Stage Magicians

## Episode guide

"**Stage Magicians**" is the third episode of the first season of *Melodrama* and the third episode of the series overall. It was released on September 4, 2020.

## Synopsis

As Walter struggles to balance his home, school and work lives, he gets closer to Ty. Addie and Filo's relationship remains turbulent, while Meghna and Inés develop a friendship.

## Plot

Dina overhears Jude being berated by Daniel and Ilana for letting Dina get recklessly drunk at Ty’s party and lying to them about getting dinner. When Jude walks past Dina’s room afterwards, Dina tries to apologize, but Jude tells her to fuck off.

Now that he is no longer selling alcohol to his fellow students, Walter is on the hunt for a part-time job. He heads to the local drugstore run by Iván, an old friend of Walter’s father Gus, who agrees to hire him. Meghna walks in to buy a Plan B pill and threatens Walter with violence if he tells anyone.

At school on Monday, the cast list for *The Glass Menagerie* has gone up. Furious that Filo has been cast as Amanda while she has been cast as Laura (with Ty cast as Tom Wingfield and Neil cast as Jim O’Connor), Meghna spitefully suggests that Filo only got the role of Amanda because she performed sexual favours for Ms. Martinez. Inés tells Meghna that she loved her audition and thinks she would have made a great Amanda. Later, Inés congratulates Ty for being cast as Tom and suggests they go out for dinner sometime. However, Ty’s interests lie elsewhere; he spends much of the next two weeks hanging out with Walter, who he finds captivating but mysterious.

Dina notices Addie and Jude spending an increasing amount of time together and starts to get jealous. Addie, meanwhile, is trying to set things straight with Filo, but Filo is giving her the silent treatment and ignoring her. Dina also notices that Walter is falling asleep in a lot of his classes. Just before rehearsals one day, she asks Ty if Walter’s dad lost his job again, but Ty is dumbfounded by the question, not knowing anything about Walter’s personal life. He asks Dina if she’d be willing to help him “crack the Walter code”. Dina tells him that all he has to do is just offer to be around.

A montage shows that Walter’s days are packed: he spends the first part of his day at school; works as stage manager for *The Glass Menagerie*; works part-time at Iván’s drugstore; acts as his household’s homemaker, cooking, cleaning and helping Gus with whatever he needs, especially when his chronic back pain acts up; and tries to squeeze in homework whenever possible.

Meghna and Inés become close by texting one another constantly, Meghna feeling egged on by Inés’s admiration of her acting skill. Meghna learns that Inés suffers from insomnia due to anxiety. At one point, Meghna asks if Inés has a car, which she doesn't. When Inés asks, Meghna simply says she wishes she knew how to drive.

Addie corners Filo after auditions one day and accuses her of leading Addie on at Ty’s party. Filo says that she’s simply choosing to prioritize her art as an actress and God, especially since she can’t shake the feeling that Dina’s suicide attempt last year was linked to her and Addie making out, like retribution from God. Addie asks Filo if she believes Addie’s sister died last year because Addie is a lesbian. When Filo is unable to answer, Addie slaps her, calls her a bitch and ends their romantic and platonic relationship.

One night, Ty helps Walter clean up his kitchen after Gus has gone to bed. He spots scars on Walter’s wrists, but doesn’t comment on them. Ty suggests they watch a movie together. Partway through, Walter thanks Ty to thank him for helping him out, even though he didn't ask for it. He admits to being afraid to be vulnerable. Ty tells him he can be as vulnerable with him as he wants to be, whenever he wants to be. Walter asks if he can kiss Ty and they do.

## 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

### Featuring

* Veronica Blanco as Suzanna Martinez
* Raúl Luna as Iván
* Ethan Morse as Neil
* Todd Andrew Wilson as Gus Fleming