Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Jules's childhood psychiatric treatment and difficult relationship with her mother precede an evening at the town carnival. Rue meets Ali at a diner, where he questions whether her dependence on Jules resembles her attachment to drugs. At the fair, Jules reassures Rue that their recent kiss has not ruined their friendship. Rue is relieved, but the evening soon gives both girls more urgent problems to handle.
Jules recognizes Cal at his family's chili booth and tells Rue that he is the older man she met at the motel. Cal later approaches Jules privately and asks her to keep their encounter secret. Elsewhere, McKay refuses to acknowledge Cassie as his girlfriend, Kat misreads Ethan's conversation with another woman, and Maddy confronts Nate about the images on his phone. Nate responds by grabbing Maddy's throat, leaving injuries that she discovers afterward.
Rue searches the carnival for Gia and finds her using marijuana with other teenagers. She takes her sister home while Jules goes to meet Tyler, expecting the boy from her messages. Nate arrives instead and threatens to use the intimate photographs Jules sent against her. She leaves shaken and seeks comfort at Rue's window. Jules offers only a brief explanation for the failed meeting, and the two kiss while the full extent of Nate's coercion remains unspoken between them.