This episode, Victor and Benji face the music of Isabel walking in on them, and it creates some residual tension. Pilar’s crush on Felix intensifies, and Isabel finally has a real breakthrough. Read on to find out what happened in “The Morning After.”
The episode opens on the flip side of the previous one as Victor and Benji ramp up to have sex, until Isabel walks in. Victor pushes Benji off and yells at Isabel to leave. Victor gets dressed, and Benji tries to tell him it’s okay. Victor goes to Isabel to try and explain, but she refuses to hear it, furious that Victor and Benji were doing “that” while Adrian was in the next room. Benji walks out and wants to know what she means. Isabel says sex, but Benji thinks she means gay sex, telling Victor she wouldn’t be like this if he had been caught with a girl. Adrian comes out and asks why everyone is yelling. Isabel says it’s because Victor isn’t supposed to have friends over, but Benji corrects her and says boyfriend, upsetting Isabel further. She tells Benji to leave. Benji looks to Victor, who also thinks he should go. Isabel walks Adrian back to bed and says they’ll talk in the morning.
The next morning, Victor hears Isabel talking to Armando from his room. He goes to join them, worried it’s an ambush. But Armando wanted to be there for the follow-up with Adrian. Adrian enters, and Isabel asks if he knows what being gay means. He says he does, mentioning his friend’s parents and one very prolific cartoon character.
Adrian: “And SpongeBob. SpongeBob is gay.”
Isabel: “No… he’s a sponge.”
Adrian (disappointed): “Oh, Mom.”
Armando checks if Adrian has questions. Just one: Why was Victor with Mia? Victor says he was still trying to figure things out. Armando adds that sometimes people don’t know what they like until they try it, and Adrian is glad that Victor found out what he likes.
Felix and Pilar are asleep on Felix’s couch. She wakes up first and fixes her hair before waking Felix, letting him know it’s morning. He gets a text and tells Pilar that Dawn wants him to visit. Pilar is happy for him, but Felix is a bit nervous. Pilar reminds him that two days ago, Dawn didn’t want to see him, but now she does and that’s a good sign. Felix considers this, then thanks Pilar for the previous night, saying it was one of the most fun nights he’s had in a long time.
Mia looks at something on her computer when Harold calls her for breakfast. When she heads downstairs, she finds he’s made breakfast burritos – which means he’s about to drop major news. He shares that the President of Stanford University is retiring and has asked Harold to step into the role. Mia is surprised, and Harold says he wants to know how she feels about it. She takes a moment to think and says he should take it. It wasn’t the answer he was expecting, but he’s excited about it.
Victor goes to see Benji at Brasstown and tells him that he and his parents told Adrian. Benji asks if Isabel apologized. The question confuses Victor, who says he was waiting for Benji to apologize. Benji gets annoyed, and Victor tries to convince him that Isabel is doing better, but Benji doesn’t believe it. He brings up how disgusted she looked, which Victor claims she did because it’s disgusting when you walk in on your kid having sex. He offers an exasperated “apology” about not having “totally supportive, liberal, white parents.” This throws Benji off, who doesn’t understand what being white has to do with anything. Eventually, he gets fed up and leaves.
Pilar watches Felix talk to someone down the hall, totally smitten. Rahim joins her and teases her. She tells him about the previous night, adding that she isn’t sure if Felix “like likes” her or only likes her as a sister. Rahim thinks like like, saying he’s giving her all the signs. He tells her to text him asking to hang out. She does, and down the hall, Felix interrupts his conversation to respond – and he said yes!
Victor texts Benji, who’s not at school, when Felix comes up to him frantic about whether or not he should sit somewhere else for lunch. Victor brings him over to their usual group, and things are quite awkward between Felix and Lake. Andrew joins them and notices something is off with Mia. She breaks the news about Stanford and the move to California. She explains how hard Harold works to be where he’s at in his career. Andrew gets that, but he also thinks that Harold shouldn’t uproot Mia’s life. Mia tells him it’s not worth fighting, because in the end, Harold will choose his job first.
Later, Victor goes into the school’s darkroom to leave a voicemail for Benji. He turns around and finds Rahim quietly watching as he develops photos. Rahim brings up the voicemail, and Victor shares that he and Benji got into a fight, and Victor is worried about him. Rahim asks why, but Victor is reluctant to answer. Rahim promises nothing leaves the darkroom, leading Victor to reveal Benji’s history with drinking. Rahim asks about the fight, and Victor tells him about how he tried to explain Isabel’s reaction, Rahim interjecting that it’s because Benji is white. He shares a similar sentiment about his friends, and the two swap experiences about their family. Rahim assures Victor that he and Benji will work things out though, because they’re perfect for each other. Case in point, Rahim shows Victor the photo he was developing: one of Victor and Benji smiling together.
