The Girls On The Bus Episodes 1 & 2 Recap: 13 Biggest Reveals

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for The Girls on the Bus episodes 1 &2.

The Girls on the Bus just premiered its first two episodes of Max, setting the stage for a dramatic, entertaining season full of twists, turns, and reveals. The new Max original show is a political drama based on the 2018 book Chasing Hillary by the show’s co-creator Amy Chozick. Chozick teamed up with experienced showrunner Julie Plec, best known for creating The Vampire Diaries and its spinoffs, to tell the story of a group of female journalists on the presidential campaign trail.

The first two episodes established The Girls on the Bus characters, their personalities and backstories, and their relationships with each other. Though they have their differences and not everyone got along at first, The Girls on the Bus has teased that they will all bond through their experiences together. Amidst the required exposition, The Girls on the Bus episodes 1 and 2 still managed to advance the plot quickly and set up a series of potential storylines.

13 Sadie Got Arrested By The FBI After The Election

The reasons are unknown thus far

The Girls on the Bus episode 1 began with a scene that flashed forward to the end of the election before returning to the start of the cycle with the Iowa caucus. In the opening scene, the FBI arrested the main character Sadie McCarthy (Melissa Benoist). Though The Girls on the Bus hasn’t yet revealed why she was arrested, the entire series will likely lead up to this dramatic moment.

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12 Sadie Was Criticized For Being Too Biased

Sadie had to prove herself to earn a spot on Bennett’s bus

The Girls on the Bus episodes 1 and 2 introduced Sadie as a young, passionate journalist, whose emotions can sometimes get the best of her. Sadie was removed from the political beat following her biased reporting during the last election cycle. She was put on obituaries, where she wrote a viral piece about the death of a mallard, but she wanted more.

Fortunately, Sadie was given a second chance due to the start of a new election year. Though the higher-ups at her publication still didn’t trust Sadie, her editor, Bruce (Griffin Dunne), vouched for her. To get a spot on the bus of frontrunner Caroline Bennett (Joanna Gleason), Sadie would have to prove herself through an important scoop.

11 Kimberlyn’s Boyfriend Proposed Before She Left For Iowa

The timing interfered with Kimberlyn’s career

Another journalist joining Sadie on Bennett’s bus was Kimberlyn (Christina Elmore), a reporter for Liberty Direct News, a stand-in for Fox News. With her colleague Nellie (Leslie Fray) fitting the channel’s demographic as a young, blonde woman, Kimberlyn was determined to earn POTUS detail. Just before she left for Iowa, her boyfriend Eric (Kyle Vincent Terry) proposed, and she said yes.

Unfortunately, what should have been good news ended up being a distraction at work. Eric and his mother regularly pestered her for details on their upcoming wedding, dragging her and her assistant away from what they were meant to be doing. Though they’re well-intentioned, this will likely be a recurring issue throughout The Girls on the Bus.

10 Sadie Cried After Walker Lost The Previous Election

A video of Sadie crying hurt her reputation

Beyond her biased reporting, Sadie was also taken off the political beat following her emotional reaction to candidate Felicity Walker’s unexpected loss in the last presidential election. While on Walker’s bus, Sadie formed a connection with her and was heartbroken at her loss, sure that she’d earned herself a ticket to the White House. When Liberty Direct News caught her crying on camera, it became national news, hurting Sadie’s reputation. Sadie was warned not to get too close to another candidate and to keep a professional distance, but it’s easier said than done in The Girls on the Bus.

9 Sadie’s Ex Was Named Bennett’s New Press Secretary

Their relationship didn’t end on good terms

Sadie had to go through Bennett’s press secretary to get the scoop she needed to prove herself. Unfortunately for her, Bennett’s new press secretary was a man nicknamed Loafers, whom Sadie had been in an intimate relationship with during the last campaign. Sadie’s friend, seasoned journalist Grace (Carla Gugino), had cautioned Sadie against getting involved with people on the trail, and Loafers was the perfect example of why.

Sadie had seen their relationship as casual, formed by one too many drunken nights and the excitement of being on the bus. On the other hand, Loafers thought they were in a serious relationship, and was hurt when Sadie ghosted him. When they reunited in The Girls on the Bus, Loafers was unwilling to help Sadie gain access to Bennett, still holding a grudge about how their relationship ended.

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8 Lola Defended Kimberlyn After A Student Threw A Drink At Her

Sadie took advantage of Kimberlyn’s misfortune to get an interview with Bennett

Kimberlyn’s work with Liberty Direct News led to a lot of criticism from her fellow journalists and those she encountered during the campaign, many of whom disagreed with her and the channel’s political views. When she asked a candidate a seemingly insensitive question at a university, a student threw a drink at her. Lola (Natasha Behnam), a liberal Gen Z-er who is new to the bus, unexpectedly saved her, which upset many of her social media followers.

