Grand Army Season 1 Episode 9 Recap – Freedom

[00:01:00] Leila is posting something about people dying in a bloodbath. She schedules the post just around lunch. She smiles a little as she closes her laptop. Dom and her mother go over to Ronald’s to finalize their agreement. Ronald offers his room for Dom to sleep in. He tells Dom he’ll sleep in the living room couch instead. Dom needs to stay with Ronald for six months before their marriage. She also finds out she needs to stay within the city for three years before she and Ronald can get a divorce. Three years is a very long time for Dom and her dreams. Ronald and Dom’s mothers speak in the living room, leaving Ronald with Dom. He asks Dom if she’s okay. Dom responds she is okay even if she‘s about to cry.

[00:03:30] Dom finds out she can’t leave the city, so she can’t pursue her college dreams in Washington or Hopkins. She’s sacrificing a lot to get $10,000. Meanwhile, Joey is attending her new school. They are in church listening to the daily gospel when she sees some girls gossiping. One of the girls stares at Joey, making her uneasy. Joey leaves the church to call her mother, but she soon realizes it‘s a mistake. The same girl who stared at her enters the bathroom, but Joey starts cussing at her before she can even say a word. The girl chooses not to say a word and goes inside one of the stalls.

[00:06:30] Joey decides to send the guys a message so that they can talk. Luke and George talk about Joey’s message. Luke tells George that Joey will apologize to them. He also tells George to take a screenshot of Joey’s message, so they have some proof she initiated to meet with them. The two bump into Sid; they talk for a few minutes. Luke and George think Sid won’t get angry at them for making fun of him for being gay. George tells Sid he will call him the Queen of New Delhi. Luke adds he would’ve beaten the crap out of Orlov if he had been with him the day it happened. Sid ends their conversation by telling Luke and George he won’t ride a cab with them anymore because of what they did to Joey.

[00:08:30] Jay is preparing for his speech during their planned sit-in outside the school’s admin office. Majority of the students plan to attend the sit-in. Jay and his friends march out of class around 10:15 A.M. to join the sit-in. They arrive outside the admin office and see students have already taken their seats. Leila sits with Omar, who is attending the sit-in for research purposes. He tells Leila he plans on writing his own play. Leila asks Omar for a ticket to the drama club‘s show that night. She tells Omar she still wants to attend to support the drama club. Leila looks at her clock as she waits for her scheduled post. Meanwhile, Sid finds Victor in the hallway, so he asks for a few minutes to apologize.

[00:11:00] Victor understands what Sid is going through, so he doesn’t fuss about what happened between them. He tells Sid his admission essay is one of the best written works he has seen. Back at the sit-in, John calls out different black students to make their voices heard about the oppression and racism they felt or experienced while in school. It‘s already 10:47 A.M. The guards notify the principal about something, and he immediately cuts the sit-in to order an emergency evacuation. Leila’s plan worked. Rachel immediately approaches Leila to make up with her. Omar evacuates with Leila. She takes him to her house so they can spend time together. Leila kisses Omar and makes him go down on her. Leila gets her first orgasm.

[00:16:30] Joey prays as she walks toward the park bridge. She meets with Anna, Tim, Luke, and George under the bridge so that no one sees them. Joey wants to meet with them so George and Luke can own up to what they did. But Luke and George don’t want to own up to their mistake. They blame Joey even if it costs them their friendship. They tell Joey she is to blame for seducing them. Joey couldn’t look them in their eyes because she thought they were her friends. Even Anna and Tim couldn’t say anything to Joey despite her begging for help. Joey knew Tim saw everything that night. Luke and George tell Joey she wanted what happened. In the end, Joey just says okay and leaves.

[00:21:00] Tim is done turning a blind eye as George and Luke think Joey is crazy. He tells them they knew what they did. Tim no longer wants to be friends with Luke and George for what happened. His conscience could no longer bear to turn a blind eye. Tim knew his friends raped Joey, but he said nothing and regrets it. Luke and George leave Tim and Anna at the park without saying another word. Meanwhile, Dom sits alone at the park, thinking about things to come. She receives an email: she gets the internship. Dom is so happy about it she forgot it‘s her birthday. Ronald sends her a happy birthday message and tells her to ask for anything she needs for the room.

[00:24:00] Dom sees Joey passing by and invites her to sit with her. They ask each other how they are doing and start laughing about life. After talking with Joey, Dom decides to go home. She tries to open the light, but it isn’t working. She goes into their living room, where everyone is waiting to surprise her. All of her friends are there, including John, who is waiting to give her a bouquet of roses. Dom’s mother sees them getting close, so she quickly intervenes and takes the bouquet. Dom tells her friends about the internship and makes a speech to thank everyone at her party. Somehow, Dom’s mother feels terrible about having Dom marry someone she doesn’t know in exchange for money. She cries as she looks at Dom enjoying her birthday.

