Sweet/Vicious season 1, episode 2, “The Writing’s on the Wall,” just finished airing and things get a lot worse for Jules and Ophelia before they get better.
Despite Jules’ many, many terrifying talents, it’s actually refreshing to learn she doesn’t know everything. Between the pink backpack and her habit of Googling everything, it’s a wonder she hasn’t been caught yet. But what skills she lacks, Ophelia has, and that’s good for both of them. Especially when it comes to texting Tyler.
The dynamic duo realize their car has been towed and they have to come up with $2,000 in order to get it — and the dead body — back before anyone realizes what’s happened. Ophelia’s weed money is nearly enough to do the trick and the pair head to the police station to get their property back.
Oh, what do you mean Jules never mentioned her father is a sheriff? That seems like critical information to share after you help your new friend get rid of a dead body, right? But maybe that’s just me.
At the station, while Jules is personally asking the man in charge if they can wave some of the additional fees on the car, Ophelia meets a girl named Hailey who was sexually assaulted.
True to real life, Hailey explains how she keeps getting moved from place to place, how the police keep telling her she doesn’t have a case for rape charges. Finally, she gives up hope and decides she doesn’t want to file charges, leaving Ophelia with a new purpose in life.
There’s a lot of important messages being hammered home here about how to handle cases of assault, but one of the more subtle ones comes when we witness some “locker room” talk amongst the basketball players while Ophelia is trying to get information on another alleged rapist.
The guy in the locker room who clearly didn’t like the tone of conversation? He’s a potential ally to women everywhere. The only problem is he didn’t speak up about his discomfort. He didn’t call out his teammates for their locker room talk, and that doesn’t help the situation at all.
On the plus side, Kennedy and Ophelia finally meet, and though it’s a little bit awkward, it’s obvious Kennedy is just trying to get a feel for this new girl in Jules’ life. It doesn’t feel like she’s being manipulative in this scene, but she’s definitely digging for some information Ophelia doesn’t want to give up.
All of this is secondary to the true purpose of this episode, which is getting rid of Carter’s body. The girls are cutting off hands and pulling out teeth for later incineration all while Omega Theta is hazing some of their new recruits by making them go on an insane scavenger hunt that puts them in the graveyard at the same time as Jules and Ophelia.
The girls manage to get off without any damage done, but the same can’t be said for Harris’ peanut butter froyo. Thanks to racial profiling, the cops slap a pair of handcuffs on him before realizing he isn’t a part of the Omega Theta initiates.
The upside? At least Harris knows what he’s going to write about for his paper now that his old topic is a bust.
Ophelia calls up her mom to get some money and the tension on the phone call is palpable. It’s not enough to keep Ophelia from crawling through Jules’ window, though, and definitely not enough to keep her down for long. She’s been doing her research and she knows who raped Hailey.
Except Jules is done. Someone is dead, and even though Ophelia reminds her (and us) that it was a rapist who said he would kill her, Jules doesn’t want any part in Ophelia’s scheme. The two go their separate ways.
Ophelia might seem cool and collected on the outside, but she’s having shockingly vivid visions of a dead Carter. The only thing that seems to help is long walks at night, especially if those walks means she’s keeping an eye on Hailey.
Ophelia, uncharacteristically subdued and humble, convinces Jules to check out a wall in one of the girls’ bathrooms on campus. It’s covered in warnings and names of boys who’ve assaulted girls at the school. Ophelia reminds Jules that they’re doing this for different reasons, but they both need to do it anyway. Jules steps forward and writes Nate Griffin on the wall, and just like that, the dynamic duo is back.
Batman doesn’t give up so easily, and neither does our dream team. They go after Hailey’s rapist and break his arm in warning. Game on.