Bless the Harts season 2, episode 1 recap – “Violet’s Secret”

By Jonathon Wilson
Published: October 21, 2020 (Last updated: December 31, 2023)
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Bless the Harts season 2, episode 1 recap - "Violet's Secret"
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Summary

Jenny and Betty try to figure out “Violet’s Secret” while Wayne deals with a legal issue in the Season 2 premiere.

This recap of Bless the Harts season 2, episode 1, “Violet’s Secret”, contains spoilers.


Bless the Harts returns in its second season premiere with a classic setup: Is Violet going the way of most teenagers and growing up much too fast? Worse still, is she about to make the same mistakes that her mother and grandmother did when they were her age? This is all central to “Violet’s Secret”, which begins with Jenny and Betty finding Violet’s room barricaded and only continue to worry from there.

The point of this plot is obvious — it’s a good excuse both to develop Violet and to delve a little into the backstories of the older Hart women, who’re treated to frequent silly flashbacks detailing their various exploits as teenagers. It’s also a good opportunity for gags, both at the expense of the lengths they’re willing to go to — spying on Violet, tailing her while wearing “crazy astronaut diapers”, hitchhiking — and the stuff they got up to back in the day. The emotional hook is a relatable one; none of us, after all, want our kids to grow up too quickly, and we certainly don’t want them to repeat our bad decisions. The question is, can we stop them?

Of course, the conclusion offered up by “Violet’s Secret” is that interfering can do more harm than good. After that ill-fated ride with a trucker who they mistake for a junkie when he stops to take his insulin, Jenny and Betty are able to track Violet to what they believe is a cult; an assumption only emboldened when Jenny receives a voicemail from Violet in which she can hear a man’s voice in the background and talk of a baby. When they eventually channel their momma energy to intervene — the episode’s running gag of Betty trying to break down doors by throwing Jenny into them gets a payoff here — they discover she’s simply working part-time for a photography company, and they’re doing a shoot for a family whose baby has just been Christened.

This doesn’t go down well with Violet, who later explains to Jenny that she just wanted something of her own after a lifetime of having to share everything. It’s a relatable concern. Violet puts her own overprotective point of view across, and both learn a little more about each other. They end up watching 90 Day Beyonce together — ironically, of course.

The B-plot of “Violet’s Secret” concerns Wayne being sued by neighbor Bobbie Nell (Fortune Feimster) for emotional distress caused to her and her parakeet, Anita, by his roof repairs. With the help of Brenda and episodes of Matlock, Wayne prepares to defend himself in court before a guest-starring Natasha Lyonne as presiding judge Debbie Donatello. During the case, Bobbie tries to demonstrate how Anita responds to a nailgun and the bird fatally flies into an air conditioning fan. Oops. As it turns out, though, the bird was “riddled with tumors” anyway after a lifetime spent sleeping on Bobbie’s phone. After all the commotion, Debbie dismisses the case: “This hokey small-town crap is beautiful.” That might not be entirely accurate, but it’s close enough.


Thanks for reading our recap of Bless the Harts season 2, episode 1, “Violet’s Secret”.

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