Episode 4 of Vladimir begins with M thinking of Vlad while having sex with John. She catches herself and becomes evasive. She finds Vlad's swimming trunks and hides them. Outside, she spots Lila leaving a letter and the girl runs off. M is shocked as she shares the letter with Sid. Lila is accusing M of retaliation, which is illegal. It seems that M is now the liability, as John's texts prove that he had consensual affairs with students who were all adults. Sid is also annoyed because the friend who was helping their defense is straight and led her on.
The plan is for M to apologize to Lila, but she refuses, insisting that she did not retaliate because of John and Lila's affair. M failed Lila because her work was subpar. She discusses this with her colleague, Priya, who backs her up. They also gossip about the students and colleagues, and Priya offhandedly comments that Vlad won't last long—he's just like every other city hotshot who thinks he'll get his next hit book while slumming it in the countryside. M doesn't think so, and further interactions with him fuel her fantasies as she roleplays with John.
Onto the case, M sneaks into David's office and steals Lila's file. It shows that Lila and another student were candidates for the scholarship. The committee had ended up in a tie, and M had been the deciding vote, failing Lila and selecting the other student. Lila's marks do prove that the other student was a better choice, but Sid explains that it will still be seen as a form of retaliation. M could lose her job instead of John. John checks in with Sid, who insists that she is not mad about the affairs or the retaliation—she just hates secrets.
M also overhears a student coming up with abysmal excuses to skip Vlad's assignment and she jokes around with him. They end up talking about the faculty meeting and he isn't too keen on doing the work and getting tenure at a small town college. Peeved, M lectures him on sucking it up and storms off. Edwina keeps hounding her for the letter of recommendation and she gets further annoyed.
The next morning, M sneaks back into the college at 5 am to return Lila's file when Cynthia spots her. Cynthia was trying to get through her writer's block when she saw the light. She has been struggling, and she confesses that she and Vlad fought because she found out that he used her sob story during the hiring process. M cheers her up, and in return, Cynthia helps her with Lila's case by simply...burning the file. With no evidence, it is all hearsay.
M mentioned that John, like Cynthia, a once-contracted teacher who eventually became the dean, possessed an impressive trajectory to the top. Cynthia quipped that Vlad should engage in an affair as he seemed like a stuck-up, proper man. This comment made M flustered.
Moreover, when Vlad arrived for the faculty meeting, Cynthia whispered to M that she was glad she knocked some sense into him. The staff debated about organization, and Vlad offered to lead a subcommittee to rectify it. As he spoke, M's tight pants helped as she dry-humped and had an orgasm. She joined the subcommittee alongside Florence and they decided to meet after classes.
That evening, M dressed up and didn't bat an eye as John and Sid prepared for their respective dates. Before leaving, John asked M to water his lettuce and warned her not to care too much. While watering the lettuce, M saw the text from Vlad cancelling the subcommittee meeting as he had been put on babysitting duty. We see that Cynthia is meeting John at a bar. Upset, M broke the netting of the lettuce, which attracted deer in the area.
M tried to take a bath but got distracted when Vlad texted her a shirtless selfie with her book, saying he liked to read slowly and thoroughly. He also sent a hugging face emoji, leaving her confused.
