Shrill Season 3, Episode 2 recap: Will

Into the second episode of Shrill Season 3 and it quickly becomes apparent that while Annie has shown a great deal of growth, in some ways, she’s still very much letting her body dictate every aspect of her life.

First, she writes an incredibly empowering article about her treatment by Dr. Montevista, which results in the doctor’s office implementing a new protocol where they’ll ensure all body types receive adequate health care without preconceived notions, I’m assuming.

But later, Amadi sets Annie up with a friend of his named Will (Cameron Britton). Will is a recently divorced guy who also happens to be on the bigger side, and when Annie sees him at the restaurant, she immediately assumes that their size is the only reason Amadi set them up.

It’s a pretty weird thing to assume, especially because Annie doesn’t even give Will a chance before her assumptions wreck their date. In the bathroom, she’s so eager to talk to Nick that she even mistakenly texts Will to lament about the bad date, writing that it’s the “worst” date of her life and asking if he wants to hang out later.

Will is understandably upset that Annie would think so poorly of their date, especially since they’d barely finished even one drink. After, Annie calls Amadi to lambast him for setting them up because they’re both fat, and Amadi is seriously confused. First off, it’s offensive Annie would think so poorly of her long-term friend, and secondly, Amadi genuinely thought they would hit it off because Will is a great guy.

Annie basically does the exact thing to Will that her doctor did to her, brush him off upon first sight because he’s fat. As Bustle points out, “Will is a catch, yet all Annie can see is his weight and what this pairing would look like to everyone else.”

It’s also interesting because Will has had past relationships and experiences, he’s clearly someone that would be good for her maturity-wise, but Annie can’t see that because she isn’t mature enough to yet. I’m hoping Will returns because it’d be great to see Annie reconcile her preconceived notions with her, hopefully growing character development and emotional awareness.

Ultimately, the whole thing makes Annie look like a jerk, even though she hasn’t realized it (yet?). But the whole idea of her juggling multiple “tasting pot” men might not be her thing, especially since she’s clearly super into Nick, and it’s clouding her judgment of other guys. She might have found any reason to sink her blind date, even if he didn’t look like Will, to have an excuse to hang out with Nick. Why play games? She should tell him how she feels.

Apart from the blind date debacle, Annie still has to deal with Ryan at work now that he’s in distribution at The Thorn. In this case, I’m not sure if the show is trying to make Annie look mean, but Ryan is annoying. He can’t respect Annie’s boundaries, even borrowing his mom’s car to “park close to her,” and not controlling his two buffoon friends who consistently harass Annie in the workplace. It’s not cute.

Elsewhere in Annie’s world, her parents Bill and Vera are out on a road trip with no end date in sight. Now that Bill is cancer-free, Vera is happy to tell her daughter they’ll come back whenever the f*** they want!

Shrill Season 3, Episode 2 recap: Fran gets a job at a new salon

Fran is tired of having clients invading her personal space. She wants to keep her work and personal life separate. Emily suggests that she try applying for a job at this cool, queer local salon called Shave with a collective-y vibe. Fran is initially against it since she previously worked at a salon in college and hated it but decides to at least give it a chance.

It immediately seems like Shave would be the perfect fit for Fran, and they only have two rules, don’t be an a**hole and be a vegan. Well, Fran isn’t a vegan, but as long as she doesn’t barbecue in the workplace, she’s set.

Upon leaving the salon, Fran immediately witnesses an accident where a man gets hit by a car. She gets interviewed as an eyewitness by a local news station and takes it as a sign that her working at Shave is the right decision.

That night she gathers all of her friends over at the house to celebrate her television debut as an eyewitness. “Ma’am you were a witness to the accident. Sounds like it was pretty crazy, huh?” “Yeah, it was.”

That’s it, but Fran is hilariously stoked about her brief one-liner and Emily, ever the supportive girlfriend, gets all their friends (including Nick and Annie) to chant, “Yeah, it was!” And these are the sweet moments we love Shrill for featuring.

Shrill Season 3 is now available to stream on Hulu.