Unfortunately, Lola and Kimberlyn ended up stranded in the middle of nowhere, and Kimberlyn was in a hurry to get to her interview with Bennett, having been afforded the first sit-down with her. Following the situation through Lola’s social media, Sadie used their misfortune to her advantage, promising Kimberlyn a ride from a friend if she gave her the location of her interview with Bennett. Though Sadie’s methods were a bit unconventional, they worked in her favor in The Girls on the Bus, as she was able to get past Loafers to secure an interview with Bennett.

7 Nellie Tried To Steal Kimberlyn’s Interview

Nellie was eventually given POTUS detail

The only reason Kimberlyn had been at the university in the first place was to cover for Nellie, who claimed to be sick. When Kimberlyn finally arrived for her interview with Bennett in The Girls on the Bus, she discovered Nellie was already there, as she’d been planning on stealing her interview. Though Kimberlyn’s interview with Bennett was successful, Liberty Direct News still awarded Nellie with POTUS detail over her due to the optics of her as a white woman versus Kimberlyn as a Black woman.

6 Caroline Bennett Was Involved In A Sex Scandal

Bennett refused to drop out

Sadie was able to write a great article on Bennett in The Girls on the Bus, which earned her a spot on the bus for the rest of the campaign. However, the timing was incredibly poor, as her piece praising Bennett coincided with the breaking news that the frontrunner had been involved in a sex scandal. Though it seemed like her campaign was over, which would’ve been the end of Lola, Grace, Kimberlyn, and Sadie’s time on the bus, Bennett refused to drop out, having a few more tricks up her sleeve.

5 Walker Showed Up In Iowa To Endorse Bennett

Walker refused to speak with Sadie

Just when it seemed like Bennett had no chance left in the presidential race, Walker showed up in The Girls on the Bus to endorse her. Her appearance was surprising and a big help to Bennett, as Walker had also been the frontrunner in the previous race. Sadie was determined to speak with Walker and get a quote from her, but was unsuccessful. While in an elevator together, Walker pressed the emergency stop button to have what she hoped to be her final conversation with Sadie.

Walker blamed Sadie, claiming she was the reason she had lost the election four years ago. Sadie had never considered that her reporting would have painted Walker negatively, as that was not her intention. Looking back at her articles, Sadie realized she may have revealed details about the candidate she wouldn’t have wanted to be shared, and her sarcastic tone may have rubbed some readers the wrong way. Walker told Sadie to stay away from Bennett if she wanted her to have any chance of winning the election.

4 Kimberlyn Got A Scoop On Bennett

Bennett’s race was over after the Iowa primary

Though it looked like Walker’s endorsement would save Bennett’s campaign in The Girls on the Bus, a piece from Kimberlyn ruined her chances. While interviewing a participant from one of the sex parties Bennett had attended, she found out that they weren’t entirely consensual and that they were more like sex cults. With this revelation, Bennett’s campaign became dead in the water, and it was confirmed to be over after she failed to garner votes in the Iowa primary.

3 Loafers Quit Working For Bennett

Loafers & Sadie hooked up again

Before Bennett’s campaign ended, Loafers quit his job as her press secretary. After a conversation with Sadie, he realized he didn’t believe in Bennett the way he should have. He wanted to feel the passion and optimism he’d felt in the past and that Sadie radiated. With him no longer working for Bennett, it appeared that there were no longer any potential conflicts between Sadie and Loafers, so they hooked up again. Things turned awkward the next morning when Loafers said he loved her, but that likely wasn’t the end of their relationship in The Girls on the Bus.

2 Walker Decided To Run For President Again

Sadie got the exclusive

When Loafers left Sadie’s hotel room in The Girls on the Bus episode 2, he claimed that he had work to do. Sadie realized that must have meant he was working for another candidate as he’d quit his job on Bennett’s campaign. Though he wouldn’t tell her who, Sadie concluded that he was now working for Walker, who was running for president again.

Sadie still knew Walker’s habits and approached her at a restaurant, revealing that she knew the real reason why she’d shown up in Iowa. Sadie no longer saw Walker with rose-colored glasses and used her knowledge to get an exclusive with her about her decision to run again. Though their time on Bennett’s bus had ended, The Girls on the Bus episode 2 showed that their time on Walker’s bus would just be beginning.

1 Sadie Was Given A Mysterious Burner Phone

The phone could be connected to Sadie’s arrest

At the end of The Girls on the Bus episode 2, in a cliffhanger ending, Sadie received a mysterious package in her hotel room. Inside was a burner phone, but there were no clues as to who it was from. This will hopefully be answered in the upcoming episodes of The Girls on the Bus, and could even be connected to Sadie’s eventual arrest following the election.

Where To Watch The Girls On The Bus

The Girls on the Bus

The story centers on Sadie McCarthy (Melissa Benoist), a journalist who romanticizes a bygone era of campaign reporting and scraps her whole life for a shot at covering a presidential candidate for a paper of record. Sadie joins the bus and eventually bonds with three female competitors, Grace (Carla Gugino), Lola (Natasha Behnam), and Kimberlyn (Christina Elmore). Despite their differences, the women become a found family with a front-row seat to the greatest soap opera in town – the battle for the White House.