Who is Finn in Heartland? (How did Heartland handle Robert Cormier’s exit?)

Heartland is the longest-running scripted drama in Canadian television history, with it consisting of seventeen seasons. So, it makes sense why the cast has changed over the seasons. We’ve seen many new cast additions and some cast departures. Luckily, most of the main cast has remained in the series, but we have seen some cast members who played minor characters depart. One of the most recent cast members to leave the series is Robert Cormier.

Robert Cormier played Finn Cotter in the hit family drama series. Finn was introduced closer to the end of the fifteenth season in episode 8. He and his grandfather, Al Cotter, arrive at the Heartland Ranch with a Clydesdale horse. Al is in town because he’ll be competing in the draft horse race at Hudson’s lumberjack competition, and Finn is visiting from Saskatchewan to keep an eye on him. However, he finds himself roped in by his grandpa to compete in the competition as well.

After Al’s horse has a little mishap, Amy offers to train him. We later find out that Finn is a farrier when he offers to restore healthy function to the horse’s hoof. Finn and Amy grow closer as they work together with the horse, and by the end of the episode, Finn lets Amy know that he’ll be staying in Hudson a little longer, so he’ll need some work to do. Amy tells him she’ll send work his way.

Spoilers from Heartland season 16 ahead!

Robert Cormier doesn’t return as Finn until Heartland season 16 episode 4, but Finn is a completely different person now. When he bumps into Amy at Maggie’s Diner, we find out that he hasn’t talked to Amy in months. We also find out that he had suddenly left Hudson to go back home without telling Amy, leaving her to have to take care of the business he left behind.

They eventually become friends again and Finn reveals the real reason why he left. He tells Amy that the reason he has to constantly go back home is because he’s helping take care of his deceased friend’s sick dad’s farm. Although Amy and Finn are just friends at this point, it’s obvious that they like each other as more than friends. They finally have their first kiss in Heartland season 16 episode 7, but afterwards, Finn has to leave to go back home again.

This is the last time we see Robert Cormier aka Finn on-screen, but we get to hear his voice via a voicemail in the ninth episode. In the voicemail, he tells Amy that he can’t stop thinking about her and that he misses her.

What happened to Robert Cormier (Finn) from Heartland?

As mentioned above, Finn doesn’t appear anymore in the family-drama series after the seventh episode in the sixteenth season. The reason being that the actor playing him tragically passed away while the cast and crew were still shooting the sixteenth season. So, his character had to be written out of the show.

The way they wrote Finn out of the show was by having Amy realize that she hadn’t moved on from her first love and late husband, Ty Borden (Graham Wardle). In Heartland season 16, Finn’s ex-fiancée arrives at the Heartland Ranch to confront Amy about her relationship with Finn, but they end up having a heart-to-heart. This is when Amy comes to the realization that she’s not over Ty just yet. Since Finn’s ex-fiancée still wants to be with Finn, Amy encourages her to go back home to try to fix things with him. So, that’s exactly what she does, and Amy moves on from Finn.

Honestly, I liked the way the show handled Robert Cormier’s exit. They could’ve gone the way that most shows do, which would’ve been killing his character off, but that would’ve been very insensitive. Fortunately, they chose to keep Finn alive and have him and Amy decide to go their separate ways.

Heartland seasons 1-15 are streaming now on Netflix.