Maitland Ward's notoriety is both her blessing and her curse, drawing people to her with a sometimes-obsessive intensity and at the same time keeping her walled off from the relationships she values most. As she sends students home with a new assignment, we begin to understand that the prompt is more pressing than the usual exercises in classroom discussion.

Aubrey finally finds a challenge worthy of her attention when Mona brings Ernest’s case to her desk. Lulu’s work/family balance worsens. We learn why Ivy hasn’t come home and why, but all focus is whiplashed toward Maitland when scandal breaks out.

As Jessie leads the charge on the celebration of Lulu’s presentation, a damper mood settles over the group with the discussion of Maitland’s scandal, Lena’s quiet crisis, and Avery’s further unraveling relationship with Ivy. Behind closed doors, Manuel tries to calm Maitland down as she finally names her frustration with the pedestal she’s been placed on but the unspoken problem between them forces its way through again. By the end of the night, Lena finds connection in an unlikely place and Lulu is out for blood.

Aubrey and Mona double down on their strategy to drag Maitland’s case through the jury of the press as Maitland spirals toward hopelessness and keeps Manuel at a distance. Avery and Ivy’s relationship troubles finally come to a head. Jessie plots revenge as Lena stumbles across a line she’d never thought she would cross

Ernest’s obsession with Maitland has not waned, and Mona tries to intercept those attentions. Ivy’s departure leaves a void that Avery turns to Lulu to fill as Jessie exacts her revenge. Maitland finds herself across from a student who needs her but can’t bridge the gap in this new landscape. Maitland snaps as Avery channels pent-up emotion toward the stage. The final showdown begins.