Blow Out

**Blow Out** is the sixth episode in Season 1 of *I ♥ Arlo*.

## Synopsis

Feeling burned out from too much business, Furlecia asks Arlo to step into a new role as an assistant at the salon.

## Plot

At the Department of Hair, several Seasiders have crowded up and expecting salon appointments. Furlecia has finished an appointment with Elena fixing her hair for a meeting at the Department of Transportation, just before more customers peek in. Arlo, who is making a banner for Seaside's upcoming Uncondemning, offers to borrow some glitter just before she expects loads more appointments. She proceeds to help with her next few customers before Thao comes in to give her mail; Furlecia reveals she never got a break in weeks and has been busy nonstop. Since Thao cannot make an appointment herself because she hasn't had time to wash her hair, Furlecia tries to squeeze her in but her appointment book is flooded. So she cancels out her intended rollerskating break and fills Thao in for a private appointment after closing time. At the same moment, Furlecia sees her hair falling out before she gets the largest amount of appointments by 9,999.

That evening after the salon closes, Furlecia is tired as Arlo congratulates her on breaking another customer service record. When Arlo is surprised after Furlecia reveals she cancelled her skate night to squeeze in Thao, she still refuses to stop working as it's her duty to help people feel beautiful, and her job is so rewarding that sometimes she feels like losing pieces of herself. Sure enough, Arlo discovers Furlecia has been losing clumps of her hair all day due to her overwork; Arlo suggests she's shedding like how he does, but Furlecia knows this isn't puberty. Thao suddenly appears for her expected late night appointment, and rather than take care of her hair loss, she asks Arlo to let Thao in while she goes to relax herself, as there's no time to reschedule either. Out back, Furlecia tries to prepare to do what she always does one more time, but when doing so by posing with her floor fan, all of her hair falls off, leaving her completely hairless.

Furlecia comes back into the salon where Arlo and Thao are shocked to see her hairless, but she brushes it off and tries to devote all her attention to Thao. When she asks her what hairdo she wants, Thao simply replies whatever she thinks looks best. Furlecia takes Thao to the washing station where the water is too cold, but the faucet for hot water is stuck, and she ends up breaking it off the chair while trying to turn it, releasing a leak. Furlecia just shrugs this off as part of a new self-care regimen called "#SoakYourself", messing herself and the salon with hair dye. Furlecia then takes Thao to get her hair dried while Arlo has to handle the leak, but causes several chair issues and leaves Thao too high before coming back down and seeing Furlecia about to apparently shave her head. Thao then decides to make a hasty retreat and reschedule, and Furlecia accidentally starts the fire alarm allowing Bertie to come in with an extinguisher and see Furlecia overwhelmed.

Bertie notices Furlecia's overloaded appointment book and realizes she never had time for herself since the year before, and is upset she had a client walk out on her and still has to work hard. Bertie finds the stickynote of her skating trip and declares she needs a break, and Arlo finds her skates as well. Still refusing to rest, Furlecia shoos the two out and tries to take care of the salon herself, not caring how much she's in a bad shape. Furlecia then begins to hallucinate her stickynote talking to her and confronting her over her lack of self-care, as this is what happens if she doesn't take time for herself. Furlecia finally realizes how horrible she's become and the stickynote tells her to go skating for a change, and she reluctantly agrees. The following morning, Furlecia finally goes skating and enjoys herself, loosening up and having her mustache grow back as she becomes confident again.

That afternoon, Furlecia has Arlo organize the appointments, one in particular being for the following year while Furlecia relaxes. She gives Thao the hairdo she deserves, and Furlecia apologizes for her overwork and not taking care of herself. Elena then comes in and asks if she could be squeezed in for a last-minute trim that evening, and Furlecia fixes that by having Arlo take care of the appointment while she goes out for a break. Furlecia's pigtails then grow back, and Arlo happily smiles at her for being more careful with herself.

## Cast

* Michael J. Woodard as Arlo Beauregard
* Mary Lambert as Bertie
* Jonathan Van Ness as Furlecia
* Michelle McMillan as Young Woman/Long Haired Woman
* Kathy Vu as Thao
* Jessica Williams as Elena

## Trivia

* Tony, Alia, and Marcellus do not appear in this episode.