At baggage claim in Raleigh, Jo reflects on the small drama of waiting for luggage compared to larger worries: her creative block and her mother’s illness. Sebastian Fell’s jab about being Jo’s inspiration lingers because Jo is secretly empty of new songs; she has been revising old work and has not written anything new in nearly a year. Her manager, Rooney Tarr, texts to wish her a good vacation, reminding Jo of the support system that started when Rooney discovered her years ago behind a catering gig and became her manager.

Jo recalls her early Los Angeles years: scraping by on service jobs, writing obsessively, and adapting her songwriting to the market—finding success with hooky pop-rock anthems. Despite building a career, her momentum halted after her mother became ill, and now she cannot write. She labels it a curse, highlighting how fundamentally different this emptiness feels.

Gigi bursts into baggage claim in a pickle costume, greeting Jo with a sign and an exuberant hug. The reunion grounds Jo; she feels briefly at home. They struggle her luggage into Gigi’s cluttered VW Bug and begin the three-hour drive back to Vienna Shores, keeping up their tradition of Cook Out hush puppies and Cheerwine.

On the highway, Gigi jokes about Jo’s royalties and Willa Grey’s trap remix of Jo’s song, but Jo refuses to listen, clearly sensitive about her work. Gigi presses Jo to share what’s wrong, trading hush puppies for honesty. Jo sidesteps at first, then asks if they are going to the Revelry; Gigi confirms she promised to help that night and adds that Jo’s mother is having a good day.

The mention of a “good day” crystallizes the stakes of Jo’s return: her father asked her to come home for one last great summer as her mother’s dementia progresses unpredictably. Jo admits her fear and the dread she has carried, comparing her real self, Jo, to the public myth of hitmaker Joni Lark that outsiders like Sebastian assume. Sitting beside Gigi, Jo finally confesses the truth she has been avoiding: she is terrified of losing her mother.