Some Heartland episodes open with a storm. This one opens with family you didn’t know you had.
Heartland Season 20 Episode 3, “In the Driver’s Seat,” airs Sunday, October 18, and the official episode synopsis fits a whole week of ranch life into three lines. Amy works with Lisa’s sister, Tammy, and her Standardbred racing horse. Jack introduces Dex to the next step in bull riding. Lou has exciting new plans for the Dude Ranch.
Three stories. Three generations of stubborn. Sounds like Sunday night at Heartland.
The sister Lisa almost never got back
Tammy isn’t a stranger to longtime fans. Linda Boyd introduced her in Season 19 as the long-lost sister of Lisa Stillman, Jack’s longtime partner. Lisa finally reunited with her sister in “Lost and Found.”
Now Tammy is back in the story, and this time there’s a horse involved.
Not just any horse, either. A Standardbred racehorse.
Why a Standardbred feels different
Standardbreds are the harness racing breed, the horses that trot or pace around the track pulling a light cart called a sulky. In that world, the person holding the lines isn’t called a jockey. They’re called the driver.
Which makes the episode title feel like a wink.
The synopsis doesn’t say what’s wrong with Tammy’s horse or what she needs from Amy, and we’re not going to guess. But anyone who has watched Amber Marshall play Amy for two decades knows how this usually starts: a horse with a problem, an owner with a story, and Amy listening to both before she says a word.
Heartland has been around racehorses before. Back in Season 4, Tim talked Amy into riding Lightning Dexter in a big stakes race in “Win, Place, or Show.” A racing barn has never been a quiet place on this show.
Jack, Dex and the next step
Then there’s Dex.
Dylan Hawco’s ranch hand spent Season 19 trying to win Jack over, and it didn’t come easy. Season 20 picks up with Jack still slow to trust him. But the season’s big promise is that once Dex proves he’s willing to change, Jack helps him find his true potential in the rodeo, and in life.
Sunday, that potential comes with a bull attached. Jack introduces Dex to the next step in bull riding.
It’s a big moment for a man who, only a couple of weeks ago, had the family wondering whether he’d retire at all. The premiere had Shaun Johnston‘s Jack weighing it, and Lou fearing the worst. We broke down how that played out in Jack’s stroke and why he isn’t retiring.
Turns out Jack Bartlett still has things to teach. And someone willing to learn them.
Lou is dreaming big again
You can always count on Lou to have a plan. Usually two.
This time it’s the Dude Ranch. The episode promises Lou “has exciting new plans” for it, and that’s all the synopsis gives away. Before the season started, the word was that Lou had landed on her next grand business venture, even as watching Katie grow more independent pulled her heart in another direction.
Lou with a big idea and a busy heart. That’s when Michelle Morgan’s character is at her best, and at her most chaotic.
Where Amy’s season stands
Sunday’s synopsis keeps Amy busy with Tammy’s horse, but the bigger questions of Season 20 are still hanging in the barn.
The season kicked off with Amy struggling over the arrival of a new “horse whisperer” in Hudson, and in Episode 2 a surprise visit from Nathan’s mom pulled her focus. This season Amy also faces a difficult decision about her future with Nathan. Then there’s Winn, the new rival with serious horse skills and a big online following, who has Amy a little wary of her true intentions.
None of that is in Episode 3’s official logline. So if Winn or Nathan shows up Sunday, consider it a bonus.
How to watch “In the Driver’s Seat”
New Season 20 episodes air Sundays at 7 p.m. on CBC TV and stream on CBC Gem. “In the Driver’s Seat” is up this Sunday, October 18.
In the U.S., Season 20 starts streaming on UP Faith & Family on Thursday, November 19, and Episode 3 lands there on December 3. The full American schedule is in our guide to Heartland Season 20 on UP Faith & Family.
A long-lost sister. A Standardbred. A bull waiting in the chute.
Sunday at Heartland. Saddle up.
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