’t important.

I have a feeling it will be a vow-renewal ceremony like Lou mentioned or even an actual second wedding since the description for the next episode does mention that the couple will take the next step in their relationship.

Either way, I’m just glad that Peter and Lou are still together and so committed to each other.

After that mention of Mitch from Tim in this episode, I was reminded how different the relationship between Lou and Mitch was and how much more I love Lou and Peter together. So, I hope it will stay that way moving forward.

What do you think? Do you like Lou and Peter being back together? And were you Team Mitch and Team Peter back when Mitch was still in the picture? Let me know in the comments below!

Give you space

In this episode, it was also great to see how far the relationship between Lou and Katie has come.

Since their honest conversation at Maggie’s in the last episode, the two did seem closer. But, as it rarely is in life, things suddenly weren’t perfect.

So, after Lou mentioned the super casual showjumping competition that was happening during the Winter Fair and Georgie couldn’t understand why nobody in the family seemed to get that she’s done competing, Katie asked her mom why is Lou always pressuring her daughters into doing what she wants them to do.

Lou tried to explain to Katie that it’s not pressure, it’s guidance, that she’s just trying to support her daughters and help them make the right decision.

However, Katie didn’t see it that way. She saw it as Lou not letting her just be her, be who she is.

So, when Katie voiced these thoughts to her mom, Lou took it the wrong way and started telling Katie how sometimes she’s the only one who knows what’s right for her family. Katie ended up storming off and it seemed that things were going downhill again.

Luckily, after a little conversation with Georgie about how although Lou cares too much they are still lucky to have a mom like her, Katie had done some thinking.

And when Lou approached Katie wanting to talk, Katie finally opened up to her mom about not only the fact that Logan went on a trip with Miley which hurt her but also how much she feels like an outsider in their family.

And Lou knew just the thing to say.

So, will Lou really be able to give Katie and Georgie the space they need to be who they want to be?

I sure hope so.

It probably won’t be a complete 180, but, hopefully, from now on we will see Lou and her daughters having more open conversations and Lou actually allowing Katie and Georgie the space to figure things out for themselves.

We’re sisters

And the Fleming-Morris family wouldn’t be complete without both of their daughters – Georgie and Katie – who were finally under the same roof again (at least on screen because Lou, Peter, and Katie did visit Georgie in Florida a few times off-screen).

When I first heard that Georgie will finally be back at the ranch sometime this season, I knew that it will be really interesting to see Georgie interacting with Katie now that Katie is more grown up. And I wasn’t wrong because it was super interesting to see the two sisters in the same space now that they both aren’t kids anymore.

At first, their relationship was a bit chilly.

Not only because Lou made Katie give up her room for the duration of Georgie’s stay. And then it became clear that they don’t know how long Georgie is staying and, understandably, Katie was a bit resentful about that. But also because the two really hadn’t had time to catch up or really interact with each other in general since they lead completely different lives.

However, over the course of the episode, the two finally had a chance to talk, to be sisters again, and their relationship improved.

Mainly because when Katie admitted that she sees Georgie as the golden child, Georgie told her that she’s far from perfect, that she doesn’t have anything figured out, and doesn’t know where she fits.

Katie could relate to that because, as she told Lou later, she feels like an outsider in her family as well.

So, they decided to face the unknown together, as sisters.

It will be interesting to see if we will get more interactions between Katie and Georgie in the next episode and in the future in general. Because now that Georgie and Katie are more grown-up, it would be awesome to see them actually being there for each other and acting more like sisters than strangers.

Last thoughts on Heartland season 16 episode 14

It was so nice to finally have Alisha Newton back on Heartland as the one and only Georgie Fleming-Morris. Especially, since the character has grown so much during the last few seasons when Georgie was off in Florida.

She has really grown into a young woman and changed quite a lot. Yet, you could still see glimpses of the old Georgie that grew up in front of our eyes. And that was comforting to see.

Also, how cute was to see Lyndy practicing barrel racing and then showing off her skills during the showcase. As Tim and Jack discussed at the beginning of the episode, rodeo is definitely in Lyndy’s genes.

Finally, I know many of you, like me, are anxiously waiting for news of season 17. And although there has been no official word on a renewal yet (that news will probably come in spring/early summer), there have already been some rumblings of the show’s production team gearing up to start production on season 17 in early summer.

And, since Heartland was number 13 on Nielsen’s Top 15 overall streaming programs for 2022 and number 9 on their Top 15 acquired streaming programs list for the previous year with 18 billion minutes viewed in 2022, I’m pretty positive about the show’s renewal chances.

Promo for Heartland season 16 episode 15

And here’s the promo for the next episode:

Heartland season 16 episode 15 (aka the season 16 finale) titled “A Light in the Dark” is airing on February 5th and it will see Lou and Peter take the next step in their relationship. While Georgie will finally make a decision about her future. Amy will see her future in a different light as well. And Jack will finally find out the real truth behind his rift with Al Cotter.