Hart of Dixie - Episode 3.02 - Friends in Low Places - Review: Who invited the Meatball?

This week’s episode of Hart of Dixie improved on its premiere. It definitely delivered that light and quirky charm that the show is known for without missing out on the drama and hijinks. Joel, Zoe’s new boyfriend, got thrown into the sea that is BlueBell with a distracted Zoe as his life vest. Lemon was juggling a faux relationship with Wade, a secret sexual relationship with Meatball, and a potential new eligible suitor all of which predictably blew up in her face by the end of the episode at Lavon’s dinner party. Meanwhile George’s chick from the night before turned out to be none other than Lavon’s little cousin Lynly. AB and Lavon weren’t seeing eye to eye on Lynly. Finally the Zoe and Wade story is definitely not over as they struggle with still having strong feelings for one another and learning to co-exist in BlueBell.

Joel meet BlueBell, BlueBell meet Joel: Zoe enthusiastically tells Joel, who is wearing an ice-filled shower cap after his first hot Alabama night, about the charm of BlueBell. She promises him that he will fall in love with BlueBell just like he did because he has her to show him the way. There is just one slight problem in Zoe’s “Let’s Get Joel Acclimated to BlueBell” plan – Wade and Lemon’s “relationship”. The result was that Joel found himself being eaten by fire ants and very nearly dying because his babysitter girlfriend became too distracted playing detective.

This episode brought out some personality in Joel which was missing in the first episode. I find the relationship between Joel and Zoe to be strange and passionless. They make great friends. I liked that Joel was supportive of Zoe and helped her figure out that Wade and Lemon were faking their relationship. Where was his jealousy when he found out that Zoe was too distracted by her ex-boyfriend? It was amusing to see that Lavon couldn’t get away from Joel fast enough after he persistently tried to persuade Lavon into deleting his negative review of his book.

I’ll have some Lemonade, but hold the romance please: It is easy to understand why AB was confused by Lemon’s love life. Lemon found the perfect cure to her Meatball addiction in her fake relationship with Wade. And if that wasn’t complicated enough for Lemon, she also met the awesome Carter Covington of the Birmingham Covingtons, eligible bachelor #9 on her list. There was no way this wasn’t going to end in disaster. After learning that Lemon was “dating” Wade, Meatball crashed the dinner party and announced to everyone that he was Lemon’s lover which scared away Lemon’s new suitor.

Lemon and Wade together are gold. They have built a solid friendship and are good for each other. It is easy to see how each has grown from the people they were in the first season. They selflessly help each other because they care for one another. Despite everything coming out following Meatball’s confession, they shared a sweet moment together where they bonded over drinks. This friendship is one of the best things going on Hart of Dixie. And sure the writers could turn it romantic, but why mess with something that is working? There is a lot more value in their friendship than a short-lived romance between these two.

George really likes his legs: George is so not used to the one-night stand thing. You do not make the girl eggs because then it means that you will never get rid of her. After setting Lynly straight that he isn’t looking for a relationship, Lynly returns to Lavon’s and declares that the guy, whose name she doesn’t even know, doesn’t want to just jump into a relationship with her. Lavon hunted down George for help in tracking down the jerk who dared to hurt his cousin’s feelings. It wasn’t long before George caught on that the jerk Lavon was talking about was him. George, you should have just fessed up right then and there. Lynly proves that she isn’t dumb when she maneuvers George into agreeing to tutor her for her LSATs because George really likes his legs and didn’t want to tell Lavon what had happened. George is going to quickly regret his choice in not just coming clean because Lynly is going to spell trouble for George this season.

The highlight of this storyline is most definitely the interaction between Lavon and George. Lynly isn’t as innocent as Lavon currently believes. She is going to be a handful for both George and Lavon. It seems that AB is onto her and would like her to pack her bags sooner rather than later. Hopefully Lynly evolves into more than a little troublemaker as the season progresses.

Getting to each other: It’s complicated. That is the simplest way of expressing the current relationship between Zoe and Wade. Zoe was visibly bothered by seeing Wade and Lemon together to the point that it detracted from her girlfriend duties. Wade is clearly broken-hearted now that Zoe has rejected him and is moving on with Joel. For now Joel is good for Zoe. She has calmed down now that she isn’t ping-ponging back and forth between George and Wade. Joel is safe and easy for her and won’t hurt her. She thinks that she and Wade can figure out a way of being ok with each other moving on. It is definitely easier to say that when she is the one who is trying to move on and Wade hasn’t even tried.

Zoe has definitely grown during her stay in New York and more easily accepts that she has feelings for Wade and it is hard for her which is a vast improvement over last season. Now they need a break as their relationship evolves and they learn to communicate with one another and slow things down.

Final Thoughts: Meatball was great in this episode as his role expanded beyond Wade’s immature sidekick. Yay we finally got to meet Crickett’s husband, Stanley. The verdict is still out on whether he is gay or just Southern. Poor AnnaBeth, of course the dinner party was bound to end in chaos. It is BlueBell after all. It doesn’t seem like Captain Awesome will be making another stop in BlueBell after Carter found out about Lemon’s Meatball-sized skeleton.

How long do you think Joel is going to be sticking around BlueBell? Will Lavon break George’s legs when he finds out about his night with Lynly? When is Wade going to get to be happy? What is next for Lemon now that her secret is out? What do you think of the season so far?

Be sure to tune in next week on Monday at 8/7c for a Belle rebellion when Lemon tries to overthrow Crickett. The band, The Head and The Heart, will also be performing at the Rammer Jammer.

Tracie
Tracie is a wife and stay-at-home mom of 2 residing in NJ. She likes to unwind with a good book or in front of the TV.. She is an avid reader of romance books. She likes to cook and bake. She loves to exercise and is trying to live a healthier life style. She watches a wide variety of TV shows ranging from reality TV to scripted dramas. Some of her past and current favorite TV shows are Sex and the City, Charmed, The Good Wife, and Hart of Dixie.