We open with Jessie and PC eating milkshakes. Delicious! PC somehow looks totally different from the first episode. Unless I've wiped all memory of it from my mind, but I promise I've tried really hard not to do that. PC tells Jessie that he went out to 212 with Kelli (and Camille), but that he felt like he was babysitting her. Jessie agrees that Kelli is sooooo much younger than they are. Jessie insists that she doesn't care and goes to great pains to express to PC just how much she doesn't care who he goes out with. Then she asks casually (very casually) if he's thinking about going out with Kelli again, and PC successfully comes up with the right answer: No. And then he demonstrates that he doesn't quite know what's going on here by cheerfully telling Jessie that she was a bitch to Kelli and Camille. So she slaps him. That'll teach him! Then she pretends that she doesn't care about that either. Smooth.
Taylor is up , and she tells us that Sebastian has called her, so she's going shopping with two of her friends. Oh boy! Clothes shopping! Purses! Dresses! And so on. Taylor tells us that she's mostly dated public school boys, including her ex, Cole. And Cole's "not completely out of the picture." Hmm. Taylor's friends grill her about Sebastian, and she admits that she's nervous.
Sebastian and Kelli are hanging out someplace in New York City. I'm going to claim it's Columbus Circle. Sebastian has brought Kelli cupcakes and tells us that because Kelli left Taylor's party early, he wants to get to know her better. The cupcake earns Sebastian a hug. Kelli interviews that she has "a really weird obsession with cupcakes" and that she likes then more than actual cake. Kelli is so delighted to have had a cupcake that she asks Sebastian what he's doing for dinner. Upon learning that the answer is "having it with Taylor," she's taken aback. Sebastian decides that now is the time to brag and adds that it's at "a French restaurant." That will be perfect for him, because remember that he thinks he can speak French. Kelli thinks it's weird that Sebastian is flirting with her but going out with Taylor at the same time. When she asks him if he's going to get serious with Taylor, his answer is a masterpiece of wishy-washiness: "Maybe. Perhaps. We'll see." Then they part, leaving an empty possibly-Columbus-Circle bench.
PC goes to see his therapist Audrey. Audrey's office is laid out in red velvet and gold furnishings. PC talks to Audrey about how he has trouble opening up and connecting. He feels that people hide themselves from themselves. He's bored with school but finds growing up in New York amazing, both positively and negatively. He complains that the girls he's around cry at the loss of an eyeliner and attributes his antsiness to New York. He's so impatient he flushes the toilet before he's done peeing. He stopped playing ice hockey because he wasn't the best. He admits to being an intolerant perfectionist. End of therapy!
Sebastian and Taylor are at Circle Rouge, because Sebastian likes to impress chicks with his French. As he says, "I always try to speak French around girls, because, like, it always works." Well, anything's better than your English. He greets Taylor with a hug and assures her that this is his favorite restaurant. Taylor tells us that she's very interested in going out with a private school boy. She also finds it a turn-on when a boy is bilingual. She and Sebastian exchange pleasantries in French, although Taylor only has a couple sentences she can say. The waiter arrives and Taylor announces that she's a vegan. Oh. That's just great. Well, the waiter offers her a salad, at least. She asks for it without dressing and Sebastian likens that to eating leaves. Well, yeah. Sebastian grills Taylor on what she does for fun (reads) and what she wants to do when she grows up (be a philosopher). Sebastian accurately asks how she's planning on making philosophy pay, and she claims she'll write books. Well, I guess it could work. Taylor tells us that she attracted to Sebastian primarily on the strength of his hair. Well, it is nice hair. Outside the restaurant, there's a series of awkward goodbyes, and he goes in for a kiss. He tells us, "I thought this was just gonna be another hook-up, y'know, but I'm getting kind of into her." So it looks like he uses "hook-up" to mean "go to dinner with." That's kind of a relief.
