It’s time for the BlueBell blind date auction, complete with decorative baskets. The town’s most eligible men are tasked with putting together picnic baskets that the ladies of BlueBell will bid on; the winning bid gets to take the gentleman behind the basket on a picnic, with the money going to benefit the Shakespeare Society, of which Dash Dewitt is a member. For a show as focused on romantic entanglement and casual misunderstanding as Hart of Dixie, it’s the perfect opportunity to throw all the central couples (and various stragglers) into a blender and hit the on switch.
Weird, Wonderful Facts
Wade’s been keeping his distance, both emotional and physical, from Zoe since his return from the camping trip, which has caused her to think that he’s already bored of her and looking for another girl. However, he actually wants to take her on their first official date and tells her to come to the auction the following day to bid on his basket. Zoe, of course, freaks out at the invitation, since it means that Wade wants to get more serious and she doesn’t know if she wants that anymore with him. She just settled into the thought of having an emotionally unattached, friends with benefits situation and having to go back on that to potentially have a boyfriend makes her go a little insane.
At the auction, Wade’s basket invites bidding from three women, including a former flame and Magnolia Breeland. Just as Zoe bids for the first time, having resolved to trying out the dating thing, Magnolia wins the basket, though she’s easily talked out of the date with front row tickets to Taylor Swift. Afraid that they’ll have nothing to talk about on the date, Zoe brings along a book from her office of unusual facts to chase away the awkward silences, but Wade wants nothing to do with a book on their date. They kind of needed it, though, as much of their conversation revolves around crackers…until the alcohol is brought out.
While they get in a few giggles and seem to loosen up, that all goes away once Wade brings up the fact that George and Tansy are dating. Zoe thinks that they won’t last a week due to how different they are, which Wade takes as a shot about the two of them and leaves as a result. Zoe finds Lavon and tells him how scared of change she is and reiterates that her life has involved a whole lot of it recently before bringing Wade’s box back to his house. He comes out to get it but literally turns his back on her in the process.
Caught in the Middle
Lemon can’t seem to get away from images of “golden couple” Lavon and Ruby all over town, so rather than continue letting it eat at her, she decides to go to the bachelor auction and place a bid on a basket. Once she gets to the Rammer Jammer, though, she runs into Walt, the handsome orthodontist she met on her trip to Mobile. He mentions that while it might not have been the right time for her then, it could be the right time now and that if she likes hazelnut truffles, she should make a bid on his basket.
The only problem with that plan is that Lavon put truffles in his basket, along with Merlot and pasta. Not knowing this, Lemon outbids the competition and purchases the basket for $35, much to the surprise of everybody. For her part, Ruby hadn’t looked in Lavon’s basket and didn’t know the one to bid on, while Lemon didn’t know about the bakery special on truffles that led to the confusion. Walt ends up with Delma and Lemon heads to the extravagant picnic set-up that Lavon had planned for Ruby. With a chorus of violinists, sprinkled flowers, and a pristine white canopy, it’s all extremely romantic and obviously a way for the mayor to subtly woo Ruby away from Dallas and back to BlueBell. She may have already purchased her apartment in Texas, but that’s not going to stop Lavon from trying to keep her local.
Lemon could have very well allowed the date to get the best of her and confessed her feelings for Lavon, but aside from a dance where Lavon mentioned how Lemon was his first love and prepared him for the relationship with Ruby, the two kept things rather platonic. She did tell him that if he wanted to be with Ruby, he’d have to suck it up and make it work and the date ended up concluding with her graceful exit.
Lemon meets up with Walt at the Rammer Jammer later and the two commiserate over their bad dates with truffles, while Lavon tells Ruby he loves her for the first time and they pledge to make a long distance relationship work.
Going to the Dogs
Tansy comes to George’s law office and, after making him spill coffee on himself, tries to get him to help her get her dog Dolly Parton back. She shared the dog with her ex Colt (the guy who shot George with a crossbow) and with her mother claiming to be allergic to dogs and Colt working on an oil rig, Dolly Parton is now in the clutches of Colt’s ex-girlfriend Evelyn. Evelyn makes the dog wear outfits and doesn’t particularly care for its well-being, but George can’t legally do anything about the situation. He does drop hints to Tansy about the auction and what he should put in his basket and while she offers suggestions for the type of girl that George would go for (lemon apples, cupcakes, chicken, potato salad), he wants Tansy to be the one to bid on him.
He gets help from Wade in figuring out what Tansy likes and what would get her to bid on him, which turns out to be taquitos, strudel, and a blow dryer. Tansy wins the date for $30 and the two head to the roof to share taqutio-strudel sandwiches and be goofy together. When George mentions that he wants the date to be unpredictable, Tansy takes him up on that offer and drags him along to steal her dog back. Dolly Parton is found in a locked car in the middle of town with the windows rolled up, but George wraps a shirt around his hand and punches the driver’s side window open, allowing them to get the dog and make a run for it. While George gets his arm looked at by Dr. Hart, Evelyn comes into the practice looking for the dog; in turn, George spits a bunch of legal terms at her and uses the fact that Tansy paying the adoption fees to help her retain possession of the dog for good.
That display of bravery of quick-thinking earns George a kiss from Ms. Truitt, their first. He mentions to Zoe that Tansy brings out another side of him and while she’s not the type of girl he pictured himself with, maybe life’s not a picture. Maybe it’s more like a movie.
There’s an App for That
Brick isn’t exactly in the dating mood following what happened with Emily, but after Lemon talks him up with words about the Breeland family name and agrees to get back into the dating pool alongside him, he decides to enter the bachelor corral. His basket, filled with fairly high-end food (and a cherry crumble dessert), gets snapped up by Shelby, George’s shopaholic ex who he broke up with a few episodes ago. Brick is distraught at putting himself out there for something not resembling a serious date, but he eventually relaxes and has a fun time with Shelby; he lets her teach him about cell phone apps and the two end their night with a little Angry Birds and a dance at the Rammer Jammer.
Additional thoughts and observations:
-The only other basket that gets brought up is Tom Long’s, complete with bologna sandwiches. Wanda bids $10 for it and then threatens the entire bar if they try to take it from her.
-Tonight’s Hart of Dixie life philosophy: Evolve or die. Duly noted.
-Favorite line: “Oh, man. I really hope that violin music is playing in my head.”
-Second favorite line: Lemon’s “is she queen of the fairies?” upon seeing Lavon’s picnic set-up.
-Next week on Hart of Dixie: Zoe’s worried about her mother coming to town for the holidays, Lavon’s relationship with Ruby again finds Lemon entangled in it, and George tries to pick out a perfect Christmas gift for Tansy.
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