Hart of Dixie- Episode 1.03- Gumbo and Glory- Review

This week on Hart of Dixie, Bluebells annual Gumbo contest is underway, the perfect opportunity, Zoe feels, to prove to the townies of Bluebell that she belongs here and that she can prove herself. Unfortunately her biggest competitor is also the man who is trying to push her out of Bluebell, Brick.

The episode starts with Zoe treating a little boy who was bitten by a snake, unfortunately for Zoe, she doesn't know what kind of snake it is, so she enlists the help of Wade to help her find it, which leads to her also being bitten by the same snake, a copper head. Things only get worse for Zoe, when she returns to her practice Brick has already treated the little boy and sent them on their way. As bad luck follows Zoe still doesn't know how to treat the bite, so she is forced to ask Brick for help.

Zoe, determined to win the Gumbo contest lies about being able to cook, plus who cooks in New York? Nobody. So she gets her mother to call in a favor to a famous chef who sends her his already made Gumbo, it turns out the Mayor's gator is a huge fan of Emeril Lagasse and eats the contents of the box, leaving Zoe Gumbo less.

Fortunately for her George Tucker comes to her rescue. Even after being warned by his Fiance Lemon that he is to stay away from Zoe, George takes Zoe to a market 30 minutes out of Bluebell to get her the best Gumbo supplies. These two clearly have a spark and it is further bonded over their love of New York cuisine. Things do change once Zoe finds out that George took her all the way out of Bluebell so that he wouldn't be seen with her and Lemon wouldn't find out. Zoe's pissed, understandably but her disappointment is put on hold when a local farmer is hurt.

Zoe rushes to the scene to see the farmer unconscious and trapped under a tractor, arm nearly sawed in half but sustained by the tractor stopping him from bleeding out. Zoe is faced with another problem, she only has one capable hand, she has no choice but to call Brick. With the help of Zoe, Brick is able to save the man's life and his arm.

Levon and Wade play a large roll is Zoe's Gumbo cooking, they very sweetly tell her she has no chance in hell of winning. Levon finds that he is attracted to the new receptionist in Zoe's office, Dede. Unfortunately when Lemon finds out she works her evil southern magic and convinces the young girl to take a job out of town and away from Levon. With many mix ups in communication Levon and Dede finally do come face to face and she spills the beans on 'how sweet Lemon is', but Levon can see right through that sweetness to the bitter heart of that cherry pie. Slowly there is more and more development on the relationship between Lemon and Levon, not much, but enough to know that these two had a secret past and it is clearly not over between the two of them.

Some how Zoe ends up winning second place in the Gumbo contest, although she didn't cook anything. She thanks Levon for helping her out and it isn't until Wade makes a smart ass comment about accepting compliments that it is reveled that Wade was the one that made the Gumbo for Zoe. The relationship between Wade and Zoe, although not original and incredibly predictable, is still something I want to see, they have great chemistry and the sexual tension is thick, I am rooting for these two.

As it turns out Brick is going around Bluebell telling everyone what he had to do to save the farmers life and how he did it all on his own. The truth is he couldn't do it without Zoe, he and George Tucker know that, but he refuses to give Zoe any piece of his humble pie. When Zoe has enough she stands up to Brick and tells him there was no way he would've saved that man or his arm if it weren't for her. But then Brick raises a point, which happens to be the reason why Zoe is stuck in Bluebell. He was the one who went to the hospital with the farmer and he's the one that went to see the farmers family to reassure his wife and kids that he would be fine and that they wouldn't lose their farm.

Although Brick was arrogant for not telling everyone the truth, he makes a great point, being a good doctor is more than just saving the patient's life, it's about showing the patient that you care about them, something Zoe hasn't grasped yet. Zoe realizes that Brick has a point and let's it go, but George Tucker didn't get the memo. He has had enough of Brick that he decides to go tell everyone the truth, but Zoe stops him before he has the chance to say anything.

George and Lemon have a discussion where he comes clean about his whereabouts and he tells her that he doesn't like ultimatums, Zoe has no friends and that's all he is trying to be, they agree to disagree. But I agree red lipstick is horrible, wash it off, wash it off now!

Levon up to Lemon's ways decides to offer Dede the same money as a receptionist for George Tucker, so she's not going anywhere and they are now free to go on their date. I am waiting for all of this to blow up and am very curious as to why Levon and Lemon's relationship ended.

Overall is was another good episode a good 3/5. What remains for this show is Rachel Bilson, she is funny and cute (which we already knew) and has such a likable character to her that you watch just to see her.

No overall best moments this episode, a nice gesture made at the end of the episode when Brick actually refers a patient to Zoe, the odds are this isn't going to last.

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