Sweetbitter

A new girl comes in for an interview with Howard. The other workers watch and judge the girl’s outfit. Tess stands up for her, saying she’s too pretty to last at the restaurant anyway. Jake whispers to her that that’s what they all said about Tess when they saw her interview.

Tess discovers that Simone has been training her out of her own interest, not because it is her job. Tess notes the intimate ways Simone and Jake interact. They vaguely explain to Tess that they grew up as neighbors. Simone encourages Tess to think deeply about what she wants in her life.

Tess hears from other people that Simone’s affected way of speaking comes from having lived in Europe. Rumors about Simone’s two failed engagements spread.

Tess starts snorting cocaine to keep up with the other servers when they go partying. Ariel and Sasha catch Tess checking out Jake, and they warn her not to get involved with him.

A hostess at the restaurant named Rebecca quits her job and sends everyone at the restaurant an email telling them that she quit because of