Carrie has fallen in love with Drake. College graduation is approaching and news about the internship inches closer. After a date with Drake, Carrie seeks the counsel of her mother. What advice will Amanda have for her daughter? Will Carrie follow her heart, or her head? But before you continue any further, stop and watch the episode then join us for the spoilers

SPOILERS AHEAD – YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

In S2 E3, Carrie has fallen in love with Drake. She is severely conflicted about her feelings. She is also concerned about how it will affect her future. On one hand, it has always been her dream to go and train in Chestnut Ridge. She wants to become a horse veterinarian and eventually live out her life there. But her feelings towards Drake are strong, and she’s worried if they can endure a long-distance relationship.

As the episode begins, Carrie and Drake snuggle together on a blanket. They are at a park in Henford-on-Bagley and enjoying a cold night with a fire burning next to them. At this point, we know the two have been dating steadily for two years. Here, we see Carrie’s anxiety about the future on display.

While Carrie is stressing over the news about the internship, she’s applied for, Drake asks her to his prom. He hopes it will get her mind off of things. He does succeed. The two are now starting to want to be closer together as they are now young adults. Carrie is hesitant and reminds him that they can’t.

When she returns home, Amanda is in the rocker, knitting a onesie for the new baby. She sees that Carrie is very perplexed and offers to speak to her. It’s here Carrie tells her mother that she’s in love with Drake. She is scared that the relationship will not survive if she moves out to Chestnut Ridge.

Amanda becomes concerned. She had hoped this was something that her daughter would not experience. Trying to gauge where the relationship is at, she asks Carrie if they’ve had woohoo yet, and Carrie answers no. Amanda is relieved. One less thing to worry about.

Amanda notices the worry and fear growing in her daughter. She tells her that nothing and no one should stand in Carrie’s way. If you feel that E3 is a filler episode, as well as a short one, then you’re right. Again, as in S1’s case, I made a continuity error. I realized I needed a bridge to explain Carrie’s anxiety over the internship. I also wanted to explain her love for Drake.

Once again, I flipped the script. I moved around episodes so we could jump into the second arc of S2. The next arc involves Nina. S2 has four arcs, or acts. The first arc is Amanda and Tony’s new baby arriving. The second arc is Carrie’s coming of age. The third arc revolves around Nina and a chance encounter. The last arc is the aftermath of Nina and Addie’s break up.

Originally, S2 E3 was a much longer episode. I didn’t like most of it, so I decided to cut it. This left the run time at around 15 minutes. It was more or less, “will they, won’t they” and I felt it wasn’t needed. I admit I do like the purity and innocence of Carrie and Drake’s relationship. They respect each other a lot because they haven’t woohooed with each other.

Carrie’s main focus is on her studies, graduating from Foxbury and hopefully train to be a horse veterinarian. The one thing she didn’t anticipate, or think would happen, would be falling in love with Drake.

Where Drake is concerned, she knows he has his own dreams and ambitions. Unlike Carrie Drake has not fast-tracked through high school and will graduate shortly. He intends to study farm agriculture at Foxbury to fulfill his own dream of owning a ranch.

Carrie feels by making her feelings known, he may choose to give up on his dream to remain with her. She doesn’t want to stand in his way or make him give up his dreams. At the same time, she fears going to Chestnut Ridge alone. She worries about being away from her boyfriend and family. She would only see them on holidays. She knows by going out there, her whole life will change. She also worries about her younger siblings distancing themselves from her, or worse, not knowing her at all!

The episode ends with Amanda giving out some firm advice that catches Carrie off-gaurd. On one hand, she feels that Amanda’s advice is selfish and mean. On the other hand, it can safeguard her future. More importantly, is Amanda right for telling her daughter this?

What will she do? You’ll need to see in the next few episodes.

In S2 E4, we travel with Nina to the Charity Benefit. Unexpected surprises await!