The Hills - Season 4, Episode 17

Stephanie is strong-armed into visiting Nana

"It's About Trust"
Original airdate: 11/30/2008

Episode summary: Spencer, Stephanie, and Heidi pay a visit to Nana in Huntington Beach. Audrina meets with Lauren to apologize for perpetrating the rumor that she hooked up with Justin.

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Recap: Lauren tells Lo she's still bummed about Audrina accusing her of doing the nasty with Justin...and that, in essence, his shitty treatment of Audrina is a big part of why they're even having this conversation right now. Lo points out that being accused of something this heinous can only stem from a complete lack of trust, and Lauren concurs and says that she's going to need Audrina to express genuine contriteness if she expects to be forgiven.

Over at Epic Records, Audrina tells Chiara about her contentious encounter with Lauren at Winston's last night, and that Lauren accused her of humiliating her without any tangible evidence of wrongdoing. She also recaps that when she finally met up with Justin, he admonished her for all of the bitchy voicemail messages and texts she sent him and then abruptly exited the bar...and they haven't spoken since. Audrina admits that she now believes nothing actually happened between Lauren and Justin, and that she wishes she hadn't spent much of the previous episode perpetrating such an implausible rumor, and wishes they go back to the way everything was, two short episodes ago. Chiara reacts to this contrived lunacy by shaking her head in dismay.

"So, to summarize...no hanky panky of any kind occurred between Lauren and Justin."

"I sheepishly concede."

Spencer drops by Stephanie's apartment to pressure her into tagging along to Nana's place in Huntington Beach when he and Heidi visit her tomorrow. Stephanie whines that she's sooooo busy with school and work and can't easily do it on a weekday - but Spencer strongly urges her to carve out some time to check in with Nana and do whatever it takes to get herself back into the eighty-four year old's good graces.

While frolicking in Lauren's pool, Brody comes right out and asks, "Why are you banging Justin-Bobby?", adding that that rumor is some the craziest shit he's ever heard. Lauren complains about the embarrassment of people asking her about it and wonders aloud when exactly Audrina took a turn into cuckoo-town. Brody tells her that people inexplicably change, and advises her to cut Audrina from the Hills posse.

Audrina tells her sister Casey that Justin still isn't talking to her, and Casey kind of grins at that silver lining and says she totally gets why Lauren would be so upset, and urges her to apologize to Lauren for making such wild, baseless accusations.

Spencer, Heidi, and Stephanie arrive at Nana's house in Huntington Beach and greet Nana hello...and Spencer and Heidi smugly point out how often they drop by - unlike Stephanie, who's been dickishly ignoring her kindly grandparent. While enjoying refreshments on the patio, Nana asks Stephanie what's new, and Spencer interjects and tattles about how Stephanie has become besties with "the person that was talking mean about poor, sweet Heidi". Nana clucks, "Oh dear" ... and when Spencer and Stephanie start bickering, Nana snaps at them to shut it, 'cause she much prefers it when everyone is happy and gets along. Spencer reacts by calling Stephanie out for not visiting Nana frequently enough, prompting Stephanie to make special plans to hang out with Nana for much of the following day. 

"Stephanie demonstrates no loyalty to the Pratt clan."

"Spencer should shut the fuck up."

"Oh dear."

At People's Revolution, Lauren tells Whitney that Audrina wants them to meet up and hopefully make peace. She adds that she's not wild about the idea of continuing to discuss the rumor of her getting nailed by Justin - but Whitney points out that maybe Audrina will have something more worthwhile to say than the verbal garbage she blurted out at Winston's the other night. Lauren mulls that over while staring contemplatively into space.

Stephanie and Nana stroll along Santa Monica Beach before taking a rest on a park bench, and Nana remarks on how much she likes the two of them having their own private time. Stephanie remarks on how whenever she (Nana) comes into town, she tends to only visit Spencer and Heidi, and Nana says that in her defence it's not her intention to exclude her. Stephanie says that things between herself and Spencer always seem to devolve into a competition, and that he likes having the spotlight on himself (e.g. as evidenced by the way he finagled himself into become a regular Hills cast mate), and Nana just kind of shrugs and says she mostly judges him by the kind manner he treats her. Stephanie argues that if she knew what he was really like, she wouldn't like him very much, to which Nana unhelpfully replies, "Life is sometimes a bucket of worms and you don't know what to do with them." Stephanie chuckles and says that that's how she feels about Spencer, and doesn't get why he's always so mean to her...and Nana just advises her to give him a chance to mature.

"Life is like a box of chocolates."

"Also a bucket of worms."

Over at Bond Street, Audrina admits to Lauren that her accusations about hooking up with Justin have created one hot mess for her on camera Hills friendships, and Lauren concurs that, yep, she definitely accused her of some pretty crazy shit and that common sense should have dictated that she'd never hook up with her boyfriend, much less a disheveled hobo who can barely bring himself to commit to daily hygiene. Audrina sheepishly says she was sooooo sure that Dino was telling the truth - but that she now regrets not trusting her and/or Justin. Lauren laughingly retorts, "I get why you didn't trust Justin", then says she's watched her repeatedly crawl back to that douche-nozzle and openly trust him with her feelings and heart - while at the same time being wholly unwilling to give her the benefit of the doubt. Audrina reveals that she's pretty sure if Justin weren't in her life she'd be a lot happier, and Lauren's like, "Well d'yuh" and insists that happiness should always come first. Audrina says that not only has she not been happy lately, she's been feeling very torn up and lost...and knows how unhealthy it is to not trust anyone. Lauren points out that there are plenty of people who want the best for her, and assures her she can always trust her to want her to never be sad. The two then exit the bar together, hug goodbye, and agree to meet up again soon. 

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