In episode 7 of this season, Kimberly, Canaan, and the other campus food workers go on a strike to protest unfair wages. Meanwhile, Leighton moves forward in her relationship with Tatum while Bela’s relationship faces a setback.
On Strike
Kimberly heads to work where a union rep named Jody tells her and Canaan that the Essex food workers are going on strike due to not getting a pay raise for decades. The strike takes place outside the dining hall, but almost no one seems to care and crosses the picket line anyway. Jackson shows up and thinks it’s cool what Kimberly is doing before heading into the dining hall himself. All isn’t lost as Kimberly and Canaan call Senator Chase. Her patience wears thin with both of them, but Kimberly manages to convince the senator to offer support, plus she owes Whitney a visit.
Play It Cool
Leighton is with Whitney and Willow when Tatum approaches and asks Leighton to dinner. Leighton lies and says she’s busy. When Tatum leaves, she tells Whitney and Willow that she did it because Tatum is cooler than her and she wants to seem cool, too. It comes back to get her when she and Tatum meet up. Leighton mentions a party she’s going to later (spoiler alert: she was not invited to a party) and ends up inviting Tatum.
Later, Jocelyn is able to get Leighton into a party where Leighton claims she knows the host. Unfortunately for her, the host, Laird, knows Tatum. Leighton finds an excuse to walk away. Tatum finds her and Leighton confesses she lied and explains why. It works out, though, because Tatum already liked Leighton and the two kiss.
Done For
Bela is at a pitch meeting for The Foxy when Eric comes in and asks if she had sex with Dan O’Connell. She can’t deny it, but Evangeline tries to back her up, until she logically can’t anymore. Eric ends things with Bela before leaving.
Bela goes to see Eric, but his dads refuse to let her talk to him. So, she waits outside until he leaves. She wants him to forgive her, because she feels terrible, but he won’t, explaining how he feels. Before leaving, he deletes her number in front of her.
Rally Together
Senator Chase, Kimberly, and Canaan go talk with the school’s president, who is thoroughly unhelpful. So, the trio continues the rally as planned and shoot a promo video to get word out. Jackson also walks past, dining hall food in hand. Kimberly is annoyed and says she wants him to support her.
The rally has a great turnout, and even Lila, who was originally resistant, arrives to show her support. Kimberly introduces Senator Chase to speak, but before she can, someone from the senator’s staff tells her that the founder she quoted for the video was an enslaver. Senator Chase is ready to leave after that, but Kimberly thinks she should take control before the news cycle can. So, the senator stays, gives a rousing pro-union speech, and acknowledges her mistake.
Whitney’s New Beau
Prior to the rally, Senator Chase goes to see Whitney in the bio chem lab where Andrew begins geeking out. Senator Chase says she got Whitney an internship, but Whitney would rather try to get one on her own. Afterwards, the senator tells Whitney that the board is going to agree to the union’s demands. Whitney apologizes about the internship, but her mom gets it and has faith in Whitney.
Later, Whitney and Andrew finish up in the lab. Andrew reveals he slid into Senator Chase’s DMs about the internship. Despite Whitney’s disbelief, Andrew says he knows what he wants, and that seems include Whitney as the two kiss.
Episodes 1-8 of TSLOCG season 2 are streaming now on HBO Max. The final two episodes of the season release next Thursday, December 15. Keep up with our coverage here.
