Oliver cooks complex dishes and sees his stepfather/Gabe’s father, Travis Wellington. He also sees Sydney’s parents. Interacting with people remains trying, and the smartphone Gabe buys Oliver bothers him. Oliver prefers in-person communication.

Oliver goes to Sydney’s house. He thinks about knocking but realizes she wouldn’t hear him, since she’s listening to Nirvana rather loudly. He enters and finds her dancing with abandon. He texts her to let her know that he’s standing behind her. She acts embarrassed, and he invites her to dinner. Unfortunately, Sydney must bartend.

Oliver offers to go with her to work, but Sydney doesn’t believe Oliver is ready for the bar atmosphere. They flirt over Oliver’s cooking “abilities” and Sydney’s lackluster chef skills. Sydney mentions Gabe’s July 4th parties, which he started to honor Oliver, who remembers sitting in the strange man’s car on July 4th, arms tied. He also remembers Sydney and him promising to remain “best friends forever.”

For Gabe’s July 4th party, Sydney tries to bake cupcakes. Gabe jokes that they look like “nipple cakes.” More seriously, he mentions that Clem left abruptly during sex. They’ve been seeing each other for the last few months, and neither Sydney nor Gabe understands what made Clem leave. Suddenly, Oliver appears in only a towel. Gabe chides Sydney for gazing at him.

After a “tipsy” woman indelicately mentions Oliver’s abduction, Sydney takes him to a quiet corner in the downstairs den. He admits that he likes women and thinks about Sydney, who jokes that she thinks about Danny DeVito. The fireworks prompt Oliver to abruptly hurry to his closet. Sydney finds him and assures him that he won’t return to Bradford’s cell. She guides Oliver away from the closet. They watch the fireworks on a grassy ravine. Soon, Gabe calls. The cops are at the house because Bradford is dead.

Oliver remembers Bradford falling off the ladder. He left the cell to get help and realized he was under Bradford’s bedroom, which had a large flatscreen. He was scared, but he gained courage by thinking of himself as the Black Lotus.

In the present, Oliver chastises himself for believing Bradford. He realizes he knows a lot about books but not “the human condition.” In the cell, Oliver worked out. He enjoyed exerting control over his body. Now, he runs, since he couldn’t run in the cell. As he runs, he thinks of Bradford. He confirms that he didn’t kill Bradford; Bradford fell and hit his head.

At Gabe’s house, police tell Oliver that Bradford was a “reclusive.” His wife and their son died in the late 1990s, and he lived alone in their isolated farmhouse. In March, a family member reported him missing, but due to the camouflaged hatch door, police couldn’t find him right away. Oliver tells police that he tried to escape at first, but the door was invariably locked. Eventually, Oliver trusted Bradford. Bradford never sexually abused Oliver, and Bradford had no criminal record. Police can’t determine a motive for the kidnapping.

Travis appears. He’s older and has a beard, but he remains fit. He smokes a cigar, which reminds Oliver of Bradford. Gabe mentions Clem and Sydney, and Travis calls Sydney a “firecracker” and wonders why Gabe and Sydney aren’t romantic partners. Gabe thinks they’re too alike and better as friends.

Oliver brings Sydney brownies, and Sydney is only wearing an oversized Hey Arnold! (1996-2004) T-shirt. Oliver wants to kiss her and mutters “fuck.” He asks Sydney about Travis, who says that Travis worked a lot (he managed restaurants) but when he was present, he played Capture the Flag with them. Oliver realizes he should look for a job; Sydney promises to help him.

Since Sydney and Oliver want to only be friends, Gabe offers to make Oliver a Tinder profile. After Gabe explains Tinder, Oliver remains confused about the app’s purpose.

At Sydney’s house, the job search is disappointing. Oliver wants a job as a cook, but he lacks experience. Instead, he gets a job at the library. Using Tinder diction, Oliver wonders if Sydney would “swipe right” for a person who worked at the library. Sydney tells Oliver not to worry about superficial dating norms; he should focus on “growing” and “healing.” She envies Oliver: Culture hasn’t “desensitized” him.

Sydney teaches Oliver about dating, and for the educational date, Oliver and Sydney cook chicken cordon bleu and dance to “One Week” (1998) by the rock band Barenaked Ladies. They discuss Princess Diaries. Oliver has seen it approximately 600 times, and he’s drawn to its imaginative world and “grand” romance. Oliver asks to kiss Sydney, and after much discussion, Sydney nervously climbs onto his lap. They kiss intensely until Sydney pulls away.

Sydney wonders if she should have kissed Oliver. She doesn’t want their friendship to become “weird.” Oliver wants to kiss her again, and Sydney explains that sex “complicates everything.” Oliver understands and asks if she and Gabe have been romantic. Sydney admits they’ve shared a few drunken kisses, but there are no romantic possibilities for them.

At the Black Box, Clem tells a “traumatic” childhood story about losing a jar of beloved tadpoles. Sydney brings up Gabe, and Clem says she left abruptly because he reminds her of an unidentified person. She changes the subject to Oliver. She claims Sydney likes him and suggests that Sydney plans to give him his first sexual experience.

Poppy hit her head on the playground while with Nate, so Clem meets Nate at the hospital and Sydney’s co-worker Brant gives Sydney a ride home. They kiss, so Sydney realizes that Brant isn’t gay; he only flirts with male customers for “tips.” Sydney thinks of Oliver, and Brant realizes Sydney’s heart is “taken.” Brant leaves and Sydney notices Oliver sitting outside. He saw Sydney and Brant kiss, but he’s not upset.