Stepsister SummerStepbrother arrives for the holidays, three women have a plan

The story

Meet the visitor nobody had warned about. Brooklyn is the new stepsister, the long-awaited guest, and she steps into the house to find a bright, polite stepbrother she has never met. Her stepmother has been plotting since before the suitcases landed: she has settled the schedule for these two weeks, and she is delighted to let him think it was his own idea. A friend is in on it. Dad is conveniently out of town. The heat wave is, frankly, the least suspicious thing in the house. Our correspondent says the whole household was seen exchanging glances over breakfast.

The twist

Episode 2 takes the party upstairs. Brooklyn calls him to her room for help with a small chore, tells him to quit overthinking and reminds him he is allowed to want things. Then comes the warning to keep things hushed, and the question of where they left off.

Developing story

Two weeks is a long time with a house this crowded, and the paid episodes hold the rest of the roster: who is steering, who is following and who actually planned what.