‘Grand Army’ recap: Episode 2, ‘See Me’

Joey stages a protest to “Free the Nipple” as revenge against Ms. Wilder in Grand Army Episode 2.

After Ms. Wilder’s caustic remarks in the premiere episode, Joey recruits her circle of friends and most of the school to wear “Free the Nipple” shirts to school in Grand Army Episode 2. In her attempts to protest the unfair dress code standard for girls in school, Joey goes braless beneath her lightweight white top.

Unveiling her sheer attire to Ms. Wilder doesn’t immediately get Joey the reaction she wants. So, as a backup, Joey starts pouring water on herself to make the outfit see-through. Ms. Wilder finally cracks and calls Joey a hooker and a prostitute before sending her to the office.

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There, the principal can’t even look Joey in the eyes because of her nipples being visible and opens his office door so they aren’t alone in the room.

Luke (who had a broken leg as a result of the fall he took at the party), George and Tim come in sporting matching shirts and Joey points out the hypocrisy of them being able to wear shirts that show her nipples versus her own.

Ultimately, the principal relents. He says Joey does make a fair point, but he reserves the right to return to this conversation later.

Joey even takes things a step further in the episode by getting one of her nipples pierced. She sends a picture to the group chat with all of her friends. Tim texts her separately to tell her how horny she makes him. The two share a kiss earlier in the episode after lots of tension. Joey’s relationship with her three closest guy friends is starting to get a little complicated.

Grand Army Episode 2 recap: A hook-up between George and Leila gets awkward

It’s hard to watch Leila struggle in this episode, partly because it’s so realistic. Grace is still being ridiculously mean to her at school and she finds herself desperate to impress her new crush, George. Between changing her tune on Joey’s protest the moment George says she should participate in overanalyzing sex tricks when she learns he wants to hook up, it’s clear Leila is in over her head.

She and George do eventually meet up at his place, and it’s as awkward as you might expect. Leila fumbles her way through a handjob, so George takes over and finishes himself. Then he ignores her while mindlessly scrolling through Joey’s Instagram feed. Leila tries to get things going again by kissing him and taking off her top. All George wants to do is discuss her nipples and make some icky racist comments. Anytime she tries to have a conversation with him, he cuts her off with a kiss.

When Joey comes by later (it looks like she and Geo are neighbors) she runs into Leila and George on the way out. He tells Leila he’ll hit her up later before dismissing her. Leila pleads with Joey not to tell Grace she saw her there, after gushing about how brave she found her protest. George pointedly embarrasses her by noting that she didn’t participate in it.

As Leila leaves and texts Rachel, claiming the hookup was fun and went well, George tells Joey she couldn’t even finish him. Joey asks what he did for her and he just rolls his eyes. This dude sucks.

Grand Army Episode 2 recap: Jay and Owen face harsh consequences for the lockdown prank.

After hustling all weekend for the money to pay back Dom, Owen and Jay manage to get all $200 and give it to her. Sadly, Dom winds up having to spend all the money during a Target run with her mom and siblings. John, who works as a cashier there, is at least kind enough to give her his employee discount. It’s the first genuine reaction between the two, and Dom’s mom definitely notices some sparks between them.

Later, Joey and Dom give their accounts of the incident to the school principal (it was a different actor than the principal Joey talked to so maybe the other guy was just the assistant principal?). Jay and Owen are called in, and despite their music teacher vouching for them, the boys receive extremely harsh punishments.

Owen’s punishment is worse since he was the one who actually reached into Dom’s bag. Jay has a principals suspension, while Owen has a superintendent’s suspension. They will have to attend hearings to decide if further punishment, like expulsion, is necessary.

It’s absolutely heartbreaking to watch, especially as both boys seemed genuinely sorry, willing to take responsibility, and paid Dom back. Comparing it with Joey’s early meeting where she got left off with a slap on the wrist, makes it even more evident that systemic racism is at play here.

The way Jay and Owen’s punishment scene was filmed felt a little gratuitous. It just feels like in our current climate, the last thing we need to say is more traumatized Black kids, especially in such lingering shots. While I want to support this young and talented cast, I’m keeping in mind the allegations made against the creator in each episode, and I do feel like there are some unfortunate elements at play in the writing of this show.

Odds & Ends from Grand Army Episode 2

• Sid gets assistance from a classmate named Victor on his personal statement essay. Episode 2 starts to explore Sid’s sexuality and his budding attraction toward men like Victor. Sid’s storyline is another one where it doesn’t feel like the writing is as strong as it should be. Already, it’s beginning to feel a little cliché.

All nine episodes of Grand Army Season 1 are now available to stream on Netflix.