This week’s episode of Everything’s Gonna Be Okay puts the many characters in the series together in the same house, at the same time, with some hilarious results. We get to spend extended time with Nicholas’ off-kilter mother, which provides most of the episode’s comedy, but we also get more Tellulah and Barb, a dynamic I love. We also get some heartfelt sister moments with Genevieve and Matilda, as Matilda waits to hear some potentially life-changing news. Read on to see what happened this week in “Blue Death-Feigning Beetles.”
The episode opens with Nicholas on the phone with his mother Penny, who has just had an operation and is in the hospital. He’s hurt she didn’t tell him about the surgery ahead of time, and she says she didn’t tell him because he’s in the U.S. and couldn’t do anything. He’s sorting through a box of electronics and manages to connect his mother to the TV so they can video chat. In his mother’s over-dramatic fashion, she insists Matilda and Genevieve don’t need to witness “the end times” (now we know where Nicholas gets his sense of humor from). Nicholas quips “it’s either nothing or it’s stage 4 cancer. You’d behave the same either way.” It seems Penny is jealous that Nicholas is with his siblings instead of her.
Nicholas notes that someone brought her flowers, and she says they’re from Malcolm, an “ex-boyfriend” who is under the impression they’re still dating (perhaps because they’re still having sex). Nicholas is saved from this awkward conversation as the girls and their friends arrive home. Drea brings her service dog Luke, who Nicholas takes an immediate liking to.
With very, very wet kisses. #EverythingsGonnaBeOkay pic.twitter.com/cyNFTa4JUC
— Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (@EverythingsOkTV) February 21, 2020
In the living room, Tellulah and Barb see Penny on the screen. Penny proceeds to insult poor Barb while questioning the need for Drea’s service dog (“You know what we got for anxiety? NOTHING”). Matilda requests quiet. She is stressed because of a secret only Drea knows, and Penny once again pipes up to tell her that no one cares. She says the girls are lucky to have Nicholas with them, which makes the situation more awkward.
All the better for Sapphire to hide in. #EverythingsGonnaBeOkay pic.twitter.com/MFzRv09Xr0
— Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (@EverythingsOkTV) February 21, 2020
Nicholas sits down and realizes one of his beetles, Sapphire, is lost. In the midst of the chaos as they search for the beetle, Alex arrives. Nicholas literally forces Alex into a closet to discuss the situation. Alex says he wants to talk about what happened in Mexico, but in typical Nicholas fashion he deflects, telling Alex he’s about to meet his mom. In the living room, Drea is reading Barb’s palm and tells her she won’t have any children as Nicholas rushes back in with Alex. He shoves Alex in front of the camera so his mom can see him.
Now this is getting intimate. #EverythingsGonnaBeOkay pic.twitter.com/2bKtHqNaqI
— Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (@EverythingsOkTV) February 21, 2020
Penny, cringeworthy as usual, says she’s fascinated by the fact that one of them is rich and tall while the other is short and young. Tellulah, watching it all from the couch, says she’s “not leaving here ever” when Genevieve attempts to get them to leave. Alex, defending himself, says that he has a bigger penis, which gets a laugh out of Penny.
Nicholas gets a call from Linda, Barb’s mother. She’s frantic because she doesn’t know where Barb is. They had a big fight and Barb left. As they talk, Nicholas watches through a window as Barb and Tellulah have a slapping contest. Nicholas covers for Barb, telling Linda that he hasn’t seen her but that the girls haven’t come home yet so she might be with them. Linda seems relieved to hear this.
Nicholas comes back inside and admonishes everyone for not looking for Sapphire. He pulls Barb aside and tells her he doesn’t want to know what happened, but that she needs to call her mother. Matilda continues to frantically refresh the computer and waves her fingers at it as if to conjure what she’s looking for. She finally admits to Nicholas that she’s waiting to hear from Julliard and will know by midnight if she got in. Nicholas is excited, but then Genevieve asks to speak to him alone.
Not a big momentous life moment or anything. #EverythingsGonnaBeOkay pic.twitter.com/iuukSSxSdY
— Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (@EverythingsOkTV) February 21, 2020
Genevieve thinks Matilda won’t get into Julliard and is worried that Matilda will have a meltdown in front of all the guests when she is rejected. She suggests that when the time comes, she will distract all the girls so they won’t see. Nicholas notes that she could be wrong and Matilda could beat the odds and eventually give a TED Talk about this moment, but Genevieve just rolls her eyes as she leaves.
Later that night, Matilda is still sitting in front of the computer as Alex and Penny chat. They seem to be getting along well as Penny discloses that Nicholas had to have hair transplants as a child and Alex laughs. In Genevieve’s room, the girls are playing with praying mantises as Barb discusses what happened with her mom. Barb stole a “teddy” from a department store to get revenge on her mother’s behalf after a clerk said something rude to her. Linda wasn’t amused and wants Barb to return it. Tellulah chimes in, saying that it’s ridiculous to believe that this was some sort of vigilante justice and that Barb stole it for herself. Genevieve asks what a teddy is, and Tellulah tells her it’s sexy lingerie. Tellulah ruefully says that Linda “needs a lover … or a horse” to which a horrified Barb replies, “she has my dad!” Tellulah, ever a font of horrible ideas, says they need to give Linda a real problem and catfish her. Then, Linda will be too distracted by her new lover to bother Barb. Barb is disgusted and Genevieve is stunned.
