Okay, Hart of Dixie, it’s time for some tough love. Now, you know I love you…but you have got to get your sh*t together!!! “I Run To You” was just a big ‘ol hot mess. Let’s look at the evidence shall we?:
1) The centerpiece of the episode was a bizarre relay competition that suddenly became the most important thing in the world. I’m all for quirky town events (see the Gilmore Girls) but this one did not work. Lavon was coaching the team of George, Wanda, Wally and Lynly (who was a track star in college) in a desperate attempt to beat 4 time rivals Filmore. Why? Well for town pride of course, but also because if they lose a 5th time they don’t get asked back for a 6th. Huh – that seems a little strange considering there are only two towns competing right? And the alternate runners on Bluebell’s most promising team? Meatball and Cricket. I can think of at least 5 other characters in town who could run better than those two – including Tom who kept begging to be considered. Lavon ran his team into the ground, especially after Lynly wrecked her knee play-wrestling with George and was forced to drop out. And then Lavon lost George too after he kicked him off the team when Lynly told him they were doing the nasty. Don’t worry guys – Bluebell ended up winning because George and Lavon made up and he jumped back into the race at the last second. I really didn’t care.
2) Jamgate. After Annabeth’s non-ultimatum that felt like an ultimatum, Lavon decided to be the opposite of mature about it…and just stopped talking to her. Annabeth was so stressed out she poured all her frustrations into batches and batches of every kind of jam you can imagine. I just didn’t buy Lavon’s behaviour at all. I understand that he’s only been dating Annabeth for 6 months (despite the fact that just a few weeks ago he was touting their true anniversary as a year because they went on a faux date during the election), and I know that he’s been burned by both Lemon and Ruby in the recent past…BUT Lavon is a good guy. He’s a romantic guy, a tender guy – the kind of guy who doesn’t pull the douchebag moves that the other ones do. Even if he was freaked out, he would have talked to Annabeth about it rather than ignore her and bitch and whine about her ultimatum being unfair. Especially since it was pretty damn reasonable and she wasn’t asking for a hell of a lot, just a confirmation of his eventual intentions. How dare she! Lavon finally manned up and cleared out a cupboard in his house for Annabeth’s jam accessories – to show her that they were moving forward…just a little slowly. I’m always surprised by how many relationship problems on TV are solved with drawers, cupboards and keys. I doubt that symbolic nonsense works quite as well in real life.
3) Lynly and George made it official. Yes that’s right, they took their casual Band-Aid sex to the next level and decided that they were in a relationship. When Lavon found out that they were at item he demanded that George call it off or get kicked off the relay team. But George decided to stand his ground and realized maybe his feelings for Lynly were more than just casual. So….that’s still happening.
4) Baby Drama. After Lemon lost out on her bid for Fancy’s she was determined to find out who the new owner is. But the current owner – preparing for the transition – was uncharacteristically squirrelly when she started making inquires. Finally she discovered that Fancy’s new owner was Brick’s shallow ex finance Shelby…who is very, very pregnant. GULP. I like Shelby, I really do. I find her charming in a bizarre way and I never minded her as Brick’s girlfriend. But I’m not sure that I want to see them forced back together as co-parents or watch Brick dealing with a brand new baby. The age difference between Lemon and Magnolia is already a lot and now they’ll be 16 years in between the next kid? Also did anyone else wonder where in the hell Shelby got enough money to buy Fancy’s when even Lemon – a successful business woman – couldn’t come up with enough cash. Just last year Shelby was completely broke and defaulting on her mortgage. Lemon tried to use that information to keep her from moving in with Brick, but he already knew. I hope there’s an actual explanation and they don’t just expect the viewers to develop plot hole amnesia.
But there was one great thing about this episode: the return of Zoe and Wade banter! Zoe was steaming after she found out that Joel kept ditching writing sessions to play pool and video games with Wade. She put the blame on her irresponsible ex, but it turned out that Joel was the instigator because he was suffering from extreme writer’s block and needed a distraction. I couldn’t care less whether or not Joel writes his next bestseller, but anything that gives Zoe and Wade a chance to play off each other works for me.
Joel ended up getting kidnapped by Tansy’s brothers who figured Wade’s new buddy was the perfect ransom. They kinda had the idea of ransom backwards since they were the ones who owed Wade money for their bar tab and wanted him to drop it. Zoe and Wade had to trek over to the Truitt’s house to negotiate for Joel’s release, bickering delightfully along the way. My favourite was when Zoe yelled “Joel’s a genius!” in a ‘So there!’ moment. I also loved how the Truitt brothers called Joel Joelle. LOL. Zoe finally got the Truitts to release Joel by suggesting they work off their debt to Wade by roughing up OTHER people who don’t pay their bar tabs. And the good news for Joel is that the whole ordeal finally inspired him to write and he ran off to get started.
I just felt like this episode was all over the place…no connecting goals, no intersection of a lot of the stories, and just full of really silly plotlines. Did anyone else feel the same way?
Favourite Quotes:
Lavon: One day out of nowhere you put your jam out there and it’s all anyone can think about
Wade: (to Zoe) I’m sorry, I didn’t know we had any homework mom