HoD: Persuasive graphs
Aug. 17th, 2024 08:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shallownessHart of Dixie - 4.6 Alabama Boys
On the basis of this, the writers definitely knew the show’s time was up, as a whole new, massive wrinkle came up for the Breelands.
Wade and Zoe’s plotline was pretty minor, meaning that they were pulled into others’, and there were a lot of them. Apparently Bluebell has a small business commission and Lemon is on it, even though I’m not certain Fancie’s has even officially reopened yet. They were convinced, by Dash and his Graph of Persuasion, that if Bluebell and Philmore could put in a joint bid for a sports thing, the local businesses would stand to make a lot of money. Dollar signs in everyone’s eyes, and me just going along with it.
They (including Brick) delegated Lemon and her powers of persuasion to go talk Lavon into forgetting his long-running feud with Mayor Gainey. Of course, this was hugely awks as the last time she’d talked to Lavon it was to say that they could never be because of AnnaBeth. She managed to persuade Lavon quite straightforwardly with a folder (yeah, yeah), but when she made to leave, he turned the conversation personal and, after a few seconds of puppy-dog eyes, started threatening going out with someone else. Not his finest moment, that.
Lavon had also accidentally ruined a moment between George and AB, where George was building himself up to ask her out. AB made Cricket her confidante, because Lemon was out, while Tansy became George’s. Also the Truitt brothers were around, occasionally singing about a wereraccoon. AB and George both seemed to be on the same page until George tried asking AB out and she said no, and didn’t quite seem to know why, although Cricket’s take on it was that George kept changing his mind about who he fancied and was a serial boyfriend, which has a lot of merit. The fact that they both knew each other’s baggage kept coming up, as in whether AB was really over Lavon yet, or whether George would go back to Tansy. And when it turned out that Scooter (Philmore’s lawyer, who George hated even before he became Tansy’s boyfriend) dumped Tansy for a colleague…
It would all come to a boiling point at Mrs Gainey’s birthday party, where she’d invited Lavon. His attempt to talk to the mayor hadn’t worked, so ‘for the town’, he asked AB if he could be her plus one so that he could try again. Only knowing that AB and Lavon were going to a party together, and not why, George and Lemon were furious jealous. So, George decided to get drunk and encouraged the Truitt brothers to revenge themselves on Scooter in the least illegal way they could think of.
Lemon had other things to think about, because Magnolia was back for the weekend, sweet-talking Brick, but she’d taken up with a teen ‘rodeo clown’ who liked to walk around shirtless. Lemon decided to order Wade to try to talk sense to him, and failing that, to get him away from her sister.
At the start of the episode, Wade and Zoe had learned that they were having a boy, having unscientifically thought it was a girl. Zoe freaked out about raising an Alabama boy, possibly because Wade was talking nonsense about engines and possums (like, you’re not introducing the kid to them when he’s a baby, right?) Brick had to talk her down a little, and Zoe jumped on the chance to treat an injured young baseball player to hone her maternal skills, only ‘he’ turned out to be sassy Scarlet. But she had boosted Zoe’s confidence when her mother turned up and I made a connection I really should have when I saw a certain name come up in the credits.
Scarlet’s mother was ALICE, Brick’s ex, the devoted mother who’d abandoned her two daughters. Brick walked in on them accidentally and had to tell Zoe, as Alice fled, while her young daughter missed out on all the atmosphere. Brick was giving a decent lesson about parenting (if you ignore the fact that Lemon is generally manipulative and selfish and that Magnolia is the same only in a less ladylike fashion.)
When Wade met rodeo clown Chet, he came to a startling realisation, seeing himself in the cocky young so-and-so. For a second, I thought this meant that Chet was the son he never knew he had – look, it was that kind of episode! – but no, he just reminded Wade of himself at that age (and for several years after.) This sent Wade spiralling into worry about bringing up the worst kind of ‘Alabama Boy’. Zoe was cut off from talking him down, because Alice had returned to the surgery looking for Brick, who’d gone home for supper with his daughters. She had to prioritise that, (did she?) playing messenger, but eventually got to talk to Wade about how they’d do their best together and try not to raise a monster. The way their scene ended left me thinking Wade was about to propose again.
