Hart of Dixie - Episode 3.18 - Back in the Saddle Again - Review: Dating Dilemmas

Real life issues of moving on and dating brought some warm moments and unlikely friendships in this episode. Zoe and Lemon found common ground when each of them were asked out and turned to one another for advice. Lavon was troubled when he learned that AnnaBeth has started dating a Gainey. Wade and Vivian struggled to have a night out together without constant interruptions from the Wilkes clan. Brick realized that he is raising another little evil genius when Magnolia came to town to visit. George was on hand to try to help Lavon and Brick.

A foe in need. Lemon bumped into George, who awkwardly tried to hide behind a box cereal, while in the Dixie stop and informed him that she was going on a 3-month boy cleanse and focusing all of her attention on Fancie’s. As Lemon is thinking that the boy cleanse will be simple due to BlueBell’s lack of eligible men, she literally runs into Peter whom she met on Halloween. Peter asked for a job assignment in Mobile so that he could have a chance to see Lemon again and asks her to go out with him the next night. Meanwhile, Zoe is getting pity from everyone on her newly single status and she is resolved to be her own happy couple in her house. She is nearly ran over by someone on a bike after pondering the fact that she found Joel in New York and she is uncertain about being able to find someone new in BlueBell. The bicyclist turns out to be a handsome guy named Vince who asks Zoe out on a date.

Both girls turn to their mutual friend, AnnaBeth, for advice. Should Lemon break her man cleanse to go out with Peter who was amazing the last time they were together? Is 3 weeks too soon to move on from a serious relationship although Zoe really would like to move on? AnnaBeth pawns the girls off on one another because she intends to spend the day with her new man, Davis, instead of solving their man problems. Lemon and Zoe would rather solve their problems on their own than turn to one another. Lemon decides that she is a casual modern woman who isn’t going to pass up on the chance of great sex with Peter. Zoe needs to prove to herself that she is moving on and accepts the date with Vince. Brick wasn’t too crazy about helping both girls pick out outfits for their respective dates and also pointed them in one another’s direction.

Lemon’s date is going well until Lemon learns that Peter has no idea when he’ll be coming back to BlueBell again. Zoe’s date turns out to be an obnoxious dentist, or rather a “doctor” who specializes in teeth, who is quite full of himself. Stuck in limbo, Lemon and Zoe see no other choice but to turn to one another on what to do. After some wine and covering their eyes, both are able to offer the other some much needed words of wisdom. Zoe tells Lemon that of course she doesn’t want to have sex with Peter because he is yet another dead end for Lemon and won’t offer her what she really wants which is the real thing. Lemon informs Zoe that it is crazy to go on a date only 3 weeks after the longest relationship of her life and to not suffer through a date with a blow hard just to prove a point to herself.

Zoe runs into AnnaBeth at Rammer Jammer and learns that she has started seeing someone new. Lemon comes in for her breakfast date with AnnaBeth to find her with Zoe. A new bond has been formed between then and the ice has thawed enough for them to sit together and chat with AnnaBeth. Zoe also informs them that her bad date lead her to realize that she is ready to move on, and she’ll be selling the house that she bought with Joel.

The ending of this episode with Lemon, Zoe, and AB all together sharing girl chat was just perfect. There has always been animosity between Zoe and Lemon, and while I love the frenemy thing they have, I also have really appreciated the moments when they were able to help one another. Hopefully this episode will have then turning a new chapter in their relationship, and we might see a budding pseudo-friendship forming. Or at the very least things won’t be as hostile so that we can get more of these girlfriend bonding moments with all three girls.

Dating Vivian and her whole family. Apparently the Wilkes have an event for every day of the week, and Wade has been quite the trooper in attending all of them. This is great for his bonding with Aunt Winifred, but it is seriously cutting into his and Vivian’s alone time. They can’t even sneak away from an event for a moment to share a kiss without someone interrupting them. Vivian declares that instead of going to the Wilkes fish fry the next night that it will be Wade Kinsella night and she’ll devote the whole night to him. There is a snag in Wade’s plans when Vivian learns that her ex, Charles, has been invited to take Harley to the fish fry while she is out on her date with Wade. Vivian decline’s Wade’s offer to go to the fish fry before going on their date since it is supposed to be Wade’s night. Wade and Vivian’s date is interrupted when Harley has managed to get his first hit at the batting cages which then turns into yet another Wilkes event. Charles begins to send Vivian texts of pictures and videos showing her everything she is missing out on since she isn’t there in person. Vivian reassures Wade when he questions Charles’ motive in his timing of sending the text. Vivian remarks that she misses out on everything now that she is a single working mother, and Charles knows that she wouldn’t want to miss this new event in Harley’s life. Seeing that she would rather be with her family, Wade tells her to go and catch them for ice cream while he remains at the bar alone. Wade shows just how much he has changed when he turns down an offer for a private after party from a pretty young girl. Wade calls Vivian as he is leaving the bar and gets her voicemail. The next day he drives over to Vivian’s to find her and her ex-husband walking out of her door and learns that Charles has spent the night after he and Vivian drank too much wine. Vivian shrugs it off as no big deal and excuses herself to take care of Harley leaving Wade looking troubled as he gets into his car.

