The Society season 1, episode 3 recap: Childhood’s End

The Society begins to form some rules following the riot in the town.

A lot of apocalyptic shows like to skirt around what it would be like to be a woman living in this new reality. Issues like pregnancy, periods, and the threat of rape are usually glossed over but The Society tackles them early into this episode. The show has had its fair share of ups and downs so far but it’s refreshing to see it have a conversation no other series has.

The town is a bit of a mess after the boys caused a riot in town the night before but that doesn’t stop Cassandra from calling a meeting. Unlike before, this isn’t Cassandra standing at the front of the church and speaking to an audience in the pews. Instead, she has all of the girls gather together on the floor where they can talk together as equals. She points out that so far the boys have only been fighting but without the minimal protections in place from society, it’s only a matter of time before things escalate. The guys think they can take whatever they want when they want to, which could eventually mean women.

Gwen snidely comments that Cassandra only wants to start a war on men because no one wanted to date her high school. It’s a ridiculous comment, which Kelly thankfully calls out. With her support, all of the other girls throw their support behind Cassandra and agree to talk to the guys about forming some kind of structure. The Society also has Kelly offer a box of tampons to Helena and reveal that she’s been rationing her supply because someone seems to have stolen the boxes in town. While Cassandra and Allie feel like the two heroes, Kelly has had a strong character arc only over the course of a couple of episodes.

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Speaking of Kelly, she seems to have found the perfect balance between work and play. After the meeting, she approaches Cassandra and asks for permission to plan a prom. Plenty of people were looking forward to the event, including one of the girls who’s been walking around in her dress, and it could help unite the town. While Cassandra is initially hesitant, she gives Kelly the go-ahead to start planning. Right before Kelly enters, Cassandra changes her shirt because she’s sweat through it. It’s a nice reminder that she doesn’t really want to be the leader and how anxious she actually is about this entire situation.

After the Guard decides that socialism doesn’t sound too bad, everyone in the town meets back at the church. A hungover Harry is upset to find everyone already sitting and he grabs a spot with Campbell in the back. Cassandra’s rules are pretty simple: rotating jobs list, no more stealing, no more violence, and rationing of food, water, and electricity (which means sharing homes). A majority is on board, but she mentions they need a unanimous vote if they really want it to work. Everyone but Harry and Campbell raise their hands but they quickly cave to peer pressure and give in.

Just because Harry agrees to follow the rules doesn’t mean he wants to help Cassandra. She’s forming a committee and he’s the first person she asks. He thinks it’s because it’ll be easier for Cassandra to keep an eye on him but in reality, it feels more like she knows he’s popular and has a lot of sway so people will want to follow him. Who else doesn’t get on the committee? Turns out Cassandra leaves Allie off, who has to find out via a printed jobs list in town. Understandably, she’s devastated and wants to know why her sister wouldn’t ask her to join when Allie has been her number one supporter through all of this.

Cassandra explains that the optics wouldn’t look good if she added her sister to a governing body. Politically it makes more sense to cover people from different social groups. Allie calls b*llshit and says if that was the case then she should’ve talked to her first. Cassandra admits that she’s right but Allie is still mad. At least she has Gordie on her side, and as her prom date, now that Allie is straying farther away.

Everyone acclimates to the new lifestyles differently. Allie is mad at Cassandra but has a newfound respect for her parents, specifically her mom, for working and cooking them dinner every night without complaining. Kelly is happy to be contributing and Will is ecstatic to put his talents to good use. Kelly even invites him to prom, which seems like a minor step forward in his attempts to woo her. Finally, Harry feels humiliated and demeaned by having to work. He tries to use the only thing he has left, his cars, to bargain with kids to take over his work shifts.

To make matters worse, Kelly finds something of his mom’s in her dad’s jacket pocket. Turns out their parents were having an affair. The Society makes a Riverdale reference in this episode and is there anything more like Riverdale than having the parents of two kids who are dating also be secretly dating? Kelly is shaken and angry to discover her father was hiding this from her mother while Harry sees this as an opportunity to try and win her back. However, she rebuffs him, and it’s easy to see why Harry hates this new world so much. In his eyes, his entire life fell apart the moment they got here not because he flirted with another girl or kept endlessly partying.

While it’s easy to empathize a bit with Harry for struggling to adapt, it’s definitely not okay for him to blame his own mistakes on everyone else. Before prom, he’s playing pool golf with his friends and quickly comes to the defense of Kelly when one of the guys insults her. However, he says the problem isn’t with Kelly, but Cassandra, who has corrupted the town. To highlight Cassandra’s point from earlier in the episode, the boys joke about how someone needs to sleep with her to “loosen her up”. However, it immediately escalates to Harry saying how he’d like to sexually assault her and the other boys enthusiastically chiming in. Then, Harry takes it further to how he’d like to assault and then kill her afterward. Campbell may have originally seemed like the Simon in this Lord of the Flies story but maybe it’s actually Harry.

Nevertheless, he does show up to prom where everyone seems to be having a good time. Campbell is ecstatic that Elle wore the dress he got her while Cassandra takes some cute pictures with Gordie. However, Harry is doing terribly, especially since Will and Kelly came together. Allie is in an equally bad mood since she’s still fighting with Cassandra and she jealously watches her sister take fun photos with Kelly instead. Heading to the bar, Allie and Harry share a moment but she turns him down for a dance since it’ll be simpler in the long run if they don’t.

Considering Harry seems to be harboring some murderous feelings, we can’t imagine a Harry/Allie romance would work out. The two characters have an interesting dynamic though, with both feeling like they’re losing the people they care about the most. Harry is looking for a way back at Cassandra and someone to replace Kelly. Allie wants a way to rebel and a rebound from Will. Whether they become allies, enemies, friends, or even date, they definitely have room for an intriguing storyline.

Speaking of dynamics on The Society, Sam and Becca are clearly at the top of the best friends ranking. He comes clean to her early in this episode about being gay and what it was like to hide that part of himself. The two head to prom as friends where she admits the reason she hasn’t been partying is because she’s pregnant. However, she doesn’t want to speak about who the father is and demands Sam never ask her again. Becca storms off but Sam kind of gets a new date? Grizz approaches and the two have a cute conversation about signing. Maybe he will find love in New Ham!

Meanwhile, Kelly has a breakdown during her speech and sits outside in her astronaut helmet. Will comforts her and reveals maybe they’re all a**holes but just don’t know it yet. Campbell also refuses to give Harry any more drugs because he would rather be with Elle, leaving his friend high and dry. With everyone gone, Cassandra stays behind to clean up the prom like the responsible group mom she is. Outside she finds a dog who dashes off into the woods before Cassandra notices an assailant offscreen. She’s shot and left alone to die, leading to another mystery for the show. Who shot Cassandra?

What did you think of this episode of The Society? Be sure to tell us in the comment section below!