In the fifth episode of Vladimir's story, M enquires from Sid about the significance of the hugging face emoji. Sid suggests that people are fearful and use such messages to test the situation. Now, it's M's turn to decide whether to play it safe or engage in the potentially risky interpretation of the message. M believes that she just needs to be alone with Vladimir, and then she will know if he was actually flirting or just playing the fool.
David has discovered that Lila's file is missing and orders M to return it, as the committee is aware of its existence. M panics and, when she runs into Edwina, she lies that she has turned in her letter of recommendation. However, the deadline has expired, and the university refuses to make an exception.
M is still distracted by Vlad's texts. She decides to set up a meeting for the subcommittee despite Florence's busy schedule and is delighted when Vlad flirts with her in the group chat. Inspired, she resumes her writing. We see that she is still carrying his swim trunks in her purse.
At home, she confesses that she has burned Lila's file, and Sid is annoyed. John goes on about missing groceries and M tags along. She waits outside in the parking lot while John checks out and the cashier happens to be Dawn, an adjunct professor. John makes inappropriate jokes and then forgets his phone. As Dawn returns it to him in the parking lot, she glares at M. He also playfully grabs M's ass, making some nearby students uncomfortable.
Back at the college, M tries to get David to cover for her with the burned file by emotionally manipulating him. She claims that she loved him and would have left John for him but he was a coward and ghosted her. He accepts that he still finds her attractive but won't help her.
Plan B is an apology, and Sid invites Lila home. It goes instantly wrong as M doesn't sincerely apologize. Lila lashes out, calling the couple abusive, which angers Sid. She believes that Lila came onto John and is targeting M out of revenge. The two girls hurl insults at each other before Lila storms off.
During the subcommittee meeting, Florence's unexpected arrival caused dismay for M. They engaged in a heated debate over the teaching structure, with Florence advocating for the removal of hierarchies and M insisting on maintaining them, citing her preference for being a reliable mentor to her students. Florence alleged boundary issues, prompting M to realize that she had made a similar mistake with Edwina. M tried to apologize but found Edwina with Cynthia. As usual, M blamed her problems and apologized in a roundabout way without taking any actual responsibility. Cynthia called her out for being improper, and Edwina revealed that Cynthia had submitted a letter right before the deadline. M was embarrassed, as she had never missed a deadline for her students before. She accepted that she was distracted and deleted the texts with Vlad.
Of course, it was no use, as he joined her next class, where she was teaching "The House of Mirth," a novel about a couple being torn apart by society. Through the subtext, the author writes about the couple having sex. The students didn't get it, and one guy was even uncomfortable as Vlad and M discussed it explicitly. Afterwards, Vlad explained that he wanted to check in on M as she had a lot going on. She was still curious about his emoji game and confessed that he was hard to read. He deflected by inviting her to lunch to discuss her book, which he had finally finished. His only available dates were after Thanksgiving or October 20th, the day of John's hearing. Well, M agreed to the 20th. Unbeknownst to her, throughout the day, David received visits from Dawn and a bunch of students who were at the grocery store's parking lot and the "House of Mirth" class. There were complaints, and M was asked to resign.
The subcommittee meeting was disrupted by Florence's unexpected presence, causing M to confront her about the teaching structure. Their disagreement led to a revelation of past mistakes made by M with Edwina. Despite M's attempts to apologize, she continued to evade responsibility and blame. Cynthia called her out for her improper behavior, and Edwina revealed that Cynthia had saved the day by submitting a letter before the deadline. M was embarrassed and acknowledged that she had been distracted, leading her to delete her texts with Vlad. However, he still joined her class, where she was teaching "The House of Mirth," a novel about a couple's struggle due to societal pressures. The students were confused by the explicit discussion of sex between the characters, which made one guy uncomfortable. Vlad explained that he wanted to check in on M's well-being and invited her to lunch to discuss her book, which he had finally finished reading. His only available dates were after Thanksgiving or October 20th, which coincided with John's hearing. M agreed to the 20th. However, David received visits from Dawn and several students throughout the day, resulting in complaints and ultimately M's resignation from her position.
