Wildfire 4X7: Commitment Issues

Melissa

I think by this episode it's been 1-2 weeks since the wedding cause Kris alludes to Junior disappearing/laying low for a while afterwards. It's hard cause I do think Kris has changed and I see it in her decisions. Old Kris, seeing Flame in abusive conditions, would have impulsively stolen him from the barn, then and there. Instead, she went to Junior and was like hey, we need money to buy Flame. She stayed calm, thought through her options, asked for help, etc. She's not been pushing at Raintree or trying to fix Jean and Matt's relationship issues or involving herself in family or dude ranch business at all really. She's been broadening her horizons, focusing on the clinic rather than being obsessively focused on getting her license back. She could have jumped at the chance to run away with Junior on his wedding day but instead she said no. She didn't want to hurt people and she didn't want to lose respect for herself after having got it back. On the other hand, I do still see some of her impulsive behavior, mostly in regards with Matt. It feels like he hasn't grown as much and that rubs off on her. He's fighting with his mom to give Kris another chance and let her live at Raintree but Kris didn't want him to do those things. She wanted to respect Jean's boundaries. Kris only goes on the hunt to find and buy Flame because Matt won't accept Jean and Pablo's answer that Wildfire is done racing. Kris respects their decisions and is thinking about the safety of Wildfire. Matt won't do those things so she comes up with Flame as an alternative. Even with this episode, Matt put all his eggs in her basket to get her jockey license back in time to race Flame and then the day of the race he has to get a new jockey. Sure, Kris was a bit impulsive and wishful with her thinking that she could do it but she went through the proper channels, her timeline was tight but doable, and she accepted the decision. It was really on Matt, as the owner of Flame and the farm, to tell her no, that's cutting it too close, let's aim for the next race. Or to even say, let's have Flame practice with this jockey as a backup. I think something big this season that I've noticed is that even when she's being impulsive, it's for herself. She stayed in town because she missed Widlfire and not because she felt like the Ritters needed her to be a miracle Widlfire whisperer. She wants to be just friends with Matt because that's what she wants and not what she thinks will make Jean happy. She was impulsive with telling Junior how she feels but it was for herself and her happiness. She wanted to ride Flame in his maiden race because she loves riding and wants to be part of Wildfire's legacy, not because Matt wants her to or because Raintree needs a win. In past seasons, it often feels like Kris makes all her decisions based on what other people need or how they'll feel and that leads into some of her crazier decisions but this season her reasoning feels more balanced. More of her decisions are based on her needs and wants and how those are separate from Raintree and the Ritters.