‘Hart of Dixie’ Season Finale Review: ‘On the Road Again’ Hits Repetitive Notes

Hart of Dixie has had its ups and downs in Season 2 and last night’s season finale seemed to pay tribute to that. Some of the episode was really good, great even, and other parts were extremely frustrating. The show has a bad habit of making the audience feel like we’re living in our own version of Groundhog’s Day and unfortunately, it looks as if that ugly trend will continue into the third season.

“On the Road Again” began with Zoe finding Wade in her bed after their night together and then she woke up screaming. But her bed was empty and Zoe let herself relax until she heard someone in her bathroom and seconds later, Wade walked out in a towel. Zoe continued to freak out and all of a sudden George was standing in the room too and he was not happy to see Wade there. Zoe shouted that it wasn’t what it looked like, but George bolted. Wade was clearly amused by the whole thing and super excited to be back with Zoe and did I mention he was in a towel?

Zoe went to see George to beg forgiveness or something and George got to put on his truth-telling hat. He pointed out to Zoe that they’ve never actually been on a date (THANK YOU) and Zoe has still managed to ruin his life. He told her that they were both obsessed with the idea of them as a couple as opposed to having genuine feelings and then he dropped another bomb on her when he (correctly) insisted that the real person Zoe has feelings for is Wade.

She was not happy with that assessment and headed to talk to Lavon, bursting into his bedroom despite the fact that he was ‘entertaining’ Annabeth. Zoe has no boundaries so she climbed into bed with them and shared her latest woes. Neither of them thought her sleeping with Wade was a good idea and Annabeth suggested that she go to New York that weekend for the wedding she’d been trying to get out of so she could have a chance to clear her head.

Zoe took the advice and hopped on a plane, only for there to be a medical emergency. Guess who else was on the plane? Jonah. He and Zoe worked together to save a man’s life and then the plane had to make an emergency landing so Jonah and Zoe ended up renting a car to drive to Atlanta and catch another flight.

While all of this was going on, Lemon was not pleased when Cricket took over leadership of the Belles so that Lemon could concentrate on the Rammer Jammer. Lemon lied and told everyone that Gloriana was going to be performing there (she got the inspiration from a brief appearance by Magnolia, who wanted to go see the band play somewhere else). Lemon needed to save face and actually attempt to get the band so she and Wade got in the car to drive to the meeting.

Lemon forced Wade to stop frequently for bathroom breaks, which has some people speculating that Lemon might be pregnant (Real-life Congratulations to Jaime King!), but I’m pretty sure this was just a plot point so they’d stop at the diner and run into Zoe and Jonah. But I’m jumping ahead. While in the car, Lemon addressed the issues of Zoe’s love life and assumed that she and George would be getting together soon (can we pause to talk about how gross it was to hear multiple characters using ‘Zeorge’ and ‘Zade’? Just stop, writers.), but Wade wasn’t so sure about that and Lemon realized he was still in love with Zoe.

Wade denied it and at the same time, Zoe was denying it to Jonah (okay, I am a sucker for parallel moments). So Lemon needed to use the bathroom again and magically, it was at the same diner where Jonah and Zoe had stopped for lunch. Lemon realized Jonah was interested in Zoe too (of course he was) and Wade and Zoe headed outside to talk. Wade bared his soul to Zoe; telling her how she’d made him want to be a better person and how he’d panicked and ruined that, but all he really wanted was another chance. Then, he said this:

How could you not swoon at that? Zoe did a little bit, but she’s still hurt and isn’t ready to trust him. She explained to Wade that she was going to stay in New York for the summer (Jonah’s idea) and work for her old chief. Wade was a little disappointed, but he wasn’t out yet so he told her that he’d see her when she got back.

As for George, he spent the episode with Lily Anne (seriously, is he collecting Wade’s exes?). I’ve started to like George this season and it was fun seeing him get drunk and sing, but I had a lot of issues with this storyline. First, he was the one who reminded Zoe that they’d never been on a date. But he seemed a lot more upset about coming to the conclusion that Zoe was toxic to him and he needed to stay away from her than he was over losing Tansy (although he did mention missing her dog). But what really got me was that George decided to go on tour with Lily Anne, which meant leaving Bluebell.

Come on, George! If you’re willing to leave Bluebell, why couldn’t you have left with Tansy? I like Tansy. I like George and Tansy together. Again with the parallels, they’re a lot like Zoe and Wade since they’re complete opposites, but they fit together. No one wants to see two people who are exactly alike wind up together, especially not on a television show. Where is the fun in that? There’s isn’t any.

The other subplot of the episode was the mayor from the neighboring town stole Burt Reynolds so Lavon gathered some of the townspeople to break into the mayor’s barn and get him back. Was this plot silly? Yes, but it was also really funny. However, it really did not belong in a season finale. Annabeth once again proved herself to be a BAMF and saved the day by driving her truck into the barn and rescuing everyone from the other alligator that was waiting outside the barn. Annabeth and Lavon continue to be cute, but there was a Lemon and Lavon moment at the Rammer Jammer that proved those two are not done with each other.

Gloriana showed up to perform, thanks to Lemon’s passionate plea, and she and Wade finally got to win one (How cute are their high-fives?). Meanwhile, Zoe was by herself in New York at the wedding and she pulled out her phone. First, she hovered over George’s contact and then she scrolled to Wade’s (Side note: Did everyone notice that Jesse Kinsella’s name was also in her phone? BRING BACK JUSTIN HARTLEY, SHOW!). Zoe was thinking about calling him and then Jonah showed up because he didn’t want her to spend her first night in New York alone.

Ugh, whatever. That part was incredibly predictable and I figured that’s how the episode would end ever since I read the description a few weeks ago that said Zoe would have company in New York. I’m sure the show wants us to wonder if Zoe will spend the summer getting romantic with Jonah, but there’s no question that she will. Zoe doesn’t know how to be alone and she’s vulnerable so of course those two are going to hook up. The only real question is whether or not Jonah will return to Bluebell with her in the fall.

Did you enjoy the finale? Were you surprised by Jonah’s appearance in New York? Hit the comments below and I’ll be back next week with my Best & Worst of Season 2 list and what I’d like to see in Season 3.