PC meets up with ex-girlfriend Amanda in a nightclub. Amanda talks through a locked jaw and it's a little hard to tell what she's saying sometimes. PC feels that he was immature when he dated Amanda and she wants to know what he's looking for now. PC thinks everyone in New York is in a bubble, and they're all the same. Amanda wants to know why PC would associate himself with the stereotypical pompous Upper East Side snobs, which is exactly what PC is, judging by what we've seen on the show. He talks about finding a different crowd to hang out with because he hates everyone's father being a CEO. He also hates straws in his drink. I think PC may have read Catcher in the Rye recently. If he starts yammering about phonies, that'll be a clue.
Jessie's at a clothing store where PC will meet her to pull clothes for Operation Smile. Jeff, the owner, greets her and they plan on making a new Operation Smile hoodie. Jessie gets tired of waiting for PC and leaves a message for him that she can't wait any longer and starts browsing. Clothes shopping! Jessie is ticked off, which you can tell by the face that she uses his full name on the message. Finally, PC rolls in and apologizes. She's still calling him Peter, so you know she's mad. His excuse is refreshing in its directness: he didn't want to come all the way down here (which would mean more if I knew where they were or where PC lived), and also he was being lazy. Jessie is not mollified. And now that he's here, Jessie is angry that he wants to shop. Which is what she wanted him here to do, right? But she's been here for an hour and now she just wants to leave and she's frustrated with him.
PC and Sarah meet up on a corner. Sarah is another of PC's female friends who he likes to talk to about women. He wants to meet someone new and not from his circle. He tells us that in the prep scene, there's a lot of casual sex but that he's looking for "something a little more tasteful." Tasteful? Tasteful casual sex?
Kelli and Camille go to a spa and get glop painted on their faces. Kelli talks about Sebastian and the cupcakes. Camille isn't surprised to learn that Sebastian and Taylor went out because they clearly liked each other. She offers to call Sebastian but Kelli claims not to like gossip. But the thing you know, Camille and Kelli are in a hot tub full of lemons (it's like a freakin' Ken Russell film in here!) and calling Sebastian up to get the scoop. Kelli thinks it's disgusting that Sebastian kissed Taylor at the end of their date, and I'm just surprised he has so little sense as to tell Kelli about it. Even through Kelli's glopmask, she's clearly disturbed.
Jessie meets up with her friend Zoe, who lives in a place with what appears to be a manual elevator. Living in a loft sounds romantic and cool, but it looks like a lot of work. Zoe will be hosting a turning-18 party and invited more guys than girls. Jessie complains about PC telling her that Kelli and Camille thought she was a bitch. She insists that the fashion industry is hard, and she doesn't have time to talk to people she doesn't know because she doesn't care what anyone thinks of her. Well, let me know how that works out for you. I'm sure you'll be a big hit.
Camille, Kelli and Taylor are shopping. For clothes! This is my chance to learn the difference between Kelli and Taylor, because up until now I've just been thinking of them as "the ones with straight dark hair." I realize that describes Camille as well, but at least she's got that eye thing that makes her look kind of distinctive. I realize I make her sound like Marty Feldman (look it up!), but I do find it helpful that she doesn't look just like the other two. Kelli grills Taylor on all the details of her dinner with Sebastian, and Camille tries to bait her into admitting that she kissed Sebastian. And then there's kind of a slow-motion shot of Kelli and Taylor pushing hair off their ears. I guess it's supposed to be establishing them as rivals or something. Taylor asks Kelli what she and Camille are doing that night and promptly gets invited along to Zoe's party. There is more clothes shopping. Taylor thinks it's dumb to spend 500 bucks on a skirt she could get at Target. It's nice to see that she has some kind of sense. After Taylor leaves, Camille suggests that they invite Sebastian to the party as well so that they can see how he and Taylor act together. You know what I think? I think Camille's a mixer. Also, it seems bad manners to rampantly invite people to someone else's party.