Isabel picks Adrian up from CCD, but he’s surprisingly subdued. Finally, he asks Isabel if Victor is going to Hell, revealing that it was Father Lawrence who said that. Isabel tries to quell Adrian’s worry, but he struggles to believe it, adding that Father Lawrence said it was in the bible. Isabel tells him that it can be interpreted in different ways, and in their family, they believe that Jesus knows who has love in their hearts, and Victor won’t be punished for that. She begins to walk back inside, telling Adrian she forgot something.
Lake is spiraling about Mia’s impending move, and Andrew also broods over it. Mia doesn’t want to talk about it and goes to make them all something to eat. Lake says she and Andrew can’t let her move. Andrew says they don’t have a choice, but Lake thinks otherwise.
Victor goes to Benji’s house and spots him hugging another guy. He goes up to them, and Benji introduces the other person as Hank, his sponsor. Hank leaves, and Benji invites Victor inside.
Lake rushes into Harold’s office with Andrew following. She plans to tweet something to get Harold “lightly canceled,” and Andrew is unsettled. Lake pauses and emphasizes that she can’t lose Mia, especially after her breakup with Felix. Andrew knows and swipes the keyboard. Lake tries to get it back, upset because she doesn’t think he cares. But he does – the girl he loves is leaving, and he can’t stop it. Lake repeats what Andrew said about loving Mia. Mia appears in the doorway and also repeats it. Andrew confirms he does, and Mia says she loves him, too. Andrew urges her to fight for them.
Felix meets Pilar and catches her up on Dawn. He’s still a little sad, because everything that made her who she is isn’t with her at the hospital – no Millionaire, no weird knick knacks, and no Swedish Fish. Pilar tries to cheer him up by telling him that Dawn is fierce, and nothing can take that away. Felix smiles at her, saying she’s one of the most thoughtful people he knows. Caught in the moment, Pilar kisses him, but he pushes her away. Humiliated, she leaves.
Mia goes to talk with Harold, who’s focused on his laptop. Mia tells him that her mother emailed, and that gets his attention. She goes on to tell him what her mom said, including the news that she wants to see Mia. Mia hasn’t responded because she thought it would be a betrayal to Harold, and she’ll always choose him first. So, why doesn’t he do the same for her? She continues that she understands why he puts his work first, but this time, she wants him to choose her and turn down the job. He takes a moment to process before saying he’ll tell Stanford no. As she goes upstairs, he tells her that she can answer her mom if she wants. In her room, Mia stares down the email before deleting it.
Isabel confronts Father Lawrence, who claims that he only meant Victor needs his family to help him find his way back. Isabel counters by saying that Victor needs them to love and accept him, but Father Lawrence says it isn’t that easy. Isabel disagrees. She tells him how Adrian accepted Victor instantly, and she’s going to work on unlearning everything she was taught. (The growth. We LOVE to see it.) To add salt to his wound, Isabel steps down from her job as music director. As she walks out, he tells her not to give up on God.
“I’m not giving up on God. I’m giving up on you.”
Isabel
Harold calls Standford. He thanks them for the opportunity … before adding that he can’t wait to get to work. (Harold. Man. Come on.)
Victor makes a joke about Benji’s sponsor, hoping to lighten the mood. He wants to know why Benji wasn’t at school and says he was worried. Benji gets a little frustrated, citing it as the reason he didn’t want to tell Victor about AA. They both get a little defensive, and Benji asks what’s been going on with them, because it feels like they’re always fighting. He remembers a day over the summer where it felt like they were the only two people in the world. Victor says it still feels like that, showing Benji a photo of the photo Rahim captured. While Benji looks at it, a text from Rahim pops up, and Benji wants to know why Rahim is asking about Benji. Victor tries to say it’s just because he told Rahim about the fight. Benji asks if Victor told Rahim about his drinking, and Victor confirms with his silence. He assures Benji that he trusts Rahim, but now Benji can’t trust Victor. After a beat, Benji says they should take a break.
Love, Victor season 2 is streaming now on Hulu. Check back tomorrow for the next recap! In the meantime, find the rest of our coverage, including our season 2 review, here.