[00:30:00] The police check Grand Army before allowing students to go back to class. Some of the students talk about the person who posted online about students dying in a bloodbath. Leila knows they are talking about her, but she doesn’t realize the consequences of her action. She could end up in prison for what she did; that’s what the students are talking about. Meanwhile, Joey walks to school when she sees the girl who stared at her. The girl follows her to school, which she finds weird. Dom’s friends confront her and make sure she is ready to accept John’s proposal for prom. John is in the hallway with a giant pizza slice made out of paper. It reads: “I KNOW THIS IS CHEESY BUT WILL YOU GO TO PROM WITH ME?”

[00:32:00] The girls are excited for Dom, but she isn’t. Dom runs to the bathroom to hide from John. She tells them going with John to prom is a red flag with immigration. They thought she wasn’t going through with marrying Ronald, but they realized it would be bad for Dom, so they told her they would approach John. The principal talks to John, Jay, and Sonia about the sit-in the other day. The talk is cut short because some faculty members tell him about an emergency. The principal tells Jay he’ll be cheering for him at all-state.

[00:36:00] Joey receives a message from the girl following her. She tells Joey she isn’t’ stalking her, so Joey asks her what she wants from her. The teacher notices Joey isn’t paying attention in class, so she asks Joey a few questions. Joey answers the question and starts a debate about the topic they are discussing in class. Meanwhile, Leila reads her topic in class while her classmates listen to her. The teacher is happy Leila makes a personal connection with her topic. One of the Chinese students speaks in Mandarin to make fun of Leila, but she talks back to defend herself. Leila tells the Chinese student she’ll be the class valedictorian in three years while she’s still one of the mediocre students in school.

[00:39:00] Leila is so happy about herself despite what she did the other day. Sid goes to his teacher, Mrs. Gonzalez, to check the status of his Harvard application. Meera goes to Mrs. Gonzalez’s office to give Sid some moral support. Sid checks his application status and is surprised he got accepted into Harvard. The teacher congratulates Sid for making it into Harvard. She tells him it’s a big achievement. Sid thanks Mrs. Gonzalez for all the support she gave him throughout the year. Meanwhile, Dom receives an F on her exam for cheating. The teacher didn’t report her for expulsion, so she thanked him. Dom promises she’s back on track which pleases her teacher.

[00:41:30] Dom sees John in the hallway and talks to him. John already forgot about his plans to ask Dom out to prom. Dom tries to make it up to him by inviting him over, but John just tells Dom to send him a message if she’s coming over. Meanwhile, Sid goes to Victor to tell him about Harvard. Victor hugs Sid and congratulates him on making it to Harvard. One thing leads to another, and they start kissing each other. Sid receives a message from his father congratulating him about Harvard.

[00:46:00] Leila and Omar are hanging out at the back of the drama club. She shows Omar her drawings as she imagines herself being part of The Walking Dead. Leila receives a message from George wanting to see her. She responds bravely and declines any of George’s advances. Leila goes back to enjoy Omar’s company as they talk about her drawings. Meanwhile, Jay goes to see Owen to tell him about all-state. Jay thinks Owen will be happy for him, but he isn’t. Owen tells Jay to give up his spot instead. Jay doesn’t want to give the spot up, so Owen just gives him some advice and leaves. Jay goes to practice afterward, determined not to make any mistakes.

[00:53:00] The girl in school finally speaks with Joey. She tells Joey she also got raped. The girl tells Joey what happened to her and how she got raped. She didn’t tell anyone about getting raped because she didn’t want to be labeled as a “rape girl.” The girl thinks so highly of Joey. She saw everything online about her case and what happened. She tells Joey she is so brave. It is the first time anyone has acknowledged her actions since she got raped. Joey finally finds a friend in Sylvia after everything she’s been through.

[00:56:30] Jay posts a video of him and Owen playing the saxophone. He tells everyone he is thinking about Owen, who deserves to be at all-state as much as he does. Meanwhile, Dom goes home, where her mother and sister are waiting for her. They tell Dom they canceled the wedding with Ronald because she doesn’t deserve to do something she isn’t happy with. Dom’s mother tells her to enjoy her friends and time with John. They tell Dom they will find a way, so she doesn’t need to sacrifice herself to save their family.

[01:00:00] Joey comes running out of a store and goes to dance class. Her mother offers to come and meet with her, but she tells her mother she will try and attend dance class again. Joey stands in the back of the class as the instructor enters the room. He shows them the dance routine they will practice for the day. Joey can’t find her rhythm at first, but she knows it is time to get back on track. She does her best to keep up with the dance routine and gives it her all. After a few minutes, she makes it back to the front of the class, where she used to dance.

[01:04:00] Dom is getting ready to plan a surprise for John with her friends. She’s worried about getting humiliated, but it’s the point of the plan so that she can win John back. Meanwhile, Tim wants to talk with Joey, but she isn’t on her phone; she is having the time of her life dancing. Joey could finally let go of what happened to her and just let her life resume its natural pace. John goes out of his apartment where Dom is waiting for him. She asks John to prom; he says yes.

[01:07:00] The all-state performance begins with Jay playing John Coltrane’s “Alabama.” They play the intro, but Jay refuses to play the solo performance. He stands up and puts some electrical tape on his mouth. The tape in a shape of an “X” symbolizes all oppressed people of color who can’t open their mouths and voice out the truth.