We’ve come to the second-to-last episode of Heartland season 18! And, in the usual end-of-season fashion, this episode delivered a cliffhanger to keep us hooked until the season’s end.
In the episode, Jack and Tim embarked on a fishing trip with Nathan, aiming to bury the hatchet in their ongoing feud, while Lou’s determination led her into a perilous situation that put her life in danger.
In the meantime, Amy and Caleb teamed up to save a horse in distress. Jessica, Lisa, and Katie stepped up to round up Heartland’s escaped cattle, resulting in some heartfelt moments. And Tim wrestled with his decision about his new career opportunity as his relationship with Jack faced a pivotal moment.
Want to know more about what happened in this rollercoaster of an episode? Then keep on reading this recap of Heartland season 18 episode 9!
A fishing trip for mending fences
As we saw in the previous episode, after what happened at the market, Jack was ready to finally end their feud with Nathan Pryce. But, since it wasn’t as easy as just saying they forgive each other and moving on, Jack and Tim persuaded Nathan to go on a fishing trip with them to figure out a way towards reconciliation.
Despite Lou’s concerns that the trip was a waste of time better spent focusing on their business, Jack and Tim believed mending fences with Nathan was essential for Heartland’s future. Therefore, they were willing to do everything in their power to make the trip happen.
At first, Nathan hesitated to join the expedition, what with his father having a bad day and refusing to take his medication just before they were set to leave. However, Jack insisted that the outing could do Nathan – and his father – some good. So, the trio squeezed into Jack’s truck and set off.
As they arrived at the riverbank, the trip got off to a shaky start. Jack and Tim realized that they had forgotten their cooler of lunch, prompting Nathan to offer to share his snacks. However, soon enough, the men were knee-deep in the river and happily fishing.
Jack initiated the conversation, which quickly turned to Nathan’s struggles. And surprisingly, it wasn’t as awkward as you would think because after Tim shared that his mother had battled dementia before she died, creating a bridge of understanding between the men, Nathan opened up about the toll his father’s Alzheimer’s was taking on him.
Nathan admitted to moments of frustration and even guilt, confessing that he’s considering putting his father in a care facility – a thought that deeply conflicted him since he feared that it could worsen his father’s condition more quickly. But after Jack reassured Nathan that his feelings didn’t make him a bad son, Nathan acknowledged how much he needed this fishing trip as a break from the heaviness of his dad’s illness.
That led to Jack saying that the river is a good place to make peace with things and segueing into talking about a possible peace between the two families.
Nathan was open to mending fences, but he also admitted that he didn’t quite know how to achieve that given their complicated situation. So Tim and Jack proposed a path forward – they suggested abandoning the competition over exclusive deals and, instead, joining forces and suggesting to Crown Shopper that both Heartland Beef and Pryce Beef products be offered in the stores so customers can decide for themselves which product they prefer.
Understandably, Nathan was hesitant, unsure if Crown would agree, after all, Crown Shoppers seemed to like how exclusivity looks on their billboards. But Jack’s reasoning was sound: he was convinced that presenting a united front to Crown would be enough to persuade them to carry both families’ products.
Nathan agreed to give the idea a shot. And their conversation ended on a high note, with Tim catching the first fish of the day.
By the time they returned to Nathan’s ranch, the three men had found a new level of respect for one another, Nathan even apologizing for escalating their feud. Jack, in turn, vowed to speak with Lou about approaching Crown with their proposal of having Pryce Beef and Heartland Beef on the same shelf.
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So, it turned out that the fishing trip wasn’t just about mending fences; it was about healing old wounds and building new bridges, setting the stage for a friendlier, more aligned future for the two families.
I’m so happy to see Heartland and Pryce Beef finally be on the same page about things. Hopefully, this peace will last, and Crown Shoppers will see the benefit of having both of their products in their stores.
The possibility of the end of an era
While we’re on the topic of Jack and Tim, this episode also had a bit of a conclusion to the storyline on Jack not being happy about Tim’s new rodeo commentator gig.
Tim had hoped that the fishing trip would be his chance to talk to Jack about his big opportunity. However, since the trip quickly evolved into a way to mend fences with Nathan, Tim wasn’t really able to get into it with Jack.
So, after the duo dropped Nathan back at his ranch and promised to talk to Lou about approaching Crown about their idea, Jack pulled over on the side of the road and finally admitted the full reason why he was so unhappy about Tim’s new gig.
Jack revealed that his hesitation about Tim’s new job wasn’t due to doubts about Tim’s capabilities or the importance of the opportunity; in fact, it was the opposite.
