When Priya arrives, Bela is upset that she is a lot cooler than she used to be. Regardless, she incessantly reminisces about all the embarrassing things Priya did when they were younger. When Priya gets an invite to a party, Bela lies about already having plans to host a floor party at their dorm. While Priya is at a Pre-Frosh event, Bela enlists the others to help her plan an impromptu party. She desperately wants to impress her friend. Priya used to look up to her, and she doesn’t want to lose that. Leighton’s dad comes to visit campus, so Leighton decides she’s going to come out to him. But she changes her mind when he talks about what a hard time he’s going through. They later run into one of her dad’s old friends, who happens to be Tatum’s father. Before they all get dinner together, Leighton apologizes to Tatum about not being out, especially as Alicia used to really hate that. Tatum insists it’s fine. “There’s no timeline on coming out.” At dinner, Leighton’s dad compliments Tatum and her father about how nice it is that they can talk about Tatum’s dating life. Leighton takes this opportunity to come out to him, and he excuses himself from the table. When Leighton follows him, he apologizes. He just feels awful that he wasn’t a good enough parent to notice what was going on with her. But he’s proud of her–and he sees how happy she is with Tatum. After having sex with Andrew, Whitney insists it was a one-time thing. That promise only holds until she next sees him in the lab. Willow and Jayla get on to her and tell her to stop being alone with him. So Whitney tries to start studying with him in public, but they only end up having sex in the library–where Canaan runs into them. At Sips, Canaan and Lila tease Kimberly for being shallow about the guys she dates. Kimberly insists she’s not shallow. And she’s going to find out something she and Jackson have in common–but her efforts prove fruitless. Bela throws her party, but Priya blows her off for another event. When confronts her, Priya says she wanted to be around people who didn’t make her feel like the loser she used to be. She wants to feel good about herself and reinvent herself. Bela apologizes. She’s just worried her friend is going to leave her behind, but Priya insists she still looks up to her. Bela is the reason she’s coming to Essex. Canaan teases Whitney at Bela’s party about her new guy (she continues to insist it’s just casual). And Kimberly talks to Jackson about not having much in common. Jackson says it shouldn’t matter; differences can be good in a relationship. By the end of their conversation, they establish that they’re officially dating. The episode ends with Leighton and Tatum ditching the party to have sex–during which Leighton gets a text from her ex. Alicia has been thinking about her and wants to meet up.
The Episode Review
There’s a lot of reliance on contrived coincidences here. And not only that, the show recycles a trope it just used in the previous episode–making up a party and then rushing to make one actually happen. It’s interesting, at least, how Eric’s accusation against Bela comes back around in this episode. She does too-desperately need people to like her. Her relationship with Priya shows that. I’ve been wondering about Alicia’s absence from season 2. Whether her message brings her permanently back into Leighton’s life, we’ll find out. But a lot in their relationship went unresolved. They certainly weren’t right for each other in the past, but maybe that’s changed. Will a meeting between them offer closure? Or new beginnings?
