Much Ado about Jealousy

At school, Jules Kendall invites her friend Buck Meltsner to go with her to the Connellsville Mall on Saturday, where her favorite band, the Angry Sandwiches, will be signing autographs. Buck turns her down, and Jules is stung to learn he has been invited to a party thrown by Valerie, her sworn enemy. Feeling betrayed, she calls her big sister Connie, who is too swamped running a children's birthday party at Whit's End to give her much sympathy.

At home, Jules pours out her troubles to Jillian Marshall, Connie's cheerful new roommate, carefully explaining that Buck is a "boy space friend," not a boyfriend. Jillian tells Jules not to sulk over being second choice but to choose to be happy instead, and she whisks her out for a whirlwind evening of laser tag, Italian food, karaoke, and a ninja obstacle course, plus an accidental attempt to drive off in a stranger's red hatchback. Connie, who came home with ice cream planning to comfort Jules, ends up eating it alone. When the two burst in laughing over stories that always end with "you just had to be there," Connie starts to feel left out, and she invites herself along on their next outing to prove she can be cultured and fun too.

Meanwhile, Penny Bassett has been missing Connie, and her husband Wooton suggests she help Connie's new roommate learn Connie's quirks. But when Penny visits, she discovers Jillian is already ahead of her: Jillian has fixed the dishwasher Connie was saving up to replace, and her early-morning cappuccinos have Connie singing before 7 a.m. and calling Jillian her "morning miracle worker." Penny frets to Wooton that Jillian is just like her, only better, with none of her flaws.

The girls' outing is an Icelandic filament facial, which turns out to be made of snail mucus. Connie, horrified by both the slime and everyone's repeated use of her least favorite words, flees to wash her face, and Jules scolds her for being closed to new experiences, adding how much she admires Jillian. Determined to win Jules back, Connie hears a radio contest giving away three tickets to the sold-out Angry Sandwiches concert, calls in with the answer, that the drummer styles his hair with organic butter, and wins. Jules is thrilled, but the third ticket goes to Jillian, and Connie cancels her plans with Penny to attend. Penny tells Wooton, "I feel as disposable as a plastic spork," then trails him around the house while he changes his socks and fills a water glass, insisting they will always have each other. Wooton gently names what she is feeling: jealousy. He admits he was jealous once too, when Penny's former fiancé came to town, and reminds her that if you trust someone, you should be able to talk to them.

The next morning at Whit's End, Penny and Connie talk past each other, each convinced the other is being careless about friendship, until Jules rushes in begging to hide from Jillian, who woke her at 5 a.m. for a sunrise, then Pilates, and now wants her at a Korean cooking class. What Jules really wants is a sister's shoulder to cry on. Connie confesses she was jealous, thinking Jules preferred Jillian, and Jules assures her that Jillian is fun, but no one can replace Connie, just as no one can replace Penny.

Then Buck walks in with Wooton, and the awkward truth comes out: Buck was never going to Valerie's party. He let Jules believe it so he could secretly finish a surprise gift, a homemade comic book about their adventures called "Super Buck and Wonder Jules," created with Wooton's help. Buck apologizes for lying, and Jules apologizes for getting jealous instead of trusting their friendship. Connie says she is sorry for her own jealousy too, admitting she should simply talk to people when something bothers her, a lesson Wooton pointedly hopes Penny is hearing. Just then Jillian bounces in, delighted to finally meet Buck, and greets him as the famous "boy friend with the space." As a flustered Jules hurries to change the subject, everyone gathers around to enjoy the comic book together.