Freedom

**Freedom** is the ninth episode of the first season of Grand Army, and the ninth episode overall. The episode was released on October 16, 2020 on Netflix.

## Synopsis

Dom, Joey and Sid find some release. After helping to lead the Black Student Union sit-in, Jayson stuns the crowd at his Lincoln Center performance.

## Plot

A text reads, “The filthy chinks, Arab terrorists, money grubbing jews, and attention \*\*\*\*\* blacks at your elitist school will be slaughtered and doomed to burn in the pits of hell. Their heads are going to be blown off by shrapnel. It is going to be a bloodbath. It is going to happen TODAY”.

The sender schedules the email for 10.45am — it’s Leila.

Dom is preparing for her marriage to Ronald — they are arranging payments and a place to stay. She’s told she needs to stay in the city until they get divorced. Dom admits to Ronald that she will be happy to have her own room.

Ronald asks if she’s doing anything for her birthday and she solemnly says no.
Joey is paranoid that her new school knows about what happened. She rings her mother and she’s upset that she’s “No-one” here. She texts George, Tim and Luke and asks if they can meet later as she wants to talk. Luke asks George to screenshot the text. They then bump into Sid and they tell him that they don’t care that he’s gay. The pair take it to an extreme about how Sid is gay — when Sid walks off he makes a comment about never getting into a taxi or an Uber with them. Sid finds Victor and tells him he is sorry for his outburst and the accusation against him. Victor accepts his apology.

Jay and others begin their sit-in routine. There are many students taking part and Jay is shocked at the turnout. Leila asks if she can sit with Omar. She seems chirpier than usual but keeps looking at the time. She tells Omar that even though she isn’t in the play, she still wants to see it.

John gives a speech about racism to the sit-in. Due to the email sent by Leila, the school is evacuated. Rachel is panicking and tells Leila that she doesn’t want to fight anymore. They make up as friends. Later, Leila and Omar hook up. Leila seems very happy- the play is cancelled, she has her best friend back and she’s hooking up with someone she likes.

Joey meets Luke, Tim, George and Anna. They are immediately impatient with her and expected an apology from her. She gets upset and asks them to admit what they did. When Anna backs George and Luke, Joey looks at Tim. She tells Tim that he sat there while they pinned her down. Tim stays silent and Joey stands back and looks at them all before walking off. The others walk off while Tim stands there and finally, he breaks — “It’s true though”. Luke and George get angry with Tim and tell him to stop talking.

As Joey walks home, Dom sees her. They sit on a bench together and catch up. Both girls agree that they are both just “living”.

When Dom returns home, she’s greeted by a surprise birthday party. John is there with roses. Dom’s mother is clearly bothered by their relationship. Dom then reveals to her friends that she got the internship. After she gives a birthday speech, the party starts but the concern on her mother’s face is still there.

The next day, Dom walks into school and John is there with a sign asking her if she’d like to go prom with him. She freaks out and heads to the bathroom. She tells her friends it’s a red flag for immigration. Her friends are surprised she’s going ahead with the marriage.

Jay and his friends meet with the assistant principal and talk about the treatment of black students in school. He suggests that they bring their issues to the Department of Education and try to attend the board.

Meanwhile, Leila finally stands up for herself in class against Chinese girls and tells them to speak English. She’s creating her own voice and despite her strange manipulations, this was a great moment for the character.

Sid finally gets his answer from Harvard — he got in and he’s ecstatic. Meera was also there and she’s very happy for him. Dom tells Victor about his news and he’s happy for him. The pair kiss. Sid then gets a text from his father congratulating him.

Meanwhile, Dom apologizes to the teacher that let her off for cheating and putting him in that situation — she promises she’s back on track. Then, Dom speaks to John and asks if he’s around later.

Leila tells Omar that she is a dominant female and then shows him her graphic artwork — she explains that the post-apocalyptic world makes her feel freer and is an outlet. She then gets a text from George and she entertains it. Leila starts kissing Omar again.

Jay tells Owen that he’s filling in for his All-State Performance. Owen is furious at him and thinks he should give up the spot but as he walks off, he gives Jay advice on the notes he should do. Jay takes part in the performance rehearsals. Afterwards, Jay creates a story on Instagram of him and Owen playing instruments together and captions it that he should be with him on stage.

One of the girls named Sylvie at Joey’s new school tells her she was also raped; her brother took her to a party in her dorm and the weed was laced — as she headed to the bathroom another student threw her on the bed and raped her. Sylvie never told anyone as she didn’t want to be a “Rape girl”. Sylvie finds Joey to be brave for what she did and regrets not saying anything. She tells Joey that she believes her.

