Heartland Season 16 Episode 4 Recap

This week, Heartland delivered a bit of a heavy and turbulent episode.

Amy reunited with a friend. Lisa made a return. While Tim had to contend with his past mistakes. And Lou faced the fallout from her frequent travels and Tim and Jack winning Hudson’s Entrepreneur of the Year.

And the episode ended with some shocking news that sent the whole family into a tailspin.

Want to know exactly what I mean? Then keep on reading this recap of Heartland season 16 episode 4.

Back in town

Early in the episode, we saw Amy, Lyndy and Katie visit Maggie’s to get some treats only to see Finn Cotter there. He came into the diner while Lyndy was picking out which doughnuts she wanted and asked for his usual.

Seeing Finn back in Hudson alone was a shock for Amy, however, hearing that he’s now a regular at Maggie’s was even more of a surprise.

Especially, since later we found out that not only did Finn leave Hudson without so much of a goodbye sometime after we met him in Heartland episode 1508, but, as Amy promised at the end of that episode, she encouraged her clients to call Finn when they needed a farrier, yet, since Finn wasn’t around, he didn’t show up for any of his appointments. And that reflected badly on Amy. So much so that she even lost a few clients because of that.

At first, Finn seemed really cold towards Amy, saying that he didn’t have to explain himself to Amy rather than just apologizing to her for the mess he made in Hudson. However, when Finn’s grandpa’s horse Tucker didn’t let Finn shoe him and freaked out every time Finn so much as went near the horse with his tools, he asked for Amy’s help.

And, Amy being the person she is, of course, agreed. So, the two had to work together once again to figure out what’s wrong with Tucker.

It didn’t go that smoothly at the beginning. There was still animosity between the two that led to Amy even suggesting that Finn might have hurt Tucker somehow in the past.

Naturally, that didn’t go down well with Finn. And in the end, Amy ended up storming off his farm after telling him that she’s allowed to be angry in this situation, but she doesn’t understand why he thinks that he has the right to do the same.

That seemed to finally click something in Finn. So later he showed up at Heartland with Tucker and told Amy that he doesn’t like to walk away from responsibility and that he wants to do anything he can to make Tucker not be afraid of him anymore.

To achieve that, they first had to get Tucker used to Finn again. They made quick progress and soon after Tucker didn’t spook when Finn came near him.

Yet, as soon as Finn got out his tools, Tucker freaked again. Which led Amy to believe that shoeing or a farrier, in general, is what Tucker is afraid of. And Amy’s suspicions were only confirmed when Finn told her that Don Bowman aka Brutal Bowman was the one who did Tucker’s shoes before Finn.

So, now that they knew what the real problem was, they could work on getting Tucker over his fear. And it was a success.

With Amy’s help soon Finn was able to shoe Tucker as he intended. And the whole process helped Amy and Finn rekindle the initial spark that was so clearly there in episode 1508 as well.

Sparks

In every scene that Amy and Finn were together on Heartland season 16 episode 4, you could clearly see that there was an attraction there. However, Finn’s sudden departure which also caused Amy problems with her clients left some bad blood between the two.

But, as soon as Finn got over himself and stopped being so defensive when Amy confronted him about how he left things in Hudson, there it was again, that spark between them.

And even though Finn never explained what family obligations he had to attend to in Kindersley, so Finn’s background is still a bit of a mystery to us, by the end of the episode the two were on good terms again.

Amy even invited Finn to the award ceremony. And although Finn declined at first, he did show up and finally apologize for how he left things with Amy.

So, who knows where this thing between Amy and Finn will lead?

My wish would be that it would lead to a beautiful relationship. However, since Robert Cormier, who played Finn, suddenly and tragically passed away before they could finish filming season 16, I really can’t tell how the relationship between Finn and Amy will progress.

Despite that, it was still really interesting to see the, seemingly, double meaning that all the conversations between Amy and Finn had.

From phrases like “figure out what the issue is between you two” and “let’s just give it a go”, to this one:

Even though they were talking about Tucker most of the time, it really seemed that they might as well be talking about what’s happening between them.

Did you notice that as well? Let me know in the comments if you’ve seen the episode!

And I think that the picture Jessica took of them while Finn was finally shoeing Tucker in which Amy and Finn were looking deep into each other’s eyes, told us (and Jessica and Tim who saw the photo) everything we need to know about the feelings they have for each other.

Entrepreneurs of the Year

While Amy was helping Finn and Tucker, the rest of the family had to deal with the fallout that came with Jack and Tim winning Hudson’s Entrepreneur of the Year award.

First off, let’s discuss the winners themselves.

Initially, both Jack and Tim were super excited about winning the award for Heartland Beef. After all, they’ve worked hard to build their business.

Even Jack seemed to be proud of the title they were awarded, saying that it’s proof that he could successfully run the ranch despite his father doubting him in the past.

Which is why Jack not only let Fred Garland place an ad in a Calgary newspaper but also agreed to be interviewed by a reporter from The Hudson Times about the award.

And I’m sure the fact that Lisa was finally home helped Jack’s mood, as well.

Yet, although at first, Tim loved the idea of getting the award, that quickly changed when an old buddy of Tim’s showed up at the ranch.

Mike McLusky and Tim worked together at the oil fields a long time ago when Tim was still drinking and using drugs. So, when Mike saw Tim and Jack’s photo in the Calgary paper, he decided to track Tim down.

However, what started as a reunion of old friends quickly turned into something completely different.

