This week, Nicholas is forced to confront the tension between Alex and Genevieve as Matilda ponders the best way to capture Luke’s attention. It’s a funny episode that shows that while the jokes on this series can be cutting and sarcastic, there’s a great deal of kindness in this world towards its characters. I’ve said before that Everything’s Gonna Be Okay is a potential replacement for Schitt’s Creek, and this ability to balance being hilarious and heartfelt is a major reason why.
Truthfully, this doesn’t really come as a shock. The man can barely ride a bike. #EverythingsGonnaBeOkay pic.twitter.com/Z7BUjDgbWr
— Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (@EverythingsOkTV) January 31, 2020
The episode opens with Alex teaching Nicholas how to drive. Nicholas is terrible, and the two bicker as Nicholas comes close to killing them both. When Nicholas jokingly says, “Don’t hate me, love me,” Alex blurts out, “I love you.” The car descends into awkward silence. But then Nicholas tells Alex he also loves him, even though this isn’t really the best time to express it. He’s smiling, and Alex’s stammering reaction is sweet.
Permission granted. #EverythingsGonnaBeOkay pic.twitter.com/8oG6LzJWpw
— Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (@EverythingsOkTV) January 31, 2020
Back at the house that night, Genevieve and Matilda offer Nicholas relationship advice. Matilda wants to know what it felt like to say “I love you” while Genevieve darkly notes that saying “I love you” just creates one more person who wants something from you. Matilda wants to bake Luke a cake to express her affection, and both Genevieve and Nicholas warn her this is likely a bad idea. Nicholas asks the girls their opinion of Alex, and it seems Genevieve is less than impressed.
Winning isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be. #EverythingsGonnaBeOkay pic.twitter.com/Dt3yEByBew
— Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (@EverythingsOkTV) January 31, 2020
Nicholas, Alex, and Genevieve go to a bingo night hosted by drag queens. Alex is trying to bond with Genevieve, who isn’t having it. She gets up to use the restroom, and Alex tries to engage Nicholas and talk about Genevieve. Nicholas is too obsessed with marking off his and Genevieve’s bingo cards to notice. When Genevieve returns, she gets bingo, which is incredibly embarrassing for her. She slowly makes her way to the stage and collects her prize. When she returns, she asks to leave.
She likes us … right? #EverythingsGonnaBeOkay pic.twitter.com/sZAXWtlYlk
— Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (@EverythingsOkTV) January 31, 2020
The tension between Genevieve and Alex is palpable as he goes to get the car. Genevieve tells Nicholas that she is who she is, and trying to force her to bond with Alex isn’t going to help. That night, she goes to Nicholas and apologizes for “the version of Genevieve who came with us to bingo today”. She’s not sure why she was so angry. But it comes out that she just doesn’t like Alex.
We don’t like to think about Nicholas’ childhood for too long. It scares us. #EverythingsGonnaBeOkay pic.twitter.com/bXQZLEymIq
— Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (@EverythingsOkTV) January 31, 2020
Nicholas wonders if he can keep dating Alex as he calls his mother for advice. His mother, who is hilarious, brings it all back to a relationship she had. She once dated a lawyer whose daughter hated her, and she ignored it because she didn’t want to let her win. Nicholas thinks he has to dump Alex and find someone else, but his mother deadpans, “You’re not going to find someone else. I’m quite serious.” Nicholas is left more confused than before.
It’s not our decision, take it up with Genevieve. #EverythingsGonnaBeOkay pic.twitter.com/5zxkRuJczP
— Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (@EverythingsOkTV) January 31, 2020
He gets back to the house where Alex is sorting their laundry. He tells Alex that Genevieve hates him, and when Alex asks why Nicholas is telling him this, Nicholas says he thinks they need to break up. Alex accuses Nicholas of using Genevieve as an excuse when Nicholas just doesn’t like him. Nicholas takes Alex aside and tells him that when he was in high school, there were no “out” boys for him to have a crush on. So he built up a fantasy boy in his head, imagining what his first love would be like. Alex is exactly what he imagined, and this is painful for him to do. Alex doesn’t leave, and they have sex.
Genevieve and Nicholas lie on the couch wearing face masks. She says she can feel his sadness and his worry that he’ll end up alone. Matilda interrupts, showing them that a different girl baked Luke cupcakes and now he’s kissed her on Instagram. She says they give terrible advice.
Matilda and Genevieve talk about the situation with Alex. Genevieve feels badly that Nicholas broke up with Alex because of her, and Matilda tells her that she should never have said anything. She spirals, worried that if Nicholas stops liking them he will leave. Genevieve tells Matilda to do her breathing exercises as she sadly watches.
No disagreement here! #EverythingsGonnaBeOkay pic.twitter.com/Npt763RjFm
— Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (@EverythingsOkTV) January 31, 2020
Matilda calls Nicholas to the piano, where she sweetly tells him his presence is requested in the master “ba-door” (she means boudoir, and Nicholas’ attempts to correct her do not work). The girls have redecorated the bedroom to create a sanctuary for him. Previously, it was left the way their father had it before he died, and the three had been sleeping in the room together. But now, it’s covered in glitter and photos of hot shirtless guys. Nicholas is touched, and while Genevieve tries to downplay the effort it took, Matilda happily tells Nicholas exactly how long each item took to make.
You heated glue and used a printer, it’s definitely a big deal. #EverythingsGonnaBeOkay pic.twitter.com/OwVjtYElFy
— Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (@EverythingsOkTV) January 31, 2020
As they leave, Genevieve apologizes about how “gay” the room is; it made Matilda happy so she went along with it. The main point is that the room is his now, and it seems this is her way of making things right.
Alex and Nicholas meet for drinks, and Alex tells Nicholas about a bad date he went on during their breakup. Nicholas is distracted and clearly not invested in the story. When he returns home, Nicholas tells Genevieve that he’s not sure he likes Alex anymore; he can’t unhear her criticisms of him. She tells him to stop being erratic and get back out there, which he does.
This is the beginning and end of Genevieve’s cheerleading career. #EverythingsGonnaBeOkay pic.twitter.com/FNIBtVj6MG
— Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (@EverythingsOkTV) January 31, 2020
They all go to bed in their separate rooms, with Alex sleeping in the master bedroom with Nicholas. In an epilogue, Genevieve tells Larry the dog her poem about his birth.
Everything’s Gonna Be Okay airs Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on Freeform and is available to stream on Hulu.