When Dom returns home, she learns that her mother cancelled the marriage — her sister and her mother felt she didn’t want it so they will go through tough times together. Dom doesn’t feel it is fair on the family and doesn’t want to let them down. Her mother saw Dom with her friends and she changed her mind when they called Dom a “genius”; her sister also wants to see Dom get married to a man she loves. She has freedom again.

Joey decides to head to dance class to see if she can handle it. The dance teacher asks the group to let go of their bodies and release. Meanwhile,Tim snorts drugs while Joey finally finds herself again in dance. Tim texts her asking if they can talk as Joey finally has a smile on her face.

Dom texts John outside of his apartment. She has a surprise for him. She’s laid out rose petals that say “Prom?”. John says yes.

Jay performs in the All-State Performance — he covers his mouth with black sellotape. It’s a protest — “We will not be silenced”. He stands there, fists in the air, with the entire theater in silence.

## Cast

* Odley Jean as Dominique Pierre
* Amir Bageria as Siddhartha Pakam
* Maliq Johnson as Jayson Jackson
* Amalia Yoo as Leila Kwan Zimmer
* Alphonso Romero Jones II as John Ellis
* Thelonius Serrell-Freed as Tim Delaney
* Anthony Ippolito as George Wright
* Brian Altemus as Luke Friedman
* Brittany Adebumola as Tamika Jones
* Naiya Ortiz as Sonia Cruz
* Crystal Sha're Nelson as Tor Sampson
* Jaden Jordan as Owen Williams
* Ashley Ganger as Meera Pakam
* August Blanco Rosenstein as Victor Borin
* Zac Kara as Omar Biller
* Mirabella Raschke-Robinson as Sylvie Costa

* Lindsay Wu as Wendi
* Tiffany Alycia Tong as Mei
* Jennifer Tong as Su
* Magaly Colimon as Antoinette Pierre
* Sagine Sémajuste as Sabine Pierre
* Mercedes Slater as Odette Pierre
* Osias Reid as Tristan Pierre
* Cole Bullock as Dante Pierre
* Harold Surratt as Grandpa Hank Jackson
* Michael Brown as Shawn Jackson
* Raven Dauda as Nicole Jackson
* Alexandra Castillo as Ms. Lisa Gonzalez
* Marissa Rutka as Ms. Miya Nakamura
* Geoffrey Pounsett as Mr. Knight
* Jason Weinberg as Principal Michael Metta
* Kevin Bundy as Vice Principal Burly
* Linda Carter as Dolores
* Chantal Jean-Pierre as Perla Toussaint
* Caleb Grandoit as Ronald Toussaint
* Andrew Moodie as Mr. Phillips
* Clyde Whitham as Father Dominic
* Asha Vijayasingham as Ms. Kowalski
* Daniel Keith Morrison as Dance Instructor
* David Benjamin Tomlinson as All-State Band Director
* Meghan Allen as Art History Teacher
* Alex Spencer as Head of Grand Army Security
* Brendan Rush as Wesley Graham
* Aidan Naworysnki as Aidan Paulus
* Mckenzie Small as Agnes
* Jayden Greig as White Boy
* Alexander Nunez as Young Man
* Feaven Abera as Sacred Heart Student #1
* Alanna Bale as Sacred Heart Student #2
* Sharla Sidon as Sacred Heart Girl #1
* Catherine Saindon as Sacred Heart Girl #2
* Sabrina Lindsay as Basket Ball Girl #2
* Sarah Okello as Basket Ball Girl #3
* Joel Jones as Suspension Site Kid #2
* Kataem O'Connor as Suspension Site Kid #3
* Cameryn Manning as Suspension Site Kid #4
* Gina O. James as BSU Girl
* Tavaree Daniel-Simms as BSU Sit in Kid #1
* Ysabel Garcia as BSU Sit in Kid #2
* Tosh Robertson as BSU Sit in Kid #3
* Alexander Gallimore as BSU Sit in Kid #4
* Emira Mesihovic as BSU Sit in Kid #5
* Naomi Melvin as BSU Sit in Kid #6
* Olivia Solo as Student Reporter
* Aidan J. Lawrence as School Group Kid
* Conor Freeborn as All-State Band Musician #1
* James Griffith as All-State Band Musician #2
* Lucas Dubovik as All-State Band Musician #3
* Virginia MacDonald as All-State Band Musician #4
* Roney Lewis as Dance Center Dancer #1
* Lauren Lyn as Dance Center Dancer #2

## Notes and Trivia

While Joey is listening to podcast or a local news radio, they mention the Novel corona virus and quarantining new Yorkers.