Senator Chase agrees to help Kimberly and Canaan protest in front of the dining hall, but he can’t get any students to boycott the campus eateries. Even Jackson walks right past them. So, Kimberly calls Senator Chase for help. She asks Whitney’s mom to come speak at their rally, and she accepts.
Lila gets back from her work trip and finds that Kimberly has made things difficult for her. Lila can’t stand with Kimberly during the protest, or she’ll get fired from her management position. ..
Senator Chase tells Whitney in her science class that she got her an internship at the National Institutes of Health. But Whitney doesn’t want her mom to get involved. She refuses it, wanting to obtain an internship on her own merit. ..
Kimberly continues to protest against her school’s policies. She even confronts Jackson when he walks out of the dining hall, and he immediately throws away his food in support of her.
President Lacy insists that the administration will not budge on the wages of students, no matter who rallies. However, the rally has an excellent turnout, with even Lila attending and apologizing to Kimberly about her earlier attitude. ..
Senator Chase begins her speech by sharing a video about labor Kimberly found from one of Essex’s founders. Unfortunately, the video turns out to be a fake. The senator is then lambasted on social media for having made a statement that was false.
Senator Chase wants to leave the rally early, but Kimberly convinces her to give her speech and get ahead of all the vitriol coming her way. So the senator speaks to the students, apologizing for her mistake and emphasizing why she’s really here: to stand up for student workers’ rights. In the end, the administration agrees to the union’s demands.
Bela is struggling with her guilt over cheating on Eric with Dan. She gets worse when Eric finds out and breaks up with her in front of her writing staff.
Eric later tells her that this isn’t about her. He says her problem is that she needs everyone to like her. No matter what she has, she has to focus on winning over someone else. ..
Meanwhile, Leighton tries to act like Tatum is cool and pretend she’s invited to an amazing party. She even lies about it.
When Tatum asks to come, Leighton has to scrounge up an invite to a real party. She finds out about a secret party in the art gallery from Jocelyn. When she and Tatum get there, Leighton lies to her about knowing the person who planned it.
It turns out that the person who planned it is a friend of Tatum’s. He wants to know who’s taking credit for his party.
Tatum asks Leighton if she lied to her, and she admits it. Leighton tells her she thinks Tatum is cooler than she is. Tatum insists she shouldn’t worry about that. She’s here with her because she already likes her.
Andrew tells Whitney he asked her mom about the internship she turned down. She tells him that he is opportunistic and that he just knows what he wants, to which he responds by kissing her. ..
The Episode Review
Sherri Shepherd always brings a smile to my face when she appears on the show, but I especially enjoyed the rally drama this episode. Senator Chase’s mistake wasn’t what was important, but rather it was standing up for the rights of student workers. Kimberly and the senator really got to shine through this storyline. ..
Bela and Eric can’t simply continue on as they have. Thankfully, it seems the writers acknowledge that she needs time to herself to acknowledge what made her cheat and to grow. I’m really looking forward to seeing where this arc takes her.
Whitney and Andrew’s pairing was a disappointing choice that exploited a tired trope. I’m more angry about the show’s decision to pair Leighton with Tatum, who are both underdeveloped characters. ..
