Love was in the air in Paradise, as THREE of our leading ladies got love interests. But how did these new ‘ships compare to Truly’s hookup from the last episode? Let’s find out!

Modern-Day Doody & Frenchy

Between Fanny’s return, Sasha’s drama, and the introduction of a bunch of new characters, Bunheads was pretty busy this week. So once again, I’m going to break things down by character/storyline.

Fanny & Michelle

Fanny has returned from her vacation, much to Michelle’s relief. But after an awkward encounter with a robed man cooking a “kinky breakfast” in Fanny’s kitchen (not a euphemism), Michelle discovers that Fanny’s got a fella. Turns out, Fanny has been not-so-permanently seeing Michael the pianist for over forty years! Michael’s a nomadic troubadour (wonder if he’s been to Stars Hollow), but as Michelle sweetly points out to Fanny, “You’re kind of his house.” Michelle’s encouragement ultimately leads Fanny to tell her beau to stick around a bit longer, subtly making their relationship a little more official.

Michelle and Fanny are getting along better than ever; they even drive down to Los Angeles together to see a confusing play entitled “_[Blank]   Up, It’s Time.” Any guesses what curse word fills in the blank? Put your dirty thinking caps on people! It’s time for Mad Libs.

Anyway, Michelle befriends the play’s director (none other than Jason “Digger” Stiles!) and Fanny encourages her to sleep with him–”He could get you a role”–HA! She does end up hooking up with director Conor and they bond over their failed acting careers. (He’s the “guy who never got on Law & Order despite countless attempts” and she did a somersault in a commercial for a feminine product. I really enjoyed this whole conversation.) Everything seems to be hunky-dory, until Michelle realizes she hasn’t had sex since the night of Hubbell’s accident. Overcome with emotion, the shock of her husband’s death finally hits her. Conor is pretty nice about her sudden craziness, and Michelle still manages to give him character tips for his play through her tears.

So first I should explain that when Gilmore Girls originally aired I liked Digger as a love interest for Lorelai. His character seems to be underrated though, so I’m curious how people will react to Conor. So far, he seems to be very similar to Jason–just swap out the insurance business career for one in show business. That storyline was a little rocky to me, but there were definitely a few sweet moments between them so I wouldn’t mind seeing more.

The way they handled Michelle’s Hubbell grief was intriguing. I think it was smart to address her feelings, and the scene still managed to be funny. But what is really interesting to me is how the scene parallels Truly’s story in the last episode. Both of the women let their guards down with other men, only for their feelings of guilt and sadness to hit them afterwards. It just goes to show, Truly and Michelle have more in common than just their love of cupcakes.

The best part of this storyline was the relationship between Fanny and Michelle. Not only are they voluntarily spending time together, but they are treating each other as equals. I loved how they each encouraged and supported one another throughout the episode. Unfortunately, not everyone’s getting along with Fanny though. Which brings us to…

Sasha

It’s show season, and apparently Sasha and Jordan (a “giant egomaniac” male dancer) perform a Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers number every year. So You Think You Can Dance fans should recognize Jordan as Wapakoneta’s own Kent Boyd (aka season 7′s runner-up), who already has experience dancing with a Sasha (…and a Neil). [Click the links to refresh your memory!]

Now that Madame Fanny is back in charge of the ballet class, the dancers must once again abide by her rules. And who has the biggest problem with this? Why Sasha, of course. According to Ginny and Melanie, she has gone from Black Swan to Def-Con Swan. First, she shows up to dance class with bathing suit tan lines, so Fanny gives her Ginger Rogers part away to Boo (who actually looks a bit like Ginger). Fanny figured this would send a message to Sasha, since she has never been cut from a dance before. But things get even worse later on, leading to a showdown between Fanny and a now blue-haired Sasha in front of the entire class. Sasha saying she wants to tryout for cheerleading is the last straw (Fanny HATES cheerleading) and Fanny kicks her out.

I can’t make up my mind with this storyline. Sasha’s issues coming to a head seemed inevitable, but it’s not very fun to watch. Clearly her parental problems are affecting her and she’s acting out for attention. But I have to wonder if there’s more going on. I know this show has a lot of slash-fic potential…could it possibly be canon? After all, Sasha and Boo did discuss their childhood meet-cute. I don’t know that I want the show to actually go there, mainly because it would be too similar to Santana’s storyline on Glee. It just seems like we’re missing a piece of the puzzle. Hopefully this whole thing gets resolved (more or less) by the end of this season.

Boo

Boo is already nervous about replacing Sasha, so she feels even worse when Fanny informs her that Jordan will not be the Astaire to her Rogers, due to a “family matter”. From the girls reactions you would think Jordan was replaced with Urkel instead of Carl. Here’s what we learn about him: Carl Cramer is short, Jewish, energetic, helpful, likes to do impressions (including Stewie Griffin), and can make lasagna from scratch. It’s also clear he’s had a long term crush on Boo. Resistant to him at first, Boo eventually warms up to his dorky charm. When he invites her over for dinner and a movie though, Ginny and Melanie swoop in to reject him and Boo doesn’t stop them. :(

Y’all know how I felt about the Truly/Davis developments last week, and I’m definitely still shipping them. But now they have some company! You guys, I love Carl. The interactions between him and Boo Bettina just made me all giggly. SO CUTE! He reminds me a little of Farmer Ted from Sixteen Candles. Plus any guy who can rock a tuxedo shirt is cool in my book.  And while I wish the promos weren’t so spoilery, I can’t wait for their story to continue.

Favorite Quotes and Moments:

• Ginny’s mom thinks Matt Lauer exudes sex.
• “I’m never gone. I’m always here.”
• Fanny’s class performs The Nutcracker in August every year, because they get the costumes for half off.
• “The gardeners mow, blow, and go.” “I didn’t catch their names, but that could be them.”
• “In my new role as your spinster daughter?”
• “Well the Panama Canal opens, doesn’t it?”
• The Ortega Maneuver, as in Kenny Ortega — who has directed episodes of Gilmore Girls and Bunheads.
• “I count 8 asleep, and 3 dead.”
• “The playwright thinks he’s Eugene O’Neill. This is Ed O’Neill.” — Way harsh, Tai. There’s nothing wrong with Ed O’Neill.
• “Hi Boo.” “Hello Carl.” — The way Boo said this made me laugh.
• “You went from Rogers-Astaire to Rogers-Dinklage.” — Yet another Game of Thrones reference (kind of).
• Carl sneaking up behind Boo cracked me up.
• “[Sasha]‘s got ballet brain. She can’t adapt. You can.”
• “A ‘please’ would’ve been nice to hear.”
• “You’re gonna want to hear my Stewie Griffin. Mark my words.”
• “You show-wrecker!”
• How in the hell could anyone like Cel-Rey (Celery) Tonic?! That sounds disgusting.
• “You lead, I’ll follow.” — Gilmore Girls theme song reference!
• “In this world you either look like a rapist or someone trying to catch a rapist. How did I fall in between those two categories?”
• “IT’S GOT WINGS!”
• “Hubbell, okay. That’s your Rosebud or your very large telescope.”
• “It’s not nice to the guy to cry after sex.”
• “He looks ridiculous.” “Like an organ grinder’s monkey.”