They Never Learn

Scarlett stops by Kinnear’s office. She is trying to figure out how to get him alone, and she’s dressed more suggestively in an attempt to disarm him. Although she dislikes using her looks, she thinks this might be the only way to distract him. Scarlett asks about the fellowship interview process, and Kinnear offers to show her a rare text on a woman whose work they both research. He suggests she do so at his upcoming homecoming party. Having secured an invitation to his home, she leaves.

Carly is in her dorm room. Although there is a party happening at Bash’s house, her social anxiety prevents her from attending. While she is unable to sleep, Wes returns with a drunk Allison—who did tequila shots. While Carly and Wes try to put her to bed, their RA Samantha barges into the room.

Scarlett is at Kinnear’s homecoming party, exploring the layout of his house to ambush him later. While wandering, she runs into Mina. Kinnear and Stright, gathered outside with a group of football players, openly leer at women, many of whom are students. Mina tells Scarlett that she is puzzling over the death of a graduate student, and Scarlett tries to figure out whom she could be referencing. She notices Stright making a female student named Ashleigh uncomfortable, so she leans over and enquires about his wife.

Carly wonders if Allison needs to be taken to a hospital, but RA Samantha haughtily assures her that she will sleep it off. Samantha provides Allison with a trash can for vomiting and leaves. Carly stays up all night with Allison, emptying the trash can and watching over her. Finally, Allison wakes up and invites Carly to cuddle with her. She gives Carly a welcome “kiss.”

At Kinnear’s party, a drunk Stright is visibly irritated that Scarlett asked about his wife in front of Ashleigh. Ashleigh is able to escape, and Mina is amused by the exchange. Stright curses at Scarlett, who becomes angry; both are led away by colleagues. Mina apologizes for the men’s behavior and offers to walk Scarlett home; she declines. On her way out, she runs into Kinnear. Scarlett engineers a meeting with him on Halloween night.

Allison and Carly are in their dorm room: Allison is helping dye Carly’s hair blue, so she can dress up as Clementine from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Allison tells her that Wes talks about her all the time. She clarifies that, although he took her to prom, the two never dated; he was the only person who did not judge her when she came out as bisexual. For the first time, Carly admits her own bisexuality to Allison, who replies she already knew, because “all the cutest girls are bi” (111).

Scarlett is at home, dying her hair red in anticipation of her meeting with Kinnear. She hears the creak of a floorboard, and finds Jasper in her study. He is examining several of Mina’s files, and claims the investigation is a waste of time. Scarlett wishes she could share her kills with him.

Allison and a hesitant Carly get ready for a Halloween party. Carly intends to wear her signature black clothing, but Allison insists she change. In a moment of sexual tension, she helps Carly put on a corset, short shorts, and fishnet tights. As a final touch, she paints Carly’s lips a deep crimson—Gorman’s school color. Both Carly and Wes are dumbstruck by her transformation.

Dressed suggestively, Scarlett is excited to kill Kinnear. She instructed him to keep their liaison a secret, lest their colleagues get the wrong idea. She takes a roundabout route to his house so as not to be seen, and when she arrives, he is already at the door to greet her.

Carly, Allison, and Wes arrive at the Halloween party, hosted by Bash and his roommates—other theatre majors who live off campus. The music is loud. Carly is uncomfortable, and her panic only increases as Allison pulls her onto the dance floor. She feels ridiculous, but dances with Allison and Wes, noting that most students are rubbing against one another rather than dancing. When Allison spots Bash and begins talking to him, it is Carly whom he notices. Sensing this interest, Allison leads him away. Carly is fearful of a repeat of Allison’s tequila night.

Kinnear is cooking dinner when Scarlett arrives. She’s brought a bottle of whiskey, a brand which she knows he enjoys because he pontificated about it at a recent campus event. He pours two glasses, and she says she’ll wait to have hers until dinner—as the whisky is laced with liquid sleep-aid. Kinnear shows Scarlett the rare text she came to examine, and she finds he has a rarer, red text—author Viola Vance’s diary.

Carly is not enjoying the party. When Wes asks if she’d like to step outside, she agrees. He tells her that it was wrong of Allison to use her to get Bash’s attention, and says she’s always been manipulative. He tries to kiss Carly, and though part of her wants to, she runs away in anxious terror. She finds Bash and Allison in a room: He has pushed an unconscious, partially stripped Allison up against a sink, and is groping her.

Due to Scarlett’s sedative, Kinnear is unsteady as he leads her to his bedroom. Once there, she instructs him to lie on the bed and close his eyes. He becomes alarmed when she ties him up with nearby scarves, and though he struggles, she overpowers him. Scarlett asks, “Do you remember who I am, Alex?” (144).

Carly screams at Bash and he backs away from Allison, who falls and injures her head. She is certain that the smirking Bash drugged Allison. A crowd gathers, but no one seems as concerned as Carly. Wes enters the room, and the two help Allison out of the house. A suddenly lucid Allison begs Carly not to tell Wes what Bash did.