Safety On

**Safety On** is the fourth episode of the first season of Grand Army, and the fourth episode overall. The episode released on October 16, 2020 on Netflix.

## Synopsis

Traumatized, Joey spirals. Sid opens up in his Harvard essay. A health crisis puts more pressure on Dom to financially support her family.

## Plot

A text reads: “Borders aren’t secure, markets aren’t secure, democracy’s not safe”. Joey wakes up and Anna has texted her wondering if Tim is going to feel bad. Parts of the events in the taxi were live on social media. Her mother asks Joey if she’s ever going to leave her bedroom because she knows she’s hungover. Joey ponders what to say back to Tim — she decides to just send a text joking around.

At a church event, Dom’s sister has a go at her for not coming home the night before to look after the children. Dom reminds her she isn’t the mother of the children. The mother asks both girls to be quiet. Afterwards, the Pastor offers Dom an initiative he wants her to be part of that helps people with mental health issues linked to substance abuse.

Joey goes into school and she is paranoid and anxious that people are talking about her. Tim asks if she’s okay; Luke and George give her a bagel.

Joey and her friends play “Never have I ever”. Anna says, “Never have I ever had an orgy with friends”. Everyone laughs and the situation continues to eat on Joey’s mind. She replays what happened in the taxi.

In dance class, she texts her mother that she’ll live into her father’s house if she isn’t happy with her. One of the girls asks her if she’s tired of “sucking so much dick”. Dom accidentally throws a basketball at her and Joey loses her cool and confronts her angrily before walking out. Dom runs after her in the bathroom and sees bruises on Joey’s inner thighs.

At home, Jay is preparing to return to school for his hearing after the suspension. The grandfather feels he’s been made to feel like a criminal. The whole family discuss the situation but Jay isn’t in the mood to involve himself in the conversation. He tries to ring Owen but the number is disconnected.

When Jay goes to school he learns the music class is temporarily replacing Owen despite there being no hearing yet. As for Joey, she’s still replaying the sexual assault she experienced by her own friends. In class, she puts her hand up and asks the teacher to shut the door as the music is distracting. As she sobs, she discusses the Great Gatsby book and how it’s mansplaining and racist. She tells the teacher she doesn’t know why she’s crying and that she hates the book.

Joey then goes to the bathroom to meet Luke and tells him that she cannot sleep. He gives her drugs to help her.

Sid talks to his counselor about his essay; in it, he discusses the bombing PTSD and sexuality. The counsellor brings up the sexuality part of his essay and asks if he wants to share this — he’s unsure. Sid doesn’t want his parents to know and instead, asks her to submit it to Harvard admission. Afterwards, Sid meets a random guy from Gindr for oral sex in a changing room.

In an audition, Leila talks about sex and loving her body — George and Joey are nearby watching. George kicks her out. It messes up Leila’s audition. She imagines her cartoon again; George and Joey are tied up and it turns violent. Back to reality, Leila tells Meera she’d love to be cast.

Sid is worried he’s got an STD from the oral sex. He then sees someone hit on his sister so he warns the student that his sister is a “handful”.

In an assembly about police and security, Tim asks Joey if she’s okay which is an audacious question considering he didn’t stop his friends from raping her. She continues to use her drugs and replays what happened in her head. Dom receives a text that her sister has hurt her back badly — John asks if she’d like to hang out later but you can sense something bad is about to impact Dom’s life.

Joey continues to struggle so she leaves the assembly. Anna looks after her while waiting for her mother. Anna apologizes to Joey for being selfish about the situation because she loves her. Dom also checks up on her.

Dom goes to John’s house for dinner. She thinks his mother is nice. John and Dom seem smitten with each other and they kiss. Dom returns home and sees her sister is in a lot of pain with her back.

Joey is having a really hard time. Her mother comforts her as she sobs. She finally reveals that she was raped.

A text reads: “Borders aren’t secure, markets aren’t secure, democracy’s not safe. Your students aren’t safe and they know it.”.

## 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
* Lola Blackman as Rachel Finer
* Keara Graves as Grace
* Ashley Ganger as Meera Pakam
* Zac Kara as Omar Biller
* August Blanco Rosenstein as Victor Borin

* David Iacono as Bo Orlov
* Matthew Finlan as All-American Bro
* Lindsay Wu as Wendi
* Tiffany Alycia Tong as Mei
* Jennifer Tong as Su
* Brendan Rush as Wesley Graham
* Aidan Naworysnki as Aidan Paulus
* Tenzin Kharkhang as Lou Cheng
* Kerry Ann James as Nadja
* Diego Martinez-Tau as Chris Yoon
* Micah Solis as Nick Rodriguez
* Rachel Boyd as Natalie
* Kelsey Falconer as Christina
* Brandi Alexander as Coach Reynolds
* Sagine Sémajuste as Sabine Pierre
* Magaly Colimon as Antoinette Pierre
* Mercedes Slater as Odette Pierre
* Osias Reid as Tristan Pierre
* Cole Bullock as Dante Pierre
* Jean-Remy Monnay as Pastor St. John
* Katie Griffin as Rebecca Connely
* Rod Wilson as Matt Del Marco
* Ava Preston as Nina Del Marco
* Deanna Interbartolo as Frankie Del Marco
* Lynn Weintraub as Rabbi Sadie Schultz
* Nadine Roden as Paula Ellis
* Michael Brown as Shawn Jackson
* Raven Dauda as Nicole Jackson
* Harold Surratt as Grandpa Hank Jackson
* Ordena Stephens-Thompson as Deborah Williams
* Ron Boyce as Robert Williams
* Alexandra Castillo as Ms. Lisa Gonzalez
* Jason Weinberg as Principal Michael Metta
* Geoffrey Pounsett as Mr. Knight
* Jim Annan as AP English Teacher
* Brad Austin as Officer Crisco
* Carlos Albornoz as Officer Valdez
* Shahrukh Arif as Taxi Driver
* Laurel Cass as Senior Dance Captain #1
* Jenna Warren as Senior Dance Captain #2
* Justine Sanker as Dance Team #1
* Alyssa Trask as Dance Team #2
* Julie Karn as Dance Team #3
* Tanya Karn as Dance Team #4
* Saskia Barros-Raparanta as Dance Team #5
* Nicole Rosove as Dance Team #6
* Trisha Ng as Dance Team #7
* Paulina Macias as Dance Team #8

Lianne Tammi as Dance Team #9

* Alyssa Provenzano as Dance Team #10
* Krystel Cisnero as Dance Team #11
* Amanda Videla as Dance Team #12
* Regan Reynolds as Dance Team #13
* Larinee Movessian as Dance Team #14