Genevieve knows a losing battle when she sees one. #EverythingsGonnaBeOkay pic.twitter.com/ZL3qMVGrN8
— Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (@EverythingsOkTV) February 21, 2020
Drea is reading Nicholas’ palm, and she informs him he will have a “torrid affair,” which saddens Nicholas as he hoped to have more than one. Matilda, meanwhile, is falling asleep at her computer waiting for news. Tellulah starts a fake profile, much to Barb’s chagrin. She looks to Genevieve for help in stopping Tellulah, and Genevieve simply responds, “I think we both know I can’t stop this train.” Tellulah asks Barb for her mother’s interests, and Barb reveals Linda loves wine, going to Cabo, and writing secret Harry Potter fanfiction. Barb further reveals that it’s actually erotica, which she discovered when she was 10. She glumly says, “it’s not been an easy life,” as Tellulah’s phone chimes, indicating a message from Linda on the fake profile they set up.
So many things ruined at such a young age. #EverythingsGonnaBeOkay pic.twitter.com/FpV79JzxnL
— Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (@EverythingsOkTV) February 21, 2020
Alex and Penny continue their newfound friendship as they discuss Nicholas’ dad. Penny says Nicholas is a less symmetrical version of him, which Nicholas takes offense to. The girls get even deeper involved with Linda, and it’s revealed she dresses up like Draco Malfoy at conventions (Genevieve: “I am this close to loving Linda”). Nicholas hears their laughter and decides to check in on them, since he is bored downstairs with Matilda and Alex. When he sees the look on their faces, he immediately knows something is up. Barb cracks immediately, telling Nicholas they are catfishing her mother. Nicholas, clearly amused but trying to play the role of an angry parent, tells them they’ve lost “bedroom privileges” and must join them downstairs. Nicholas also asks his mom to yell at the girls for him since he clearly isn’t good at it.
Confessing in less than 5 seconds, that’s our Barb! #EverythingsGonnaBeOkay pic.twitter.com/rhFTxYtV8x
— Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (@EverythingsOkTV) February 21, 2020
Penny tells the girls about her experience being catfished and says they did the worst thing someone can do to a middle-aged woman: give her hope. She graphically describes the punishment Barb deserves as Alex watches while eating chips, glued to the drama. Matilda, meanwhile, has not been following any of this as she is still waiting to hear from Julliard. Alex turns to Nicholas and tells him this has all helped him understand why Nicholas is the way he is.
And why Nicholas’ go-to punishment is embarrassment. #EverythingsGonnaBeOkay pic.twitter.com/4I3xF3R0zu
— Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (@EverythingsOkTV) February 21, 2020
Nicholas joins Alex on his bed, and they kiss. They start to have sex but stop immediately as Genevieve enters, wanting to talk to Nicholas. Genevieve confesses that Matilda finally fell asleep and she checked her messages: Matilda got into Julliard. Nicholas is overjoyed, but Genevieve is not. She says Matilda has only been to a city twice in her life and can’t take the bus alone. She worries that Matilda won’t be able to handle it and wants to lie and tell her she didn’t get in. She’s clearly scared of her sister getting hurt (and maybe a little scared of losing her). Nicholas tells Genevieve that so many people have said “no” to Matilda in her life and that she always manages to prove them wrong. He refuses to be one of the many people who doubt her. They owe it to Matilda to give her a shot, and if she fails, at least she’ll have them to fall back on.
Matilda’s siblings hear every day how much her hard work pays off.
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Stream last night’s episode of #EverythingsGonnaBeOkay now on https://t.co/mhJ6cBY0FD, On Demand, and @hulu. pic.twitter.com/A0C6TsXvA7— Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (@EverythingsOkTV) February 21, 2020
Tellulah and Penny are talking in the living room, and Penny reveals she can’t have more children. Tellulah, usually so quick to play the role of the mature and all-knowing friend, seems childlike hearing Penny’s adult problems. Nicholas re-enters and notes Matilda and Drea spooning on the couch. He asks Tellulah and Genevieve if this is a normal teenage girl thing. They respond that it’s not. Nicholas ends the call with his mother, and we see her alone in her hospital room. Genevieve and Nicholas note that this dynamic between Drea and Matilda is new. Nicholas jokingly asks their dog Larry if he ate Sapphire. In an adorable epilogue, Matilda rehearses her future awards speech in the mirror, highlighting the adversity she has overcome in a “humble” way.
Everything’s Gonna Be Okay airs Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on Freeform, with earlier episodes available on Hulu.