Jack was convinced that once the network recognized Tim’s value, they would want him permanently. Therefore, he knew that even if Tim intended to fly back and forth to Dallas and still help out at the ranch, it probably wouldn’t last long because, soon enough, Tim would be in Dallas more than at the ranch. And since no hired hand could measure up to Tim, Jack knew that when Tim left for his new gig, it would be the end of an era for them.
Tim: “Well, you won’t be. Lou’s not going anywhere. Plus, you can afford to hire help.”
Jack: “That won’t cut it. You’re going to be great at this job, Tim. And they’re going to want you more than a couple weekends here and there.”
Tim: “It’s not that kind of gig, Jack.”
Jack: “Not yet, but once they realize what they have, what you have, that’ll be it. You’ll be crisscrossing the country. Extra hired help will keep the ranch running, sure, but if you take this job, it’ll be the end of an era… and you’re asking me to just smile and give you my blessing like it’s nothing.”
Tim: “Well, I’ll miss you, too, Jack.”
It was an uncharacteristic moment of vulnerability from Jack, who typically masked his emotions behind gruff wisdom. But Tim recognized and acknowledged Jack’s praise for what it was and told Jack that he would miss Jack, too.
It was clear that although Tim had already accepted the gig, he wasn’t one hundred percent convinced that it was the right move anymore.
Will that translate into Tim changing his mind about the opportunity, though? I’m not sure. Although there seemed to be doubts in Tim’s mind about the gig, he also seemed to still be determined to pursue it. So, we’ll have to wait for the final episode and see how it pans out.
I think I will be happy either way because although it would be nice to see Tim stay at Heartland and them continuing to grow their cattle business, it would also be fun if we saw even a glimpse of Tim pursuing this exciting new opportunity.
Cowgirls at work
Another really unexpected storyline on Heartland season 18 episode 9, which ended up being one of my favorites of the episode, was the one about how Jessica, Lisa, and Katie stepped up to help Amy round up escaped cattle.
At the beginning portion of the episode, we saw Jessica cooking French toast in the kitchen for a gal’s brunch, seeing as Jack and Tim were off fishing. And when Katie tried to get out of sitting down with Jessica, Lisa, and Amy to eat, Lisa persuaded Katie to stay, telling the teen how she hadn’t seen Katie out of her room all week.
However, their brunch plans were interrupted by Amy telling them how some cattle had escaped due to a gate being open or a fence being down somewhere on their property. And, since Tim and Jack had already left for their trip, Jessica and Lisa offered to help Amy round them up, bringing Katie along, too.
It turned out that a steer had broken a fence, and they had at least 15 missing. So they made a plan – Lisa, Jessica, and Katie would round up the closest escapees while Amy would go get the two that crossed the highway.
The trio worked seamlessly together, corralling the escaped cattle close by back to the pen and then going out to look for the missing few. And Lisa’s recent roping lessons with Jack and Jessica’s newly acquired roping skills from her trip out west proved invaluable when they discovered one of the missing steers entangled in barbed wire.
Lisa took the lead, securing the steer’s head, while Jessica expertly roped its legs. Meanwhile, Katie was tasked with the critical job of cutting away the barbed wire. And, despite her initial nervousness, she managed to free the steer from the wire quickly, though not without accidentally cutting her hand on the sharp wire.
The barbed wire injury compounded her feelings of inadequacy, leading her to doubt her abilities as a cowgirl and question whether she truly fit in at Heartland. So, after rounding up the last few cattle, Katie opened up about her insecurities to Jessica and Lisa while they were fixing the fence.
The two older women were quick to reassure Katie, explaining that being a cowgirl wasn’t about fitting into a specific mold; it was about defining your own path. And they also shared each of their journeys of balancing diverse passions with their love for ranch life and encouraged Katie that she could have it all, too.
Jessica: “Katie, you are as much of a cowgirl as me and Lisa.”
Lisa: “True.”
Katie: “You guys don’t have to say that. I’ve accepted that I don’t really fit the ranch girl mould.”
Lisa: “Katie, you’re putting limitations on yourself that make no sense. Listen, Jessica and I have travelled and pursued our dreams..”
Jessica: “Both in our personal lives and our careers.”
Lisa: “Yeah!”
Jessica: “You can try it all. This is your journey, sweetheart.”
Lisa: “And look, today, here we are, proving that we can rustle up some runaway cattle too, right?”
This heartfelt conversation seemed to show Katie that there is a world where she could balance her creative aspirations and her ranch roots.
While we don’t yet know if the conversation changed Katie’s mind about wanting to move to Vancouver (I expect we will find out about that in the season finale), it really seemed to click something for Katie.
And it was also a beautiful showcase of how supportive the women of Heartland are of one another.