The family and especially Tim’s wife Jessica were excited to meet an old friend of Tim’s and hear all the stories. But as the episode progressed Tim grew more and more upset.

At first, it seemed that it was because Mike reminded Tim of the old him, the one who was estranged from his family and drinking and doing drugs. However, although that might be part of it, that wasn’t the full story.

After Mike crashed Jack and Tim’s Hudson Times interview and told the reporter about how Tim saved Mike’s life, Tim told Jack that he won’t accept the award and why.

As it turns out, when Tim was Mike’s foreman at the oil fields, Tim ordered Mike to dig a trench in the reservoir. However, since Tim was heavily hungover he wasn’t paying attention and didn’t see that the trench wasn’t stable. It collapsed on Mike and buried him alive.

Although they dug Mike out, the incident left permanent damage to Mike’s leg. And what’s worse, Mike covered for Tim and told their boss that it was his mistake, not Tim’s, since Mike knew how important that job was to Tim.

So, now that the reporter printed the pretty version of the events, Mike was blackmailing Tim to either give a part of the Heartland Beef profits to him indefinitely or Mike is going to the press with the full story of what happened.

Jack was shocked to hear Tim’s story. But he was also there for his friend and told Tim to stop running from his mistake and own it.

So, at the award ceremony, Tim decided to take Jack’s advice and come clean during his acceptance speech.

And although Mike told Tim after that he’s still making him pay by going to the press, Jack stepped in and told Mike that maybe he shouldn’t do that if Mike wanted to like what he saw in the mirror.

Either way, Mike doesn’t really have any cards to play anymore, so Jack told Mike to get lost. And Mike left after telling Tim that although he might be lucky now, that that luck will run out someday.

Will we ever see Mike again? Based on a little social media stalking I’d say yes.

Just recently Michelle Morgan did post a picture on her Instagram with her standing beside Peter Michael Dillon (who plays Mike), Kerry James (who plays Caleb), and Shawn Robert (who plays Sam). And Peter has been posting pictures from the set on his Instagram as well.

So it looks like Mike will be back later in the season. And who knows, maybe it will even be on good terms this time.

Tough spot

Earlier, I mentioned that Jack and Tim weren’t the only ones who had to deal with the consequences of the two of them winning the award. Lou also was put in a tough spot.

Right off the bat, Rick warned Lou that her father and grandfather winning the award reaks of favoritism, insider voting, nepotism, and a slew of other unflattering things. But Lou shrugged it off telling him that since she’s not the one who picks the winner (the Small Business Bureau does), it should be fine.

However, Rick knew that since most people in Hudson don’t know this, it will come back to bite Lou. And it did.

After Katie declined Lou’s idea to go down to Florida to visit Georgie and asked to stay in Hudson and have a “typical teenage summer”, summer job and all, Lou set Katie up with a job at Maggie’s, telling Katie that after the rafting stunt that we saw in the last episode, Lou wanted her daughter to work where she could keep an eye on her.

And that’s when Katie noticed that people are not only acting weird around her but also complaining about the Mayor of Hudson never being around anymore and only coming back to Hudson for the award ceremony which she rigged in favor of her own family.

Yet, Lou still laughed it off as just not being able to make every Hudsonite happy and that a few select people have chosen to be upset about both Lou being gone so much and the fact that Tim and Jack won the award. Even after Katie told her that it feels like more than that.

But when on the day of the award ceremony Maggie’s was nearly empty even at lunchtime, Katie knew that something was very wrong. And she was right because there were flyers saying things like “No more family first for Fleming” and “Missing Mayor” with a red prohibited symbol over a picture of Lou stuck to Maggie’s door.

That finally got Lou’s attention. She understood what Rick and Katie were telling her all this time and started doing damage control. After all Mayoral election was coming up and they needed to do anything they could to get Lou back in the people’s good graces.

First, she tried to get Fred Garland to present the award to Tim and Jack. But when Fred refused because of his stage fright, Lou decided to do it herself.

So during her speech, she addressed the concerns of the townspeople and promised to do better.

Yet, a big wrench was thrown into her plans to live up to her promises when Quinn called Lou at the end of the night and told her that Georgie is in the hospital unconscious after a fall at one of her jumping shows. So, Lou was on the first flight to Florida to be with her daughter, leaving a shocked Rick in charge.

READ NEXT: Recap of Heartland season 16 episode 5

And given what we know about the next episode (see the synopsis and promo below), Rick is going to need a lot of luck to navigate the tough situation that Hudson will find itself in.

Last thoughts on Heartland season 16 episode 4

Speaking of Georgie, although at the end of the episode we were given bad news about Lou’s eldest daughter, early in the episode we did see Lou video chat with Georgie and we finally saw Georgie (and therefore Alisha Newton who plays her) on our screens again. Which was a really nice treat!

I just hope that they are not killing off Georgie’s character and this isn’t the last time we see Georgie Fleming-Morris on our screens.

Finally, another setup for the next episode was Jessica finding out that her friend Ezra is giving her a chance to show her work in a New York gallery.

This means that soon (in two weeks’ time), Jessica and Tim (since Jessica asked him to come with her at the end of the episode) will head to The Bigg Apple.

Promo for Heartland season 16 episode 5

And here’s the promo for the next episode:

The episode will be titled “Higher Ground” and it will see flood evacuees from the town of Roseville come to Hudson which will lead to Rick stepping up to play Mayor in Lou’s absence, Tim connecting to an evacuee, and Amy working with a traumatized horse. While Jack and Lisa will also be pitching in by helping a young couple.