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Another day in Bluebell meant another series of crises for our favorite characters on the latest episode of Hart of Dixie. Zoe and Wade faced money problems, George became a roadblock on AnnaBeth’s journey and Lemon and Lavon continued to long to be together. But since this is Hart of Dixie, all those problems came with a side of humor, hijinks and schemes within schemes to make for another fun episode of season four.
“Bar-Be-Q Burritos” started with our favorite parents-to-be checking off items on the list of things they need to do before the baby arrives (starting with making a list). Money was their biggest issue since a baby is not cheap at all and while Zoe tried to find the right way to ask Brick for a raise, Wade needed to find a way to get people back to the Rammer Jammer since a food truck was stealing away his business.
As always, I could spend the entire review talking about how cute Wade and Zoe are and how being hormonal and bursting into tears just makes Zoe that much more precious, but we’ve got other things to discuss. Ultimately, they decided to continue living (for free) at Lavon’s plantation, which will save them a ton of money, and thanks to Meatball’s cousin, a country music superstar, people packed into the Rammer Jammer once more (but Brick said ‘no’ to Zoe’s raise even after she saved Alabama from a potential bedbug problem).
So let’s talk about George and AnnaBeth. She confessed to Cricket that she wanted to go back to school and become a nurse, but she didn’t know how she’d pay for it. Cricket suggested she sell the houseboat George is living on (did anyone else totally forget it belonged to AB’s ex?). George didn’t like the idea of being displaced so he had the Truitt brothers stop by for a jam session when AnnaBeth planned to show the boat to a potential buyer and ended up ruining the sale. The next morning at the bakery, the two continued to bicker and Lemon happened to notice the spark between them.
She decided to set them up on a secret date by inviting them to test Fancy’s food and atmosphere. In Lemon logic, if George and AB fell in love, AB would get over Lavon and Lemon and Lavon could be together without feeling guilty about AB’s broken heart. Both Brick and Lavon warned Lemon that it was a terrible idea, but she pushed full speed ahead anyway. AB and George know her better than anyone so it didn’t take long for them to put together that they were the focus of her scheme and then AB put the final pieces together and realized Lemon had feelings for Lavon again. She called Lemon out on being selfish and everyone walked away upset.
I have a lot of mixed feelings about all of this. I love Lemon and even though I have my reservations about Lavon, I do want her to be happy. But this whole thing was beyond selfish and it felt like a major step back for Lemon. Schemes are nothing new, but the whole reason she’s not with Lavon is because she’s concerned about AB’s feelings. That shows growth, which she’s more than earned, but this manipulation is terrible. She should have just gone to AB and told her the truth. Maybe AB would have been mad and hurt, but at least she wouldn’t have felt like a pawn in a chess game where the only happiness that mattered was Lemon’s.
On the other hand, I kind of love the idea of George and AB together. Scott Porter and Kaitlyn Black have fantastic chemistry and the two characters make a lot of sense as a unit. It might be cliché, but TV tropes exist for a reason. Two people who have known each other their whole lives and suddenly, inexplicably begin to see each other in a different light is a good romantic one (especially when there’s chemistry, which is important). It might feel a little rushed and like it came out of nowhere because there are only five episodes left of this season (and most likely the series), but I don’t think we need to see George and AB declaring they’re going to ride off into the sunset together and live happily ever after. I think just seeing them dating and having fun together would be a lovely ending for two people who deserve to be happy.
As for Lemon and Lavon, I don’t doubt that they will end up together. They love each other and probably always have. The writers dropped the ball with their romance and I will forever think Lavon and AB getting involved was a mistake (even if I did enjoy them at the time). I would like to see it happen before the end of the season because Lemon should get to be happy too and fine, so should Lavon, if for no other reason than how much he loves Wade and Zoe. He’s always been an amazing friend to both of them and this episode reiterated that as he tried to keep Meatball’s cousin happy at his fake bed and breakfast. I just hope Lemon and Lavon (but especially Lemon) have a mature conversation with AnnaBeth first because they owe her that.
No new episode next week, but when the show returns Feb. 20, AB and George are still toying with the possibility of dating. Naturally, Bluebell has some thoughts on the matter.
The Lemon/Lavon dynamic was really great this whole episode – it’s clear to me that Lavon and Lemon are the best for each other, but managing past with Annabelle and whether or not they have her blessing makes for an interesting setup…or perhaps they’ll get the verbal blessing but she won’t really mean it and that will cause some underlying conflict. I really loved that they used “Little By Little” by Lay Low during the scene when Lemon runs into Lavon shopping and she confesses she’s trying to get GTAB together – I really hope she can make it happen