Amy and Caleb’s horse rescue
While Jessica, Lisa and Katie were working on rounding up the closest escapees, Amy was out searching for the few steers that got further from the ranch. And while doing so she stumbled upon an injured horse confined to a dilapidated shed.
The horse, later identified as Dodger, had a severe wound on its neck and displayed signs of prolonged neglect. However, Amy’s efforts to intervene were abruptly halted when the property’s owner turned up at the shed with a shotgun, forcing Amy to leave without helping the horse.
Back at Heartland, Caleb arrived for a visit, only to find Amy deeply troubled by Dodger’s situation.
She had called the Humane Society, but they told Amy that they wouldn’t be able to send anyone to check on the horse for at least a week. So, after she recounted the encounter to Caleb, he recognized the ranch’s name, recalling its owner Tommy as a former acquaintance from his rodeo days, and offered to accompany Amy back to the property, confident he could reason with Tommy and ensure Dodger received the care he needed.
What Caleb forgot to mention to Amy was his rocky history with Tommy – Caleb had gone out with a woman Tommy had feelings for during their time on the rodeo circuit – so when they arrived at Tommy’s ranch, tensions quickly escalated.
Tommy, clearly struggling with his own issues, met them with hostility and even swung at Caleb. Amy suggested they call the cops on Tommy, but Caleb insisted that Tommy needed help and support, not law enforcement, and resolved to provide just that.
While Caleb stood outside Tommy’s door and reminisced about their shared rodeo past, Amy worked to assess and treat Dodger’s injuries.
After the initial treatment, Amy led the horse out of the shed, which was when Tommy finally saw the severity of the situation. That led to Tommy finally opening up and revealing that Dodger was his wife’s horse. She had left him to move to the city with their daughter, and since then, he has been struggling to cope, including neglecting Dodger.
Caleb’s empathetic approach of sharing his own experiences of facing hard times and finding the strength to move forward for his son resonated with Tommy, who agreed to let Amy and Caleb take Dodger back to Heartland for recovery while he worked on getting back on his feet.
Back at the ranch, Amy praised Caleb for his compassion and understanding, recognizing how far he had come as a father and a friend. Caleb, in turn, sensed Amy was carrying her own burdens and encouraged her to open up.
And, seeing how Caleb is her best friend, open up she did.
Amy admitted how shaken she was by Lyndy going missing at the farmer’s market. And, after Caleb prodded her about her relationship with Nathan, she also told him about how she was disappointed that Nathan hadn’t fought harder for their relationship even though she was the one who suggested not to continue their budding romance due to the feud.
Amy: “TeWe lost Lyndy at the market last week. She’s safe. She just ended up being at the park, but I’ve never been so scared. Anything could have happened to her.”
Caleb: “But it didn’t, and you found her safe and sound, so.”
Amy: “Nathan found her, actually.”
Caleb: “Ah, yes. Nathan. How’s that going?”
Amy: “It’s not. We decided that it was just too complicated with our ranches competing.”
Caleb: “And he agreed? I thought he had more fight in him than that.”
Amy: “I was the one that suggested it. But after, I realized that I was kind of disappointed that he just agreed so easily. I guess I’m not worth fighting for.”
Caleb: “Amy, that is the craziest thing you’ve ever said in your life. This says everything about him and nothing about you. Of course you are worth fighting for. Any fool can see that.”
Caleb, in return, reminded Amy of her worth and how much she deserved someone who would cherish and fight for her, bringing the two even closer together and showcasing what a truly amazing bond they share.
Is there still a chance for Amy to end up with Caleb?
To be honest, I’m not sure. The two are really close, and Caleb telling Amy how she’s worth fighting for did seem to make her view him in a different light. But did it change the completely platonic feelings Amy keeps insisting she has for Caleb? Who knows. I don’t think even Amy knows that.
But I did like hearing Caleb telling Amy how Nathan was a fool for not fighting for her harder. It gives the Amy and Caleb shipper in me a glimmer of hope that there still could be a chance for them in the future.
Lou’s perilous ride
Finally, let’s talk about Lou’s arc in this episode, which was the most dramatic of them all when her seemingly ordinary ride turned into a harrowing ordeal.
Lou was scheduled to fly to Vancouver that day. But when her flight was delayed, she decided to kill time by taking Stetson out for a ride.
While out, she stumbled upon an overturned water silo on Heartland’s property. Determined to fix the issue, Lou entered the pen, completely unaware of the danger looming nearby.
Suddenly, a bison charged Lou and Stetson out of nowhere, spooking the horse and throwing Lou to the ground.
The force of the fall knocked her out, and when she regained consciousness, the bison was still nearby.
