‘Hart of Dixie’ season 4, episode 4 review: The great Shelby mystery; Zoe and Wade’s admission

Tonight’s new episode of “Hart of Dixie” was a mystery by and large, mostly because the story set up at the start of it was a mystery: Who caused Shelby to have an allergic reaction to red dye #40? This mystery was at the center of everything, as we saw the past, present, and future of a talent performance that featured her.

At the end of the day, though, the important thing to remember here is that it really didn’t matter who poisoned her. That wasn’t really the point of this episode. Instead, there were two major events that came out of this: Shelby eventually using her prize money to fund Fancie’s, and then Zoe and Wade eventually deciding that they were going to make their relationship public. No more hiding!

This episode was more of a foundation to a variety of different stories coming up. That scene with Lemon and Lavon near the end? Not an easy one to watch, but probably an important one to the future of the series. This is what we feel about a good percentage of what we saw tonight. Zoe and Wade being out in the open means more hijinks with the town, just like Fancie’s being open means that Lemon’s endgame can be tied in part squarely to the restaurant.

After so many years of troubles and trying to find themselves, are the residents of BlueBell starting to grow up? At this moment, this is what it feels like. Grade: B.

What did you think about this “Hart of Dixie” episode, and the strong mystery component at the middle of it? Share with a comment, and head over here to preview the next installment of the show. Also, you can sign up right now if you want to get some other TV updates on everything we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: The CW.)