Bunheads review – 1×09: ‘No One Takes Khaleesi’s Dragons’

Maybe it’s the delicious coffee I was drinking or the great nap I had beforehand, but this week’s episode of Bunheads was the best so far this season. Sherman-Palladino has worked her magic again ’cause the show is now a well oiled machine, with the welcome addition this week of Sean Gunn.

Let’s review!

After last week’s angry teenage meltdown, one of the big storylines this week was getting Sasha (Julia Goldani Telles) back into ballet class. Of course this proved difficult as both Fanny (Kelly Bishop) and Sasha are strong-headed (read: stubborn) women who do not give in all that easily. But I didn’t mind the wait, because it provided us with some wonderful sub-par cheerleading routines from Sasha and co. It also gave us one of the funniest moments of the episode: after berating her cheersquad over the fruitlessness of cheering on a losing team, the camera panned over serverly depressed cheerleaders and stopped at a radiant Sasha! Oh, that Sasha is one dark sista!

Meanwhile men were still the main preoccupation for the other ladies of Paradise. Boo (Kaitlyn Jenkins) was trying to do damage control with Carl (Casey J. Adler), Ginny (Bailey Buntain) was shvitzing over Charlie (Zak Henri) and Michelle (Sutton Foster) was being wooed by the surfer dude! I really enjoy the courtship of Boo and Carl, mostly cause Carl is such a sweetheart. But out of all three storylines, I enjoyed Ginny’s the best, mostly because of Melanie (Emma Dumont). In last week’s review I called out Ginny for being heartless in her reaction to Charlie considering Boo had been pining over him since the start of the season. Well thankfully Melanie (Emma Dumont) laid down the law and let Ginny know that this could not happen because it breaks the codes of the yaya sisterhood (…or was it the bro code? Either way it’s wrong). Melanie is quickly becoming my favorite bunhead. Ginny was, of course, confused, but this should come as no surprise considering she is pretty flaky.

As for Michelle, well she spent half the episode trying to track down an old friend of hers who was supposed to give her a leg up (pun intended) in her dancing career. And for the second half she was wooed by Godot (Nathan Parsons). Although I loved the idea of Michelle and Godot together, it’s mostly because they are both beautiful people and I am somewhat shallow and want beautiful people to end up together. But my mind keeps going back to that rich recluse up in the mountains (Where is he at, hmmmm?) Let’s face it, Michelle needs to have some fun, so let her and Godot hit it off. Girl needs to relax and enjoy Paradise…preferably with some shirtless Godot.

This week there was also the glorious return of Sean Gunn to the Sherman-Palladino universe. While I always had a love/hate relationship with Kirk on GG, I did come to love him along with the other citizens of Stars Hollow. When you transport Gunn to Paradise, I absolutely adored him. As Bash – the local “famous” barista who thinks of himself more as an artist – the interactions between him and Michelle are hilarious. I honestly cannot wait to see him popping up every once in a while. This guy plays weird so well and with such charm, it’s no wonder Sherman-Palladino brought him back.

The episode itself was the best so far and really showed us how fantastic Bunheads can be. For the most, episodes of this show have felt a little off; hinting at greatness, but always falling short. Looking back, it seems clear that the show wasn’t sure what it wanted to be. The writers took their time to integrate the worlds of Michelle, Fanny, the girls and the townsfolk and every episode seemed to introduce a new element. Looking back, it’s unclear if this was the best strategy. All I know is that the show has since found it’s groove and I am finally looking forward to the next episode. (What a pisser to know it’s the summer finale!)

Best lines of the night:

• Fanny: “Are you filled with lead? This is ‘The Nutcracker.‘ Not ‘Dumbo!’
• Charlie: “Loser, I’m waiting!” Melanie: “For what, chest hair? Cause that’s never gonna happen.”
• Michelle: “Brunch?” Fanny: “It’s a meal between breakfast and lunch, most often enjoyed by childless couples and gay men.”
• Michelle: “Oh my God! You know what? You and I are through because in a week we’re getting a new supermarket, a premiere supermarket, where in one fell swoop I can get garlic chicken and stamps and a raised glazed donut, and fifteen cups of coffee in five minutes. And I’ll know that coffee will have my name misspelled on the cup and world music will inexplicably be for sale at the register and no matter where I am it will look like Seattle in the 90s, and I CAN’T WAIT!!”
• Ginny: “He asked Boo about me, and now my brain is 95% empty. I seriously cannot form words when he’s around. All that happens in my head when he’s around is me going, ‘talk, talk, talk!’ But the more I think that, the more I realize I haven’t actually said anything, and then I end up giggling and occasionally drooling. I can’t do this, I can’t be always interesting and never hungry. It makes me want Josh back, cause at least I could eat and speak and wear comfortable pants.”

What do you think, Bunheads, fans: was this the best episode yet? Are you okay with Michelle getting some surfer love, or would you rather she be with someone else? Are you warming up to Ginny, or were you cheering when Melanie took her down a notch? And are you happy to see Sascha back and off the cheer squad? Also, clear and obvious bonus points for the Game of Thrones love, right?

Hit up the comments below.

Bunheads airs Monday nights at 9pm EST on ABC Family