Hart of Dixie Recap: "Destiny and Denial"

Last week’s episode of Hart of Dixie was one of, if not the, best episodes of the season. It was everything the show should be and this week the show followed up with what has to be its worst episode to date, “Destiny and Denial.” Why was this episode so bad? Let’s just say the slogan was “It’s George Tucker Time.”

I’ve made no secret of my dislike for the character of George and I knew this episode centered around him so while I was not looking forward to it at all, there was a small part of me that hoped that maybe if George finally got his moment to shine, the writers would give the character more layers and depth and we’d finally get to see what made him tick and my black heart would open up just a tiny bit for George. The exact opposite happened. Instead of making the audience sympathize with George, the episode turned him into an even bigger selfish jerk than before and it once again made me dislike Zoe. It’s never a good sign when the show actively makes the audience root against the main character. Also, why did he keep calling her ‘Zoe Hart’ each time he addressed her? That was annoying.

The episode starts the day after the big bachelor/bachelorette party disaster. Zoe is imagining the belles in black and the town in shambles once word begins to spread about the wedding being off. She’s so eager for gossip that she heads to the Rammer Jammer, but the only thing people are talking about there is the big musical production the town is putting on. (This is one of the b-list storylines of the night and it’s really not worth mentioning). Zoe decides to seek out George with some soup she made for him (be more pathetic, Zoe) and Lemon is doing the same with a cake she made for George. The two women bicker and Lemon (accurately) accuses Zoe of trying to move in on George but Zoe insists she’s just trying to be a good friend (lies). But both women are shocked to see George smiling and greeting the townspeople like he doesn’t have a care in the world.

It’s George Tucker time! George just wants to be George and that means doing whatever he wants including getting a motorcycle and driving to New Orleans. Zoe is worried that he has a serious case of denial, but that doesn’t stop her from putting on a fancy dress, borrowing Lavon’s car and heading for New Orleans when George calls and asks her to join him. Apparently, George Tucker time includes him singing in a bar and pretending Zoe is his fiancée. This is what I mean about George being a bigger jerk than before. He knows Zoe has feelings for him, but he’s using her for his weird breakdown. The two share a dance and a kiss and then George suggests they get a room at a hotel and make a night out of it.

Seriously, be sleazier, George. The worst part is how Zoe is all for it. I get that Zoe is inexperienced in relationships because she always put her career first, but give me a break. Since when is she this stupid? Everything about this night has ‘Rebound’ written all over it in big, capital letters, but she’s smiling and swooning over George like a fool. I wanted to reach into my TV and slap her. But thankfully, the next song playing in the bar is George and Lemon’s would be wedding song and George freaks out, killing the moment. Zoe looked hurt and I just rolled my eyes once again at her being dumb enough to think George wanted her for any reason other than to get his mind off Lemon breaking his heart.

They return to Bluebell where George apologizes, Zoe tells him it’s fine and then George punches Lavon in the face. Even though logically I know that Lavon deserved at least one punch, I hate that George got to punch him. But Lavon had the line of the night when Zoe was going on and on about how George could be her destiny and they deserved a chance and all this other nonsense that made me cringe. Lavon gave her a serious look and said, “George did not choose you. He found out a secret about Lemon. Big difference.” Well said, Lavon Hayes, well said.

Speaking of Lemon, she spent most of the episode in her own version of denial and Brick knew something was up. Magnolia couldn’t take it anymore so she told her father that George and Lemon were broken up and Lemon admitted to Brick that she’d cheated. There was a really nice scene with the Breeland family sitting on the couch together and Lemon asked Magnolia to help her make a list of people they needed to call to tell them about the wedding being canceled. Aside from the distraction of Jaime King’s eyebrows (what was going on with them?), this was a touching scene and Lemon broke my heart. Then George showed up and yelled at Lemon about how much she hurt him. Again, I had less than no sympathy for George since if it hadn’t been for a song, he would have already been at a hotel with Zoe.

In the midst of George Tucker time (are you nauseated hearing that yet?), there was a Wade subplot taken from The Hangover. Seriously, does the CW have a requirement that all shows must do an episode based on the movie at some point? Smallville, One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl have all done them and now Hart of Dixie. Anyway, Wade woke up in his bed with a hangover, no memory of the night before and someone in his shower. There was also a rather large (like it would be big on Lavon large) garment on his bed and he has no idea who he slept with. So Wade instantly ran to Lavon for help and after his friend mocked him mercilessly and suggested he bring his date a donut, Wade went back to his place to face his guest.

It was Tom! Wade let out a hilarious scream at the horror and asked Tom why he’d slept in his bed. Tom said the couch was uncomfortable, but it was okay because they slept foot to head. Wade was not amused, but I was. Tom said that he found Wade drunk on the side of the road and brought him home. But that still didn’t explain the large garment so Wade took a page from Zoe’s book and headed to the Rammer Jammer to try and piece together his night. Shelly told him that he was classy as ever and had been trying to sleep with every woman in the bar. He did find out that the garment belonged to a woman named Big Ethel, but it turned out that Wade had stolen it from her clothesline since he’d been walking around completely naked.

Thanks to some help from Lavon and an apparent rabbit allergy, Wade figured out that the woman he slept with was his ex-wife, Tanzy. Wade felt terrible since Tanzy is still in love with him and he was super drunk, but when she shows up, she tells him that she turned him down even though he was naked at her house. Tanzy is getting her life together and she’s getting over Wade, which makes him think about how he needs to get his life together. He tells Tanzy that he wants to open his own bar and she’s proud of him. I feel like the show is leaving the option of these two on the table for down the road and I’m sort of on the fence about it. On the one hand, I want Wade to be happy. But on the other, I love Wade and Zoe when Zoe is not being an idiot.

Oh, Scotty McCreery of American Idol fame was also in this episode. He was the one singing in the bar while George and Zoe were kissing. It totally makes sense than 18-year-old was singing in a bar, right? I didn’t watch that season of Idol, but I can say with certainty that I would not have voted for him.

Next week’s episode looks like it has some promising Zoe and Wade moments, but it also looks like Zoe is going to continue to be a moron and try to steal George from Lemon. I do not understand why they keep fighting over this jerk anymore than I understand why the writers keep forcing him down our throats when there are much better options like Wade or Lavon or even bringing Jesse back (did you think I wasn’t going to mention Justin Hartley’s character in this recap?). Seriously though, I’d rather watch an entire hour filled with the strange musical the town was putting on than ever hear, “it’s George Tucker time!” again.