Fire Escape

## Episode guide

"**Fire Escape**" is the second episode of the first season of *Melodrama* and the second episode of the series overall. It was released on August 28, 2020.

## Synopsis

At Ty’s party, Addie wants to move things forward, but Filo feels the eyes of God, her parents and other students at City High watching her; Walter and Ty bond; and Amar provides Dina a new perspective. Meanwhile, Meghna goes on a date with a much older man.

## Plot

Most of Filo’s house is surrounded by Catholic paraphernalia, but as Filo prepares for Ty’s party, we see that her bedroom walls in particular are filled with Broadway posters. As she applies makeup, she sings along to *Chicago* lyrics. Addie texts her that she’ll be at Filo’s in about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, on their drive home, Dina convinces Jude to get her to Ty’s party, citing a need to reclaim her social life. Once they get home, Jude gets permission from their mother Ilana to take Dina out for dinner to celebrate her first full week back at school.

Having washed the dishes, Walter checks to see that his father is asleep, then turns around and picks up some beers, a bottle of vodka and a bottle of rum from the fridge. Once he arrives at Ty’s, he tells him that the drinks are on the house. Ty heads out to pick up Inés as Amar helps Walter take the drinks inside. Amar asks Walter if he and Dina broke up. They never dated, but Walter wants to make up for past mistakes and restore their friendship. Amar suggests that some booze may help ease the tension, but Walter says he doesn’t drink. After filling two cups with water, he and Amar toast to their teetotalism.

Meghna is having dinner in Seattle with a much older man. A waitress arrives to take their orders and discreetly slips Meghna a note telling her to go to the bathrooms at the back of the restaurant if she needs help and providing her number. Meghna crumples up the note and puts it in her purse.

A few hours later, the party is in full swing. Inés thanks Ty for the ride to his place and Ty promises to catch up with her later. Inside Addie and Filo dance together until a guy called Roy harasses them. Filo becomes uncomfortable and asks if they can go somewhere else. Dina and Jude arrive and Jude warns Dina not to do anything stupid. Dina crosses paths with Addie and asks if they can talk, but Addie wants to keep her distance and leaves, dragging Filo along. From behind Dina, Amar points out that Addie’s behavior towards her is similar to her behavior towards Walter. He offers her some vodka, which she accepts. Meanwhile, Ty catches up with Walter and thanks him for bringing the drinks, and the two bond over a mutual love for Brandon Sanderson books.

Meghna’s dinner date offers a round of dessert. As Meghna digs into the cheesecake, he invites her to his house and she agrees.

Addie and Filo pass a blunt back and forth outside Ty’s. Filo says that things are weird now that Dina is back and insists that they should just be friends. Addie argues that they shouldn’t let one night and one girl control the rest of their lives, but Filo holds her ground. Addie storms off and Filo gets a text from her mother reminding her to be back home soon. Roy asks Addie if he missed out on all the fun between her and Filo. Addie tells him to fuck off. She then crosses paths with Jude, who asks if she needs someone to vent to. A montage intercuts both Amar and Dina as well as Walter and Ty talking, laughing and dancing as pairs, with additional shots of Dina drinking heavily.

At his house, Meghna and her dinner date have some shots of tequila. He pressures her into having more shots than she would like, then eats her out. She agrees to have penetrative sex with him so long as he wears a condom, but though he shows her one, he doesn’t put it on. After they’ve had sex, Meghna washes off her makeup, puts on her clothes, takes out the paper in her purse and calls the waitress to ask for a ride home, all while her date is in the bathroom. He offers her an Uber home but she declines. Once the waitress arrives, Meghna thanks the waitress for her help. Later, she sneaks into her room through the open window.

As the party winds down, Walter offers to help Ty clean up. Inés spots the two of them in the distance and offers to help, but Ty tells her they’ll be alright. Addie and Filo head out together, though not on speaking terms. As Walter starts clearing away red cups, he is confronted by Dina, who drunkenly accuses him of psychopathic behavior and of being obsessed with her. She tells him to leave her alone and stop talking about her behind her back. Amar tells Dina to get her act together and she is ultimately held back by Jude, who calls her out for acting like an idiot and tells her to get in the car with her. Ty cheers Walter up by turning on some music and dancing with him as they continue cleaning.

Addie parks outside of Filo’s house. Filo is worried that her mother will be upset by her late arrival, but also apologizes for earlier in the night and kisses Addie. The two make out for a bit, then Filo gets out of the car. She waves Addie goodbye before opening the door and going inside her house, Addie smiling after her.

## 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

### Featuring

* Kristen Chang as Waitress
* Chris Codey as Roy
* Paul Johnston as Meghna's date
* Todd Andrew Wilson as Gus Fleming