Grand Army Season 1 Episode 7 Recap – Making Moves

[00:01:00] Flora keeps on sending Sid messages. Sid thinks if he should reply. He tells Meera if he didn’t write the essay, he wouldn’t have to deal with confronting his identity. Meera disagrees and tells him he would have less of a shot in getting accepted at Harvard, and he would still be gay even if he didn’t write it on his paper. Sid turns off his desk lamp to avoid dealing with his parents. Meera assures Sid their parents won’t find out about the post; they don’t have any social media accounts. Sid responds he can’t tell anybody he’s gay because he hasn’t figured out if he will accept himself for being gay.

[00:03:00] Dom finally goes to bed at five in the morning. She tells her mother she will just rest for a few minutes and have enough time to get to school to take her exam before the interview for her internship. Meanwhile, Joey wakes up to find her sister leaving a letter on the foot of her bed. Joey reads the letter and places it along with the other letters they gave her. She opens her bag and takes a deep breath before packing things for the day. Jay and Sonia are talking about all-state. She is surprised Jay got in, but he tells Sonia he’s only taking Owen’s place, which is messed up. Sonia tells Jay it’s not his fault and he shouldn’t overthink things.

[00:05:30] Sonia and Jay continue handing out tickets to the BSU party. Orlov tries to ask Sonia out for the party, but she immediately declines his invitation. Sid sees Victor among the crowd and confronts him. He thinks Victor posted his essay, but Victor tells Sid he wouldn’t burn anyone. Victor gets angry at Sid for thinking he would betray him. Leila sees Rachel; she approaches her to talk. She took the rabbi’s advice of atonement but in a completely wrong way. She blames Rachel for not being there for her instead of humbly asking for forgiveness. Rachel doesn’t like how Leila is blaming her. Leila thinks everything is now okay between her and Rachel, so she tries to ask her out to the party. Rachel chooses to go with her other friends instead.

[00:09:00] Dom wakes up and realizes she’s late for her interview. She mistakenly set the alarm to 8:00 PM instead of 8:00 AM. Dom rushes to the mental institute and asks the receptionist for her scheduled interview. The receptionist notices she’s super late and asks for an excuse. Dom doesn’t have a solid excuse, so she just tells the receptionist she’s just late. The receptionist tells Dom she could reschedule the interview to 11:30 AM. Dom agrees and takes lunch in a nearby park to pass the time. She goes back for the interview and introduces herself to the panel. They want to know how she could help their mission and what she could bring to the table to bring the change the community needs.

[00:11:00] Dom responds with her own experience. She tells the panel everything they need to hear and more. Dom tells them about not having enough time to do the things she needs to get the life she wants. Dom knows that girls and women of color face the same shit she is in, but they have no one to talk to. She tells the panel that social workers in New York are 95% Caucasian and although she doesn’t want to offend anyone, it matters who you talk to. Dom knows that it matters to see the person as your peer once they acknowledge your problems and your current struggles. The panel somehow likes Dom’s response, and the whole interview is entirely positive, except that she’s late.

[00:16:30] Sid is now struggling in school as people approach him about being gay. Someone already invites him to a meeting of gay people in school. Leila also approaches Sid and tells her how he was there for her during the bombing, so she wants to return the favor by being there for him. Sid just laughs at Leila and leaves her in the hallway. Once again, she thinks everything is okay, and she’s making progress. She checks Sid’s name from her list despite not being helpful to him. Dom approaches her teacher, hoping she can still take the exam, but he refuses. The teacher can’t let Dom take the exam; it will put him in a tight spot with other students.

[00:20:00] Dom completely understands her teacher. She is angry she missed the exam, but everything is fine. She wants to go home early to sleep, but her friends tell her about the party John organized for everyone. They tell Dom she needs to be there. Sid also confronts his teacher. He thinks she leaked his essay on social media; he couldn’t think of anyone who has access to a copy of his essay except for Victor and the teacher. The teacher understands Sid’s feelings, so she assures him she won’t breach his privacy for gossip and short fame.

[00:22:00] Leila can’t speak to Joey in person, so she sends her a message instead. She asks for Omar’s opinion during a meeting in the drama club, but Meera scolds Leila for not concentrating on their current task. Leila sends the message anyway and crosses Joey off her list. Joey is currently packing her things; she’s moving to a different school. Rebecca helps her pack her stuff, but Joey feels like she’s running away from things instead of facing her problems. Joey sees the tuition fee on the school’s website and asks Rebecca how they could afford to send her to that school. Rebecca responds they haven’t paid for the whole year, and her grandparents are helping out with the expenses. Joey’s siblings enter her room and ask Rebecca why Joey is leaving.

[00:27:30] Rebecca responds Joey is leaving so that she will no longer see George every day. Meanwhile, Jay’s grandfather takes him to the record store to listen to a Coltrane record. He tells Jay the story of the record, so he will understand the history and why Coltrane wrote and played the song in such a way. Jay makes his way to the BSU party after his little trip down memory lane with his grandfather. John says a few words to rally the crowd behind his cause. They are raising money to help other people of color. Jay tells them about Owen’s situation and how they need to help him. John and the rest of them are okay with helping Owen. Sid arrives at the party. Orlov sees him. He suddenly remembers about his laptop and confronts Orlov.

[00:34:00] Sid pushes Orlov. They aren’t in school anymore, so Orlov doesn’t hesitate to punch Sid’s face and break his nose. Sid can’t do anything against Orlov. Meera takes Sid to the hospital, where they meet with their father. Meera tries to lie for Sid, but he is done running from his problems. Sid’s father thinks it is a hate crime against Sid when he explains someone in school posted his essay online to humiliate him. His father tries to call the police to report the incident, but Sid calms him down and tells him the truth. He tells his father he is gay, and his essay is about him being gay. Sid’s father reacts how any normal father would; he tells his son he isn’t gay. Sid can’t believe that his father will react in such a way.

[00:36:00] Sid really thinks his father will hear him out and support him, but he doesn’t. He places the ice pack on his nose as all of his disappointments come true. Meanwhile, Joey enjoys dinner with her family as they talked about Catholic school. Joey’s parents both went to a Catholic school. They tell their children all about them. While they fool around, Rebecca receives a call from the DA’s office. It is bad news. They will drop Joey’s case because they don’t have enough evidence for it. Joey feels bad and demands to speak with the office. She doesn’t know why they won’t help her and defend her case. She just bursts into tears after hearing the news.

[00:39:00] Dom has a great time with John at the party. They are both tipsy as they walk home together. Dom runs her mouth with her problems, and she realizes John may not want to hear them. John admires how Dom is so strong despite all the problems she has. He tells Dom she’s strong and powerful. She can get out of anything life throws at her. Dom invites John upstairs to spend a few more hours with him, but they are in for a surprise. There is another boy inside their apartment. John realizes he isn’t welcome and leaves. Dom is so embarrassed she just goes to the bathroom. Her mother tells her to just meet her friend’s nephew. It is about the money, but Dom doesn’t want to accept it.

[00:44:00] Dom’s mother tells her to just meet the boy. She doesn’t have to decide. The boy’s name is Ronald. Dom does as told and entertains Ronald for the night. Dom doesn’t like what she is doing, but she doesn’t have a choice.