It took seven episodes for Michelle to finally get back out into the world after the death of Hubbell. Though they were only married for a short while, the two had known each other for much longer and since Michelle was surrounded by memories of him, it became something that was hard to escape. She had always been a little flighty, a little unsure, but any sense of stability that she may have had in Paradise got demolished once Hubbell passed and she had no one there to pull her out of her emotional coma. But with time and a little encouragement, Michelle has been making steps toward starting anew and figuring out where she wants her life to go from here on out. And on tonight’s episode of Bunheads, she made arguably the most progress since the accident.
Once the snarky showgirl in the back row that had enough of being upstaged, Michelle is now a teacher at the studio, having picked up Fanny’s classes in addition to holding her own. Having that kind of control is something that she’s not used to, never being one to want to be a grown-up or be the voice of discipline, which made the transition from aspiring lonely spinster to career woman fun to watch. Michelle had to reconcile all these sides of herself that are now clashing against one another, trying to formulate a new identity than the one she’s had for so long. For 36 years, she’s been the talent, always performing or trying to get better at performing; it was the fuel that made her go each day. But now, the behind-the-scenes role has made her have to become a little bit more stern and aware of boundaries, particularly relating to the other bunheads. Rather than just being their girlfriend that buys them fries and gives them boy advice, both of which she did tonight, Michelle has to wear the hat of teacher, of authority figure, of adult and it’s something that she’s not comfortable with.
And it showed in her reaction after being dressed down by Ginny’s mom (and consoled by Boo’s mom with juice and cookies); Michelle may be able to teach dance well and get the girls on another level, but it’s all the other stuff that makes her apprehensive to step into the role of Dance Teacher. The dealing with parents, having to worry about what everyone does in their off time, fixing up the studio once it breaks down – she never had to think about any of this before. And coming off a pretty stressful time in her life, having to be in charge of that many dancers might not be the easiest way to transition into the next phase of her career, particularly without any back-up/support from Fanny.
But I am glad that the episode gave Michelle more of a reason to interact with the girls and form some type of relationship apart from random quippy comments and passing moments at the Flowers residence. The previous episode or two, they’ve become more connected to one another, but in “What’s Your Damage, Heather?”, Bunheads felt complete. It felt like it became the show that was hinted at in the pilot and y’know? I like that show. A lot. Both the good and the bad moments shared between the girls and Michelle were exactly the type of thing you knew could happen once they got Michelle to finally start teaching dance; their scenes together were at times silly, insightful, intense, heartfelt, and lovely, Michelle reliving her youth a little through the more casual interactions (e.g. her recounting her teenage dating life) and having to turn into the stern figure that Sasha needed after stealing a shirt from the guest house. (That scene took me a bit off guard at first with how different of a role it was for Michelle to assume, but it was beautifully played and never got too heavy handed.) With Ginny and Melanie getting more screen time than they had in previous weeks, there was a nice balance to the scenes with the younger girls and their characters have slowly gotten more defined with each week that goes by.
Ginny and Truly had romantic problems either caused by Michelle or that Michelle got to witness firsthand, as the prior broke up with her boyfriend of 8 (!) years following Michelle’s talk of her wild times and the latter 
was caught kissing the one-eyed plumber (Todd Lowe). It’s interesting that Michelle’s entire reason for still being in Paradise was the loss of a relationship and here she is, inadvertently causing Ginny to go through the pain of not having someone around. But the thing is, single Ginny is happy and much more free than she had been before; Josh had long been a safety blanket for her, comfortable and predictable without ever being exciting, and that had been okay, since Ginny does everything to have as little anxiety as possible. But hearing about the fun and spontaneity that came with being able to date around proved to be too much and likely exacerbated feelings of confinement that had already been there before Michelle came to town. Michelle may have been knocked down upon losing Hubbell, but ironically, “helping” Ginny get out of a relationship might have been one of the best things that she’s done in her time in Paradise.
I hate that one of the first boys to come after her was Charlie, as it’s the second consecutive episode where a guy that Boo likes uses her to get to another girl. Well, not hate as in ew-awful-storyline-you-guys, hate as in can-somebody-give-boo-a-hug-for-me-please. I don’t think that Ginny would do that to Boo considering their friendship, but having her try to talk Charlie up to Ginny was more than a little heartbreaking.
Truly bears more than a little similarity to Ginny, in that both have been coming out of their shell after rubbing elbows with Michelle. After hitting the town last week, Truly had good old fashioned hate-makeout with the plumber in charge of fixing the dance studio’s leaky plumbing, though it does make her feel guilty due to her love for Hubbell. For a lot of the run of Bunheads, the impact of Hubbell’s death has stayed purely with Michelle and Fanny; the show focuses very heavily on how the loss of a son and the loss of a husband differ and yet intersect, with very little room for other perspectives. Here, we got a look at how much Hubbell meant to someone else and it made his death just a little bit sadder to me; it’s one thing for your mother or your wife to be thrown for a loop upon your death, but the true testament to impact is how other people that might not have been your family react. And Truly, who seemed to be a hot mess upon first glance, might have taken it the hardest out of anyone, her sensitivity and never-ending loyalty a blessing in making her a beautiful person and a curse in making it that much harder to let go of Hubbell.
But Bunheads is all about what it means to have to let go of someone and move on with your life. And if it takes a quickie late night makeout session with a one-eyed plumber who you make fun of to help with the healing process, then hey, who are we to judge?
Thoughts, Quotes, & Observations:
-“When you’re on Broadway, the show doesn’t stop so you can go potty.”
-“You look gross from this angle.” “You look gross from every angle.”
-“Are you gremlins?”
-“The face, not important, they’re covered up by boobs.”
-“I don’t have that kid-friendly gene. I’m all sharp corners and a pool with no cover.”
-Michelle’s little rant about calling her mother Deb (even though that’s not her name) may have been the funniest thing the show’s done yet.
-I also really liked Michelle’s “conversation” with Fanny while leaving her a voicemail and Michelle putting fried food in Boo’s salad and covering it with lettuce. Even in an episode that played into more of the drama, Bunheads brings a lot of good bits.
-Here’s a really great interview with Amy Sherman-Palladino, where she touches on everything from developing the show to her past experience in television and the deliberately slow pace of Bunheads.
-Next week on Bunheads: Fanny’s long-distance boyfriend (!) comes to town, Sasha’s rebellious behavior starts to affect Fanny’s class, and Michelle and Fanny go to a play.
