Blue Roses

## Episode guide

"**Blue Roses**" is the eighth and final episode of the first season of *Melodrama* and the eighth episode of the series overall. It was released on October 9, 2020.

## Synopsis

On the opening night of the school play, the show must go on without Meghna. A visit from her older sister gives Filo a voice. Addie establishes her boundaries, and Daniel reflects on his relationships with his daughters.

## Plot

Meghna has often had revenge fantasies of crashing into Neil’s house with a car. In the weeks immediately following her first instance of sexual assault at his hands, Meghna spent a lot of time watching action female-led action movies and TV shows. Unable to drive, Meghna instead leaves her house that dusk on her bike.

It’s opening night for City High’s production of *The Glass Menagerie*. As Filo arrives at City High to get ready for the show, her family eagerly sends her their best wishes. Her older sister, Bennie, has flown in from California specially to see her sister onstage. Hugging at the airport upon Bennie’s arrival, Filo tells her that life at home hasn’t been the same in the months since she left for college.

Backstage, it quickly becomes apparent that Meghna is missing. Addie, her understudy, prepares to take the stage. A flashback expands on Walter and Inés’s meeting with Ms. Martinez the episode prior. The two outline their concerns regarding Meghna, including her erratic behavior, purchasing Plan B, her encounters with Neil and her history of flirting with older men. However, they admit that they don’t have any concrete theories or information about her wellbeing. Based on this information, Ms. Martinez organizes an unproductive private meeting with Meghna, who walks out on it halfway through.

Meghna cycles seemingly listlessly through town. She stops at a local playground and takes advantage of the swings.

The show begins, with Ty taking the stage for his opening monologue as Tom. A flashback shows him and Walter talking through their relationship. Walter elaborates on his history with self-harm, which he did to cope with the overwhelming nature of his father’s addiction. Ty reveals that he still feels angry every now and again over his parents’ divorce, even though it was amicable and has allowed his father to live openly as a gay man. Walter shares his similar frustration with regards to his mom and expresses an interest in meeting Ty’s dad someday.

Meghna next heads over to Neil’s house. The house looks unoccupied, but Meghna notices that the window to Neil’s room is still open.

As she plays the cello on stage, Dina looks up and spots Amar’s silhouette operating the switchboard in the auditorium mezzanine. In a flashback to a dinner between her and Amar the past weekend, Dina confirms that their meeting is not romantic in nature and discloses that she’s asexual. Amar, a practicing Muslim, isn’t interested in dating at all, to which Dina expresses relief. Dina thanks Amar for being a friend to her this past semester. Amar says it’s been a pleasure.

Ilana and Jude cheer Dina on from the audience. Daniel is not at the show, per Dina’s request. As he eats dinner alone at home, Daniel reminisces on encouraging Dina’s passion for the cello and Jude’s talents in math when they were younger.

Meghna trashes Neil’s room, tossing his dirty clothes all over the floor, knocking over his music and DVD collections, spilling the food in his room all over the floor and ripping apart the posters on his wall. She screams all the while, letting out all the emotions she’s been bottling up all year. With the room sufficiently a wreck, she sits down in the middle of the chaos and cries.

Filo and Addie take the stage together as Amanda and Laura. A flashback shows Dina trying, without success, to convince Addie to talk to Filo. When that plan falls through, Filo slides a letter into Addie’s locker. In it, Filo admits to and apologizes for leading Addie on and disrespecting her boundaries. She asks if they can continue their relationship as friends. However, Addie rejects this apology as Filo hasn’t apologized for insinuating that their relationship caused Stéph’s death. She asserts that Filo’s lingering homophobia would make their friendship untenable.

The show is ultimately a success. Afterwards, Meghna’s parents, Sitara and Jayesh, ask Ms. Martinez where their daughter is, but she doesn’t know. Ilana and Jude congratulate both Dina and Addie on a wonderful performance. Addie hugs Jude, thanking her for her support over the semester, before going to find her parents. Walter introduces Ty to Gus. During her drive back home, Filo asks her family if they’ll always be as proud of her as they are in this moment, to which they say yes. After arriving home, Filo takes Bennie aside and privately comes out to her. Bennie is supportive, but advises Filo to keep her guard up with regards to the rest of the family.

Jayesh drops Sitara off at their home. He aims to drive around down on the hunt for Meghna, while Sitara is to stay at home in case Meghna returns. Meanwhile, Neil arrives at his own home and is shocked and angered at the state of his bedroom. Sitara calls for her daughter, who responds from her bedroom. When Sitara arrives at the door, Meghna tells her that she was raped, to which Sitara responds with shock.

## Credits

### Cast

#### Starring

* Chana Wilson as Dina Shulman
* Flávia Baptista as Filo de Sousa Teixeira
* Joshua Hollis as Walter Fleming
* Maya Levin as Jude Shulman
* Ralph McCowan as Ty Norton
* Gabby Mendoza as Inés Montoya
* Shahid Nawaz as Amar Khan
* Nadia Orenstein as Ilana Shulman
* Constance Presley as Addie Nadeau
* Saraswathi Radhakrishnan as Meghna Menon
* Barry Reiss as Daniel Shulman

#### Featured

* Veronica Blanco as Suzanna Martinez
* Bruno Campos as Rico de Sousa Teixeira
* Annie Copland as 10-year-old Dina Shulman
* Layla Dash as Bennie de Sousa Teixeira
* Mina Hecht as 14-year-old Jude Shulman
* Victoria Linhares as Isabel de Sousa
* Cece Rachel Lopez as Adriana de Sousa Teixeira
* Ethan Morse as Neil
* Suvarna Natarajan as Sitara Menon
* Manuel Njinga as Jerónimo Teixeira
* Lena Oldenburg as 11-year-old Jude Shulman
* Rita Oliveira as Ana Paola de Sousa
* Nanji Parekh as Jayesh Menon
* Hannah Sherman as 13-year-old Dina Shulman
* Todd Andrew Wilson as Gus Fleming