Everything Now – Episode 1 Recap & Review

 The “Fuck It” List

Episode 1 of Everything Now starts with us introduced to a teen called Mia, her dad, and a doctor. She has just been released from the rehabilitation centre after progressing significantly from anorexia. Lurched back into her life, Mia must follow strict diet standards to avoid going back to rehab.

As they head home, Mia’s father tells her about a small party at home to celebrate her return. Mia seems disturbed by this as she was hoping to ease back into her life. Our protagonist is not keen on meeting people who always seem disappointed in her. 

Mia is happy to enter the outside world again, but will she be comfortable at home? Upon arrival, Mia is greeted by her brother, Sam, and then her mother, Viv. But the sight of a freshly baked cake irritates Mia’s stomach, and she excuses herself from the gathering. She later finds a diet outline in her room. We can see Mia is unhappy but at least comfortable at home. 

Mia embarks on her school life the following day, but her parents can’t let her go without a pep talk. She’s given a new phone for emergency purposes without social media access. As she goes to catch the school bus, Mia meets her best friend, Cameron. In her narration, Mia explains why she is angry at Cam. She blames him for what happened and the fact that he never visited while she was in rehab. Nonetheless, Mia is ecstatic to see her other friends, Will and Becca. 

For the past seven months, she has been in rehab; Mia notes that a lot took place in her friends’ lives. While Will is eager to share the gossip, Becca is exhilarated to see her friend looking healthy.  Apparently, Becca lost her virginity to some guy during a wild party. Will is sleeping with his supervisor, and Cam has been busy with numerous girls. However, everything overwhelms the sixteen-year-old as she has many things to catch up on. After half a day in school, Mia realizes the school prepared a special lunch tailored to suit her new meal chart. She mingles with her schoolmates, and Alison joins them. 

Alison is a curious and straightforward person who wants to dig deeper into Mia’s life and experiences in rehab. As she inquires more, her words feel like a pinch of salt on a fresh wound, but Mia has normalized harsh words in her life. So, Alison’s inquisitive nature doesn’t irk Mia. 

It’s also when Mia learns about the party at Theo’s place. This thrills her as she has a huge crush on Theo. Mia can’t wait to get invited. Worrying that she might miss out, Mia takes a bold stance by approaching Theo and inviting herself to the party. 

After school, Mia makes a bucket list detailing what she wants to catch up on. She mentions things like first kiss, sex, and alcohol. Becca joins Mia as they get ready for the party. Kissing is one of her priorities, and she pleads with Becca to teach her how to kiss. Becca is happy to help her, and they kiss.  After getting ready for the party, Mia informs her parents that she’s going for a movie night but joins others at Theo’s place. 

While at the party, Alison convinces Mia to take her first Tequila shots to make the night merrier. Although Mia feels overwhelmed with this fast-paced experience, she takes the shots, surprising everyone. She gets drunk, dances, and enjoys the night. 

Cameron apologizes for not visiting Mia while at the rehab. We can also see Mia is livid at Cameron for exposing her illness to her parents. She goes inside, and we can see Cameron with Becca in the bushes, establishing that Mia shouldn’t learn about their relationship. Back at the party, Mia spots a dancing girl who sweeps her off her feet.

But, before Mia can talk to her, Theo sees her and notices she is drunk out of her mind. Theo hurriedly offers her water to sober her up. However, Mia, in her stupor, moves quickly, kissing Theo on his lips. He pulls away, and Mia thinks she didn’t kiss him well.  This makes her feel embarrassed, and she hurriedly starts walking away. She gets to the dancefloor, pukes and faints as the party comes to a stop, with everyone staring at her. Theo quickly calls the ambulance, and Mia is rushed to the hospital.

At the end of this episode, we see Mia being rushed to the hospital with her friends, waiting nervously in the lobby. Mia begs Will, Cameron, and Becca not to disclose to her parents what transpired because that would mean going back to rehab.  She assures them she just got drunk. Mia shows her friends her bucket list, explaining that she wants to feel included. 

To help Mia, her friends go through her bucket list, promising to help her achieve what she wants. In the end, the four friends leave the hospital, with Mia much calmer but a bit nauseous. 

The Episode Review

The episode illustrates Mia’s struggle to fit in after she spent seven months away at rehab for an eating disorder. She hits the ground running, trying to do everything to fit in, but her friends step in later, encouraging her to take it slow. Mia might be putting too much pressure on herself, and her friends are right to ask her to slow down.

It is clear that Mia and her mom have a cold relationship, but we still don’t know why. All we know is her mom seems too busy, and Mia feels like she is not a priority in Viv’s life. It will be interesting to see if there is more to their strained relationship.

We are also looking forward to seeing how Mia will react to the relationship between Becca and Cam. It may look like she is okay with Cam, but we can sense they still have a long way to go before all is truly well.

Will his relationship with Becca strain their friendship further? For the record, I think Mia shouldn’t be angry about Cam saving her life. Things must have been really bad if he had to tell her parents. She, however, can be mad that he never visited her at the rehab.

Let us dig into the next chapter to see what transpires!