Feel Good Season 1 Episode 4 Recap – Episode 4

Goerge’s phone beeps multiple times, causing her to wake up. She gets lots of messages from her friends wanting to know more about her recent revelation – being gay.

Mae’s walking on the streets on a video call with her mom. She asks her mom how big her skull was when she was born. Her mom tells her she has no time for a long conversation with Mae because they are about to throw Solomon’s ashes into the ocean. Mae finds this enraging, so she asks her mom why they didn’t tell her that Solomon is dead, given that Solomon was her cat. She finds out that her parents are specifically in the UK, in Blackpool. This enrages Mae because they are in the UK, but they don’t tell her. She tells them to wait for her before scattering Solomon’s ashes because she’s coming to Blackpool.

At the meeting, Mae rants and shares that her parents kicked her out when she was just a kid for behaving badly. She says she’s been accused of stealing her mother’s ornamental pears when she didn’t even touch those. David tells her that it might be time for her to do Step 9 of their program to make amends to those they have harmed while using. Before David can even finish explaining, Maggie tells Mae that she did Step 9 with Lava the previous night and then Lava apologized to her for shutting her out. Mae tells her that that was amazing.

George stands outside the community center where the meetings are being held. She has a sandwich bag in her hand. Lava arrives with a cake. “You’re George”, Lava says. George tells her yes and asks her if they’ve met. Lava tells her that she knows Mae and Mae has told her about George. Maggie and Mae come out of the building. Mae introduces George to Maggie and Lava. Maggie hugs George and tells her she’s so proud of her for setting herself free while Mae and Lava talk on the side. Lava tells Mae that she’ll text her.

After Maggie and Lava leave, George asks Mae why Lava is texting her. Mae tells Goerge that she is Maggie’s daughter and thinks she fancies her. Mae tells George she’s going to Blackpool because her parents are there. She says she’s going so she can apologize for being an addict. Mae begins to walk, and George tells her to wait. She reminds Mae that she just made out with her in front of her friends, so she is not letting Mae out of her sight. She begs for Mae to hug her. Mae realizes that George is freaked out because she just came out to her friends. She hugs her and tells her they’ll go to Blackpool.

While waiting for her parents, Mae tells George that she and her parents only get along because they have UA, the Unspoken Agreement never to talk about the years of Mae’s life between 14 and 25. George tells her that she hopes they’ll like her. Mae tells her that the only real rule is to never disagree with her mother.

Linda arrives, and Mae gets terrified. She and George make their way out of the cafe to greet her. Mae was about to hug her, but Linda held Mae in her arms to prevent her from doing so. She recites an excerpt from a Thomas Hardy poem and finally hugs Mae. She sees George and hugs her as well. Malcolm, Mae’s dad, arrives and hugs Mae. He shakes George’s hand. Linda tells them that they have a very tight schedule. Mae walks with Linda while George walks with Malcolm. They get into their Airbnb, and while Linda is enjoying her Scotch egg, Mae decides to make her apology. She reads her apology, and Linda can’t help but scoff. Mae tells them she has wronged them, so they owe them amends. “Amends accepted,” Linda says like it was nothing. She then announces that they should start walking to the restaurant.

At the restaurant, Mae tells them that at the meetings, they preach that everybody feels better if they talk about the elephant in the room. Linda asks Mae if it is really for everyone or just for her. To change the topic, Geroge tells them that Mae’s comedy is going well and that she is so good. Linda tells George they love her, and Malcolm tells Mae not to kick George to the curb as he did to Amy, Nicole, and Caroline. He tells Mae that the minute they get attached to one of Mae’s girlfriends, they suddenly go and become like smoke in the wind. Mae then veers the conversation in another direction when she announces that she likes to make a toast to finally being together after two years and talking about the past. However, before she can finish, Linda stands and says she likes to make a toast to Solomon, the real reason they are there. Malcolm then stands, makes a toast to George, and then asks George if she has a toast. Unprepared, George toasts to the sea and mentions a Neruda reference. Mae doesn’t look so pleased.

