Season 1, Episode 12:
She Danced Only One Summer
Gil is sleeping in bed when Rachel comes in, bringing a copy of the Globe newspaper with her. She reads a story about Communique staffers wondering if Stephanie has had a mental breakdown, and Gil expresses disgust at the fearmongering. Rachel emphasizes that she has a lot of work to do now that she's the managing editor of the magazine.
Stephanie calls from the retreat to ask Rachel how the issue is going, and she assures her that everything is fine before hanging up. Afterwards, she assures Carrie that nothing has changed with the status quo and tells her to keep writing her column.
Nikki is setting up her paintings again after Linda gave her the money to keep her studio running. She is approached by an artist named Gabriel Sands, who tells her that he's a new painter who just arrived from Boston and is looking to display his works at her gallery. She agrees to display one of his pieces at an upcoming show.
Allan calls Alex to thank her for her piece on the casino development, and delivers a watch to her as a thank-you gift despite her claim that she can't accept it. Afterwards, she's confronted by Peter, who storms into the Globe office and tells her that she was a fool for trusting Allan. He tells her that Allan has been trying to get the casino deal off the ground for years and is using her for free publicity before he walks out. Afterwards, Alex discovers that the property Allan was trying to develop is registered under Peter's name.
Mark goes to Rachel for information on Stephanie's location, but she refuses to divulge the details. He eventually goes to Gil for help, who manages to coax the information out of Rachel at home afterwards.
Most of the main parties attend the gallery opening that night with other guests. Alex finds Peter and tries to tell him about his ownership of the land, but is disheartened to find him with Robin and storms off. Allan appears and threatens Nikki with closure again, but Linda appears and tells him that he'll have no part in it because she's now funding the gallery, and Rachel keeps her Evil Plan in motion by telling Allan that Stephanie is delusional and calling constantly to suggest changes for the magazine.
Peter goes back home afterwards and tries to be intimate, but the mood is ruined when Robin brings up Alex's prior relationship. He brushes off the matter and they continue to kiss. The next night, he gets bothered over the fact that she's still dancing at the club and tells her she can leave that life behind. As they leave, one of the dancers witnesses their conversation and calls the Globe's city desk to give them a scoop.
Mark drives to the retreat upstate and tearfully pleads to Stephanie that he needs her back for the sake of their marriage. She tells him that she still isn't ready, and he cries before leaving.
The next day at the Globe, Ben assigns Alex to dig up more information on Peter's dalliance at the club. She visits the club and trashes Robin, telling her that she still has feelings for him and wants her to stay out of his life, on the threat of revealing her double life to the District Attorney's office she's working in.
Stephanie is having a massage at the retreat when she's told she has another visitor, and goes into the visitor's area to find... Carrie. Stephanie is shocked to learn that news articles have been printed about her, and Carrie tries to convince her to come back to work because it's threatening her livelihood. Stephanie refuses to believe and orders her out before sitting and thinking. She eventually decides to leave the retreat and tells the owner that she has urgent business back in the city.
Mark eventually realizes that the only way to prove to Stephanie that he loves her and get Carrie out of his life for good is to get the original voice message she recorded without his knowledge, which was edited to be more damning. He goes to Carrie's apartment and takes the tape, but the situation escalates and he ends up shoving her away when she slaps him. After he leaves, she calls the police and lies that Mark assaulted her, and he's arrested when he arrives back at his apartment...
Tropes:
- Chekhov's News: The story Rachel reads in the opening about the lack of morale at Communique is revealed to have been written by her source inside the Globe, the snarky gossip columnist.
- Insistent Terminology: After Robin complains about it, Alex refers to her as an "exotic dancer" instead of the "lapdancer" she previously characterized her as.
- Manly Tears: When Mark speaks to Stephanie at the retreat.
- Trash the Set: Carrie destroys her apartment after the altercation with Mark, then lies that he assaulted her.
- What Could Possibly Go Wrong?: Carrie has this attitude towards Mark, which eventually comes back to bite her when he attacks her in her apartment.
