Elle returns to school and sees Shannon surprisingly there, receiving hugs from everyone. Elle is shocked to see her at school so suddenly. Eva tells Elle that she should keep her and Miles’s kiss a secret because Shannon has enough on her plate. Elle is still a great friend to Shannon and helps her cope with the loss of her mother.
During a break, Elle finds Kimberly going through a jar of little slips of paper. While Kimberly isn’t the happiest to see Elle, she lets her know that she volunteered to help plan Robin’s memorial and that these slips are theme ideas. Even though Elle only knew Robin for such little time, she offers to help Kimberly as she sees that she’s not taking the loss well. Kimberly reluctantly agrees.
Elle runs into Miles and asks how he’s coping with the loss of Robin. He isn’t doing too well either, but Elle lets him know that she’s also there for him. They also agree to let Elle tell Shannon about their kiss when the time is right.
Back at home, Eva tells Elle that she has a visitor. It’s Maddie! Elle is excited to see her BFF from LA, but her mind is preoccupied with Shannon, Miles, and Robin. Maddie is excited to see Seattle and learn all about what Elle has been up to.
Elle takes Maddie to the record store and introduces her to Liz. Maddie isn’t too impressed with everything around her, but she tries to make the most of it. Elle also tells her that she got her first kiss. Maddie is shocked that Elle didn’t call her right away, but she is over the moon for her bestie.
Elle gives Kimberly a presentation about where to have Robin’s memorial. Robin loved the rainforest and the outdoors, so what better location than Rainforest Cafe? Elle was even able to get last minute reservations for quite a big group. Kimberly admits that the idea is genius, but she doesn’t really warm up to Elle.
Back at the Woods’ household, Maddie talks to Eva and Wyatt about Elle moving to LA for the internship. Wyatt quickly corrects Maddie and tells her that the move may not be happening after all. This shocks Maddie. Elle grabs her and they both go to Rainforest Cafe for the memorial.
Besides everything happening, Elle still finds a way to introduce Maddie to Dustin and Shannon, but Maddie is shocked that they haven’t heard anything about her.
Kimberly asks Miles how he and Shannon are doing. When Miles can ‘t come up with a genuine answer, Kimberly pieces together that Miles hasn’t reached out to his ex-girlfriend. Disappointed, Kimberly pounds down more drinks. Word gets around that somebody brought rum to the function and mixed it into the communal bowls. This of course makes Elle even more preoccupied.
With her busy getting things together for Shannon, Elle can’t take Maddie on a tour of the city. Maddie is already hurt that Elle’s new friends don’t know about her. Frustrated, Maddie has to get out of Elle’s sight.
Kimberly takes the microphone and announces that it’s time for speeches about Robin. Clearly drunk, she tries to talk and ends up throwing up in a plant. Elle leads Kimberly to a chair and some other people before taking the stage. She tells everyone that even though she didn’t really know Robin for a long time, she knows that her light is going to shine through Shannon. Everybody gets emotional. Then, there are animatronic animals that go off in the background. It’s a beautiful moment as everyone knows Robin’s spirit is embracing them all.
After the memorial Miles stays behind to help Shannon clean up. He asks her how she is doing. Then, Miles drops a bomb on her that he kissed Elle. This shocks her and she blows up on him saying how she feels betrayed and heartbroken. Miles goes back to Elle’s house and tells her what he did. Elle stays calm and tells him that she’ll handle it next week at school. Maddie overhears everything and brings Elle in for a hug saying that boys are dumb.
At school, Elle finds Kimberly cleaning out Shannon’s locker. Shannon abruptly moved to Denver to be with her dad. The episode ends with Eva dropping Elle’s finished tape for the internship in the mail without her knowledge!
This episode was very emotional and impactful. A piece of LA came back to see Elle, but Maddie didn’t seem impressed with how Seattle changed her BFF. Elle has the opportunity to go through a bit of an arc, due to how her and Kimberly have bonded. We also learn that Kimberly’s home situation isn’t the best, which is probably why she is the way she is. Kimberly and Liz also seemed to have some tension throughout this episode, regarding potential romantic feelings for one another. Miles was doing so well as a character, and then he had to go and tell Shannon when she was in a terrible state. Eva’s rational decision at the end to submit the tape behind Elle’s back was very out of character at first, but we are learning that Eva may be doing things for herself rather than for her family.
8/10
