HOD: The dignity of dalmatians
May. 4th, 2024 08:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shallownessHart of Dixie - 4.1 Kablang
Picked up almost immediately after season 3 left off, after a ‘This is Bluebell’ scene-setting montage, and I thought the continuity was pretty fab (Lemon’s seasickness! Zoe’s lesbian aunt gets a mention! And Brick is unable to withstand Shelby, sigh.) I didn’t see the final twist coming, but I can’t fault the way they built up to it. Admittedly, a lot of this episode featured physical comedy revolving around a team of reserve firefighters which made a Dalmatian have to act like any old comedy dog. Apparently I feel that a Dalmatian ought to be allowed to have its dignity. But this was a strong episode by HoD standards.
George and Lavon were sulking with each other, having found the other one at the dock trying to declare his love for Lemon. Wade had to try to play mediator, while also suffering Zoe’s attempts to pursue him. She started off by not playing to her strengths, what with the cooking and then serenading. And because he’d let Meatball crash at his, she was serenading Meatball badly, and the whole town knew.
AnnaBeth was trying to get Cricket off her couch and out and about, while also being a supportive best friend to Zoe as she pursued Wade. Eventually she got Cricket to attend a meeting of the Belles, where Cricket shocked everyone by revealing her ex-husband was actually straight. Brick was trying to get rid of his mother who was threatening to cancel her holiday to sort him out like she had her eldest granddaughter, so he agreed to go out on a date, which went badly. And then Shelby turned up, clearly on a mission to get him back. At first, she seemed to have abandoned her baby, but as the storyline continued, we learned she hadn’t. But Brick continued to want to keep his young fancy lady and ex a secret, although AB had twigged that he was seeing someone.
Grandma postponed her European trip and seemed to have moved in at Brick’s because Lemon was back early with a new fiancée, Dr Perfect. In united chagrin, George and Lavon started getting on, which was good for Tom’s nascent firefighting team. Yeah, they were acting out their childishness on that.
George and Lavon had suggested that Zoe tried sex to get Wade back. And so she did. It worked, although I cringed a bit, because Earl was also there, still sober, trying again with Mae (they made such a sweet couple) and resolute in his belief that the pretty doctor is his future daughter-in-law when she tried her whole swimming in the pool in a bikini routine.
The episode gave us equal opportunity ogling at Zoe and Wade, and Zoe got her way, up to a point. Wade was all for more sex, but not the lovey-dovey stuff, and the Breelands pointed out that her plan was not such a great one. So she insisted on a talk with Wade, where they both admitted how much they’d hurt each other (and although he didn’t mention it, Wade’s heart was the most recently crushed thanks to the coward Vivian) but Wade revealed that his sticking point was that he couldn’t trust Zoe. Zoe absorbed this as if he’d struck her with a blow.
Eight weeks later. The actress playing Wanda was patting her abdomen too many times because Wanda Is Pregnant. Wade was missing Zoe who had decided to avoid him. Lemon seemed subdued – maybe she was sickening for something. Brick stood her up on the appointment so that he could sneak around with Shelby. So, Zoe had to check Lemon out, during which Lemon pointed out Wade had said what he’d said because he was scared. Earle and Mae’s attempt to force Wade and Zoe to have a nice relaxed conversation didn’t work. George and Lavon both used Frank to investigate Dr Perfect, it turned out he was perfect, and they were both cross, and the wannabe fire department messed up their chance to get the nod to be a real fire department. It didn’t help that two more of their number were brawling over a misunderstanding over the young woman who’d been helping to train them. Silly boys, when she said she’d met someone else, she meant Cricket.
AB did something very unethical, looking up Lemon’s test results to check whether she was pregnant. She was! AB accosted her with it, but Lemon denied it and instead spilled her real secret: she and Dr Perfect were a fake couple, because Lemon wanted her grandmother’s money for Fancie’s and Dr Perfect had his own family issues. Which meant that Someone Else was pregnant and AB was on the case.
The still sober and romantically happy Earl talked some sense to his son, and Wade came to Zoe’s door as she’d earlier suggested to admit he was scared, he did love her, did want to try…and she turned him down, saying it was too late. And then we realised that the pregnancy result AB had seen was Zoe’s. (HoD managed a genuine moment where I reassessed a few moments in the episode I’d just seen.) And yeah, clever Dr Hart who ought to know her birth control, wanting to seduce not trap Wade. No wonder she pushed him away. It’s a great narrative turn, as it brings up her feelings about her own conception and parental issues as well as her tangled feelings about Wade, so there’s plenty to delve in. (Given the nature of the TV show she’s on, there’s no way she’s considering an abortion, or if she is, that it’ll happen. Her considering leaving for New York is more likely.)
