Leighton introduces Tatum to everyone at the fundraiser, but Tatum looks out of her element at the themed party. She tries to push Leighton into leaving early, but Leighton really wants to support her friends. When Tatum continues to insult the women’s center, Leighton calls her out for being an asshole. She tells Tatum that dating her has made her realize that the things they have in common are actually what she wants to change about herself. Tatum then leaves the party, and Leighton stays behind with Alicia. Meanwhile, Bela curates everything The Foxy needs for its featured write-up in The Essex View. The guy writing their profile stops by to ask all of Bela’s writers about the magazine, and Bela passionately goes on about their mission. Later, the writer asks Bela to look at the profile he wrote for The Foxy, and she notes that it looks more like a profile on her than on the magazine. He tells her she simply had the funniest and most passionate quotes. Though feeling conflicted, she eventually agrees to keep the profile as it is. Andrew and Whitney go out to a restaurant for the first time, but Andrew has trouble relaxing and conversing. After the date, Whitney tells the suitemates about how awkward the entire night felt. Whitney wants to go back to just having casual sex, but Andrew wants to go on another date. Whitney tries to distract him with a game of basketball, and they show their true chemistry while playing a game. They sleep together afterwards, and their intimacy with each other makes Whitney uncomfortable. Kimberly gets excited about a school newspaper article featuring Canaan, who is being honored by the Economics Department with the Young Entrepreneur Award. Kimberly persuades him to go to the Econ Department’s annual banquet, and Canaan asks her to come with him. At the banquet, Kimberly learns a lot she didn’t know about Canaan. Not only did he finish top of his class, but he also founded a startup to offset the cost of Alzheimer’s treatments, something his mother struggles with. When Canaan drops Kimberly off at her dorm, they hug and part ways. Kimberly then makes her way to Jackson’s to tell him she wants to break up.
The Episode Review
I have to say, Leighton’s and Tatum’s falling out is not what I expected, and it’s a sharp, awkward turn from her happiness in the last episode. If you can overlook that, I think this turn of events is a promising change in Leighton’s character development. Her renewed interest in the women’s center (And Alicia, maybe?) is a step forward in rejecting what’s “cool” in favor of what matters to her–even if it’s “cheesy.” As for Kimberly, that’s another interesting development! It’s not really clear whether Kimberly has feelings for Canaan or if she simply realized she wants someone with similar interests and goals as her. We did see in the last episode Jackson being fine with their differences–but because of what she offered him (with no mention of what he offered her).
