Elle is in Bel Air wearing a beautiful pink outfit, and she isn’t sticking out. She’s the most popular girl in school, and everyone admires her. She wakes up. It was a dream. She’s still stuck in her Seattle nightmare. Everyone is still plenty mad at her for getting Donna fired.
Elle uses the phone booth to call Maddie for advice about her situation. Maddie finds an article in her magazine that she’s reading. Cosmo is doing an internship in LA, and she thinks that this could be a way to get Elle back home! In order to achieve this, Elle must answer an essay prompt: How to make a comeback? She thinks about Donna’s comeback and thinks this could help her get her job back. Elle is determined, and gets to work. She then goes to the principal with a petition to get Donna her job back. He, of course, just brushes it off, and tells her that Donna already found a new job at a market. Elle notices that his secretary drops off a jacket at his desk. He says it’s his wife’s jacket, but it doesn’t look fit for Seattle. Elle just walks away.
The next day, Elle is approached by a bubbly girl named Shannon Walker. She gives her a goodie basket. Elle is surprised that a person is actually being nice to her. Shannon even knows about what Elle did to Donna, and still accepts her. Elle feels like she finally has a friend. She also learns that Shannon’s mom is an author, and one of her books is in the basket. She invites Elle to a book reading scheduled for later.
During lunch, Elle runs into her cute little guy friend from the previous episode: Miles. He helps her carry her things in the cafeteria as they’re getting lunch. Elle looks around and sees that Shannon sits right next to Kimberly; she’s heartbroken. Miles then asks Elle if she is going to CarpetMart on Saturday. This is just a big party with music. Before Elle can give him an answer, he goes off as his friends call for him.
Back at home, Elle notices that her mom is redecorating the entire house. Eva wants to throw a housewarming party, but Elle tells her that they should go to the book reading that Shannon’s mom is putting on that night. This will help the both of them grow in the community.
At the reading, Elle runs into Shannon and tells her how talented her mom is. Shannon gives a compliment on Elle’s boots, but tells her to not wear suede as Seattle rains for most of the year. This reminds Elle of the jacket the principal said was his wife’s earlier that day. Elle puts two and two together and comes to the conclusion that Principal Anderson is having an affair. She thinks she can use this as leverage to get Donna her job back. Eva talks to Shannon’s mom, Robin, about her book. She compares Wyatt’s botched nose job to Robin getting kicked out of her house. Elle is mortified. At home, Wyatt sees that Elle is very upset about her mom embarrassing her. Eva overhears their conversation.
The next day, Elle finds Liz working at the local record store and asks if she wants to join her for CarpetMart. Everyone is going. Liz laughs and brushes her off since it’s impossible to get tickets this late in the game. Elle tells her not to worry as she and her parents have a system. Meanwhile, Wyatt has been calling up everyone in the phone book and can’t seem to get Elle her tickets. Eva sees this and gets to work immediately.
At the CarpetMart, Kimberly goes up to Elle and Liz and reveals that Donna is Liz’s mom. This shocks Elle. Liz ditches her, but Elle catches up. Liz tells her that Principal Anderson is keeping her in school by forging paperwork. She asks Elle not to accuse him for Donna’s sake as she wants to keep going to school. Elle decides to let loose and dance the night away. She ends up getting hit in the face. She wakes up on the ground, but Miles is there to carry her out.
Miles and Elle are at the ER filling out paperwork when Eva shows up. She apologizes for embarrassing her at the reading. They both go home happy. Elle takes Bruiser out for a walk and she sees Shannon and Miles kiss on a park bench. She is shocked.
This episode was a rollercoaster. Elle finally made a true friend, but it turns out that she seems best friends with the antagonist Kimberly. Miles seemed very wishy-washy throughout this episode. He seems nice and flirtatious towards Elle, but the second his friends call him over, he vanishes. Not to mention he’s in a relationship with Shannon. The relationship between Elle and her parents continues to be heartwarming, as they will do anything for her. The curveball with Liz being Donna’s daughter was a bit predictable, but Elle has a different perspective on Donna and Anderson. A well-paced episode with good world building.
8/10