Picked up almost immediately after season 3 left off, after a ‘This is Bluebell’ scene-setting montage, and I thought the continuity was pretty fab (Lemon’s seasickness! Zoe’s lesbian aunt gets a mention! And Brick is unable to withstand Shelby, sigh.) I didn’t see the final twist coming, but I can’t fault the way they built up to it. Admittedly, a lot of this episode featured physical comedy revolving around a team of reserve firefighters which made a Dalmatian have to act like any old comedy dog. Apparently I feel that a Dalmatian ought to be allowed to have its dignity. But this was a strong episode by HoD standards.
George and Lavon were sulking with each other, having found the other one at the dock trying to declare his love for Lemon. Wade had to try to play mediator, while also suffering Zoe’s attempts to pursue him. She started off by not playing to her strengths, what with the cooking and then serenading. And because he’d let Meatball crash at his, she was serenading Meatball badly, and the whole town knew.
AnnaBeth was trying to get Cricket off her couch and out and about, while also being a supportive best friend to Zoe as she pursued Wade. Eventually she got Cricket to attend a meeting of the Belles, where Cricket shocked everyone by revealing her ex-husband was actually straight. Brick was trying to get rid of his mother who was threatening to cancel her holiday to sort him out like she had her eldest granddaughter, so he agreed to go out on a date, which went badly. And then Shelby turned up, clearly on a mission to get him back. At first, she seemed to have abandoned her baby, but as the storyline continued, we learned she hadn’t. But Brick continued to want to keep his young fancy lady and ex a secret, although AB had twigged that he was seeing someone.
Grandma postponed her European trip and seemed to have moved in at Brick’s because Lemon was back early with a new fiancée, Dr Perfect. In united chagrin, George and Lavon started getting on, which was good for Tom’s nascent firefighting team. Yeah, they were acting out their childishness on that.
George and Lavon had suggested that Zoe tried sex to get Wade back. And so she did. It worked, although I cringed a bit, because Earl was also there, still sober, trying again with Mae (they made such a sweet couple) and resolute in his belief that the pretty doctor is his future daughter-in-law when she tried her whole swimming in the pool in a bikini routine.
The episode gave us equal opportunity ogling at Zoe and Wade, and Zoe got her way, up to a point. Wade was all for more sex, but not the lovey-dovey stuff, and the Breelands pointed out that her plan was not such a great one. So she insisted on a talk with Wade, where they both admitted how much they’d hurt each other (and although he didn’t mention it, Wade’s heart was the most recently crushed thanks to the coward Vivian) but Wade revealed that his sticking point was that he couldn’t trust Zoe. Zoe absorbed this as if he’d struck her with a blow.
Eight weeks later. The actress playing Wanda was patting her abdomen too many times because Wanda Is Pregnant. Wade was missing Zoe who had decided to avoid him. Lemon seemed subdued – maybe she was sickening for something. Brick stood her up on the appointment so that he could sneak around with Shelby. So, Zoe had to check Lemon out, during which Lemon pointed out Wade had said what he’d said because he was scared. Earle and Mae’s attempt to force Wade and Zoe to have a nice relaxed conversation didn’t work. George and Lavon both used Frank to investigate Dr Perfect, it turned out he was perfect, and they were both cross, and the wannabe fire department messed up their chance to get the nod to be a real fire department. It didn’t help that two more of their number were brawling over a misunderstanding over the young woman who’d been helping to train them. Silly boys, when she said she’d met someone else, she meant Cricket.
AB did something very unethical, looking up Lemon’s test results to check whether she was pregnant. She was! AB accosted her with it, but Lemon denied it and instead spilled her real secret: she and Dr Perfect were a fake couple, because Lemon wanted her grandmother’s money for Fancie’s and Dr Perfect had his own family issues. Which meant that Someone Else was pregnant and AB was on the case.
The still sober and romantically happy Earl talked some sense to his son, and Wade came to Zoe’s door as she’d earlier suggested to admit he was scared, he did love her, did want to try…and she turned him down, saying it was too late. And then we realised that the pregnancy result AB had seen was Zoe’s. (HoD managed a genuine moment where I reassessed a few moments in the episode I’d just seen.) And yeah, clever Dr Hart who ought to know her birth control, wanting to seduce not trap Wade. No wonder she pushed him away. It’s a great narrative turn, as it brings up her feelings about her own conception and parental issues as well as her tangled feelings about Wade, so there’s plenty to delve in. (Given the nature of the TV show she’s on, there’s no way she’s considering an abortion, or if she is, that it’ll happen. Her considering leaving for New York is more likely.)
