This Thursday at the Auguste Armand Institute, passions run high and tensions reach their peak. In this episode on the verge of implosion, Carla finds herself at the center of a turmoil she hadn’t anticipated. What was supposed to be an ordinary day turns into a nightmare, orchestrated from the shadows by Jim, determined to make her pay for her behavior. But how far will he go to exact his revenge?
It all begins early in the morning, in the kitchen. The atmosphere seems peaceful, but a dull tension hangs in the air. Carla, always seemingly confident, barely hides her discomfort. For several days, her sharp remarks and repeated barbs have finally exhausted Jim’s patience, wounded by her provocations. The latter, stung in his pride, is preparing a move that risks making an impression—and above all, humiliating the woman who has defied him for too long.
As the students bustle around a tasting workshop supervised by Clotilde, an unexpected incident ignites the powder keg. In front of the entire team, a dish prepared by Carla becomes the target of a cutting remark, and laughter erupts. Jim, however, remains strangely silent, his expression satisfied. Rumors quickly spread: someone may have tampered with the recipe. And all eyes turn to Jim.
Hurt, Carla tries to hold her head high. But as the truth emerges, she realizes it’s no coincidence. Jim planned everything to bring her down. He used her own words against her, turning her arrogance into an instrument of her downfall. In front of the entire Institute, Carla takes the blows without being able to defend herself. Even her friends hesitate to come to her defense, shocked by this turn of events.
At the same time, Teyssier watches the scene impassively. While he despises teenage drama, he cannot ignore the chaos that is eating away at his students’ cohesion. For him, this kind of incident tarnishes the image of the Institute, and he intends to strike hard to restore order. But behind his apparent calm, one senses his cold anger: public humiliation, in his eyes, is a sign of collective weakness.
In a deserted hallway, Carla collapses. Her tough-guy facade finally cracks. The humiliation is too much to bear, especially since Jim, far from regretting it, seems to savor his victory. But this satisfaction doesn’t last: as the rumor grows, several students begin to doubt themselves. What if Jim has gone too far?
Amber, shocked by the cruelty of the situation, confronts Jim in a scene of rare intensity. She accuses him of crossing the line, of turning an ego squabble into a humiliating settling of scores. Jim, initially defensive, eventually admits that he wanted to “get back at her,” without imagining the consequences. But the damage is done.
Meanwhile, Clotilde tries to ease tensions, while Hortense takes Carla’s side, feeling she’s too often judged by appearances. She pushes the young woman to regain control, raise her head, and transform this humiliation into strength. This speech marks a turning point: for the first time, Carla reveals true vulnerability, a mixture of wounded pride and cold rage.
The revenge, however, doesn’t stop there. In a surprising turn of events, Teyssier decides to intervene personally. He summons Jim to his office, accusing him of tarnishing the Institute’s reputation. But true to his style, he doesn’t settle for a simple lecture: he demands exemplary punishment. Jim finds himself caught in his own game, forced to publicly face his actions. Shame then shifts sides.
Carla, for her part, refuses to feel sorry for herself. Determined to rebuild her life, she returns to work with a newfound rigor. She wants to prove that she’s not just the “victim of the week,” but a talented student capable of rising to the top. In the kitchen, her energy is impressive. Under Hortense’s supervision, she manages to create a remarkably precise dish, praised even by Teyssier—a sign that all is not lost.
But the wound remains open. Jim, consumed by remorse, tries to approach Carla to apologize. She listens silently, without looking at him. Her words, though sincere, do not erase the wound. “You wanted to destroy me? You made me stronger,” she says before leaving. This scathing line marks a poignant end to the scene—and a symbolic reversal.
The episode then shifts to a more introspective tone. Several characters question the limits of competition, the pressure that pushes students to tear each other apart rather than help each other. Teyssier, in a rare moment of humanity, half-heartedly acknowledges that this generation of students is both brilliant and dangerously impulsive.
That evening, Carla meets Bérénice, who encourages her not to let this humiliation define her. In the darkness of the students’ room, a sincere friendship is reborn, stronger than before. Their exchanges bring warmth back to a tense episode, where resentment finally gives way to calm.
But in the final minutes, a new danger looms: an anonymous message circulates on the Institute’s internal networks, revealing a compromising secret about one of the professors. The Jim-Carla affair already seems to have been relegated to the background, but the consequences of this day of humiliation are likely to resonate for a long time to come.
In conclusion, this episode 1286 of Here It All Begins stands out as one of the strongest of the season. Between revenge, regret, and redemption, it explores the cruelty of the world of gastronomy and the fragility of egos. Carla, more than ever, reveals her complexity: both victim and fighter, wounded but indomitable. Jim, for his part, discovers that revenge can cost much more than expected. And at the Armand Institute, a lesson is learned: the line between justice and cruelty is sometimes very thin.
