The Starter Wife Episode 1.8 Look Who's Stalking

It's bad enough when Molly wakes up and realizes that she is thoroughly hung-over, but when she notices that there's someone asleep next to her-and that someone is Kenny-she's downright horrified. Kenny, on the other hand, enjoyed their vodka-and-caviar-fueled celebration the night before so much that he's ready to "celebrate" again but Molly's having none of it. While she flees into the kitchen to make coffee to-go for her ex, the doorbell rings. Zach has come over to apologize for breaking up with Molly the night before. Molly, thrilled that Zach is back but not wanting him to see Kenny half-naked in her house, quickly accepts Zach's apology and tries to send him home. But Zach has brought breakfast as a peace offering and is in no rush to leave. Thankfully, Kenny picks up on Molly's signal and slips out the back door unseen, much to Molly's relief. Before there's any make-up breakfast to be eaten, Zach is stopped in his tracks by the huge kitchen knife stabbed into a sandwich atop Molly's kitchen counter. Attached is another missive from her stalker: "Die Slut Die!" It's clearly time to call the police.

Soon after, Detective Eddie LaRoche arrives on the scene to lead the investigation. After hearing Molly's story about her stolen journal and the subsequent series of threatening notes, the detective (who's quite handsome) suspects that Zach might be responsible for the reign of terror. Suddenly, one of the other detectives who has been searching the house for clues discovers a man's watch on the patio. Molly has no choice but to take Detective LaRoche aside to explain that the watch is Kenny's and that he must've dropped it on the way out from their drunken tryst. Now LaRoche is even more convinced that Zach is the stalker (classic case of the jealous spurned lover) and suddenly Molly can't help but wonder if maybe the detective is right.

Also that same morning, Doctor Kassoy has arrived at Felix's house to put him back on his medication. Rodney casually asks the doctor if anything that Felix might have said while he was in his manic stage yesterday could be believed. When the doc confirms that Felix was out of his mind and probably didn't mean anything he said, Rodney is disappointed. Later, when Felix is awake and feeling more like himself, Rodney asks Felix if he remembers anything he said the night before, specifically declaring his love for...cabbage. Felix says that he doesn't remember anything that happened during his episode but if he said he loves...cabbage then he knows he must've meant it.

Meanwhile, Monica, the mother of Devon's teenage son Campbell, has agreed to come over for lunch so she can meet Devon and Liz and decide whether or not she'll allow her son to visit. Liz is nervous to make the right impression, especially since Monica is a social worker and must live a much lower-key lifestyle. Despite best efforts to appear normal, down-to-earth and stable, Liz and Devon come across as being just as extravagant as Monica suspected. She refuses to let Campbell meet Devon and leaves, dashing Devon's hopes. Even though Devon doesn't say it out loud, it's clear that he blames Liz for ruining his one chance to meet his son. Liz, desperate to make things right, goes to see Monica in her hotel room. Monica reluctantly admits that she's worried that Campbell will be taken in by the flash and excitement of his biological father's lifestyle and she'll lose him. Liz confesses that if Monica doesn't agree to let Campbell meet Devon, Liz will lose her husband. Maybe Monica and Liz aren't as different as they appear.

While Molly and Rodney consider what personal defense items she should buy for protection from her stalker who is still at large, Rodney suggests that Molly activate her GPS tracking system and that they program speed-dial SOS messages into each of their phones. Rodney promises that if Molly's stalker attacks her, he'll come save her. Later that night, while Molly helps Zach get his apartment ready for writer's group, she is very jumpy. What if the detective was right about Zach? When Zach comes out of his room with something hidden behind his back, Molly is spooked but she laughs with relief when he reveals the manuscript for his book. He finally finished it and wants Molly to read it. But her relief is only temporary when she spies something that looks very much like her stolen journal in Zach's living room. Despite her fervent wishes otherwise, upon closer inspection the book turns out to be Molly's journal, which would mean that Zach is her stalker!

Fellow writing group member Charlotte arrives in the nick of time so Molly is not alone with the man she thought she knew. Molly then pulls Zach into the kitchen to confront him, wielding a corkscrew as protection. Zach finally convinces Molly that he is not her stalker, which Molly only really begins to believe when she sees the .38 pistol Charlotte has trained on her and Zach!

Suddenly, it all becomes clear: Charlotte is the one who stole Molly's journal, sold pages from it to Dizzy-Land and has been sending the threatening notes to Molly. Charlotte even put the journal back in Zach's apartment to implicate Zach. Why? Because Charlotte is in love with Zach and wants "perfect Molly" out of the picture. Charlotte first demands that Zach calls the doorman to tell everyone that the writing group has been cancelled and then tells Molly to hand over her phone. Before giving her cell to Charlotte, Molly manages to send an SOS signal to Rodney, who is having Kung Pao Chicken with Felix and so doesn't notice the message. Soon Kenny arrives at the door-not to save them but because Charlotte has sent him a text message from Molly's phone asking him to come over under false pretenses. Now Charlotte has Molly right where she wants her: torn between two lovers with no way out.

Meanwhile, Rodney finally noticing Molly's SOS message, calls the police and springs into action, with his action hero boyfriend close behind. They high-tail it over to Zach's apartment building where Felix uses his "Dark-Axe" superhero persona to get past Corey, the doorman.

Upstairs, Charlotte has forced Molly and Kenny to come clean about sleeping together the night before in front of Zach in the hopes that once and for all, Zach will kick Molly to the curb so Charlotte can have him to herself. Molly tells Zach that sleeping with Kenny was a mistake and she honestly thought that she and Zach were broken up. How was she to know it would only be for a day? But Kenny doesn't want to chalk it up to only being drunk; he wants Molly to consider that maybe he has changed. Zach blows up at Molly, throwing her hypocrisy about him sleeping with Dana Field long ago back in Molly's face. Zach tells her to get out but as she's about to walk through the front door, she realizes that Zach was only saying those hurtful things to save Molly from Charlotte. Suddenly, Charlotte catches on to his ruse, too, but just then, Rodney bursts through the open door and tackles crazy Charlotte, sending the gun skittering across the floor. Crisis is over, thanks to Rodney! The police arrive to arrest Charlotte. And Molly and Kenny agree that getting back together would make a better plot twist in the movie than in real life.

The next day, Devon receives a call that Monica has changed her mind about letting Campbell come for a visit. He'll be coming in a week! Devon is thrilled and Liz is relieved that what she said has a positive influence on Monica.

While Felix is expressing his admiration for Rodney's heroism, Lola walks into the bedroom and is stunned to see the two men in bed together.

And just when Molly is beginning to feel like her life has returned to normal, Detective LaRoche visits her with news that Joan and Pappy, last seen on their 6-month cruise around the world, have disappeared.