The pilot episode of The Girls on the Bus introduced us to the lives of Sadie, Kimberlyn, Grace, and Lola. Political journalists of varying approaches, social backgrounds, and even political inclinations. The main protagonist is Sadie, a young woman working for the New York Sentinel, a liberal media house trying to maintain objectivity. But objectivity is what Sadie lacks, as she finds herself struggling with being detached from the people she writes about. Kimberlyn, a Black woman working for the right-wing Liberty Direct News, is struggling to be taken seriously in her racist White workplace. Grace is a “scoop queen,” looking for any controversial material that she can write about while trying to balance her life as a mother. Grace’s daughter is struggling in university and needs her attention while she is trying to outgrow her own father’s shadow. Then there’s Lola, a testament to the fact that you do not need a degree in journalism to do what they do. Lola hails from an Iranian family of immigrants in the US, and her biggest woe is finding the money to pursue her journalistic interests.
These four women have been trying to cover the candidates for the presidential elections and have been registered to take part in the campaign trail in their own ways. After a long break from political journalism, Sadie has been trying to get back into the game, and that naturally leads her to Caroline Bennett, the frontrunner of the year’s campaign. Everyone loves Caroline for her contributions to society and her military past. But to get to Caroline, Sadie must go through Caroline’s new press secretary, Malcolm, whom Sadie ghosted after an elaborate love affair. Following a rigmarole, when she finally successfully interviews Caroline, news of the governor’s involvement in a sex scandal surfaces, which yanks Sadie back to square one. Meanwhile, Kimberlyn, who was also supposed to interview Caroline, is backstabbed by her colleague Nellie Carmichael.
Spoilers Ahead
Who Is Felicity Walker?
Felicity Walker is a former candidate from the previous election campaign. Felicity was indeed the reason for Sadie’s break from political journalism. She had the same charisma as Bennett did in this campaign until her scandal made it to the news. Sadie had immediately started to idolize Felicity for her blunt approach to things. Similar to Bennett, Felicity was liked by everyone, everywhere she went. In fact, she was about to become President but did not win. Affected by Felicity’s defeat, Sadie had a public meltdown which ended up becoming a viral meme because of Liberty Direct News. This incident made her go on a hiatus from political work and still haunts her.
Felicity’s arrival on the campaign trail in Iowa comes as a shock to not only Sadie but to everyone following the news about the election campaign. Later on, during Caroline’s address to the people about the scandal, Felicity appears on the podium to support Caroline’s presidency. In the world of dirty politics and Machiavellian tactics, the first rule is to never trust a politician. But then, that is the very point this series is trying to make.
Why Is Felicity Hostile Towards Sadie?
Sadie finally runs into Felicity Walker in an elevator. Meeting her political idol face-to-face like this, she loses her composure and blurts out random questions, but Felicity consciously ignores the journalist. When Sadie asks for an interview, however, Felicity reacts condescendingly. Despite the fact that Sadie supported the former candidate’s presidency, Felicity blames her for her defeat. She thinks that Sadie and the New York Sentinel have ruined her life with their journalism. Felicity hated the way Sadie approached her subjects. She advises Sadie to stay away from Bennett if she wants her to win the election.
What Does Kimberlyn Uncover About Caroline Bennett?
Kimberlyn’s scandal served as another opportunity for a noteworthy piece. She feels that the reaction to Caroline’s scandal was mostly met with disgust, but nobody had any substantial information about her actions. To find answers, she even tried to provoke the governor; however, Caroline still stands by the justification; whatever she does in her bedroom is entirely her personal matter. This does not leave Kimberlyn convinced, though.
Kimberly finally approaches Amanda Brown, a woman who was also involved with the club in Chicago. Seeing Caroline play off the incident with a hippie excuse infuriates her, and she decides to come forward with her experience. It turns out that Caroline was one of the people who paid people to indulge in the deviant acts committed at the club. The revelation of this piece of information permanently tarnishes Caroline’s image, forcing her to drop out of the election.
Is Felicity Running For Office Again?
Sadie gets to know from Malcolm that he has quit as the press secretary for Caroline and has started a new job, but he refrains from giving more details about him. She later figures out that Felicity is rejoining the election. Later on, she finds Felicity, who is still avoiding Sadie, but Sadie confronts her, saying that she has found out about her re-entry in the upcoming election campaign.
Sadie had always idolized Felicity, but following her behavior earlier, Sadie had opened her eyes to the fact that nobody was perfect in this world. She tells Felicity that she knows about Malcolm being her new press secretary and that she rented the office she used during her previous campaign under a new banner. She threatens Felicity to make her agree to an interview, or she will print about her involvement and report it. Felicity denies commenting on the matter, to which Felicity reluctantly agrees.
Who Is Tim Haskin?
Tim Haskin is the Senator for Iowa. Haskin presumably has the power to decide who wins the Iowa caucus. Before the caucus, Haskins will supposedly shake hands with one of the Democratic candidates. It is believed that the candidate Haskin shakes hands with ends up winning the caucus. This theory is upheld by Grace, who believes that the people are sheep and will act in whichever way their senator wants them to. Grace believes that she has to find out who Haskin will shake hands with. Maybe that is the intention behind Grace’s next scoop on this campaign. In a disagreement, Lola argues that the voters are not sheep, and young people no longer wish to be led by the decisions offered to them by the establishment. Listening to Lola’s naive banter, Grace makes a bet with her about the outcome. At the end of the caucuses, however, Grace’s candidate wins.
What To Expect In Episode 3?
As the political race becomes more intense, journalists assume more cutthroat roles to chase their stories. With Felicity’s exclusive interview in Sadie’s hands, she might have an answer for redemption. Lola’s ideal candidate was not expected to be anywhere close to winning, but it seems Lola has still not lost hope either. In the next episode, we might see more of Lola as well.
