There are a lot of things going on here. First of all a group of circus people infiltrate the town when their bus breaks down. The have various roles in things but nothing huge. One of them, a man who apparently can fly (we never see this) falls for Marilyn and actually asks her to go with him once the bus is fixed. Plot number two is Holling's insensitivity in pointing out that Shelly has big feet. She knows this is true but can't believe he said that. Maggie seizes the opportunity to start an anti-male campaign and look after Shelly. It's understandable considering her track record. Joel goes inward, realizing that he needs to make use of the time he has to hone his craft and learn more and more medicine. These are all there, but I never quite get a feeling of any continuity. One could just read about their Schrodinger.