Hulu's PEN15 season 1, episode 5 recap: Community Service

PEN15 continues with Anna and Maya facing yet another test of their friendship. This time, their morals are put to the test when an article of clothing gives them the confidence they didn’t know they could have.

This episode of PEN15 opens with Maya and Anna in class where they’re reminded that they need to sign up for a community service project. Of the options, everyone in class gets the most excited about Heather’s mom (Deb) organizing a fashion show at the nursing home.

There’s a mad rush to sign up that leaves Maya on the ground. But Anna makes it to the board and signs them up for the fashion show.

Later, Deb talks to the students who signed up about how rewarding it can be to spend time with the elderly. Each student will be showcasing one of Deb’s designs while they walk the runway with an elderly person.

Read. PEN15 season 1, episode 4 recap: Solo. light

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Just then, another student (at the prompting of Brendan) sneaks over behind Anna and asks her why Anna isn’t in her boyfriend’s group. She looks over and nods toward Brendan but he turns away.

As the introductory session ends, Deb tells the girls that they all need to bring professional photos of themselves to the first rehearsal the next day.

Heather and her friends are getting professional headshots at the mall—they made reservations without Anna and Maya. Anna says there’s a place by her house that will give them photos that’ll be just as good.

The next day, Deb collects the photos and Anna’s and Maya’s look awful in comparison.

It’s a continuation of them being left out of the main group of girls. As they go to try on their outfits, Heather and her friends are off to one side complimenting each other while Anna and Maya are off to another side. Across the room, Heather bends over to pick something up and Anna and Maya are stunned to see that Heather is wearing a thong.

Later, Heather offers to show the girls her grandmother’s room. Well, all the girls except for Maya and Anna.

After the rest of the group leaves, the two go through Heather’s bag and find her thong. Maya dares Anna to try on the thong. Anna does (in the middle of the room, for some reason). Before she’s able to take them back off, they hear one of the other girls coming back, so Anna quickly just puts her pants on over the thong.

Maya’s mom is there to pick them up, so Anna doesn’t have time to return the thong. She and Maya leave. As they walk to the car, Maya says Anna can’t give the thong back until they both have a chance to try it on.

In the car, Anna quickly takes the thong off and gives it to Maya.

Back at her house, Maya weirdly puts the thong on her head and face before rinsing it and blowdrying it. She goes back to her room and tries it on and starts admiring how her butt looks in the mirror.

Anna calls to remind Maya that Maya needs to wash it so they can give it back to Heather the next morning. Maya, who clearly enjoys how the thong looks and makes her feel, lies and says she’s washing it right then.

The next morning, Maya walks into school with a crazy amount of new confidence. She’s keeping a tally of how many people check her out on her arm. This doesn’t bother Anna until she sees her crush, Alex, checking Maya out. She tells Maya that she needs the thong.

Maya reluctantly gives them to Anna and Anna starts to feel the same surge of confidence that Maya felt.

This confidence carries over to later when Anna and Maya are interacting with their fashion show partners. Anna is hitting it off with the elderly woman she’s with, but Maya struggles.

After things wrap up, Heather nervously looks around the room. When someone asks what’s wrong, she tells them that she lost something. While she’s too embarrassed to say what, she tells them that it’s pink. They all start looking. Except for Maya and Anna who know exactly what Heather is looking for and where it is.

Later, on the phone, Maya and Anna both agree that they feel bad for Heather and should give the thong back. But they also agree it can wait until tomorrow.

Over the next few days, they trade off wearing the thong, each saying that they’ll give it back “tomorrow.” This cuts to them in their carpool counting up their tallies for how many people have checked them out.

As they talk, they decide they’ll wait until after the fashion show to give the thong back on PEN15.

Cut to the day of the fashion show. Deb comes in with Heather and tells the group that this is the chance for whoever took Heather’s thong to give it back. They stand in a circle with their backs to each other and hum so the person who took it has a chance to give it back without everyone knowing who they are.

But Anna and Maya don’t give it back.

Deb, frustrated, leaves. Once she’s gone, the girls start to blame Anna and Maya, assuming they stole the thong when everyone else went to Heather’s grandmother’s room. Things start to get heated, but Heather tells everyone to let it go.

The fashion show starts and Becca, still believing Anna is wearing Heather’s thong, pulls Anna’s pants down on the runway. Unfortunately for Becca, Anna isn’t the one wearing the thong.

Backstage, Anna warns Maya that Becca is going to pull her pants down. Maya walks out from backstage with her hands firmly against her side to protect her pants. Becca makes a grab for Maya’s pants, but can’t get them down.

Deb intervenes and takes Becca by the arm and takes her off to the side of the room.

After the show, Maya and Anna are relieved that this is over, but Maya says she’s still going to keep the thong. Fed up, Anna grabs the thong and rips it off Maya. Maya starts to cry and says Anna ruined her life.

Next. PEN15 season 1 premiere recap: First Day. dark

At the reception after the show, Anna and Maya continue to argue because Anna felt like they were wrong to keep the thong and Maya felt like it was the one thing that made her feel pretty—which is why she wanted to keep it.

Thankfully their two elderly partners stop the petty fight and tell them that Maya and Anna are both beautiful the way they are and they don’t need physical things to make them feel pretty.

After the reception, Maya finally (reluctantly) throws the thong in the trash.

How did you like that episode of PEN15? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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