Bonus midcommercial content! PC tells us that "Prep school kids in New York like to be fit and stay in shape". This is another example of the kids on this show believing that something is in some way specific to their experience. Believe it or not, people who live all over the country have an interest in physical fitness. Even kids not in private schools! Anyway, PC is working with a personal trainer, who is a woman named Alex. Alex interrogates PC about his girl situation.
Sebastian and his friend Max shop for shoes in preparation for Zoe's party. This is uninteresting to me, so I will instead report that the background music appears to be the bassline from "Keep Feeling Fascination" by The Human League.
While Jessie and Zoe prepare for the party (by sitting on the couch), Jessie gets a call from PC to tell her that he has a blind date that night. Jessie once more emphasizes how very, very fine with this she is. Why wouldn't she be? There's no reason! No reason at all! We see Zoe dancing in a variety of odd manners.
As Jessie and Zoe ride to the party, Zoe sneers at the Bridge and Tunnel crowd. I officially disapprove of her just assuming people are from New Jersey and disliking them on those grounds, but in this case, I also hate the people that drove past in a stretch Hummer limo.
The moon, according to this insert shot, is full. I mention that because I have noticed that on reality shows, the moon is always full, and I'm hoping to embarrass the producers into occasionally mixing in a crescent for variety.
People enter the party and get their names checked against The List. Let's let Jessie describe it: "The place where Zoe's having her party is a big downtown loft space. It's just really cool. There's like a dungeon in the back." Well, okay. Kelli and Camille get in, and Camille gloats about knowing where the parties are. Then she kind of loses cool points by gushing, "Are these after-dinner mints? No. Way." I'm going to assume that they're particularly impressive mints, because otherwise Camille just got excited over the sight of peppermint. Kelli asks Jessie if PC's coming, and Jessie is annoyed in an interview. She feels that if Kelli and Camille are going to talk shit about her, they shouldn't come up to her and act friendly. Hmm. That puts me in a bit of an awkward position if I ever run into Jessie. I guess it's pretty unlikely, though, so I won't worry about it too much. Note that Camille has the sense to stay away from Jessie. There's a heavily Frankensteined clip where Camille says that it would be social suicide to enrage Jessie given that she needs to get involved with Operation Smile. But seriously, that clip was cut together from three or four different speeches.
Sebastian arrives and gets a big hug from Kelli. He sits with Camille and Kelli, who starts telling him about this French restaurant she went to (Sebastian: "Did you think about me?") I think Camille is trying to keep Sebastian off balance when she asks him "You're a sophomore, right?" but that doesn't mean I approve of his comeback: "You have something in your teeth." It does break Camille's train of thought, though. Sebastian starts to chat up Kelli's friend Lizzie, and Kelli is wracked with self-doubt. She's starting to understand Sebastian a little.
PC arrives at a restaurant for his blind date.
Taylor arrives at Zoe's party and gets a big hug from Sebastian. Sebastian makes Camille move over so Taylor can sit to him, and Kelli is not enjoying the party at all now. She would like to leave, please. And so she does. Exit Kelli.
PC continues to wait at the restaurant. For 45 minutes. Then he calls Jessie to let her know the deal.
At the party, something new has been added. It's Cole, Taylor's ex-boyfriend! And he sits right to Taylor and Sebastian. Awkward. He pulls Taylor off to the side and Sebastian and Max discuss the situation. Sebastian's not worried, because Max is like 30 years old or something (he's 17) and also because he doesn't think Cole looks good enough to steal Taylor back. Taylor is glad when Cole leaves.
PC leaves the restaurant in a snit. And a taxi.
There is dancing at the party, and then Sebastian has a declaration for Taylor: "Yo, we're leaving. Just me and you are leaving." Then, to Camille, to make it clear: "Just me and her." So there! Out on the street, Taylor and Sebastian have a moment of sorts, and Taylor tells him that she prefers him to Cole. And he wants to hang out with her tomorrow. They kiss.
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