It is definitely time for this relationship to end although I feel terrible for Wade. Vivian said it herself in this episode; Wade is amazing. He has turned into quite the stellar boyfriend, and he deserves so much more than he is getting from this relationship. First Vivian declares that it will be Wade’s night, and then it is left up to him to plan their date. Then she can’t even commit one evening to Wade after all of the events he has attended for her family and the countless times he’s shown just how much he is into her. By the end of the episode, I felt like she wasn’t even really trying. At the very least she should have invited Wade in for breakfast instead of just dismissing him after he found out that she ditched him to hang out with her ex all night.

Prophylactics blow the best laid plans. Lavon is excited about pitching BlueBell as the host of the county fair. He has even had a little model of BlueBell made up for his meeting with the city commissioners and plans to sell them on BlueBell’s heart. He becomes distracted when he learns that AnnaBeth has started to date, and is intimate with, the nephew of Mayor Gainey. George reminds Lavon to keep his focus on his pitch, but then he is called away to help Brick leaving Lavon on his own. Lavon’s meeting with the commissioners goes off track after he spots AnnaBeth and Davis kissing. He starts to toss back the martinis and goes off on a rant about Fillmore instead of selling BlueBell. In his drunken state, Lavon comes to the conclusion that Davis is a Gainey and his dating AB is all some part of a grand scheme to get to him. He immediately shares this knowledge with an angry AnnaBeth who reminds Lavon of all he has put her through.

Lavon definitely deserves every ounce of AnnaBeth’s anger. This whole mess is of his making. He is realizing too late that AnnaBeth really was the one, and he isn’t being fair to her now that she has found someone new. It was also really insulting for him to assume that Davis had ulterior motives in being with AnnaBeth. Even though he made his bed and deserves to lie in it, I also couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. I’m hoping that Lavon wises up soon and puts on his big boy pants. And then starts to prove to AnnaBeth that she is the one, and that he would be lucky if she ever so much as looked his way again.

The father of evil geniuses. Magnolia is back to ask Brick’s permission to attend a party at Carter Covington’s house in Charleston, SC which he of course denies. He becomes alarmed when his mother alerts him that Magnolia didn’t return so he goes to George to accompany him to Charleston to retrieve Magnolia. While railing about the crazy women in his life, Brick shares that Lemon is on a date with Peter. George is shocked and jealous at this news. They arrive at Carter Covington’s to find that Magnolia isn’t there, and Carter shows them the e-vite to a party that Magnolia had invited him to. Brick realized this was all an elaborate scheme on Magnolia’s part to get him out of town so that she could throw a party. Brick returns to BlueBell to find Magnolia cleaning up a mess. They share a sweet moment where Brick tells her that he is just worried about her. He promises to find her a new boarding school and that he’ll visit her often.

I’ve really missed Magnolia this season now that Claudia Lee is on another show and not as available. Any chance they can get to bring her to BlueBell is welcome because her moments with Brick are always sweet.

Final thoughts. Is it just me or now that Joel has left, have the episodes improved? The past 2 episodes felt a lot less campy to me and even felt more heartfelt and had some real emotional moments that seemed to be lacking for the majority of this season. I also love that Zoe is free to interact with characters she hasn’t really interacted with all season. Now if only we could get a Wade and Zoe scene in there that would be icing on the cake. Wade has been isolated off with the Wilkes for the past 2 episodes. And what is up with all of these Wilkes events that Wade attends and Zoe doesn’t? At this point it seems like Wade is more of a Wilkes than Zoe. I love the buildup that George and Lemon are receiving, and I can’t wait to see where things go for them. Lemon has finally realized that she wants something real. I really think that she can find that with George. It is great that Zoe has realized that she is ready to move on from Joel. I like her calm demeanor as she is dealing with this break up and not becoming nutty and annoying. She was actually quite funny and charming in this episode. And now that it seems like Wade and Vivian are headed for a break up, will we be seeing Wade and Zoe again sometime in the very near future? After the past 5 episodes of either no interaction or tiny scenes in passing, I’ll settle for a real moment between them even if it doesn’t have romantic undertones. The show is back on track and the only thing missing is some good Wade and Zoe interaction.

Were you disappointed that Peter’s return didn’t lead to more with Lemon? Did you cheer when Wade turned down that girl at the bar and said that he was a changed man? Now that Wade and Vivian seem to be heading for a break up, are you still hoping for Wade and Zoe to reconcile? Do you find AB and Davis cute, or do you want Lavon to win AB back? Would you like to see more of Magnolia?

Next week things heat up in BlueBell. Zoe is stuck in an awkward position between her ex and her cousin. The town gets sucked into the rising hostility between AnnaBeth and Lavon. There will be some singing, dancing, kissing, and a raccoon. Will this be the week that Vivian and Wade break up? And who is the blonde that George is making a human sundae out of in the promo? Make sure you tune in next Friday to find out.

About the Author - 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.