The second episode kicks off with Harriet jolting awake in bed as her alarm rudely interrupts her slumber. She comes to her senses, realizing that she had fallen asleep clutching a magazine filled with pictures of Nick Park, the charming model she had crossed paths with at London Fashion Week.
As she sits down to breakfast with her dad, Richard, and her stepmother, Annabelle, the household is a hive of activity, everyone scrambling to get ready for the day. Suddenly, Richard's phone rings, interrupting the morning routine. It's his boss, urging him to finalize a pitch that's been looming over his work schedule.
Meanwhile, Harriet's world is turned upside down by a message from her best friend, Nat. The video Nat sends shows Harriet's embarrassing fall from the previous day's Fashion Week, which has now gone viral, capturing the attention of countless online viewers.
Outside a glitzy London boutique, a sleek car pulls up, and designer Yuji Lee strides inside, eager to see the final dress for her season's closing show. Her employees tremble in her wake, fearing her sharp tongue and exacting standards. When she abruptly decides not to use model Poppy for the finale, her staff is thrown into a frenzy, scrambling to find a replacement with little time to spare.
At Infinity Models, Jude Paignton, portrayed by Sarah Parish with a stunningly vicious boss impression, presses Wilbur to secure a new model for Yuji's show, and fast. They dare not risk losing the lucrative contract. As Wilbur flips through headshots of their roster of models, his gaze repeatedly returns to Harriet, sensing that she could be the perfect fit for the job.
Nick, meanwhile, awakens in a luxurious London apartment, where he's scheduled to meet with his fashion team while pedaling away on his Peloton bike. Suddenly, without warning, Poppy appears in the elevator, handing him a green smoothie and announcing that they need to shoot a quick live video for their followers. It soon becomes apparent that their romantic relationship is a sham, a mere facade for a sponsorship deal with a beverage company, and that their public displays of affection are all for show.
On camera, they project a picture-perfect facade of happiness, but behind the scenes, their relationship is icy. They discard their unfinished smoothies in the bin without a second thought, and Poppy hurriedly makes her exit, leaving a trail of tension in her wake.
At school, Lexi and her clique taunt Harriet mercilessly about the viral video, leaving her feeling exposed and vulnerable. Determined to take control of the situation, Harriet and Nat hatch a plan to create numerous fake social media accounts to report the video and have it removed.
Harriet avoids PE lessons like the plague, preferring to hide in the caretaker's cupboard and scour the internet for information on Nick Park. Unbeknownst to her, Wilbur and Betty have tracked down her school and arrived at Hollybridge Secondary School, eager to meet her.
Initially, the school secretary is unimpressed by their unannounced visit and refuses to let them in. But when Mr. Fiennes, the headteacher, spots them, he warmly welcomes them to his office and summons Harriet.
Harriet, expecting to be scolded, asks Nat to accompany her to the headteacher's office. To her surprise, she finds Wilbur waiting for her, beaming with excitement. He's thrilled to have found her, thinking that his troubles with finding a new model for Yuji are finally over.
However, Harriet is unimpressed by the casting offer until Wilbur mentions that she can bring Nat along. For a moment, it seems like Harriet might relent and agree to the casting, but when Wilbur boasts that her name will soon be in lights and all eyes will be on her, she freaks out and changes her mind. She hurriedly rejects the opportunity and rushes out, leaving Wilbur and Betty stunned in her wake.
Later in the English class, Harriet's concentration faltered as her phone beeped with a notification, informing her that the video had been taken down from Lexi's social media. However, her fleeting joy was swiftly extinguished when Lexi received the same message at the same instant, sparking a fury in her. Despite the distraction, Harriet somehow managed to muster a degree-worthy response to one of Mr. Fiennes' inquiries about Hamlet, only to provoke further bullying from Lexi.
When the teacher stepped out of the classroom, Lexi orchestrated a cruel scene, urging everyone to raise their hands if they hated Harriet. Being the queen bee of the school, everyone obediently complied, and Harriet's heart sank as she saw every hand in the air. She felt humiliated and fled the classroom, seeking solace in a bush by the school gates, overwhelmed by loneliness and sadness.
Back at home, Harriet lay on her bed, replaying the horrid events of the day in her mind. She realized that the only way to bring about change in her life was to take matters into her own hands. She picked up her phone, leaving a voice note for Nat, declaring their intention to attend the casting. Then, she sat staring at the phone number Wilbur had given her, pondering whether to take the plunge and call him.
