Not only does Single Drunk Female, deliver with the realistic and not-glamorous nature of alcoholism, but it also does a great job exploring the same addictive and disastrous emotional effect of social media. Case and point, we’re opening this episode with Sam back on Instagram and eyeing James' account particularly close. He has a dog and he has muscles… and let’s just say, Sam’s feeling it. Yet, the moment doesn’t last too long because in another room we’re hearing Bob and Carol having a good time of their own.
Framed by the sobriety calendar of 180 days, Sam has reached a milestone of six months sober and her AA crew is ready to celebrate with an old display cake from Giovanni’s. Olivia approaches Sam and notices she’s not in the celebrating spirit. Although embarrassed, Sam confides that her lack of enthusiasm comes from a sudden desperate feeling of need and desire, and painfully states that she’s a bit “jealous of Bob and Carol getting laid.”
Olivia explains that Sam is experiencing a normal six months bodily response. It’s when most sober people start to feel their body again because, “It’s settled in for the long haul,” Olivia states. Sam is naturally starting to have moments of hunger and desire all at once, because it was taking a backseat to the cravings of alcohol for so long. Olivia suggests Sam should join the sober dance party she’s hosting at her place and suggests that Sam might be able to fill her need there. However, eyeing James now in real life, Sam says she’s pretty certain she can seal the deal elsewhere.
Taking on that challenge, we head over to a scene of James and Sam running. Well, James is running and Sam is tiring out. As they take a moment to rest, Sam says exercise increases her libido. It’s obvious she’s laying the flirt down. During a shared stretch, she goes in for the kiss and James immediately takes a step back. Sam feels sick at this motion of rejection, but he reminds her that she’s fragile at six months. He then says maybe if they weren’t at different places in their sober journeys, things would be different. Rightfully so, a sickened Sam begs him not to reject her then end it with “a maybe.”
When Felicia hears this story, she encourages Sam to forget him, “He’s a serial killer, probably.” Looking at her dating profile, Felicia sees that it’s riddled with the Old Sam and clearly hasn’t been updated. Sam expresses that she’s into “anyone as long as they’re not vegan,” and that’s good enough for Felicia to get her friend back in the game. To get a fresh start, Felicia poses her friend for some “fresh pics” of Sober Sam.
At the T, Brit and Sam’s mother, Carol bump into each other. Carol assumes that Brit must be excited about the wedding, but Brit barely knows what she’s referring to because she’s been so busy. It’s hard to find the time for the excitement, she shares. In her classic way, Carol unintentionally stirs the pot, “It’s a little strange how you two got together,” she says referring to Joel and Brit bonding while taking care of Sam. Before Brit can say her spiel about the uncomfortable origin story, Carol assures Brit that it’s okay; she never saw Sam with Joel. She continues on to say that her daughter needed a deep thinker, someone who can engage with her, and Joel is not that. A moment of “ouch” crosses Brit’s face and she looks a bit thrown off at the dig, but still it’s clear that the unintentional dig has resonated.
Thrown head first into the rough world of dating apps, we learn that Felicia picked out a guy for Sam. He’s not a relationship kind of dude, she assures Sam, and advises that she, “Order something sexy.” At a coffee shop, Sam is faced with a date that loves to talk about the stock market. Feeling like the afternoon is coming to a close, Sam asks if he’d like to go back to his apartment. He’s a bit taken aback that this request follows a casual coffee date so early in the day, but the man quickly “reframes” and he’s into it too. At his apartment, clearly unprepared for a rendezvous, the guy starts to drink to loosen up. Sam tenses up and reminds him that she’s sober. Suddenly, they’re off to the races, but just like the opening scene this feeling only lasts so long. The man burps in her face and it smells like vodka. Sam exits immediately.
Redeemed bestie Felicia comes to the rescue just as James texts Sam to apologize for sending mixed signals.The friends scoff a bit, as he adds, “Come to the dance part. It'll be fun,” but ultimately, decide that they shouldn’t let their cute fits go to waste.
Seeing Joel and Brit’s place for the first time, we observe as Brit walks in from her commute home from the hospital to a busy Joel wedding planning. He suggests “Le Petit Prince” as a reading, but Brit criticizes it as a bit basic for their upcoming nuptials. “When's the last time you read a book?” she asks. It seems like Carol’s comment has made its way into their household and things get a bit uncomfortable. Joel quickly gets defensive and expresses he doesn’t have time to read because he’s planning the wedding. We leave the pair without the issue resolved.
Moving to the sober dance party, Felicia and Sam are greeted by Olivia’s wife, Stephanie, with a big glass of red wine in hand. Although it’s not something one would expect at a sober occasion, Stephanie justifies, “I can’t abstain because my wife invited too many people to stomp on our new floor.” The girls continue their jaunt into the house and within moments, James is running over. He’s a bit infatuated by Sam and despite his acknowledgement, the mixed singles continue. Sam challenges him, “Is this what friends do?”
Sober Sam skips over James' request to dance, saying she’s not ready to see herself dance “without a gin and tonic,” and is welcomed by her sponsor Olivia donning a glitzy pantsuit. She surmises that Sam’s plans to get her fix have crumbled a bit early. Olivia is both intuitive and correct. As her wife, Stephanie joins the pair, she’s looking for their giant cat Josh, because she’s always worried he’ll get stolen. To be fair, he’s a handsome cat and James is infatuated by Josh in the corner. Moving onward, Olivia tells Sam not to worry about her troubles from the afternoon and promises her body will get used to it eventually.
On the dance floor, Mindy and Felicia are breaking it down. “I came out of my mother’s womb ready to party,” says Felicia when Sam asks her how she is able to do this sober. Sam spins out, hits a girl named Chloe, and they head back to the dance floor together. In only a few words, they find out they’re both Olivia’s sponsors and suddenly they’re making out in the bathroom. Felciia plays bathroom guard.
Back at the currently tense household of Brit and Joel, they’re about to head to bed, but Joel has more wedding questions. This time he’s asking about seating arrangements, but Brit reminds him that was supposed to be her job. Joel then reminds her that her job involves saving lives and he’s happy to take over the event planning. Looking at her fiance in a different perspective from the start of the night, Brit thanks Joel for picking up the planning slack. Perhaps, Carol’s words about Joel are misguided, or maybe Brit rather ignore her concerns for the night.
In the closing moments of the episode, Sam exits with Chloe from the bathroom looking quite refreshed. Simultaneously, James looks on at this moment of PDA with a tinge of jealousy and regret in his eyes. James definitely doesn’t feel confident in his decision to keep their relationship platonic, even if it is the right thing to do. Will these feelings of regret return for next week? Will Sam be too busy with Chloe to notice? And will we see more of Josh, the floofiest cat ever? Keep watching to find out.
Tune into Single Drunk Female on Thursdays at 10:30 pm on Freeform and on Hulu the next day.