Dead of Summer – Modern Love

By starrymag | July 21, 2016

By: Yana Grebenyuk

 

The episode starts out with a flashback, following a little girl with a red balloon in Chicago. The year is 1987 and the small girl runs in, covered with dirt and carrying a picture of a boy. She tells her mother that they had to draw themselves and she drew herself as a boy because she believes herself to be male. Her mother says that she’s a girl and shuts her thoughts down immediately.

 

Flashforward to Drew (Zelda Williams) in the shower that is isolated from the cabin. When he comes back Jessie (Paulina Singer) asks why he doesn’t shower in the cabin, a question he avoids.

 

The group refocuses on Amy (Elizabeth Lail), there is no news yet and they are all worried about her after that lighting shock.

 

Joel (Eli Goree) interrupts them with the mail, which brings mixed reactions. Drew looks hopeful for something, but doesn’t get any while Jessie reads her and rips it up right after.

 

The group finds old albums in the cabin and while looking through them they notice a little girl who was at camp with them a while back. Andrea was remembered as a bitch by most, but Blair (Mark Indelicato) jumps to her defense right away. Deb (Elizabeth Mitchell) interrupts with news that Amy is alright and she will be back after one day, as if that’s nothing out of the ordinary.

 

Before Amy returns to camp, we see her hanging out at The Plaza with Deputy Garrett (Alberto Frezza). Amy looks through his journals and connects with the map that has a vivid image of that mask that she saw in the water before she was hit by lighting. Garrett isn’t buying that any of this is actually true. He doesn’t think it happens, but he is interested in people who think it does. As they are leaving the diner, Damon (Andrew J. West) and his friend watch Amy walk out.

 

Meanwhile back at camp, Drew sees something red in the lake with a little girl holding a balloon at the pier. Drew comes closer and the girl tells him he can’t hide what he is, which ends up with him falling into the lake. Jessie shows up as the hallucinations end and calls him “Andrea.” Drew doesn’t take the bait and threatens Jessie back. It turns out Drew took the letter she ripped and read it, finding out that she has a court date that she obviously didn’t tell Deb about.

 

When Drew comes back, he decides to avoid Blair who is trying to catch his attention.

 

The group is still focused on the albums and Cricket (Amber Coney) freaks out when she sees someone wearing that mask that she dreamed about in one of the pictures with Deb. Alex (Ronen Rubinstein) believes her because he dealt with the hallucinations too, but Jessie blows her off and then they get distracted with Amy’s return. Drew starts to hallucinate again when a girl with a balloon comes up to Amy.

 

We flashback to Drew watching guys in the fitting room at the mall. His mom makes him go try on a dress, but when he doesn’t come out she comes in to find him with blood on his underwear. His mother tells him that he is finally a girl, which doesn’t sit well with Drew because he says he is a boy. His mother doesn’t listen and tells him that he needs help.

 

Blair finds Drew and tries to have a talk with him, but the hallucinations follow and Drew runs off again. Alex points out that Drew could have hallucinated to the rest of the group, to which Amy adds that something is definitely going on when a boy shows up with Cricket’s boots that she dreamed about and then lost, confirming that this isn’t all in their minds.

 

There is a flashback to Drew and his mother in therapy where he finally reveals his true name to her, but his mother won’t accept that Andrea never existed and fires the therapist for siding with Drew. They fight because all Drew wants is to hear his mother say his name. Drew’s mother won’t take it and threatens him saying that he will be Andrea if he lives with her.

 

Back in present time, Cricket talks about her lack of trust in Deb. Alex and Amy agree that something is off and that picture proves it.

 

A camper shows Drew a mask she was working on, which causes even more hallucinations.

 

Meanwhile, Alex takes Joel’s videos and shows them to Cricket and Amy. In these clips they notice the box that Deb holds close to her and immediately think that is important. Joel walks in before they can see more and he isn’t happy that they stole his private footage. They try to explain to him what’s going on, but he won’t hear it and instead chooses to leave.

