GayTV Recap: No Good Nick (Episodes 2x2-2x9)
Jeremy went about planning the poker fundraiser with his fellow student council members Lisa and Eric (played by Gus Kamp). Nick injected herself into the conversation, offering to be a dealer for the event, as she secretly plotted to use her new friend Will to cheat in the tournament to get her hands on the ATV raffle prize to sell for cash. Eric told Jeremy that they were actually missing a dealer, leading him to agree on Nick, despite his long-standing suspicions about her motives.
At the fundraiser, Eric played host, welcoming everyone to the tournament and showing off the prize. Student Council President Jeremy then took the microphone wishing everyone luck, before setting them all loose on the poker tables. He soon found himself at a table squaring off against his father, only to quickly prove his father's bluffing skills were subpar, eliminating him from the tournament.
As the competitors dwindled, Jeremy's skills continued to triumph and he found himself at the final table, squaring off against Nick's new pal Will (played by Anthony Turpel). Before he sat down, Eric congratulated him on his victories. Jeremy commended Eric on all of the effort he put into making the night turn out so great. He told Jeremy he wanted to make sure it was all perfect because he knew how important it was to Jeremy. Eric wished him luck and he took his seat, with a cheating Nick as dealer. The timely arrival of Jeremy’s sister Molly, looking for Nick's advice in her emotional crisis, forced Nick to leave the table, making Will very nervous.
With Nick out of the dealer's seat, things at the poker table soon came down to just two players, Jeremy & Will. Nick tried her best to speed Molly through her sad story about being abandoned by her volunteer club friends. She returned just as Jeremy was about to win a hand. She caused a drink to spill on Lisa, removing her from the dealer spot, and forcing Eric to call it a dead hand, meaning it would have to be re-dealt. Jeremy was disappointed, knowing he would have won.
Nick dealt a new hand, which left both boys with strong cards. Jeremy went all-in with his bet, showing off two aces. This led to a surprising outburst from Eric, cheering him on. He then quickly corrected himself, as to show no bias as the host. He still got a smirk from Jeremy. As Nick continued to deal the cards, the boys remained very close with their poker hands, as Will had a pair of kings on his side.
Despite Jeremy's strong hand, Nick's sneaky dealing led Will to get the better of him, winning the final poker game. Knowing the odds, Jeremy couldn't believe he lost thanks to just one card, as Will celebrated. Nick covered her tracks by showing her shock at how crazy the poker hand turned out. Eric was by Jeremy's side, as he vented over the loss.
Despite his loss, the night didn't end badly for Jeremy. Nick & Will commiserated over him not winning the ATV in the raffle, which Nick had secretly rigged so her cohort Phil could win in order to sell it for her. She and Will almost kissed but Nick stopped short when she spotted Jeremy kissing Eric at the other end of the hallway. Left alone, Jeremy told her that he wasn't ready to come out to anyone, as he was still figuring out his feelings. Though he wasn't ashamed of his sexuality, he wanted to do things in his own time. Nick promised him she wouldn't tell anyone, as she knew how important secrets can be. The two shared a hug, as Jeremy was surprised to find her on his side, despite their adversarial relationship.
Episode 2x3 began with excitement for Jeremy's parents as the family discussed the 90's themed event at the school, where a time capsule would be opened, bringing up memories for Jeremy's mother who graduated from the high school. With everyone at school decked out in 90's-themed garb, Jeremy informed Nick & Molly that all cellphones were being taken away for the day as part of the festivities, to keep things specific to the time period. This, of course, gave Nick an idea for her next heist.
Jeremy and his student council pal Jim got the phones locked away and watched over them until they were joined by Eric, pushing a giant Trojan horse prop from the drama department, which needed to be stored for an hour in the same closet with the phones. Jeremy had questions about it and Jim agreed to investigate, which left Jeremy & Eric alone after the horse had been locked away.
Eric mentioned that they hadn't been alone together since poker night. Jeremy admitted that he had been thinking a lot about that night. Eric suggested they hang out sometime and Jeremy asked him out for dinner and a movie, leading to a discussion that made them realize they shared the same favorites when it came to food and film, surprising each other.
It wasn't long before the two were holding hands in the hallway, as they continued to learn about each other's interests. Jeremy's interest, however, seemed to wane when he learned that Eric was also a conspiracy theorist, who grew suspicious of things very easily. They were joined by Will who claimed to be there to pick up the horse, knowing Nick was hiding inside to steal the cellphones. Eric's latest conspiracy theory sent Jeremy off to find Jim. With her heist done, Nick ran into Jeremy in the hall, wondering if he had talked to Eric since their kiss. He confided in her that he wasn't sure there was a real connection with Eric, drawing her sympathy.
Episode 2x8 saw Nick focusing in on her quest to ruin the Thompsons for their past sins towards her family. Jeremy spent his morning trying to convince the student council to agree to his idea for the outgoing council gift for the school, which was disputed by Lisa, still upset that Jeremy beat her to become student council president. After the group dispersed, Eric showed his support for Jeremy's idea, while also wondering if Jeremy was going to keep ignoring him since their last talk.
Jeremy felt bad and called Eric back into the classroom. He admitted that Eric was actually right with his conspiracy theory about the Trojan horse after the cellphones were discovered stolen from the closet. Eric guessed he didn't seem so crazy now. Jeremy agreed, but the silence between them led Jeremy to mention having to get going to study for the big chemistry exam. Eric shared that he was sure Jeremy would do great like always.
