That night, the twins sleep with Cait because they’re upset about the raccoon and Finn. Reflecting on insights gained during her therapy sessions, Cait has the epiphany that by marrying Bram, she had been trying to repair her relationship with Topher. The realization makes her recall the day after she had sex with Luke.

On that day, Cait, Topher, Luke, Daniel, and a few of their friends gathered on Topher’s boat near the lighthouse. Luke largely ignored Cait. Desperate to be alone with Luke for a private conversation, Cait told Topher that she would expose his drug dealing to their parents unless he left early and took Daniel with him. Topher agreed and tossed Daniel the boat keys since he was too intoxicated to steer the boat. Though Cait realized that even Daniel may have been too intoxicated to drive, no one stopped him. Alone with Luke on his boat, Cait approached him, and he told Cait that they should remain friends since he was soon leaving for college. A deflated Cait perked up when Luke invited her to visit him in Boston and kissed her. She felt triumphant about Luke’s invitation as their boat headed to the dock and she watched Topher and Daniel still fooling around on the water.

In the present, Luke throws pinecones at Cait’s window and suggests that they go to a bar called O’Reilly’s. After asking Maggie to check on the twins, Cait sneaks out with Luke.

To her relief, Maggie discovers that Headmaster Cunningham wants to meet her to offer her the department chair position, not to fire her. She shares the news with Isabel but confesses that she’s still feeling anxious. Isabel asks Maggie what she meant by calling Topher a liar, and Maggie explains how Topher “lied” to her. On the day he died by suicide, Topher’s final spoken words to her were a promise to pick her up from the dentist for ice cream. Isabel gently suggests that perhaps Topher did mean to return and didn’t know he was lying. Maggie considers this and also realizes that Topher may have had no choice if he was in unbearable pain.

When Maggie asks if Isabel still wants to leave, Isabel asks what Maggie wants. Maggie confesses that she wishes she had never met Sarah or hurt Isabel. Isabel points out that pretending everything is fine makes things worse and tells Maggie that for their relationship to work, she must share her whole self. When Maggie admits that she doesn’t know how, Isabel says that admitting that is a good starting point.

While parked in the driveway, Alice tells Nora that Topher’s death was not her fault. When Nora asks if Alice is happy, Alice lies. Nora then asks about her sisters. Alice advises her to speak directly to Maggie, warning that Nora will lose her if she cannot accept her.

Alice realizes that Nora knows about the pregnancy from overhearing her conversation with Cait. When Nora expresses excitement, Alice confesses that she may not keep the pregnancy, explaining her fears about her health and leaving her sons motherless. Nora does not judge Alice, as Alice had feared, but reveals that she had a miscarriage before marriage. At the hospital, ashamed and believing that the miscarriage was punishment for premarital sex, Nora met a priest who told her about Saint Aquinas’s belief that a soul enters the fetus later in pregnancy. Nora clarifies that while she believes life begins at conception, she believes that Alice’s life is also sacred and that Alice must follow her own conscience.

Alice feels immense relief at her mother’s understanding. She realizes that while the abortion will be difficult, what she truly cannot lose is Kyle.

At O’Reilly’s, Luke reveals that he once had a beer with Topher after Alice’s wedding. Topher was drunk and joked about driving his car into a ditch. Luke admits that he never followed up because being around Topher reminded him of his guilt—it was Luke bought the beer that Daniel drank the day of the accident.

Cait confesses that Daniel drove Topher’s boat because she blackmailed Topher to be alone with Luke. Luke reveals that he already knew and insists that they all share responsibility for the events of that fateful day. He apologizes for being a jerk to her that day, explaining that he didn’t want a girlfriend while leaving for college.

Their honest conversation is a relief, and they play pool. When Luke approaches Cait romantically, she realizes that she no longer has those feelings for him. She knows that her life is too complicated for a relationship right now—she needs to focus on her family and career. She gently steps away from Luke and takes her shot.

Maggie wakes to hear Nora in her painting studio. A crash sends Maggie downstairs, where she finds her mother sweeping broken glass. Maggie offers to help, but Nora finishes the clean-up on her own. Later, over tea in the studio, Maggie admires Nora’s unfinished but lovely seascape and reflects that as a child, she was jealous of her mother’s time in the studio. However, as an adult, she appreciates Nora’s need for selfhood beyond motherhood.

Nora asks if Maggie is happy, and Maggie says “yes” without hesitation. Nora confesses that she worried Maggie would be lonely. Maggie acknowledges that she had that fear too, which is why she needed Nora’s support all the more. As Nora and Maggie begin negotiating a new understanding, Maggie begins to consider what role she will play in her parents’ future care.

After walking her mother to bed, Maggie finds Poppy in the hallway looking for Cait. Suspecting that Cait is still with Luke, Maggie allows Poppy to sleep on her bedroom floor. When Isabel wakes and offers to move, Maggie asks her to stay. After Isabel takes Poppy to the bathroom and sings her a lullaby, she returns to bed and tells Maggie that she loves her.

Alice watches Finn, now back home, sleep in his bedroom. Outside, she bumps into Isabel and asks her about the tarot card she drew earlier. Isabel tells her that it was the Chariot, meaning that Alice must choose her path forward. Alice tells Isabel that the reading was surprisingly accurate and goes to her room.

In their room, Kyle tells Alice that James had many questions about Topher and Daniel’s accident, which Kyle answered truthfully. Alice knows that Kyle did the right thing but wishes that she were the one to have told the boys. She now tells Kyle that she’s moving forward with terminating the pregnancy and has an appointment on Monday. She says that she cannot spend the rest of their lives begging for his forgiveness and that she needs more from him, not less. Kyle tells Alice that he will accompany her to the appointment, admitting that they have drifted apart but that is not what he wants. Alice lies beside him, and his heartbeat is calm and steady. She weeps with relief.

Near midnight, Cait returns and eats a slice of the vegan apple pie baked by Alice, followed by a slice of the regular one. When Alice comes into the kitchen, she jokes that she is never accommodating another one of Cait’s special dietary requests. She also tells Cait that she’s having an abortion. Cait reveals that she also had an abortion before taking the bar exam and that Maggie went with her. Alice shares that Nora was surprisingly understanding. Cait tells Alice that she knows the work she has been putting in with their parents and now plans to help.

The next morning, Cait announces the news that had Nora excited: She and the twins are moving back to the Folly. When Alice asks if she’s moving back for Luke, Cait assures her that she’s coming home for family and that she and Luke are just friends.

Later, Alice shows Cait and Maggie the shoebox of condolence cards from Topher’s death, including the one from Mrs. Larkin that Nora never opened. Cait opens and reads Mrs. Larkin’s brief, heartfelt note. Maggie becomes upset, saying that their mother hiding the card typifies how the family avoids facing pain. Her sisters commiserate, and Maggie says she wants to stop blaming the past for everything. Alice reveals that Cait’s directness inspired her to tell Kyle about the abortion and then shares the news with Maggie, who offers support.

The sisters burn the more generic sympathy cards but keep the meaningful ones. Cait pockets Mrs. Larkin’s card to give Nora when she’s ready. Outside, they watch the kids chase geese. The flock takes flight, circles the Folly, and flies away in a “V” formation.