Followers Season 1 Episode 4 Recap – Flaming

Limi welcomes her mom. Her mother brings her souvenirs from her trip to Korea. Her mother hands her a jacket. Limi reminds her mother that she is already 38, but she still wears the jacket for her. Her mother asks her when she will get married because she wants to hold her grandchild. Limi replies that she also wants to hold her child. 

Akane tells Natsume that their agency wants to represent her. Natsume follows her inside the office. She asks Akane if they are recruiting her. Akane replies that she’ll handle things with Natsume’s previous agency. Natsume looks surprised when Akane says she’ll get acting work aside from modeling work.

Natsume receives a phone call from her previous agency. The agent tells her they want her to be their top star. Akane gets the phone from Natsume and talks to the agent herself. After that, Natsume signs a contract with her new agency. She shows Hiraku that the number of her followers blew up. She also tells him about her modeling work and the producer she met.

People around them recognize Natsume, so she waves and smiles at them.

Natsume receives the script for the Afternoon Cinderella. She tells the staff that she was already rejected during one of the auditions. But the staff reminded her that was when she was still with her previous agency. The staff tells Natsume she’ll get to play as a living person and has some lines.

Natsume attends a photoshoot where she meets another celebrity. She recognizes the staff in the studio. His name is Hamada. Natsume recalls that he was the one who called her an amateur.

Akane is in the middle of a shoot with the artist Sayo. She helps her produce paparazzi shots of her walking out of a condo with someone. She receives a call from Yuruco while she’s at work. She tells him that Sayo’s tour is coming soon, so she has to create some buzz.

Akane picks up Sayo from her house. She looks surprised when she sees Sayo not wearing the dress intended for her. Sayo insists she will wear that red dress or else she won’t attend the event. Akane tries to tell Sayo to get changed, but Sayo doesn’t listen to her and gets in the car. Akane tells the staff that Sayo is not wearing the dress chosen for her. She asks the staff to ensure no one else is wearing the same dress as Sayo. The staff immediately checks if any guests are wearing a red beaded dress.

Sayo and Akane arrives in no time. Just as they walk inside the building, the staff sees Natsume wearing the same dress. Akane rushes to meet Natsume. She manages to hide Natsume before Sayo sees her. Akane asks Natsume to change into a different outfit inside the elevator.

Limi does another photoshoot. She’s surprised to see Mochizuki there. Mochizuki says it’s Limi who asked him to come. Limi figures out that it was Yuruco’s doing. It’s been ten years, so a lot has changed already. Limi says Mochizuki used to be so delicate. Mochizuki says Limi looks very beautiful. Limi finds out that Mochizuki is divorced and single.

Limi apologizes to him for not being able to give him their child. Mochizuki says it wasn’t Limi’s fault. He tells her to stop criticizing herself. Mochizuki stays at Limi’s house, and they sleep together.

Natsume doesn’t know that the other models are talking behind her back. They think that the role Natsume got can be played by anyone. Meanwhile, the photographers compliment Natsume’s modeling. Natsume tells Hiraku what happened at work. She shows him that she got even more followers.

Hiraku mentions that Natsume got a new phone. Natsume says she did. Natsume sees another comment from Hikagesan. The account holder has been criticizing her lately. Hiraku tells her it’s because she’s popular now.

Natsume finds some scripts written by Hiraku. He takes those away from her. He reminds Natsume she has to wake up early tomorrow. Natsume prepares to sleep, but when Hiraku notices her legs, he sleeps with her.

Tajima exercises with Sueo. Tajima tells Sueo she likes him because he’s cute. Sueo tells Tajima he likes her because she’s cool. Tajima takes Sueo to her home for the first time. She introduces him to her son, Rui. Rui doesn’t look happy with Sueo being there.

Akane opens the door when someone rings the doorbell. It’s Mr. Wada. He just moved in next door. He hands Akane a gift and introduces himself. Akane looks happy, and she chats with him a bit before she closes the door. While Tajima is getting changed, she notices something on her breast. She goes to the doctor to get checked. The doctor says she has a tumor on her left breast, and he diagnosed it as breast cancer. He recommends that she get surgery right away.

Natsume attends a fashion show. She’s become popular real quick.

Yuruco shows Limi a photo of Natsume. He reminds her that Natsume is the girl who ate the chocolate bar during a photoshoot. Limi says she expected Natsume would be a little more interesting.

Akane tells Natsume she has two jobs with a popular brand. Natsume doesn’t look happy. She tells Akane she wants to act and play the lead role. Natsume goes to a club and drinks with her new friend, Yu Yamada. Yu says she has to go home. So, she leaves Natsume to her friends. Natsume gets drunk and starts messaging Hiraku.

Hiraku stops editing his videos when he sees Natsume’s messages. He goes to the club to pick up Natsume. Someone recognizes him and asks him to drink. Hiraku pushes the man away, then asks Natsume to leave with him. Hiraku gets angry and asks Natsume if she came to Tokyo for that kind of thing. Natsume defends herself and answers back to him. Hiraku calls Natsume trash and then walks away from her. Natsume cries as she walks home alone.

A brand gives the models free stuff like bags. The models pretend to be happy. But their group chat doesn’t have anything good to say about the brand. Natsume doesn’t say anything about the brand, but they ask her to join them. Natsume says the bags are for people with no fashion sense. She adds that she doesn’t want to be pictured with such a lame brand. The other models think Natsume is funny. They tell her she’s one of them. One of the models takes a screenshot of Natsume’s messages and then uploads it. While Natsume does the photo shoot, she doesn’t know the post is already on the internet. 

Our Thoughts:

Akane would always say she’ll look for a wife. But until now, we haven’t seen her meet someone. She is always busy at work. But then, when she opened the door and greeted Mr. Wada, she looked happy. Everyone seems to be happy. But then Tajima finds out that she has cancer. We are wondering if she will tell her son and boyfriend. Rui doesn’t like Sueo, so we don’t think he’d be happy to have him around longer. 

We understand where Hiraku is coming from. He knows things that Natsume has yet to learn. Fame is quickly drowning Natsume. We no longer see her spending time with her friends, Sunny and Nori. She even talks badly about a brand just to fit in. The other models don’t like her, but Natsume couldn’t see this. It’s kind of too late for her now. We don’t know how she can redeem herself after this. Is she going to deny it? Natsume is also used to being recognized now. She seemed different from the time she was still struggling. She should have surrounded herself with people who would keep her grounded.