Tiny Pretty Things Episode 1 recap: Who attacked Cassie Shore?

Tiny Pretty Things Episode 1: Introducing the main cast of players in Netflix’s new teen drama.

Tiny Pretty Things Episode 1 introduces us to the cutthroat world of ballet at the Archer School in Chicago. The new Netflix series is based on the novel of the same name by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton. A lot happens in the first episode of Netflix’s new teen drama, so I think the best way to break it down is to start by discussing that bold opening scene and discussing the main cast.

The first hour begins with a Pretty Little Liars-esque opening that shows star dancer Cassie Shore (Anna Maiche) practicing her moves on the precipice of the school’s roof. Someone wearing a black hoodie and holding a single white rose approaches her, roughly grabs her, and whispers, “I know,” into her ear before shoving her off of the roof. Cassie plummets to the concrete below. Surprisingly, she doesn’t immediately die on impact, but she is taken to the hospital and left to fight for her life on several breathing machines.

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So, our first question is, who attacked Cassie? And, by the episode’s end, one has to wonder if they’ll try to finish the job should she ever wake up.

With Cassie out of commission, the school’s headmistress Monique DuBois (Lauren Holly) rushes to find a new story to distract everyone from what happened to Cassie.

That “story” comes in the shape of Neveah Stroyer (Kylie Jefferson), a dancer initially rejected from the academy who is suddenly accepted to take Cassie’s place. However, Monique leaves that little detail out, leaving Neveah to find out from her classmates who are eager to knock her down a peg.

As a young Black teen from Inglewood, Monique wants to use Neveah as a scapegoat of sorts to make the school look like they’ve plucked her from a poor background and shaped her into a star.

At Archer, Neveah quickly learns that fitting in won’t be an easy task. Classmate Bette Whitlaw (Casimere Jolette) is the younger sister of professional dancer Delia (Tory Trowbridge) and has a caustic attitude toward Neveah, who she views as a threat. She belittles her and constantly calls Neveah “petit rat,” or little rat. Their rivalry starts from the second Neveah enters the classroom.

We later discover that Bette is so harsh because of the large shadow cast by Delia. Everyone thinks she got into the school because of Delia, not on her own merit, which is why she feels pressured to work harder than anyone.

Other classmates include June Park (Daniela Norman), Cassie’s former roommate — therefore Neveah’s new roommate. For now, June is hot and cold with Neveah. She’s nice sometimes, but she can be mean, too. June has a complicated relationship with her mother, who would have preferred her daughter to be a senator, lawyer or doctor. She’s only willing to continue paying for June’s school if she can prove herself as a star. June assures her mother that with Cassie gone, she’s a shoo-in for the leading role of Aurora in their upcoming ballet Sleeping Beauty.

Then we have the show’s male leads, Shane (Brennan Clost), Caleb (Damon J. Gillespie), Nabil (Michael Hsu Rosen) and Oren (Barton Cowperthwaite). Oren is hooking up with both Bette and Shane, although he appears to be in denial about his sexuality (he might be bi?). We don’t learn much about Caleb in this episode except that he’s friends with Oren. Shane is easily the nicest of the bunch, at least to Neveah, who he instantly takes under his wing.

Then there’s Nabil, Cassie’s boyfriend and a serious talent amongst the school’s male dancers. There is a lot of tension between Nabil and the other guys, especially since some think he might have attacked Cassie. He transferred to the school just to be close to her, supposedly.

The other main male character we meet in Tiny Pretty Things Episode 1 is Ramon (Bayardo de Murguia), Delia’s boyfriend, and a skilled choreographer. Monique is eager to get Ramon to commit to choreographing the school’s ballet. Again, she needs to divert focus away from the scandal, and by having Ramon tasked with the ballet, it’ll generate buzz in the community.

The hitch in her plan is that she announces Ramon’s participation before getting his approval. He’s eager to return to Paris and not interested in Monique’s offer. Throughout the episode, Ramon receives a slew of threatening text messages from an anonymous person who wants to keep him out of Paris for good. Does this relate to Cassie somehow?

Toward the end of the episode, the students receive their partner assignments for the term. Instead of shifting partners throughout, they will each be paired with one person. Bette is horrified when she is paired with Shane, having anticipated working with Nabil. Neveah is paired with Oren. Monique and Ramon observe the class as Bette and Shane perform abysmally, with Bette falling in the middle of the routine.

Neveah and Oren go next and impress everyone in the room. The girls, the instructor — and Ramon all take notice of her talent. Neveah’s dancing inspires Ramon to stay and do the ballet, but he wants to scrap Sleeping Beauty. His idea is to create an original, intense, passionate, brutal ballet based on Jack the Ripper. Monique comments on how they all have “favorites” for the upcoming auditions. “So do I,” Ramon responds, looking back at Neveah. Yep, the competition just grew even fiercer.

Tiny Pretty Things Episode 1: Officer Cruz investigates what happened to Cassie.

The school is telling people that Cassie’s incident was nothing more than an accident. Some of the students believe it. Others have theories that she was attacked, and a few think it might have been suicide. A cop named Isabel (Jess Salgueiro) believes there was foul play involved. Despite the investigation being closed, she continues poking around to see what she can discover.

After Sleeping Beauty is scrapped, June reveals to Isabel that she might be done at the school anyway and reveals some important information. The night of Cassie’s fall, there was a secret party for certain students on the roof. Cassie wasn’t alone there.

In the final moments of the episode, we see Cassie in her hospital bed. June goes to visit her and repeatedly apologizes while sobbing at her bedside. Then Nabil shows up with flowers for Cassie.

When Neveah returns to her room and begins unpacking, she finds a single white rose under her pillow with a note that reads, “it’s your turn to fly.” Given what we know about Cassie’s attack on the roof and the mysterious assailant that held a rose, this sounds like that same person is threatening Neveah.

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What did you think of Tiny Pretty Things Episode 1? Are you planning to watch the rest of the season? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!

All ten episodes of Tiny Pretty Things Season 1 are now available to stream on Netflix.

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