Wow, we have so much to get to this week, but there’s something important I need to address first: Y’all, Zack is back. ZACK IS BACK! No, not my 1st love (I wish), but my 2nd favorite Zack has graced our tv screens with his presence. That’s right, Hep Alien’s lead singer traveled all the way from Bon Temps to join us in Paradise. And he was mARRRvelous! There’ll be more on the eyepatch-wearing Romeo in just a bit, but this should keep you going:

Pirate Zack to the Rescue!

There was a lot going on in this episode, so I’m going to break things down by character/storyline.

Michelle & Sasha

Fanny has extended her vacation, according to her Facebook and Twitter updates, which means Michelle is still in charge of the ballet studio. The new responsibility is already taking its toll on an exhausted Michelle, so when the pipes spring a leak and flood the girls’ dressing room, she nearly reaches her breaking point. She hires one-eyed plumber Davis to fix things, and let’s the girls change in her guest house in the meantime.

Still dealing with her parental problems, Sasha starts acting out for attention. She arrives late to dance class (without a bun no less!), disregards Michelle’s authority, and even steals a shirt from Michelle’s home. Michelle’s pissed off by this (understandably) and calls Sasha out on her behavior. Michelle hates playing bad cop and doesn’t know how she should discipline Miss Rebel Without a Cause. The stress builds up, making Michelle feel useless and overwhelmed until Boo’s mom gives her a pep talk, complete with juicebox and cookies. Nanette reassures Michelle, telling her the dancers love her and look up to her more than she even realizes.

I should have known this was going to be a good episode from the title alone (“What’s Your Damage, Heather?”). But going in I was a little worried this story would feel Afterschool Special-y. So I was glad this ended up just being a small part of the story overall, and I think they handled it well. This certainly isn’t the last of the Sasha drama though, as proven by the promo for the next episode.

Ginny

It’s Ginny and Josh’s 8th anniversary, but their plans to celebrate at a food-truck fair in Goleta fall through, thanks to Ginny’s needy mom (SBTB: The College Years). I’ve said all along that I love the show’s shoutouts to real SoCal towns, and this one was no exception. You see, Goleta is nearby my alma mater UCSB (Go Gauchos!), so I’ve spent a lot of time there. Now I just need them to make an Isla Vista reference so I can take it as a personal shoutout to me! It’s only a matter of time before they mention IV.

Anyway, Michelle’s tales of her wild & crazy teenage love life have made Ginny question her own relationship. She breaks up with Josh, which is absolutely devestating…for Ginny’s mom. Without helpful Josh around, who’s going to take out the trash and do other house chores? I can’t help but think of Rory, Dean and Lorelai with this story. I was always a little weirded out that Dean seemed to get along better with his girlfriend’s mom than his actual girlfriend. He even changed the watercooler for Lorelai after Rory and him broke up! I wouldn’t be surprised if Josh were to continue helping around the house too. He just seems like the kind of guy that would. I’m happy for Ginny though. She is free to just be a spontaneous teenager for the first time in her life. And she already has an admirer in Melanie’s jerky brother Charlie. He uses poor Boo once again, asking her to talk him up to Ginny. My heart breaks for Boo every time. Although where is poor man’s Riggins?

Truly

It should be no surprise that my favorite storyline belonged to Truly and One-Eyed Zack (Davis). Truly doesn’t trust Davis’s plumbing skills, in fact she doesn’t think he has any to begin with. So she spends most of the episode following him around to keep an eye on him. I was excited enough watching them bicker back and forth because, hello: Animosity = Sexual Tension (on tv anyway). So you better believe I was full-on cheering out loud when Michelle walked in on their makeout session. Ladies and Gentlemen, I officially have a new ship! Now I’m not sure what the casting situation is for Todd Lowe since he’s on True Blood, but I really hope he comes back. I need me some more hot Pirate Plumber…as does Truly!

I also loved how they brought up the Hubbell situation. Truly admitted to feeling guilty as if she were cheating on Hubbell, and Michelle handled this really well. She told Truly it’s time to move on, but was gentle and understanding about it. Of course, she couldn’t resist teasing her about hooking up with Davis either, but who can blame her? I actually enjoyed Truly and Michelle’s friendship moments more in this episode than last week’s.

Favorite Quotes and Moments:

• Those mini-ballerinas with the tiny bladders were ADORABLE!
• “I can’t teach my classes, and Fanny’s classes, and maintain my sex-ay!”
• “Has tapping always been so loud?” “Unless cowboys are shooting bullets at your feet, it’s the loudest dance there is.” — Hard shoes in Irish dancing could give tap some competition.
• This episode may have been Fanny-free, but we got to see Michelle do Fanny’s side of a hypothetical conversation, which was pretty funny.
• Apparently Floyd the floor guy convinced Fanny to join Twitter.  – By the way, @OjaiFloyd805 does exist, but it’s set to private. I checked.
• “Let me know what happens. I’m part of this now.”
• Davis “Newman-ed” Truly! :D
• “He’s got one eye?” “He’s wearing an eyepatch.” “I thought that was for fashion.”
• “We use him to keep an eye on things.”
• “Who’s Rod Stewart?”
• “GAZELLES!”
• “That’s my grandmother. Women looked different back then.”
• “The box of tissues will still be there when you get back.” — HA! Good one Melanie.
• Michelle hiding french fries in Boo’s salad.
• Fanny’s rules. — This reminded me: Soccer was a bad word (the S-word!) to my Irish dance teacher, because of the way it weakens one’s ankles for Irish dance.
• “All I know is unless I find one who gets hot for a really defined clavicle, I’m dying alone.”
• Christian Slater! — *sigh*
• “Please don’t mention this on Yelp.”
• “Was the one-armed yogurt guy unavailable?”
• “I don’t hate Davis, I just hate his plumbing.” “Didn’t look like it from where I was standing.”
• “I was dry humping a plumber in the dance studio. There’s nothing delicate about this.” — HAHAHA!
• “What’s your damage, Heather?” “What?” “Boy, if anyone should know that reference, it’s you.”…”Because, Winona!” — Gotta love the Heathers references.
• “I called her Deb. That wasn’t even her name. That’s just what I called her.” — I’m curious about Michelle’s relationship with her parents.
• “I should meet more boys because I made those last two up.”

This was just a solid episode all around. I think Bunheads is starting to hit its stride! Alright gang, did I miss anything?  Am I the only one shipping Davis & Truly?  Has a one-eyed plumber ever cleared your pipes, if you know what I mean?  Are we Friends Forever?  As always, I’d love to get your take in the comments!