In the Prime Video show ‘The Girlfriend,’ Laura and Cherry have all but found themselves in a game of one-upmanship with Daniel as the evident prize. Thus, the latter’s upcoming birthday offers the perfect battleground for the two women to clash. However, while the girlfriend remains focused on building a strong foundation for her relationship with the man, the mother decides to dig into the young woman’s past to find some viable dirt on her. Yet, all of it comes to a halt with one chilling trip to the hospital. In the aftermath, the animosity between the two women takes a new turn that leaves no-holds-barred, pushing Laura down a precarious spiral. As such, episodes 3 and 4 add a whole new layer to the dynamic between Cherry and her boyfriend’s mother, cementing just how far one can be willing to go in the name of love. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Daniel Postpones His Plans to Spend His Birthday With Cherry
In the aftermath of the family holiday, things remain tense between Laura and Cherry. The latter is confident in her relationship with Daniel and wants his mother to simply accept things for what they are. In turn, the other woman remains certain that the young woman’s lies about her past will eventually catch up to her, compelling her son to leave. For the same reason, talks of Daniel’s upcoming birthday become a subliminal fighting ground for the two women. Laura, who is used to spending her son’s birthday with him, is eager to repeat their tradition and go out for a musical followed by a trip to Chinatown’s best restaurants. However, this presents a possible red flag for Cherry, who realizes she and Daniel must spend the special day together to cement her place in his life. As such, she spins up a story of booking a trip to Wintour’s Leap, her boyfriend’s dream rock climbing venue, as a surprise.
When proposed with the chance to choose between the two plans, Daniel inevitably goes with Cherry’s idea, assuring his mother that they can also reschedule their plans. As a result, Laura’s heart and ego take a hit, as does her competition’s severely overdrafted bank account. Still, the latter has a lot more work to do to secure her relationship, especially after she receives a call from her severely mad ex, Nicholas, who blames her for his wedding fiasco. Therefore, while Laura reaches out to the man to learn more about the real estate agent’s past, Cherry fills Daniel in about the apparent manipulative and controlling nature of her past relationship with Nicholas. Thus, on the day of the couple’s departure for Wintour’s Leap, when the mother tries to warn her son about his girlfriend, with Nicholas as her prime source of evidence, Daniel naturally snaps at her, siding with Cherry. Laura Reconnects With an Old Flame Daniel’s decision to prioritize Cherry’s birthday surprise over his tried and true tradition with his mother leaves a bitter taste in Laura’s mouth. She’s convinced that the younger woman is intentionally trying to assert her possessiveness over her son as a twisted way to show her up. Nonetheless, when she tries to pitch this theory to others, namely her best friend, Isabella, and her daughter, Brigitte, they aren’t particularly receptive to the idea. Consequently, the mother realizes she needs more evidence to prove that Cherry isn’t as pleasant as she seems. Thus, she reaches out to Nicholas, the ex, whose wedding was sabotaged.
The latter and his wife, Millie,
ave nothing but bad things to say about Cherry, asserting that she’s a poison to everyone around her, filled with manipulation, vengeful rage, and obsession. Alas, all of the recon work ends up being for naught since Daniel aggressively refuses to believe his mother once he realizes Laura is only regurgitating Nicholas’ words. As a result, the confrontation only worsens her relationship with her son. Yet, where she hopes to have some understanding with her husband, Howard only further accuses her of being obsessed and weirdly covetous over her son. This compels Laura to seek out company and comfort from elsewhere, namely Lilith, her ex from a passionate past love affair. Unlike everyone else, the other woman is considerably more understanding of the mother’s situation. In fact, she gives her some useful advice, encouraging her to beat Cherry at her own game. Daniel Takes a Fall and Nearly Dies Cherry’s getaway birthday trip with Daniel ends up taking an adverse turn when a rock-climbing accident leads to a devastating fall. As a result, Daniel is rushed into the hospital in a critical state, dangerously close to dying. Naturally, by the time his parents arrive at the hospital, they’re devastated, likely re-living the trauma of losing their firstborn daughter, Rose, all those years ago. It remains evident that Cherry’s presence isn’t appreciated in this time of incredible grief. Thus, while the parents stay by their son’s bedside, the girlfriend stews in her own sorrow all alone. Eventually, the time comes for a pivotal time in Daniel’s recovery, where his ability to breathe on his own would determine whether or not his body could survive the traumatizing ordeal. During this time, Laura finally picks up Cherry’s endless calls and prematurely tells her that her boyfriend has died.
However, shortly thereafter, Daniel begins breathing on his own, narrowly avoiding a near-death experience. In the joyous aftermath, the mother realizes she has to rectify her old mistakes and disclose news of her son’s survival to his girlfriend. Yet, when she pays Cherry a visit and realizes that Daniel plans to propose to her before the accident, her conscience takes a swift turn. Laura is desperate to keep her son away from the woman, convinced that she is nothing but bad news. Nonetheless, Daniel’s matrimonial plans all but confirm that he has made up his mind about Cherry. For the same reason, she realizes she has a golden opportunity to get rid of the younger woman forever while her son is vulnerable enough not to fight for his relations. Consequently, the mother doubles down on her lie about Daniel’s death, allowing his girlfriend to believe he’s dead and buried. Laura Whisks Daniel Away to Spain and Ruins Cherry’s Life in London With her menacing, impromptu plan set in motion, Laura needs to pull numerous other strings to ensure her vision comes to fruition. First, she decides to momentarily relocate her family to Spain to conduct her son’s recovery at their villa. She insists that she only has Daniel’s best interests in mind, when in reality, she wants to make sure Cherry won’t accidentally discover her lie. Furthermore, she makes her son believe that his girlfriend has broken up with him, and she is unwilling to keep him company during hard times. She goes as far as to change her number on his phone to ensure he can’t contact her and bring the whole charade down. Additionally, she instructs her close friends and family to keep news of his recovery a secret so that no information can leak out to Cherry.
Once Laura discovers that Brigitte had a run-in with Cherry
, wherein the cat almost came out of the bag, she realizes the latter has to be driven out of central London. Daniel will inevitably want to return to the city to pursue his career. As such, the mother wants to make sure there’s no chance of the two former lovers running into each other again. In order to achieve this, she uses her son’s old laptop to find out Cherry’s password and logs into her business account. From there, she creates a problematic post that effectively ruins the real-estate agent’s reputation everywhere. By the time Cherry wakes up the next day, she has been fired from her job and blacklisted from the industry for a post she didn’t even make. As a result, she has no choice but to move back in with her mother and work at her butcher’s shop until she can get back on her feet. Months pass, and Daniel recovers while Laura tries to set her up with another woman. Although he entertains these attempts, he remains incredibly heartbroken over his separation from Cherry.
For Daniel, and everyone else, she is simply an ex-girlfriend who dumped him while he was at his lowest. Thus, his mother’s plan almost works out in her favor, setting her life back to the way it was before the other woman’s arrival. However, everything changes on one fateful day. Following one rejection after another, Cherry finally grows tired of regressing back to her old ambition-less life. An inadvertent visit to her father, who is alive and in nursing care, further triggers her to seek a change in her life. This brings her to use a contact Howard once shared with her. The interview ends up changing her life in unimaginable ways when the owner, a Sanderson family friend, reveals that Daniel is very much alive. In the end, Cherry pays a visit to the restaurant upstairs, where she finds her boyfriend well and alive, and with his conniving mother. Read More: The Girlfriend Episode 1 and 2 Recap: First Impressions
