Privileged: “All About Honesty” (recap)

By Sara A. Bibel
Fancast.com

This is week two of my campaign to persuade CW head honcho Dawn Ostroff to put this show on after Gossip Girl for a delicious confection of escapist entertainment with a surprisingly sharp center. Forcing people to slog through 90210 first is cruel and unusual punishment.

We pick up right where we left off with our Cinderella, Megan, at the ball. Laurel introduces her as a writer. When Laurel sees Lily asking Megan where the restroom is, Megan pretends not to know her.

Rose cries because her ex-boyfriend Max brought Fiona to the party. Megan suggests she tell him she still has feelings for him. Sage proclaims this idea lame, and persuades Rose that she needs a plan. She coaches Rose on seeming indifferent. Rose tells the endearingly dorky Max that she has a boyfriend.

Megan asks Charlie to get rid of Lily. He refuses to get involved. Megan stops Lily from lighting a joint. She and Lily have a loud argument. Lily’s pissed that Megan abandoned the family, while Megan thinks she’s an embarrassment. I like that this argument is evenhanded. Megan’s no saint. Laurel blasts her for lying. Megan claims she didn’t mention her family because she has no relationship with them. Laurel introduces her to the head of Sephora as a tutor. Megan recovers by offering to help his daughter Delilah with her college applications.

Despite what he said, Charlie asks Lily to leave. She realizes Megan put him up to it. He reminds her that she owes him. This is intriguing. Sage tells him that Megan’s having a crying jag that he needs to fix it. Then she calls out the perfectly fine Megan on her hypocrisy. Rose is the one who is actually crying. Ooh, Sage is good. Charlie thoughtfully lets her borrow her jacket because she’s cold. Sage makes sure Max sees them together.

Will is sympathetic to Megan’s plight. She isn’t thrilled when he tells her he’s giving Lily a ride home. The next morning, Megan wakes up the girls to work on their book reports. Delilah arrives while they’re still showering. Lily phones her to get Will’s number. Megan is surprised he isn’t still with her. Wow. Megan can be a bitch. Megan honestly tells her she doesn’t have it.

Rose is reconsidering because Max hasn’t called. Maybe she should have told Max the truth. Sage interestingly criticizes Megan harshly for being a lousy sister. She thinks it’s time to implement stage two of her plan. Sage is sure she can drive even though she doesn’t have a license. They visit Charlie at the crab shack. Rose is wearing a light blue version of the adorable dress Blair wore to the white party on Gossip Girl and Greenlee wore to the perfume launch on All My Children. The dress is just taunting me now. Sage snaps a cell phone pic of Rose and Charlie and e-mails it to everyone she knows.

Will drops by the house. Megan asks him for confirmation that nothing happened with Lily. Laurel catches them talking and chastises her for leaving Delilah alone. Delilah wants to know why Megan is a lowly tutor after attending Yale. Hey, I’m an Ivy League recapper. How do you think I feel? Megan talks about what a great opportunity it is. Delilah says that Laurel has a reputation for being a ball buster. To my shock, Megan says that word unfairly gets used for powerful women a lot, and that she admires Laurel. That’s the most intelligent discussion of gender issues I’ve ever seen on a youth-oriented show. Hillary Clinton should have hired these writers. Rose calls after Sage crashes her car. Megan does her best to talk the cop out of arresting her. It’s Rose’s tears that save the day, though Megan gets stuck with a ticket. Megan apologizes to Charlie for the drama.

Laurel texts a request to meet her in her office. Megan’s nervous, but Laurel just praises her work with Delilah. Megan comes clean about the car. Laurel tells Megan that she doesn’t get points for candor. She was negligent. She needs to earn her trust. Megan points out that Laurel didn’t ask her anything before she hired her. She doesn’t like talking about her family because they have nothing to do with her. Laurel disagrees. Rising from modest means defined her. Megan suggests Laurel interview her now and see if she actually deserves the job.

Max wants Rose back. She thanks Sage for her brilliant plan. Megan doesn’t understand why Sage would help Rose get a guy that Sage doesn’t like. Sage tells Megan she has no business lecturing her on being a good sister. The way she spoke to Lily was appalling. Megan realizes she’s right. I like that Megan gets called on her mistakes and is willing to acknowledge that she’s wrong. She’s the anti-Joey Potter. Megan leaves an apologetic message for Lily inviting her for coffee. Then she sees Lily walking on the beach with Will. Wow. I didn’t see that coming – which is what I like about this show.