A Better Way

Bunheads

Episode Report Card

Jeff Long: B+ | 2 USERS: A

YOU GRADE IT

A Better Way

By Jeff Long | Season 1 | Episode 14 | Aired on 01.28.2013

In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description!

The show begins with Jordan screaming at everyone to be brilliant like him. It’s not working. Michelle comes in and tries to reason with him, but hit doesn’t work. He does some crazy move and Ginny does the Jordan Lite version. Later, we see Melanie at roller derby. She has been watching for two days apparently and a girl asks her if she wants to try.

That night, Melanie is at dinner with her father. He’s trying to ply her with college application information when Ginny and Claire show up. Claire is obviously still upset about her ex-husband getting remarried. Melanie lies to Ginny about why she has been missing ballet, which is surprising.

Michelle goes to the Oyster House and apologizes to Godot for calling him a high school drop-out. Also, she tells him that she went online to read his Masters thesis. They hang out all night and Michelle talks. She gets home and her brother Scotty (played by Sutton’s brother Hunter!) is waiting for her. He seems to have just skipped out on his marriage (his fourth such marriage).

The next day, Boo interrupts class because she’s babysitting a bunch of kids with Carl. That night, Scotty and Michelle get really drunk with Godot waiting on them. Later, they drunkenly talk about how Michelle was supposed to be a ballerina. The next day, Melanie is at roller derby. She goes on the rink for the first time, gets knocked on her ass and loves it. She looks up and sees Cozette dj’ing and looking down approvingly. Love it. The next day, she goes to ballet class and Ginny is in hysterics about her father’s wedding. Melanie talks to Cozette and it looks like they are forging a friendship. Frankie is there and tells Ginny that she looks like a Vermeer painting, which works with her. Scotty shows up and makes fun of how Michelle isn’t really an authority figure and it appears to upset her.

The next day, Melanie goes to roller derby and finds out her name is Cleo-smacktra. Meanwhile, Ginny as at the photo shoot for her dad’s wedding and was expecting Melanie to be there. Boo, exhausted from babysitting, freaks out at Jordan and tells him to be nice to everyone. It’s sort of hot to watch him get screamed at. Ginny finds Melanie at roller derby and is upset that Melanie wasn’t there for her like she should have been. Melanie tells her that Cozette is the person who got her into it and Ginny freaks out and tells Cozette to back off.

Michelle and Scotty have a blow-out about Scotty ridiculing her in front of her students. She tells him that Fanny is her family now and she can be a success like she has never been before. Then, she and Scotty sing a song while she plays the ukelele.

Want more? The full recap starts right below!

We begin with Jordan directing a combination at the studio. He hates what he's seeing and tells them that they killed Baryshnikov. It's really difficult watching Kent Boyd be mean. I think of him as Cinderella's golden retriever puppy that got turned into a boy dancer and she's still at the ball. Michelle comes in as he expertly shows them the combination again. He tells Boo to be smaller and Matisse that if she doesn't focus, her life will be a series of alcoholic boyfriends. Hey, at least someone told her. Some people don't even have dance class. Michelle steps in at this point. She and Jordan proceed to argue about his methods as Ginny and Boo and Matisse and another little girl kvetch about the dictator. Melanie is missing and Sasha is apartment hunting, though it appears she already found one. Maybe she's just handling the red tape? Packing? Or maybe Ginny is just getting text alerts. Then Boo gets a phone call. A TV has fallen over but we don't know if it fell on someone. Also, she's risking life and limb by talking on the phone in Jordan's class. Even I know what a faux pas that is. Suddenly, he notices Boo. She throws her phone to the side. Also, we hear the screams of young dancers locked in the closet. Jordan is kind of amazing? He shows the dancers one more combination which ends with a forward flip ending in a sitting position. Ginny half-asses her and does a somersault thing to end up in the ending position. It's pretty funny.

And, we're at the roller derby. Lots of girls roughing each other up on the rink. Melanie is watching wide-eyed from the side. The leader goes over to her. She has been watching for two days. Does she want to try it? Sure, she says. Later, she meets her dad for dinner. He has a lot of college materials for her to peruse, but she's not interested. Ginny and her mother show up and Mel's dad says that her mom has a cold and couldn't make it, which appears to be a lie. Maybe she just doesn't like to hang out with Ginny's mom. Understandable. She apparently wouldn't let the valet dudes park her car and she asks the waiter for a drink called a "Gay Marine." Ginny reminds her that it's a Chinese restaurant, so she's just gonna have some white wine. Claire gets on the subject of Ginny's dad getting remarried. Apparently, Melanie and family are going. Claire finally gives her keys to the valet guys. Ginny shows Melanie her bridesmaid dress, which is lame because Faye Mendelsohn doesn't like Ginny's boobs. Mel apologizes for being unavailable (though she doesn't mention roller derby) and Ginny waters down her mother's wine.