 

Drew and Blair finally have a talk. Blair thinks Drew is hiding that he is gay and shares a story with him to try to convince him that everything will be okay. When Blair was younger he knew he was different, but it wasn’t until a little girl gave him a mixtape and knew that he was gay (without Blair telling her) that he started to accept himself. He hopes that Drew knows that he is there to listen or help. Blair tells Drew that he will accept him no matter what.

 

 

Blair leaves and Jessie shows up to tell Drew that she recorded him taking secret showers. She threatens him again because she doesn’t want Drew thinking that he can hold something over her head.

 

Cricket overhears that Joel will meet Deb and recruits Alex to help investigate what will happen.

 

Amy catches Drew trying to leave camp and goes after him.

 

Flashback to Drew going into his closet and changing into his boy clothing. He sneaks out of the house, but his mother comes into his room and notices the flyer for a party on the floor.

 

Present Day, Joel is filming the masquerade party as everyone files in. Jessie tries to get Garrett to dance, but Amy shows up asking for help with Drew. Jessie and Amy fight because she doesn’t like that Amy is trying to be everyone’s friend. The moment gets worse when Garrett points out that at one point Jessie was nice to everyone, too.

 

While Cricket and Alex are in Deb’s room they find the mask, but have to hide when she shows up. Joel follows Deb into the cabin where she takes the box and has him follow her out into the woods.

 

Drew is at the bus station experiencing a hallucination when Jessie shows up to tell him that she lied about the tapes. Drew says he wasn’t going to tell Deb about the letter, to which Jessie says she is scared of Deb finding out about her DUI even though the event is complicated. She spent her whole life trusting the wrong people and the two bond over their connection to camp. They see that both of their home lives suck and camp was the one place they could be themselves.

 

Garrett and Amy meet Alex and Cricket in the woods where they share what the know. Garrett tells them that he will find Deb, but they should head back. Amy pushes for him to tell her what he knows about the rituals and the worshippers. She asks if it could all be real and Garrett responds that nothing scares him expect for people who believe these stories.

 

As for Joel and Deb, they end up in the woods where she has him turn off the camera so she can show him what’s in the box. It turns out to be a book from someone in her life who Joel now reminds her of. They bond some more and start to kiss.

 

Flashback to Drew’s mother finding him at the party looking like a boy. He looks incredibly happy, which shocks his mother. Present day, Drew comes to the party and heads straight for Blair so they could share a public kiss.

 

We flashback to Drew coming home to see his therapist back in their house. His mother calls him Drew for the first time and finally acknowledges that he is in fact a boy. Drew cries as he hugs his mother because he is so happy that he is finally accepted.

 

We then see a mix of Blair and Drew kissing and Deb and Joel having sex in the woods.

 

Deputy Garrett is walking around those same woods, with Amy not far behind him. She gets distracted when she starts to hear voices that pull her to the lake. Garrett finds her in the water, where she is really close to touching a monster that appears from the lake. When Garrett comes close, possessed Amy pulls him in for a kiss. Jessie walks through the woods and notices the kiss. She walks off as Amy snaps out of her trance and asks Garrett what happened.

 

Blair and Drew keep kissing, but Drew backs off to go to the bathroom. There’s some back and forth, with a flashback to Drew coming home mixed with red balloons collecting in present time. During the flashback, Drew discovers that his house is empty expect for a picture of Andrea with a red balloon on the fridge. In the note his mother says that she can’t accept her daughter is gone and seeing Drew is a reminder of what she lost, which is too much.

 

Present day finds Drew in a room filled with balloons. He snaps out of it and is headed back to the woods with Blair when he sees the little girl hallucination. He decides to tell Blair the truth, which is that Andrea is that girl that gave him the tape when he was younger except Andrea is him. Drew reveals himself to Blair who can’t handle it, not willing to accept that Andrea is gone and he runs off. Drew finds Jessie at the campfire and begins to cry on her shoulder.