Maddy is at her first eight-minute “bringer” show, which takes place later in the evening and which more non-comedians attend. Simone sees her anxiety and suggests a drink, which Maddy eventually has even though Dr. Weaver has advised her to avoid alcohol. When Maddy gets up for her set, it starts out rough, but soon she has the whole audience laughing when she makes jokes about men’s “emotional age” in relation to their chronological age. Max then gets a phone call from his manager offering a tour of 20 colleges and suggesting a female opener. Max says he knows someone, and Maddy assumes he must mean her. She leaves feeling proud and affirmed, and agrees to go celebrate with Simone until she sees her phone. Emily figured out that Maddy wasn’t at work, and saw her location at the comedy club. Just as Maddy tries to leave, she sees Emily at the door.

Emily is angry, hurt, and worried when she finds out Maddy has been lying for months about being at work when she was really performing comedy. Emily threatens to call their mother and demands to know which parts of Maddy’s life are real and which are not. Maddy is offended by her sister’s accusations, particularly when Emily implies that Maddy isn’t “normal.” She tries to explain that the comedy isn’t a delusion, and that she has actually been performing. Emily reads some of Maddy’s comedy notes but doesn’t laugh, and starts to dial their mother. She only stops when Maddy mentions Emily’s upcoming bachelorette, and how she likely won’t be allowed to go. Emily agrees to go see Maddy perform, but she remains leery of the situation.

Maddy is thrilled with her life at present, particularly after Emily laughed at her routine and affirmed it as funny. Maddy heads to a local comedy club and buys a Taylor Swift magazine on the way. She feels like everything is just falling into place, and like everything she has lost is just being replaced with something better. Maddy finds Max at the comedy club and starts talking about her routine for the tour, but Max suddenly admits that he’s taking another woman instead. Maddy is hurt and shocked, and when Max adds that he doesn’t consider Maddy his girlfriend, Maddy knows it’s over. A man approaches, introduces himself as Leo, and invites Maddy to perform at a women’s comedy festival, explaining that he was impressed by one of her recent shows. Maddy happily accepts, rubbing the achievement in Max’s face.

Maddy and her mother text back and forth, as Maddy’s mother is worried that Maddy will not be able to handle the partying at Emily’s bachelorette. She urges Maddy not to go, but Maddy insists. Maddy realizes her mother may never see her the way she used to again. She tells her that she is still taking her meds, but in reality, Maddy stopped taking them a few days before. She thinks that since she feels fine, she must not need them anymore, and perhaps never did.

Maddy is in Nashville with Emily and her friends for the bachelorette. They spend the whole day drinking, and eventually, Emily stops paying attention to whether Maddy drinks or not. Maddy starts accepting drinks and is inebriated before long. At a bar, she meets a girl in the bathroom who offers her a line of cocaine, and then kisses her. She invites Maddy to another bar nearby, and Maddy tries to convince Emily to go, but Emily refuses. Maddy wanders out on her own instead, and rather than finding the bar, finds a comedy club. She challenges the man on stage, who offers her the mic, and Maddy rattles off some raunchy jokes that do not resonate with the Nashville crowd. She leaves, thinking she succeeded, and decides that she is meant to open for Taylor Swift on her tour. She withdraws all her money, turns off her phone location, and plans to head to the airport to fly to Houston, Texas, where Taylor has an upcoming show. Emily sends panicked texts wondering where Maddy went, but Maddy only replies that she can’t tell Emily where she’s going.

Maddy sits and waits for her connecting flight in Atlanta on her way to Houston to supposedly open for Taylor Swift. She meets a man in the restaurant who initially attempts to flirt with her, but then Maddy starts talking about opening as a comedian for Taylor Swift and jokes about having syphilis, so the man retreats. Maddy realizes she is about to miss her flight when she heads to the gate and sees nobody there. The attendant tells her she’s too late, but Maddy can still see the plane, so she runs past the attendant in an attempt to board. Moments later, she is tackled by security and her front tooth is knocked out. She screams and demands to be let on the plane, but is taken away in handcuffs instead. She also drops her new notebook, filled with all her new material. In the security office, Maddy listens to the police officer and security guard talk, and moments later, medical professionals arrive. They strap her to a gurney and take her to the nearest psychiatric hospital against her will. There, the nurse calls Maddy’s mother and tells her what happened.

Maddy’s mother comes to fly her back to Connecticut, and they make an appointment with Dr. Weaver, who suggests changing Maddy’s medication to remove the lithium side effects and hopefully prevent her from wanting to stop taking them again. Dr. Weaver also suggests that Maddy should avoid engaging with comedy for now, because it means being at bars, and that environment has not been healthy for her. Maddy’s mother seems to approve of the new plan and wants to take Maddy back home with her, which Dr. Weaver thinks is a good idea. The new medication is likely to relieve Maddy’s mania but not control her depression as well as before, which Maddy worries about. She also notices that her mother prefers depression to mania, while Maddy isn’t sure she agrees. When depressed, Maddy feels nothing, and there is no glimpse of hope for something better. She feels that at least when manic, she is alive. Maddy also worries about the potential side effects of a new medication, but has no real option but to agree. She did not ask for and does not want this life.

Maddy is back living with her mother, and she spends her days sedated and lying on the couch. Her mother makes her wake up and shower each day. One morning, Maddy’s mother is leaving for Emily’s wedding gown fitting and invites Maddy to come. Maddy isn’t dressed or showered and knows her mother doesn’t really want her there, and she also hasn’t talked to Emily since the bachelorette. Maddy’s mother leaves Maddy alone, and Maddy stares out the window. She thinks about everything she has lost, and how she may never be able to live the life she once envisioned for herself. She believes that no man will ever want her, that she will never have children, and that her comedy career is over before it even began. Maddy imagines the many ways she could end her life, and decides to take as many pills as she can swallow. After swallowing the pills, she lies back down on the couch and waits.

Maddy hears her grandma’s voice calling her in a panic, and she wakes momentarily to find herself covered in vomit. The next thing she remembers, she hears her mother’s voice and realizes she’s in the hospital. Later, Maddy awakens again and sees Emily sleeping nearby. The sight comforts her, and she drifts off again.