Time sure does fly, doesn’t it? It wasn’t too long ago we watched the pilot of this little show with a funny name, unsure of where it would lead. Fast forward ten weeks and we’ve already reached the summer finale! It’s been a fun, albeit bumpy ride, so I’m a bit sad it’s over. It feels like we’re still just getting to know these characters, after all. Good news though: Bunheads has been picked up for more episodes, so it should return sometime next year for a winter (half-)season. But since this is our last chance to chat about a new episode for awhile, let’s get right to it!

It’s summertime, and you know what that means…time for The Nutcracker! [Disclaimer: No nuts were harmed in the making of this recap.] As the Bunheads gear up for their first performance, it seems all is well in Paradise. But it doesn’t take long for disaster to strike, which puts everyone’s futures in question. Ominous, right?

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Well folks, there’s good news and bad news. The good news? We finally got the Gilmore Girls cameo we (and by we, I mean I) have been waiting for all season! That’s right, Stars Hollow’s Jack-of-all-trades popped up in Paradise as a barista.

I wonder if he still has Night Terrors

Now for the bad news: Hipster!Kirk was part of my least favorite storyline of the episode. No fault of Sean Gunn’s of course, it was the story itself I just wasn’t feeling. I mean, a huge chunk of this episode revolved around Lorelai’s Michelle’s quest to get quick coffee! It would have been funnier as a one or two scene bit, but using it to drive the whole A-plot just didn’t quite work for me. Maybe it’s just hard for me to understand since I don’t drink coffee? I’m a tea drinker all the way! And I realized something when this quote from Pretty in Pink (one of my favorite movies–if you haven’t seen it, GO WATCH IT!) randomly popped in my head during Michelle’s coffee scenes:

Andie: You run yourself down. Why do you do that? 

Duckie: I am not running myself down. Do you think I’m running my– I don’t think I’m running myself down.

I like Michelle’s character for the most part, but sometimes she can be a bit grating. I find this especially true during scenes in which she embarrasses herself or her one-sided banter drags on too long, like in the coffee klutz scene. I guess I prefer Michelle to be the witty straight man commenting on other characters’ kookiness than being the wacky one herself. It just feels like she’s running herself down otherwise.

Alright, enough with the negativity (for now…), let’s get to the episode!

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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.

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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.

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Pole Dancer In Paradise

It’s no secret I adore Truly, so y’all should know how excited I was for this episode. Last week’s promo implied we would see Truly and Michelle hanging together for a girls’ night out, and they did not disappoint. But before we get into that, let’s back up a little bit. The young bunheads are locked out of the dance studio, and Madame Fanny is M.I.A. Michelle goes to investigate, only to find Truly with an old lady book club, discussing “the end of literature as we know it,” aka Fifty Shades of Grey. Michelle can’t understand why Truly doesn’t spend time with people her own age doing young people stuff, but Truly insists they’re her friends…and admits she doesn’t know anyone her own age. Poor Truly!

Fanny is still nowhere to be found, but she did leave a note for Michelle along with the key to the studio. Turns out Fanny has taken off to some undisclosed, poolside location for a vacay, and she’s leaving a reluctant Michelle in charge of her classes. She claims she just needed the break, but we all know what this is really about– she’s tricking Michelle into teaching. Nicely done Madame Flowers, nicely done.

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Oy with the poodles already!

Money money money, mon-ey. Mon-ey! That was the topic of this week’s Bunheads, as the reality of losing breadwinner Hubbell set in for Fanny and Michelle. Turns out most of Fanny’s students don’t pay for their dance classes (except the Woo twins!), so she has no real income. To make matters worse, Fanny only pays her bills twice a year with an impractical system, so Michelle convinces her to get a real accountant to sort through the finances. While the women agree they need to make more money, they differ on how to go about it. Michelle’s plan is to play Bad-Cop (like Chiklis), in order to get the students to start paying, but her attempt fails spectacularly. Fanny’s solution is for Michelle to start teaching classes, but Michelle is extremely resistant to the idea.