Back at the party, AB and Lavon were having to pretend to be a couple again, to try to assuage Mayor Gainey’s suspicions, so, seeing that, a slightly sozzled George thought it would be a grand idea for him and Tansy to crash the party as a fake couple to rub Scooter’s nose in it, but beneath that, to Do Something about the sight of AB and Lavon having a grand old time. Lavon managed to get Gainey onside with his charm and connections, also showing him the Graph of Persuasion, and Tansy would get to stuff some food in Scooter’s face, but AB and George managed to get into an argument because both were riled that the other was there with their ex. Being one of the more self-aware characters, AB would apologise to her hostess, go back to Bluebell to tell Lemon that she was over Lavon, basically giving her best friend her blessing to go get her man, and then go to find George and rather sweetly arrange a date.
Magnolia saw Chet for what he really was – a bit of a womaniser – and chased him out of the town, well, the Rammer-Jammer without any help from Wade. I’m not convinced that she’s a ‘good kid’ underneath it all, or that Brick has been a good parent or Lemon a good substitute parent, but whatevs. The episode ended with a happy Lemon on her way to find Lavon…seeing her father and her mother on their furtive way together. Obviously, she didn’t know exactly what had led to that or that Brick was looking for an explanation for his ex-wife’s abandonment, but it was about the only thing big enough to stop Lemon in her tracks.
Chocker episode, developments on the romance front, Zoe and Wade were maybe underserved, but a little less mad than usual because of it. So many characters turned up, the locals in the meeting and Tom and Wanda were less of a surprise, but Earl turned up for the end of one scene, Magnolia was back, three Philmorians appeared and Davis was mentioned. The big one was, of course, the former Mrs Breeland (Meredith Monroe is always Andie from Dawson's Creek for me), but if Ruby, Lavon’s cousin, Wade’s brother or Jonah had turned up too, I wouldn’t have been surprised.
On the basis of this, the writers definitely knew the show’s time was up, as a whole new, massive wrinkle came up for the Breelands.
Wade and Zoe’s plotline was pretty minor, meaning that they were pulled into others’, and there were a lot of them. Apparently Bluebell has a small business commission and Lemon is on it, even though I’m not certain Fancie’s has even officially reopened yet. They were convinced, by Dash and his Graph of Persuasion, that if Bluebell and Philmore could put in a joint bid for a sports thing, the local businesses would stand to make a lot of money. Dollar signs in everyone’s eyes, and me just going along with it.
They (including Brick) delegated Lemon and her powers of persuasion to go talk Lavon into forgetting his long-running feud with Mayor Gainey. Of course, this was hugely awks as the last time she’d talked to Lavon it was to say that they could never be because of AnnaBeth. She managed to persuade Lavon quite straightforwardly with a folder (yeah, yeah), but when she made to leave, he turned the conversation personal and, after a few seconds of puppy-dog eyes, started threatening going out with someone else. Not his finest moment, that.
Lavon had also accidentally ruined a moment between George and AB, where George was building himself up to ask her out. AB made Cricket her confidante, because Lemon was out, while Tansy became George’s. Also the Truitt brothers were around, occasionally singing about a wereraccoon. AB and George both seemed to be on the same page until George tried asking AB out and she said no, and didn’t quite seem to know why, although Cricket’s take on it was that George kept changing his mind about who he fancied and was a serial boyfriend, which has a lot of merit. The fact that they both knew each other’s baggage kept coming up, as in whether AB was really over Lavon yet, or whether George would go back to Tansy. And when it turned out that Scooter (Philmore’s lawyer, who George hated even before he became Tansy’s boyfriend) dumped Tansy for a colleague…
It would all come to a boiling point at Mrs Gainey’s birthday party, where she’d invited Lavon. His attempt to talk to the mayor hadn’t worked, so ‘for the town’, he asked AB if he could be her plus one so that he could try again. Only knowing that AB and Lavon were going to a party together, and not why, George and Lemon were furious jealous. So, George decided to get drunk and encouraged the Truitt brothers to revenge themselves on Scooter in the least illegal way they could think of.
