Recap pages are Spoilers Off per policy and all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned
Marie Moreau, who has spent the last several years in the Red River Institute, is delighted to find out she has been accepted by Godolkin University, an academic institution that has been training superheroes since 1965.
Tropes present in this episode
- Bait-and-Switch: The day after the club incident Professor Brinkerhoff calls Marie to his office. She expects to learn that she has been accepted in his class. Brink does indeed congratulate her for saving the woman... and then tells her she is expelled because Godolkin U. needs someone to take the fall for nearly killing the woman in the first place. They can't let the scandal affect the group (Luke, Andre, Jordan, Cate) due to their connections or rank.
- Cyberbullying: The comments posted in reaction to Emma's video (wrestling with her gerbil in a doll-sized ring) are hateful: she is called lame, ugly in comparison to the gerbil, told to delete her account, and worse.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The end credits is interrupted by Ashley doing damage control, assuring everyone that Godolkin is still the safest institute and showing everyone what to expect for the rest of the semester. It's actually the whole-season teaser you always get at the end of the first episode of streaming shows like this.
- Male Frontal Nudity:
- Emma is making out with a guy who convinces her ("pressure" might be more accurate, since she warns him that it hurts for her to shrink and tries to convince him to stick to regular sex) to shrink down to a size that will allow her to hang off his penis. We get a Gross-Up Close-Up of a tiny Emma fulfilling his fantasy.
- Averted with Golden Boy; despite all the talk about how his power burns off his clothes, the show relies on reaction shots or lewd comments from other characters to let viewers know he is naked.
- Murder-Suicide: Marie goes to see Professor Brinkerhoff and finds him engulfed in Luke's fiery embrace. Luke later commits suicide.
- Painted-On Pants: Emma lends Marie an outfit for her evening out, but warns her that she'll need to apply lubricant on her legs to pull on the pants:Marie: How am I supposed to pee?
Emma: Oh, you don't. Like, literally never. - Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: Having spent the last several years in an institution, Marie does not know anything about figures like PewDiePie or David Caruso.
- Shout-Out: Justine mentions that her agents are sending her out for a limited series on Vought Plus directed by Zach Braff that's "a meditation on grief told through 70 years of sitcoms".
- Traumatic Superpower Awakening: A flashback shows Marie getting her first period and her blood manipulation powers at the same time. Unable to control her powers, she accidentally kills her parents and is later sent to the Red River Institute.
