Milly, Fanny, and Michelle are continuing to work on getting the performance center up and running as soon as possible. The trio take the dancers from the academy to the building site, where Fanny deems the stage too small and Milly makes the order for Bob and Don to order additional wood and lights. Fanny then goes in for the kill when she notices how Milly bristles at the term “just about perfect”; she manages to get the distracted businesswoman to agree to finance professional costumes, 20 well-built ushers, and usher uniforms to make the show perfect.
Later, when Milly drops a couple of checks off to Fanny, she asks about a backer’s rehearsal, which is when whoever’s funding a production gets to sit in on a rehearsal to see where their money’s went. Initially, Fanny doesn’t want her around, but Michelle convinces her that it’s a small price to pay for everything they’re getting in return. After conning Milly out of a spread of food, Fanny agrees, only to see rehearsal undone by Milly loudly dragging a chair to the edge of the dance floor and taking notes over the three performances (intro, Ray-Ray solo, ending) that she saw. Those notes included points about a lack of tutus (dress rehearsal wasn’t until later that week), too much focus on certain moves, and confusion over where the dwarves were, even though they’re doing Sleeping Beauty. Fanny explodes at Milly, telling her that this is her production and she won’t be getting any input, before the businesswoman stormed out while calling her lawyers.
Fanny invites Milly over for dinner that night and the two make a begrudging truce, with Fanny agreeing to pump up Milly’s reputation as a master of the arts if Milly leaves the creativity to her and Michelle.
Hi, Mom
Every time that Scotty and Michelle spend a few days together hanging out, the one who will be leaving gets to plan their final night together. Scotty intentionally makes Michelle sweat at the thought of going to a Burning Man-type festival with a severe lack of bathrooms; she looks up information about it with Fanny at practice the following day and gets even more worked up at the possibility of going somewhere she’ll be miserable – and without a bathroom.
That night, following a trip to Sasha’s, the two head out on their road trip, where Michelle falls asleep in the front seat after getting to lean the seat back. When she wakes up, they’re at a little diner in Sacramento. He tries to make her stay in the car for a minute while he goes in, but her desire for fries proves too much to bear and she follows him in. Also in the diner is their mother, a talkative redhead with a 35-year-old boyfriend, a new condo with a recording studio, and aspirations toward becoming the next big country star. Michelle sits in the booth beside them, her back to the mother she hasn’t seen in nearly 13 years, while she finds out that Scotty is their mother’s guardian. After buying a home with a boyfriend who skipped out on her before paying his half, their mother was declared incompetent for purposes of getting rid of the house and getting into another home with her current boyfriend, Scotty in charge of her estate as a result. Michelle’s upset at her mother dragging her brother down and her mother’s lack of stability; she gets up to leave, but before she makes it out, her mother gets her attention because she wanted to look at her face.
When Michelle and Scotty get home, they say their goodbyes and he leaves for his next adventure (and wife).
Party Over Here
Sasha has her apartment, but all the other stuff that goes along with being an adult is proving to be difficult for her. Grocery shopping leads to a big mess on aisle three and a confused ballerina comparing prices, the power still hasn’t been turned on, and the housewarming party she’s throwing turned a little more dramatic than she thought, as Ginny gets upset at Cozette having been invited. Sasha gracefully uninvites the new girl, reducing strife between Melanie and Ginny, while calling Michelle to make sure that she came (Michelle’s not exactly great at checking her mail in an orderly fashion) and inadvertently blowing Roman off after weeks of very little contact, barring 3-letter texts.
The party (and Sasha’s apartment) turn out to be surprisingly adult and well-furnished, complete with a barre in the bedroom, Tupperware full of leftovers, warm cookies as party favors, and monogrammed towels, among many other accouterments. Even cheerleader Aubrey pops up at the party, only to make a few comments to Ginny and skip out with a friend. Michelle, meanwhile, scares Sasha with the idea of someone coming in on her and her lack of escape route, though she gives her good advice to not let the old woman next door sucker her into being a chauffeur.
Once everyone leaves, Sasha gets a knock on the door from Roman, hurt that he didn’t get invited to the party and had to hear about it from Aubrey, of all people. Sasha admits to having a lot on her plate and being freaked out at the thought of him using her place for a “sex palace,” while Roman thinks that Sasha’s wrong for leaving him in the wind and not making him more of a priority in her life. The two argue and eventually make plans to hang out that coming Friday night.
However, Sasha ends up spending the night on Michelle’s couch, since none of her friends were allowed to stay over.
Additional thoughts and observations:
-“Cozette can do anything. Cozette’s a wizard.”
-“Yeah, yeah, yeah, is there a picture of the bathrooms?”
-“Yes, Grandma, I’m sure all the kids will be calling her Mary Richards.”
-“Ginny.” “Good for you.”
-“I don’t even know what the hell a sex palace is.”
-I’d kind of like an episode centered on Michelle playing drag queen bingo. Make it happen, world.
-Every road trip in Michelle’s childhood was fake. Their mother drove Michelle and Scotty around the neighborhood for hours until they fell asleep, regaling them with tales of everything they did during their vacation when they woke up.
-So Sasha is paying for everything on her parent’s credit card? Which parent is supplying the money? How often will the account be refilled? What do her parents even do?
-I often wonder what a dramatic Bunheads would look like. The show can be funny, but it’s moments like Michelle’s mom saying “I just wanted to see your face” that keep me watching.
–Next week on Bunheads: Milly’s on the warpath, Sasha and Roman go public, and Talia has big news.
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