Summary
“Freedom” felt like a filler episode until it didn’t. Great writing builds us to an emotional ending.
This recap of the Amazon Freevee series High School season 1, episode 5, “Freedom,” contains spoilers.
We had one heck of an emotional first four episodes of High School, and now we are kicking off the weekly coverage of the show. Simone had enough of the sister’s lies, leading to her dropping them off at their dad’s. What does this mean for the family moving forward? Let’s dive in.
High School season 1, episode 5 recap
David confronts the sisters about what they did to get kicked out by their mother. He tells them both that no matter what happens, the two of them are stuck together and that they need to deal with it. Tegan (played by Railey Gilliland) calls out Sara (played by Seazynn Gilliland) because she only went to the rave because it was the first time in a while she seemed happy to do something. We transition to the black screen with Tegan in white writing.
Now we move back home, where Simone is asking questions about why they decided to lie about where they were going. Finally, Simone grounds them and says no phone, no hanging out, nothing but chores for them moving forward until otherwise told. While doing their chores, they stumble across Patrick’s guitar and start to play it.
We are at school now, where Maya is trying to break down that their mom kicked them out of the car and made them walk to their dad’s (as a parent, I still find this hilarious). The duo shares a bonding moment, which at some point will undoubtedly lead to more. The kids leave school and head back downstairs to play on the guitar. Tegan stays home from school because she is “sick,” but it was really to stay home and play the guitar. She plays some old videos of Cobain playing to attempt to play like him.
Sara gets home from school and checks on Tegan. Tegan asked if anyone missed her, and Sara replied with a smart-ass comment but handed her a letter from Maya. And now, we transition to black with Sara’s name in white letters. As she lays in bed, we get a flashback from the rave between Ally and Sara. Shortly after going downstairs to show them where to clean, Patrick reminds them that Simone has feelings and they hurt her.
Although they are grounded, Sara sneaks off with the phone to call Phoebe, but her mom answers, and when she tries to tell her something, she hangs up on Sara. Next, the parents got home, and Sara tried to tell their mom it was her choice and that Tegan shouldn’t be in trouble. But Simone isn’t having it because she made her choice too. I sometimes forget we get the Deja Vu with the show when we look at the different perspectives because we are now at Sara’s point of view when she finds out that Tegan is sick.
Sara asked to borrow Tegan’s shoes, and Tegan said to make sure to tell Maya she said hi. Simone and Sara attempt to talk about the lies being told, which goes nowhere. At school, Sara finds Maya telling her that Tegan is sick. Sara asks if she knows if Tegan is still mad at her, and Maya hits her with, “I don’t think she could ever be mad at you even though,” she paused, and Sara asked about the even though part and Maya changed the subject and told her to come to find her before school is out.
At home, Sara plays the guitar when Tegan knocks on the door. After rushing to put it up, Tegan asks to hear the song she was playing, so Sara plays the song for her. It was a funny song about ‘Tegan not going to school today.” It leads to a moment where Sara teaches Tegan how to play the song herself.
The ending
The episode winds down with the sisters having a moment together while they play guitar. However, Simone walks in to see them playing and asks where they got it, and they said it was Patrick’s and didn’t ask permission to use it. Patrick comes in and doesn’t mind, and Simone asks them to play a song. Honestly, the episode felt like it was moving along slowly, leading to this moment with Simone watching. It was heartfelt and emotional in all the right ways. I am getting more and more hooked on this show as each episode passes.
What did you think of High School season 1, episode 5? Comment below.