Lou’s immediate attempt to get out of danger revealed a more troubling problem: her leg was severely injured, preventing her from standing up and walking away, and her phone was broken in the fall. Even worse, she seemed to have misplaced her radio, leaving her completely stranded.
So, she was left to crawl out of the pen and assess things.
Realizing the severity of her situation, Lou made a bold decision – she used her belt and a branch to stabilize her injured leg and tried to remount Stetson. But her injuries made it impossible to get back on the horse, so she had no other choice but to send Stetson home alone, hoping that the horse’s return would alert someone to her predicament.
Initially reluctant to leave her, Stetson finally galloped off, leaving Lou to lay on the ground in the sun, injured and alone.
Lou was in and out of consciousness, suggesting she might have a serious head injury as well, until she overheard Lisa calling Amy on the radio when they finished rounding up the cattle.
That’s when Lou realized that her radio was nearby in the bison pen. So Lou tried crawling toward it, but the pain and exhaustion overwhelmed her, and she was unable to reach it.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Katie noticed Lou’s bags and wallet still at home when she went to Lou’s room for a bandage for her injured hand and quickly raised alarm bells about her mom’s whereabouts.
The adults tried calming Katie down, telling her that Lou was probably OK; however, when Katie was out of earshot, they, too, realized that the situation was dire. So, Amy and Caleb set out to look for Lou while Lisa called Peter and stayed back at the ranch with Katie and Jessica in case Lou turned up.
While pacing the house, Katie noticed their walkie-talkies, and seeing that a few were missing, she tried calling Lou on it. Hearing her daughter’s voice over the radio seemed to give Lou just enough strength to crawl to the device. Yet, Lou, in her disoriented state, only managed to tell Katie that she loved her and how proud she was of her daughter before losing consciousness again. Which left everyone even more worried.
Amy and Caleb weren’t having any luck finding Lou either since she could be anywhere on the property. Luckily, while out searching, they spotted Stetson wandering around alone. This confirmed to Amy that something had gone terribly wrong, so they hurried after Stetson, who led them back to Lou.
Caleb and Amy found Lou lying on the ground, visibly in shock and barely conscious. And since there wasn’t any phone service out where Lou was, Caleb rode off to call for an ambulance as quickly as he could while Amy stayed with Lou, offering comfort and reassurance.
The episode ended with Lou drifting in and out of consciousness as Amy struggled to keep her awake but was ultimately unsuccessful, leaving us anxiously awaiting Lou’s fate.
What a cliffhanger to end the second-to-last episode of the season on, right?
Given how serious Lou’s injuries were, she truly showed incredible strength in this episode since she was able to get Stetson to go for help before her injuries started overtaking her.
And the end of the episode was made all the more dramatic by the fact that at the start of it, Amy and Lou’s relationship was still very much strained due to the Farmer’s Market fiasco and the family’s feud with Nathan. Amy even refused Lou’s help with Lyndy’s costume for her play. So, finding her sister injured and fading must have been even more shocking to Amy, especially since she couldn’t get Lou to wake up anymore after Caleb rode off to find help.
Do I think Lou is going to die? No, I don’t. Especially since the description for the final episode of the season tells us that the family will be hosting an open house – an idea Lou shared early in this episode.
But there will probably be some severe consequences to Lou’s injuries.
I wager that it might help Lou and Amy repair their relationship, and Lou and Katie get back on solid ground, too. And it might even lead to Tim realizing that it’s not the right time for him to take the new gig. But will all this really happen?
You will have to wait for next week’s recap to find out!
Final thoughts Heartland season 18 episode 9
This was one of the most high-stakes episodes we’ve had for a while.
While the fishing trip offered hope for reconciliation, Lou’s harrowing ordeal added some serious drama to the episode. And the show balanced it all out with some beautifully heartfelt moments, setting the stage for a satisfying end of the season.
READ NEXT: Heartland season 18 episode 10 recap
What did you think of this episode?
Were you moved by Nathan’s vulnerability or Lou’s resilience? And what did you think about the heart-to-hearts that Tim and Jack and Amy and Caleb had during this episode?
Let me know in the comments below! And I’ll see you back on this blog next week for the recap of the season 18 finale.
Preview of Heartland season 18 episode 10
The Heartland season 18 finale episode will be aptly called “Open House” and will see Heartland host an Open House to bring the family and the community together, along with some old and new friends.
I’m holding out hope that Amy and Caleb end up together! He knew her and Ty and appreciated and respected that aspect of her life in a way others, like Nathan, can’t.
Being that Amy and Caleb both had a romantic interest in each other at one point, I think it could be a full-circle moment to bring them back together.