The Flowers women aren’t the only ones trying to make money either, as Boo gets a job waitressing at The Oyster Bar. The poor girl not only has to wear pleated mom jeans for a uniform, but ends up smelling worse than the dumpster she’s tricked into jumping in. It’s not all bad though, since she befriends her cute, coconut-snickerdoodle-smelling coworker, Godot. Boo’s friends take advantage of her new job as well, by getting free food and front row seats to drool over the bartender (who is supposed to be Mitchum & Janice-the Muppet’s son). Basically, the girls spend the whole episode like this:

Waiting For Godot

Poor Man’s Tim Riggins, Surfer Style!

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Howdy folks! After taking last week off, Bunheads is back. Money (or lack there of), auditions, and fixer-uppers were the focal points of this one. But before we discuss the latest episode, let’s just enjoy this moment one more time:

Since we last visited Paradise, Michelle has officially moved into the guest house. Her belongings have been delivered from her Vegas apartment, along with a ton of junk her former landlord just wanted to get rid of! But even worse than getting stuck with all this crap she doesn’t want? Having to hang curtains. Oh, the HORROR!!!

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Have y’all recovered from last week’s episode? It was pretty emotional, thanks to that Four Dancers and a (non-) Funeral storyline, so I was a little relieved with this week’s change of pace. Of course, the fallout from Hubbell’s death is still fueling the main storylines, but at least we are starting to move a tiny bit forward. So what did Bunheads have in store for us this time around? Well, this week was all about boys, a disgusting feet contest, and a sense of home. Oh, and a whole lotta talk about a PRIVATE ROAD.

Fanny and Michelle are still in shock over the revelation that Hubbell changed his will, putting all of his property in his 2-day bride’s name. Madame Fanny (ever the drama queen) now considers herself homeless, and makes a show of purposely not using her own belongings in front of Michelle. Michelle however, insists she has no intention of kicking her mother-in-law to the curb, and is just overwhelmed by the idea of being a homeowner with permanent roots (which are possibly rotting as well).

Never Forget.

These fears are only made worse when opportunistic real estate agent/Ginny’s mom Claire (aka Alex from Saved By The Bell: The College Years!)————–> comes by and gives Michelle a tour of Hubbell’s SEVEN ACRES!!! of property, pointing out tons of (fake or exaggerated) problems with the place. And when Fanny spots Michelle talking to Claire, she automatically assumes it means the house has been sold from out from under her.

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I love Sasha's skirt.

In light of the last episode’s twist ending, Bunheads had a lot of ground to cover this week. It was almost as if this was just “Pilot: Part 2,” rather than being a separate episode. We got to see the fallout from the previous events, as well as a glimpse of where the show will go from here. And even more characters were introduced (sort of), including one familiar face in particular. Plus, there was an opening title sequence! So after a pretty successful debut, how did Bunheads hold up? Let’s find out!

“For Fanny” basically picked up right where the pilot left off. In case you’ve forgotten, Michelle sums it up perfectly:

“Well, we got here, I bought a dress, went to a party, fought with his mom, had sex, danced with his mom, he got in a car accident and now he’s dead.”

Barely married for 24 hours, Michelle must spend her first night in her husband’s house as a widow. I can only imagine how weird that would feel. On top of the normal awkwardness that comes from staying in someone else’s home, she has lost the person that invited her to live there in the first place. And she now has to deal with a grieving mother-in-law who she’s known for all of one day. Talk about trouble in Paradise! (womp womp)

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She stole Lorelai's jorts!

Hi everybody! I must admit, as a newbie, I was a little nervous taking on a brand new series for my first ever recap. Would I even like the show? What if I hate it? Or worst of all: What if I find it too boring for words?  

You see, I didn’t know a lot about Bunheads going in [ED NOTE: It's based on the book of the same title by former New York City Ballet dancer Sophie Flack], but I did take comfort in the fact that Amy Sherman-Palladino (creator of Gilmore Girls) was at the helm. If Gilmore Girls has proven anything, it’s that ASP knows how to create a fun, fast-talking universe filled with quirky characters. And with a title like Bunheads (which makes me crave cinnamon rolls every time I see/hear it), I knew I needed to give it a try. So, on with the show!

Michelle Simms is a Las Vegas showgirl whose dancing career has not turned out (dance pun!) the way she would have liked. Fed up with her crappy apartment—”I live next-door to a hooker”—and lack of job offers, she starts feeling hopeless. So when the kind and generous Cameron! Hubbell asks her out for the umpteenth time, she finally gives in.

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