Lemon had other things to think about, because Magnolia was back for the weekend, sweet-talking Brick, but she’d taken up with a teen ‘rodeo clown’ who liked to walk around shirtless. Lemon decided to order Wade to try to talk sense to him, and failing that, to get him away from her sister.
At the start of the episode, Wade and Zoe had learned that they were having a boy, having unscientifically thought it was a girl. Zoe freaked out about raising an Alabama boy, possibly because Wade was talking nonsense about engines and possums (like, you’re not introducing the kid to them when he’s a baby, right?) Brick had to talk her down a little, and Zoe jumped on the chance to treat an injured young baseball player to hone her maternal skills, only ‘he’ turned out to be sassy Scarlet. But she had boosted Zoe’s confidence when her mother turned up and I made a connection I really should have when I saw a certain name come up in the credits.
Scarlet’s mother was ALICE, Brick’s ex, the devoted mother who’d abandoned her two daughters. Brick walked in on them accidentally and had to tell Zoe, as Alice fled, while her young daughter missed out on all the atmosphere. Brick was giving a decent lesson about parenting (if you ignore the fact that Lemon is generally manipulative and selfish and that Magnolia is the same only in a less ladylike fashion.)
When Wade met rodeo clown Chet, he came to a startling realisation, seeing himself in the cocky young so-and-so. For a second, I thought this meant that Chet was the son he never knew he had – look, it was that kind of episode! – but no, he just reminded Wade of himself at that age (and for several years after.) This sent Wade spiralling into worry about bringing up the worst kind of ‘Alabama Boy’. Zoe was cut off from talking him down, because Alice had returned to the surgery looking for Brick, who’d gone home for supper with his daughters. She had to prioritise that, (did she?) playing messenger, but eventually got to talk to Wade about how they’d do their best together and try not to raise a monster. The way their scene ended left me thinking Wade was about to propose again.
Back at the party, AB and Lavon were having to pretend to be a couple again, to try to assuage Mayor Gainey’s suspicions, so, seeing that, a slightly sozzled George thought it would be a grand idea for him and Tansy to crash the party as a fake couple to rub Scooter’s nose in it, but beneath that, to Do Something about the sight of AB and Lavon having a grand old time. Lavon managed to get Gainey onside with his charm and connections, also showing him the Graph of Persuasion, and Tansy would get to stuff some food in Scooter’s face, but AB and George managed to get into an argument because both were riled that the other was there with their ex. Being one of the more self-aware characters, AB would apologise to her hostess, go back to Bluebell to tell Lemon that she was over Lavon, basically giving her best friend her blessing to go get her man, and then go to find George and rather sweetly arrange a date.
Magnolia saw Chet for what he really was – a bit of a womaniser – and chased him out of the town, well, the Rammer-Jammer without any help from Wade. I’m not convinced that she’s a ‘good kid’ underneath it all, or that Brick has been a good parent or Lemon a good substitute parent, but whatevs. The episode ended with a happy Lemon on her way to find Lavon…seeing her father and her mother on their furtive way together. Obviously, she didn’t know exactly what had led to that or that Brick was looking for an explanation for his ex-wife’s abandonment, but it was about the only thing big enough to stop Lemon in her tracks.
Chocker episode, developments on the romance front, Zoe and Wade were maybe underserved, but a little less mad than usual because of it. So many characters turned up, the locals in the meeting and Tom and Wanda were less of a surprise, but Earl turned up for the end of one scene, Magnolia was back, three Philmorians appeared and Davis was mentioned. The big one was, of course, the former Mrs Breeland (Meredith Monroe is always Andie from Dawson's Creek for me), but if Ruby, Lavon’s cousin, Wade’s brother or Jonah had turned up too, I wouldn’t have been surprised.