At the next student council meeting, Jeremy looked to use one of his patented powerpoint presentations to get the council to agree with his gift idea. However, when he flipped to the second slide, it showed a copy of the chemistry exam answers, shocking everyone in the room, including Jeremy. Lisa immediately accused Jeremy of being a cheater, which he denied, as their teacher and student council supervisor Ms. Lee was furious to see her answer key in Jeremy's possession.
Jeremy landed in the principal's office, where he swore his innocence. He was joined by his father Ed who assured the principal that Jeremy would never steal test answers. Jeremy mentioned his stellar grades in Ms. Lee's class, which Lisa claimed were probably because of his cheating. Jeremy defended himself, claiming that Lisa was obviously setting him up. His father, head of the PTA, convinced the principal to not suspend Jeremy until a full investigation could be done. She agreed, to Lisa's dismay. An angry Jeremy swore to Lisa that he did nothing wrong. Jeremy & Ed then ran into Nick and filled her in on what happened, unaware that she was behind the setup of Jeremy.
Given that her plan hadn't worked to get Jeremy in trouble, Nick set out to cause more. At the next student council meeting, Jeremy called things to order and asked Eric to read out the minutes. Eric found a note addressed to Lisa, directing her to check Jeremy's drawer, revealing stolen ballots from the student council election. Everyone, including Jeremy, was shocked at the discovery. Lisa claimed that Jeremy rigged the election to beat her, leading to her calls for his removal from office. Eric couldn't believe this was happening and Jeremy promised that he hadn't done anything wrong.
Jeremy found himself back in the principal's office with his father. Principal Burke informed them both that in light of this latest incident, Jeremy was not only removed from office as student council president, but he was also being expelled from the school. Jeremy & Ed were stunned to hear this and Ed again called for an investigation since he was innocent until proven guilty. The principal said that the proof was clear and he was guilty, leaving Jeremy devastated. Ed tried to console him, but Jeremy was certain that his life was ruined.
Later, back at the house, Jeremy found Nick in her bedroom. He furiously ripped into her, having put the pieces together that it was her that had set him up at school. Nick did her best to deny his accusations, but Jeremy knew it was the truth. Holding back tears, Jeremy told her how he couldn't understand how the person who knew his biggest personal secret could then do something so horrible to him.
Later, Ed gathered the family together downstairs, as Jeremy was being consoled by his mother, Liz. Ed brought up all of the recent family setbacks, unaware that Nick was behind all of them. He talked about how they still stuck together and supported each other as a family, which was going to continue to get them through all of their problems, even if they weren't sure how to move forward. A guilty Nick fled the room, feeling they didn't deserve what was happening to them.
Episode 2x9 picked up where things left off, as Liz & Ed assured Jeremy over breakfast that they weren't done fighting to get his name cleared so that he could return to school. That didn't seem to help his mood and after they left the kitchen, he confided in his sister Molly that he knew Nick was behind his expulsion. He explained how he knew and Molly believed him, as she had her own suspicions about Nick sabotaging her as well. The siblings agreed to work together to figure out what Nick was up to.
Jeremy later got a visit from Eric, who was surprised that Jeremy wanted to meet after everything that happened at school. Jeremy apologized to him for blowing him off and treating him poorly, even though Eric had been nothing but nice and supportive of him. Jeremy told him that it wasn't the type of person he was, or wanted to be. He told Eric that he actually really likes him. Eric accepted his apology.
Jeremy then revealed that he had also asked him to come over because he needed some help. He told Eric about his father's speech about family sticking together and supporting each other and it had inspired him to come out to his family. Eric congratulated him on his decision and offered to help any way he could. Jeremy asked him about his own coming out and Eric told him his story. Jeremy then told him that he wanted his coming out to be perfect and he was planning everything out, down to the letter. He was preparing a presentation to show his family and even had a Siri-triggered playlist ready.
Jeremy was fully dressed and had dinner plans ready to go for his family's arrival home. Liz & Molly showed up, without Ed, catching him off-guard. They tried to get Jeremy to come outside with them, to reveal his surprise car, but Jeremy kept refusing, telling them that he had something more important to talk about with them first. Liz persisted on trying to get him to come outside and ended up triggering Jeremy's coming out playlist with Siri, causing "I'm Coming Out" to begin playing. This sent Jeremy into a panic as he tried to stop the music.
Liz & Molly were confused as to what was happening, as Jeremy yelled for Siri to stop. His laptop presentation was also soon triggered, causing him to get more upset. Liz & Molly saw the title slide before he could close the laptop. Jeremy got extremely upset, telling them that the one thing he had control over was ruined, just like the rest of his life. Liz desperately tried to calm him down, telling him that his life wasn't ruined. She said none of those things mattered. She told him that he can't plan for everything. All that matters is this moment. Jeremy took a breath and then told them that he was gay. Liz shared her love and happiness that he told them. They all hugged.
Liz told him that he could still do his whole presentation for his father when he got home, unaware that Ed had become entangled in Nick's latest scheme to steal a diamond from his bank. Jeremy told Liz & Molly that he was going to work on trying to be his best self, despite everything not working out. He was going to stop trying to plan everything in his life so much. He told them that the day still turned out perfect.
Ed returned to the house and with him and Liz planning to reveal to Nick their plans to adopt her, Molly & Jeremy received a special delivery. Molly had submitted Nick's fingerprints for testing. After opening the envelope, they rushed into the room, revealing that Nick had been lying to them about her identity. Before they could process the information, the police arrived to arrest Ed for robbing the bank, after Nick inadvertently set him up by stealing his client's diamond necklace.
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