They gather near the sea. Malcolm and George sing a hymn. Linda asks if anyone wants to say a few words about Solomon. Mae says that she will and begins her eulogy. However, she hints at her parents’ cruelty for cutting her off for many years, so Linda cuts her speech and tells them that they should take a 10-minute silence to reflect on Solomon’s life. Mae does not wait 10 minutes. She grabs the urn of Solomon’s ashes and empties it on the sand at their feet. She gets shocked by what happened and explains that she thought the ashes would get taken by the wind. Linda starts walking away, disappointed. Malcolm follows her. George tells Mae to take it easy and not force her parents to talk about the past because they do not seem ready. She says that what’s happening is also awkward for her. Mae brings out her phone, starts texting Lava, and tells George that if she loves someone, she has to do the work even when it’s awkward.

Mae tells George that she wants to go on the Ghost Train. She runs after her parents and tells them they’re going to the ghost train and that Linda should sit with her. They get to the train, and George rides with Malcolm. Mae takes the opportunity to try to talk to her mother again. She asks her mother where they were after they kicked her out. Linda tells her there is a difference between getting kicked out and being asked to leave. Her mother tells her that if she wants to talk about the past, they should start by talking about how they gave her everything her heart desired but then she gave it up to chase some high. Mae then tells her that there is usually a reason why people become addicts, so there must be something intolerable in her life that pushed her to become one. Linda tells her to stop playing the victim because she is a spoiled, privileged girl and did everything she wanted, so she should not blame anyone for her unhappiness. Mae gets startled by some features on the train, so she decides to get off. Linda asks her if she’s on drugs.

At the end of the ride, Linda’s carriage arrives, and she’s there alone, so George asks where Mae is. Linda tells George that she doesn’t know Mae. George says that she thinks she does and that Mae loves Linda. Linda tells George that Mae doesn’t love people; what she loves is the idea of love. Linda tells her that it doesn’t matter who George is; she’s just one of many Georges. Malcolm tells George that Mae usually has a type – heterosexual. Linda says that once the chase wears off, Mae will be gone, and since Goerge has already come out to her friends, she’s giving them a month.

Linda decides to take another train ride while George says she’s going for a walk. George goes to the bar and asks the bartender’s opinion on her situation. The bartender tells her that the only reason someone would chase a person who’s not attracted to their entire gender is that they hate themselves.

Mae walks with Malcolm. Malcolm says that Mae and Linda are similar – strong, impulsive, and stubborn. Mae says that her mother doesn’t even like her. Malcolm then says that when Mae left, Linda followed her every day and saw her every move. He says it was not easy being a parent, and they only kicked her out because they didn’t know what else to do. Malcolm kisses Mae’s head as he says that he’ll go find Linda. He suggests that Mae does the same and finds George because she feels vulnerable after just coming out to her friends.

Mae finds George at the bar and walks with her to their Airbnb. On their way, Mae tells George that she doesn’t want to go back there because her parents don’t want to see her anyway. George tells her they should just break into one beach hut. Mae tells her that what she has in mind is insane and dangerous. George says she can be dangerous too and might not be as straight as she thought as she opens the door to the beach hut.

Once inside, George asks Mae how they are different from her past relationships. She says that she thinks Mae will lose interest because she made it too easy and that she might just barnacle herself to the next straight girl she’s going to meet. Mae asks her what her parents told her and tries to explain. She says that before, she always felt like she belonged somewhere else and that when she lies beside them, she feels restless, but with George, she feels still and quiet, like she is where she belongs. George kisses Mae, asks Mae to look her in the eye, and promises that she will never break up with her. Mae does as she is told. George falls asleep and they spend the night there.

The next morning, Mae and George wait for Mae’s parents at the restaurant. George tells Mae not to try a different approach. Mae’s parents come, and Mae tells Linda that she read something about a newly-discovered black hole. Linda engages in the conversation. They part ways at the train station. George and Mae decide to stay another night at Blackpool.

Our Thoughts

It is sad that Mae’s parents don’t want to talk about the past and come to terms with it at once, but just like Malcolm said, it is not easy for them either. So while Mae might think that she is the victim in all of this, maybe she should also consider that her parents might feel victimized and that she is not the only one who struggled when she became an addict.

I can also just imagine how frightened and freaked out George must have been, finally being able to come out to her friends and then being told that they’ll only last a month – by the most reliable source when it comes to Mae – her parents. Let’s just hope they can make their relationship last despite everything.