Hart of Dixie - Episode 3.07 - I Run to You - Review

On this week's Hart of Dixie, Zoe tried to fix Joel's writer's block, Bluebell's big marathon saw some soapy developments among the runners and coach, and Lemon and Brick were astonished by the identity of Fancie's new owner.  Let's discuss!

Another week, another wacky mission for Zoe: The good doctor just doesn't know what to do with herself lately when she's not micromanaging someone else's life through daffy shenanigans.  We hardly ever see her actually being a doctor anymore.  Anyway, this time it's Joel's inability to pen the sequel to The Cicada's Lament that spurs Zoe into action.  I loved the way she turned the Rammer Jammer into a New York coffee house complete with a goth waitress.  And it was pretty funny to see Joel questioning his own talent only to be reborn into creativity after getting kidnapped by Tansy's hilarious brothers (those guys are comedy gold).  Still, the issue of Zoe's feelings for Joel and Wade is complicated and made more awkward by their growing friendship.  And that's probably a contributing factor in her ever-more-neurotic and over-the-top behavior.

Lavon and Annabeth found a way through the residual weirdness left over from her non-ultimatum about the status of their relationship.  It's too bad that it took that many jars of jam (poor Crickett! Jam on cheese!) and so many instances of Lavon procrastinating to yield a productive conversation.  It's understandable that Lavon doesn't want to rush after the last few romantic debacles he suffered pre-AB, and equally justified that Annabeth wants to know that Lavon sees their relationship as longterm.  I'm glad that Lavon gave AB a cabinet, and hopefully he will continue to feel comfortable in committing to her.

The friendship between George and Lavon was tested by the latter's finding out about his buddy's dalliance (which is now transitioning into romance) with Lynly.  I loved George's speech to Lavon about how he couldn't keep ignoring his problems with George the way he was trying to ignore his issues with Annabeth.  George tends to set his friends straight in a very eloquent way, and this was no exception.

Lemon seems to be getting less dramatic plotlines this season so far, probably due to Jaime King's real-life pregnancy and perhaps reduced filming schedule at this time.  But even in her quiet little "finding myself" corner of the episode, Lemon did manage to stumble into a major reveal: not only is Shelby back in Bluebell, but she bought Fancie's...and she's pregnant!  When Lemon shows the situation to Brick, he discerns that he may very well be the father of Shelby's child.  I wonder if this is so, or if Shelby was with someone else around the same time she and Brick broke up.

In a season where the characters have fallen into a bit of a holding pattern (Joel/Zoe/Wade, Lavon/AB, George/Lynly et al are pretty much doing variations of the same dance from week to week), it's great to see a great big twist like this.  Not only does it raise some intriguing questions about where the Brick/Shelby plotline is going, but it reminds us that Hart of Dixie can be surprising as well as sometimes being predictable.  If that pot can be stirred, surely these other storylines can heat up too!  Additionally, if one lady from the past can come sweeping back into Bluebell, maybe we'll see Magnolia and Tansy return as well.  

What did you think of this week's episode?  Do you think that Shelby's baby daddy is - gulp - Brick?!  Share your thoughts in the comments!