This week, Edward and Shay are doing well in school.. Shay wears the orange jacket and finds things Jordan left in the pockets. They find some drawings on receipts from a deli in Central Park and Shay deduces that the mystery girl who gave Edward the shrunken head may have been Jordan’s girlfriend, though as far as Edward knew Jordan didn’t have a girlfriend. The mystery girl continues to remain a puzzle.
Lacey tells the group about Shay, how she and Edward are both twelve years old and how Edward prefers to sleep over at Shay’s house rather than at home. Lacey wants Edward home at night, not understanding he is afraid to sleep alone after sharing a room with Jordan for most of his life.
Amanda and Steve both show up to group. Steve’s fiancée Daphne accompanies him this time, and meets Amanda for the first time. Daphne has no idea Brent was even engaged, and invites Amanda to dinner on Saturday night. Adriana does some interviews for her campaign and the reporter shows an image of Adriana comforting Becks at Akua’s funeral. The reporter points out Adriana and Eric (the Reverend) have a romantic past. Kojo is present for the interview and hears this. He looks surprised as Adriana brushes the question off, saying the past is the past.
Edward’s leg is healing well and becoming stronger. Lacey encourages him to be independent – like mowing the lawn or say… sleeping in his own room. She stresses how important it is for Edward to sleep at home, under the same roof as his family. He tells Shay and she questions why Edward just accepted the decision, but being twelve the two know they can’t argue it. Shay found the address for the receipts in Jordan’s pocket and suggests they go there, but Edward is pretty dead set against it. He asks Shay why she’s so obsessed with his life and she storms off, offended as she was just trying to help.
Dee Dee and Zoe have lunch as Dee Dee has returned from Los Angeles. She has to break the news that money is going to be tight, but tries to delay telling Zoe, who tells Dee Dee she needs to just live her life. Zoe wants to leave school and travel around the world on her own. Dee Dee, of course, has no money for this. Zoe’s whole life has been auditions and schoolwork and she’s had enough, she wants some freedom. Dee Dee tells her to stay in school but Zoe uses Charles against her, saying he would agree that she should be allowed to travel. It seems Zoe is feeling lost since Charles’ death and she wants to go travelling and process her emotions along the way.
Edward manages a night in his own bed, resisting the urge to text Shay goodnight. John comes home from work to find Edward sitting in the kitchen, unable to sleep as he has thoughts of the plane debris still being in the field in Colorado. Like his family is still in the wreckage. John tries to help, telling Edward the crash scene has been cleared from the field and offering to go and take pictures to prove it, to help Edward move on.
Kojo finds Adriana on the roof and brings her a coat. She sighs, having had a big day. She asks if Kojo ever got married and he tells her he did, but it didn’t work out. He brings up the Reverend, but Adriana quickly says that’s over. Kojo tells her she was very impressive in her interviews that morning, but Adriana worries that people only see her as Congresswoman Washington’s daughter. That she didn’t earn the position. She worries about disappointing her grandmother, but Kojo promises her she won’t. The two almost share a kiss, when Adriana’s phone rings… and it’s her ex-boyfriend, the Reverend.
John tells Lacey he’s going to Colorado to take a picture of the field. She thinks he’s crazy, but John says Edward needs this. It’s his way of helping. She doesn’t understand. The two have conflicting opinions on boundaries and parenting, but John points out there’s no playbook for this. They’re doing their best.
Amanda receives Brent’s ring from the crash inventory, remembering their talk at the airport. Brent was struggling with rehab, promising to go to more meetings as she was angry with him. She feels guilt now, wishing she didn’t argue with him on their final interaction.
Shay is still mad at Edward and chooses to walk to school instead of getting a ride with Lacey and Edward. Lacey picks up on the tension, but doesn’t press the issue. Edward asks if Lacey is going into the city today, and if he can go with her. She reminds him he has school and gives her puppy dog eyes. She relents as he points out she did tell him to be more independent.
Kojo opens the door at Adriana’s house to find Eric on the doorstep with a bouquet. It seems seeing Kojo and Adriana together has made him so jealous he’s trying to win her back. Kojo cheekily asks if the bouquet is for him, and tells him Adriana isn’t home. The men both work out where they stand. Eric seems less worried when he realizes Kojo will be going home to Ghana soon, but I have a feeling Kojo might just end up staying.
Amanda and Steve once again meet at group. The two are slowly becoming less guarded with each other, and Amanda suggests a drink rather than going to group. The two talk about Steve and Daphne’s upcoming wedding, and they’re getting along well. They share their different perceptions of Brent and Amanda confesses she’s not doing great. Steve is feeling about the same. She shows him the engagement ring found in the wreckage and tells him she had a fight with Brent the day she dropped him off at the airport and of her regret over the things she said. The two go from hating each other to kissing in the bar and sleeping together.
Lacey drops Edward off in Central Park, as he requested. It turns out he has a remote control boat that he enjoys sailing in the water there. Edward is clearly happier back in the city, but also struggles when it brings back memories of activities he used to do with his family. He takes a photo of the boats and sends it to Shay before going to the address on the receipts and finds the mystery girl. Her name is Mahira, and she is not happy to see Edward. She worries about her Uncle overhearing their conversation and tells Edward to leave. Before he does, she hands him an orange.
Dee Dee attends group and confesses Charles lied to her. He lost his job, all of their money, how he had another life in Los Angeles. Linda sits beside her for support as Dee Dee tells the group they were together since they were seventeen, so she doesn’t know how to piece it all together and grieve while feeling so humiliated and angry. She lost her husband, but she also lost her best friend. She wishes she didn’t know about his other life, all of it.
Adriana thanks Eric for the flowers, and tells him their kiss means nothing. Emotions are high, she felt vulnerable, but it’s 100% not happening. He takes it well and tells her to kick ass that night at her election debate. She does well on stage, though an arrogant real estate developer talks over her and her former co-worker throws her under the bus, stating she has no experience and was just an aide. Adriana says she did answer phones, but she did it damn well. She’s had a front row seat of how to advocate for this district and is passionate about the job. The crowd applauds.
Linda is really proud of Dee Dee and asks how her lunch with Zoe went. She’s scared to go for her ultrasound alone, and asks Dee Dee to come with her for support but Dee Dee says she can’t be her mom. Linda didn’t mean that, but she’s disappointed as she thought their friendship was closer than it really was. But something in Dee Dee changes, as she shows up to the ultrasound appointment.
John goes into a bar in Colorado to ask about the location of the plane crash site. They think he’s a nosy podcaster and refuse to tell him. One guy asks why he wants to go there, and John explains he wants to go for Edward. The man agrees to take him. Getting into an old truck with a guy who’s had a couple of beers might not be the smartest decision, but they make it there. What John didn’t think about was the effect on his own mental health, seeing the crash site. The man and John quietly pray at the site.
Lacey returns to pick Edward up and is pleased to see him keep his promise and show up at the allotted time. He asks if Lacey ever got mad at Jane, and she says she did all the time. Edward is mad at Jordan for keeping secrets from him. Lacey tells him he can love Jordan and be mad at him at the same time. He confessed he likes sharing Shay’s bedroom because he shared with Jordan their entire life, which makes Lacey understand where he is coming from. As they sit in the park, John sends the photos of the empty field, showing Edward the ground has healed. Hopefully it will help Edward heal, too.
When Edward gets home, he goes to Shay’s house to apologize. He explains the boat picture, though it doesn’t mean much to Shay. He tells her he met Mahira, who wrote a note on the orange she gave him. A date and time to meet her the next day. All is forgiven as Edward recounts the story of his meeting with Mahira.
