After a rocky first day in a new school and city, Victor slowly begins to find his niche at Creekwood. He begins to open up a little more to the idea of dating Mia, though he’s still uncertain. We also get more insight into the lives of some of the other characters. Read on to find out what happens in “Stoplight Party.”
The episode opens with Victor dreaming that he and Benji are at the carnival riding the Ferris wheel together. Except instead of it being the happy moment Victor wants, everyone in his class and his family are booing, reflecting the anxiety Victor feels about what he thinks may happen if he comes out. When he wakes up, he joins his family for breakfast, Pilar stressing out about her boyfriend, Eric. Victor announces that he needs $500 for basketball team dues. His father responds that he should get a job, but his mother doesn’t entirely agree, sparking a small tiff between the two.
Before school, Felix and Victor head to the local coffee shop. Felix tells Victor he made Creek Secrets again, but this time the post is about him and Mia at the carnival together. Felix is visibly excited about Victor’s new status, but Victor doesn’t see the big deal just yet. While they’re ordering, Victor notices the shop is hiring and takes an application.
At Mia’s house, Lake comes in, suggesting that Mia throw a party while her dad is away on business. Mia hesitates, but Lake takes the opportunity to tell her she could invite Victor, noting she knows that Mia likes him. Mia tells her it’s because he wasn’t focused on talking about himself or doing anything “guys usually do.”
Felix and Victor arrive at school, Felix bringing up how Victor’s new status with Mia could help him get an in with Lake. Victor, however, still doesn’t understand why Felix keeps talking about it. When they walk into school, however, Victor immediately notices the shift in attitude towards him. In a voiceover message to Simon, Victor mentions he asked Mia to ride the Ferris wheel with him because he wanted to fit in, and she definitely helped with that.
During lunch, Victor and Felix join Pilar, who’s still panicking about Eric and her friend Giselle spending time together. Mia and Lake head towards their table. Lake brings up the party, telling Victor and Felix it will be a stoplight party – wear red to show you’re taken, yellow to show you’re interested in somebody at the party, and green to show you’re single and ready to mingle. Felix tells Victor he has to wear yellow. Meanwhile, Lake and Mia run into Andrew and invite him, too.
The next scene is undoubtedly one of the best scenes this season. Victor returns to the coffee shop to turn in his application and finds Benji, who happens to be an assistant manager, behind the counter. Benji tries to show Victor how easy it is to make a drink, but Victor’s focus isn’t the coffee. Most of the way through “learning,” the two have a milk mishap and Victor leaves in a panic.
The kids start getting ready for the party. Felix and Victor are in full yellow garb, heralding in a peak dad joke when Victor’s father sees them and says, “You two look like a couple of bananas getting ready to split.” (And yes, I will laugh at this every time.) Just before they leave, Mia’s name comes up, causing Victor’s dad to get excited about the prospect of Victor having a girlfriend. Meanwhile, Lake and Mia are at Mia’s, donning their colors: Lake in red (because it’s more effective, supposedly), and Mia wearing a black dress, despite Lake telling her she has to wear yellow, pushing her to be more vulnerable and open.
Almost immediately after arriving at the party, Andrew and the rest of the basketball team drag Victor outside sans Felix, who tries (and fails) to make a move on Lake. Andrew questions why Victor is wearing yellow instead of green. He offers his jacket to Victor, saying, “I need to exercise my second amendment anyhow. That would be the right to *bare* arms.” (Catch me laughing about this for days.) Following them a couple minutes later is Mia, who’s put a yellow sweater on over her dress. When she sees Victor now wearing green, she’s disappointed. Andrew sees her as she’s walking away, watching.
Back at the Salazar household, Pilar calls Eric, sad that he isn’t answering. In the other room, Armando and Isabel talk, seemingly in good spirits until Isabel asks if Armando talked to Pilar and he gets defensive. Isabel decides to check on Pilar, catching her taking risqué photos of herself for Eric (which she doesn’t send). Isabel decides not to punish her, instead telling Pilar that if Eric loves her for who she is, she doesn’t need to do anything else. Later that night, Eric breaks up with Pilar, who turns to Isabel, feeling discouraged.
Later at the party, a very drunk Felix, venting about Lake, finds Victor still hanging with the basketball team. Victor receives Simon’s latest message telling him that if Victor really wants to ride the Ferris wheel with Mia, it’s because he wants to and to make sure he stays true to himself, which begins to lead to some doubt on Victor’s end. When he returns, he catches the team drawing on Felix’s face. He stops them and helps walk Felix to a bathroom (that happens to be in Mia’s room) to wash off the sharpie.
Victor tries to clean off Felix’s face, only getting a few moments before Felix decides to lie on the floor instead. While he rests, Mia tells Victor a little more about her family: how her mom left, her dad is always away for work, and she misses the small apartment she used to call home. Victor reciprocates, admitting he’s scared of not fitting in because he doesn’t really know who he is yet. Felix asks for a blanket. Victor tosses the hoodie on him, revealing the yellow shirt, which makes Mia happy.
The boys finally make it back to their building. Armando asks Victor about the party and Mia. Victor, still not entirely certain about his feelings for her, asks Armando how he knew his mother was the one. Later, Victor tells Simon he likes Mia because he feels connected to her, though this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s in a romantic way. Then, Benji calls Victor to tell him that he got the job at the coffee shop.
Love, Victor is now streaming on Hulu.
