Backups & Breakups

"Trish's Boo has another Boo? Boooooo!"

- Ally Dawson.

"Backups & Breakups" is the second episode in Season 2 of Austin & Ally, and the 21st episode overall. It first aired on Disney Channel in the United States on October 14, 2012. This episode received a total of 3.7 million viewers on its premiere night.

Overview
Trish's new boyfriend, Trent, auditions for a role as Austin's backup dancer. At the same time, Trish decides to keep their relationship a secret so as not to influence Team Austin's decision. However, when Ally sees Trent flirting with another girl, she has to decide whether or not to tell Trish.

Episode Summary
Team Austin has found a new restaurant to eat at within the Mall of Miami, specifically Mini's, a restaurant that sells tiny food. During their lunch, Austin decides to carry out a promotional stunt using backup dancers in a flash mob for his website. They dance to an instrumental version of "Illusion", and one of them stands on an ice cream cart that suddenly starts rolling toward Mini's crashing into it and injuring the dancer, thus forcing Austin to seek a replacement.

The next day at Marino High School, Austin and Ally saw Trish and Dez giggling with each other, but suddenly stops when they inquire about their laughter. A teacher named Mr. Conley approaches them with a flier seeking auditions for the dance, and tries to audition himself. The dance auditions contain the good, the bad, and the weird, yet Ally applauds them all and seems to think that each and every one of them deserves the job. One dancer named Trent truly stands out, and for some reason Trish is determined to make sure he gets the job. After the audition, Trish runs off to the movies and drags Dez with her. Ally begins to suspect that the boy Trish is dating is actually Dez, an assumption that Austin originally blows off, until the scene is cut the two of them spying on Trish and Dez hugging each other.

The two assess the situation with a shared montage of romantic fantasies about Trish and Dez with each other, and both seem repulsed by the idea. They agree that the idea of their two best friends dating would be too weird to handle, almost as weird as the idea of being a couple themselves. Nevertheless Ally wants to find out if they're dating but tries to be subtle about it. Ally gives up being subtle and comes right out and accuses them of dating each other, a though that repulses both of them. Dez admits that he secretly watches romantic movies, while Trish reveals that she has been dating Trent.

Ally is gushing over Trish's love-life, much to the chagrin of her best friend. Trish reveals that Trent gave her a charm bracelet that reads "Trent's Boo." As she runs off to get fired from the nail salon, Ally notices Trent with Becky, who turns out to be his real girlfriend. She hides behind a surfboard on display at the "Everything's Beachy" surf and bike rental shop and spies on them. She finds that Trent is using Trish to get the audition and not only promises to break up with her, but gave his girlfriend the exact same charm bracelet as they walk off.

Ally has a video chat with her mother Penny, who is on a research trip somewhere in the jungles of Africa, and as it turns out shares many of Ally's characteristics and catch phrases. Penny named two baby gorillas after both her and Trish. Ally reveals that Trish has a boyfriend, and seeks advice from her on how to handle his mistreatment of her. Penny urges her daughter to tell Trish what she knows.

Back at Marino High, Ally reveals Trent's infidelity, which she first takes offense to, but quickly realizes that she'd never do anything to hurt her feelings and faces the fact that it's true. Later on, the rest of the team finds out about Trent. All members of Team Austin confront Trent over his unfaithfulness towards Trish, but he tries to talk Trish out of breaking up with him. Austin fires him on the spot, but he accuses him of being afraid he'll be exposed as the better dancer. Trent challenges Austin to a dance-off, which he originally turns down, until he calls him a coward. Trish encourages him to go through with the challenge. Austin defeats him and at Sonic Boom, Dez boast about posting the video of the dance off on Austin's website. Ally is still lamenting over Trish's heartbreak until she walks in with another dancer as her new boyfriend. The team celebrates their victory with a chocolate cake from Mini's that Austin wolfs down before she can even cut it.

Song Featured

 * Can't Do It Without You (theme song)
 * Illusion (instrumental version)

Main cast

 * Ross Lynch as Austin Moon
 * Laura Marano as Ally Dawson
 * Raini Rodriguez as Trish De La Rosa
 * Calum Worthy as Dez

Guest cast

 * Julia Campbell as Penny Dawson
 * Trevor Jackson as Trent
 * Mike McCafferty as Mr. Conley
 * Jaida-Iman Benjamin as Becky
 * Minor Terazza as Roger

Trivia

 * The episode title refers to Trent becoming a backup dancer to Austin.
 * This marks the first appearance of Trent.
 * The teacher Mr. Conley's last name is the same as the writer Wayne Conley who wrote the episodes Managers & Meatballs, Soups & Stars, and the Austin & Jessie & Ally: All Star New Year crossover event.
 * This marks the first appearance of Ally's mom.
 * As of this episode, everyone's mom and dad has been seen but Dez's.
 * Trish breaks up with Trent.
 * Trish starts dating Roger, but it is unknown if she is still dating him.
 * The song that Austin and Trent had their dance off to, was "You Ain't Fresher Than Me", which was composed by Michael Boddy and Myles Dhillon.

Goofs

 * It is a rule in Sonic Boom that eating in the store is not allowed but in the end of the episode, Austin, Ally, Trish, and Dez eat in the store with no problem.
 * Trish and Ally call Trent Trish's boo. However, a boyfriend is a beau. A girlfriend is a boo.