Fan Behavior

In this episode, Carrie recounts to Ellie a learning experience in which a parasocial relationship morphed into an unnatural in-person one. Enabled by Carrie's loneliness and lack of boundaries, "Meredith's" visit to Mom's house in East Hampton during the second major COVID surge left Carrie feeling entrapped in a cycle of panoptical performance (see Jon Mckenzie's 2001 work "Perform or Else"). Ellie helps her sister understand what she did wrong in the situation and stresses the importance of communicating clearly, even when it feels awkward or cruel.