Summary
Episode 3 escalates the notebook trading as both lead characters are slowly learning about each other.
This recap of Netflix’s Dash & Lily season 1, episode 3, “Hanukkah” contains significant spoilers.
We recapped every episode — check out the archive.
The opening
Lily narrates that she wants to get to know Dash for Christmas. Dash asks her to go to Grand Central before the first train arrives — this is her favorite time of the day; the stillness of the place without the bustle. Both characters are still communicating via the notebook.
Trading the notebook back and forth
At the station, Dash picks up the notebook — Lily tells Dash to go to Central Park and spend time staying still with her cousin who is a “statue model”. Lily wants to know Dash’s name but Dash says it’s way too obvious to find him if he gives it to her but he gives her a clue — it’s a connector of words. For now Lily calls Dash “Andy”.
The Netflix series feels like a wild concept but that’s only because we have so much technology to connect to people in the modern-day, that it’s easy to forget that pen pals used to be common.
Worst Christmases
Dash opens up in one of his messages; he describes how his parents divorced and his one wish was for them to get back together. Lily tells Dash that her worst Christmas was the year of “friendship bracelets” at middle school — she made bracelets for everyone. She gave a bracelet to one of her crushes. As she walked around the school, she found many of the bracelets thrown on the floor. She hears her crush calling her weird.
Invitation to a party
Dash tells Boomer that he’s getting protective over Lily. Boomer teases him calling Lily his girlfriend. Dash invites Lily to a Hanukkah club party at two in the morning. She freaks out to her brother Langston and she wants to find a way out of it. She’s worried that she will not like it so she invites her brother to join. Instead, Langston’s boyfriend Benny offers to help her with clothes.
The club
Lily heads to the club which is underground. As soon as she arrives she ends up bumping into people and getting drinks all over her. When she heads into the bathroom, Dash has left a message on the mirror that says, “Get back out there Lily”. Lily heads back out and enjoys the music and the night.
As we reach Episode 3, we have to suspend our disbelief a bit — this is whimsically and sometimes unrealistically romantic.
The ending
Lily is encouraged to dance so she gives it a try. She gets really into the music. Suddenly, Edgar from middle school sees her in the club — this is the boy that she had a crush on at middle school. Edgar called her weird for bringing a notebook. Lily runs out of the club and gets into a taxi as the trauma rushes back to her. Lily failed to face her oppressor and also forgot to leave the notebook behind so she doesn’t believe she will be able to find Dash again. When she returns home, her grandfather grounds her for going out late.
Dash & Lily season 1, episode 3 escalates the notebook trading as both lead characters are slowly learning about each other. This is definitely a story that is overly romantic and try-hard but its sweetness will win people over.
