Bridge and Tunnel Season 1, Episode 2 recap: Will Jimmy give up Alaska for Jill?

Bridge and Tunnel Episode 2 is all about “Making Up for Lost Time,” as Jill and Jimmy catch up after spending — gasp! — a full week away from each other. Mikey and Stacey are also all about rekindling their old flame, too, despite Stacey having a boyfriend waiting for her back in Manhattan.

Similar to the premiere episode, Bridge and Tunnel Episode 2 is very subdued, focusing primarily on intimate scenes between two-four characters at most. You can definitely tell this show was impacted by the pandemic, but it doesn’t necessarily hinder it, especially because it’s quite grounded in reality, and the actors feel up to the task. The short and sweet runtime also helps.

The second installment opens with Jimmy’s sister Genie antagonizing him by hogging the phone. Since he and Jill’s argument last week at the Tavern, Jimmy has been calling her every day of the week. Jill hasn’t called back. At least, that’s what Jimmy thinks until his dad reveals that Jill did call back the night before, and it just slipped his mind.

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Jimmy’s parents have good reason to root against Jimmy and Jill’s reconciliation since they worry he’ll end up giving up his dream of being a photographer for National Geographic. He’s set to fly out to Alaska in three weeks for a six-month gig.

When Jimmy finally returns Jill’s call, she invites him over. As expected, Jimmy immediately hangs up the phone and sprints to Jill’s house, arriving in a matter of seconds.

Then it’s back to normal with those two as they spend the day having sex and catching up in Jill’s bed. Jill reveals she’s not happy with her current job in Manhattan because the other girls and her supervisor always make fun of her Long Island accent, calling her “Bridge and Tunnel.”

But then, similar to what happened in the first episode, Jimmy and Jill’s happiness is short-lived once they get to talking about the reality of their situation. Last week, Jimmy seemed to be open to the idea of having a relatively casual relationship with Jill for the next three weeks and then letting the chips fall where they may when he leaves. This week, Jimmy’s laissez-faire attitude has changed.

Now that JIll has come around to the idea of them spending time together until Jimmy leaves for Alaska and then breaking things off, Jimmy doesn’t like the idea so much. What if she meets another guy while he’s gone? Well, that’s sort of the point Jill has been making all along. She doesn’t want to be tied down.

Why should she have to sit around waiting for him for six months? And what if he gets somewhere else after Alaska for an even longer period? Of course, Jill isn’t thinking about all the men she might date; she just wants Jimmy to understand she needs her freedom. All he hears is, “I want to sleep with other men.” It’s silly and immature. Jill rightly calls him out on being a hypocrite and kicks him out. For now, they’re on the outs again.

Stacey and Mikey rekindle their relationship in Bridge and Tunnel Episode 2.

Meanwhile, Stacey and Mikey also spend the majority of their day in bed. Stacey’s motives are more straightforward. She wants to have her cake and eat it too. She likes the idea of having Mikey at her beck and call. And Mikey appears fine with their casual friends with benefits status. But Stacey also wants Mikey to be a little hung up on her, maybe like he was in high school. And she definitely doesn’t like the idea of him potentially flirting with Tammy or blowing her off to go hang out with Pags.

Later, Mikey, Tammy, Stacey and Pags get together for a barbecue. Stacey only attends to hang out with Mikey and keep an eye on him and Tammy since she now knows Tammy has a crush on him.

Pags is stressed out by his mom’s new boyfriend in Bridge and Tunnel Episode 2.

The third main thread of this episode revolves around Pags’s mother starting to date Stacey’s dad, Mr. Ross, a car salesman who makes those cheesy commercials. The whole thing weirds out Pags since he’s known Mr. Ross since he was a kid. He also doesn’t want to hear about his mother’s sex life, but she makes it a point to tell both of her kids to get out of the house for the night so she can cook dinner for her date and see where things lead.

Stacey doesn’t seem as phased by her dad and Pags’s mom dating. While Pags is looking down the road and wondering if they might someday be step-siblings, Stacey doesn’t think it’ll last long.

Once Stacey and Mikey start making out again at the barbecue, Tammy and Pags take it as their cue to leave. When Pags gets home, he finds his mom and sister hanging out on the couch, gearing up for the premiere of one of Mr. Ross’s new commercial debuts. He wrangles Pags onto the couch to join them, and they watch the ad like a family, despite Pags’s obvious discomfort.

In the closing moments of Bridge and Tunnel Episode 2, Jimmy sits alone in his room after his fight with Jill. He takes down the note he received with his Alaska offer and stares at it. Uh-oh, is Jimmy already starting to have second thoughts because of Jill?

New episodes of Bridge and Tunnel drop weekly on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET on EPIX.