So not only was this episode named after my favorite Dolly Parton song, but it also featured the return of Lemon, and as a bonus, her little sis Magnolia, too! It is awesome to see Hart of Dixie return on a high note, with an episode full of laughs and fun, even though the Zoe/Wade aspect of the show needs much more attention, stat. Here's what happened last night and what I thought!
Let's start out with the best parts, which were obviously all about Lemon. Brick was super-worried that Lemon was mad at him due to a three week radio silence, and a random text telling him she was coming home - a text without emojis, eek! After some well-founded council from the always-delightful Magnolia, Brick threw together a nice little Welcome Home soiree, but Wade was soon called away to collect the no-show Lemon...from jail!
"Lemon is the new black." -Wade
Once Wade picked Lemon up, we were treated to a beyond-hilarious flashback summary of what Lemon got up to while looking after her grandma, a sequence of events that began in dire indentured servitude but quickly turned around once Lemon found two suitors. First, there was Carter Covington, the cardboard suitor from that failed date night earlier in the season (Lemon ended that date with hottie Robert Buckley's character, Peter. I wonder if we'll see him back! Buckley has just been cast in the CW pilot iZombie, potentially for Fall, so who knows?). Carter is cute as a button but doesn't impress me otherwise. Then there's Enrique, the deliciously OTT latin lover with a tiny guitar and book of poetry on hand. Clearly, I'm making no attempt to deny being firmly Team Enrique! He's totally adorable.
"Now that I am dating two men, I don't have the mind I used to." -Lemon
Seems Lemon was arrested for fountain skinny dipping with Enrique, and she's proud to reveal her newly liberated personality to the shocked Wade. I love seeing the Lemon/Wade friendship progress, and the scenes between these two were one of the only good aspects Wade had to work with this week. The entire Wade/Vivian situation is truly getting on my last nerve, and I'm finding their romance more flinch-inducing the longer it continues. I guess Joel gets off the hook a lot because he's so charming, but "Zoel" is also dragging on way longer than it should be. These two problems combine to leave little screen time for Wade and Zoe to share together. Even if they're arguing, Zoe and Wade need to be together, thrown into ridiculously heightened circumstances where they're forced to bond until they admit their love again. It needs to happen, yesterday.
Poor Zoe spent most of the episode still bogged down in the tired plotline about her mother trying to win her love and attention back from the Wilkes. It had its funny moments, especially in Joel's bemused reactions to her mom's ridiculously inappropriate comments to him. And hearing Meatball and the other Bluebellians lament having gone through Health Week just so Zoe could have a bigger closet was typically delightful, with Zoe telling Meatball his core's never been stronger. Zoe's mother headed back to NYC by the end of the episode, thankfully ending this otherwise dull plot.
Magnolia got kicked out of boarding school, which was good news for us, since we got many of her one-liners ("I'm too pretty to die") as she begged George to help her change the dean's mind. Since it turned out that Magnolia had been given the boot for stealing the dean's car to pick up a 19 year old guy, George soon lost the will to help in a giggle-inducing scene. Brick sent Magnolia off to the dreaded "grandma's house" purgatory, but I hope we'll see Lemon, Jr. back soon.
Speaking of George, he is looking good lately with that little beard action going on. The scenes of him and Lavon watching their golf show in a love-deprived stupor were too funny. I've heard rumors that George and Lemon might be getting close again soon, which would be interesting, though I keep wondering if Lavon still has feelings for Lemon, given his inability to commit to Annabeth. Since Lemon's love for Lavon never got resolution once he and AB got together, that's sort of a lose thread. I'm not sold on either pairing, but it would be cool to see the show play with these possibilities. It's good to see the main players in storylines together, instead of the problematic "exiled to a subplot with guest actors" scenario a la George/Tansy or George/Lynly.
At Lemon's second welcome home party, a fabulous flapper affair, AB again won the best-dressed award. Earlier, she'd had to avoid awkward run-ins with Lavon and explain to Lemon her new position back in the Belles. While she didn't get too much focus this week, it's good to see Annabeth standing her ground and working on getting over Lavon (though it is clearly still painful, as we gleaned from her cutely speedy summary of her heartbroken state to Crickett) and reuniting with her bff Lemon.
Enrique and Carter inevitably collided, despite Lemon's carefully orchestrated schedule for their visits, but instead of dumping her, they both decided to stick around and fight it out for her love. That last scene between the three at the gazebo was unstoppably funny, and really shows how having Lemon back automatically fixes a lot of Hart of Dixie's recent problems. Now we just need to see Zoe get out of her plot rut and back into Wade's arms!
What did you think of this week's Hart of Dixie? Are you excited that the show is finally back? Share your thoughts in the comments!
