Chapter summaries Deep End Ali Hazelwood

Deep End Chapter 65: Scarlett Decides to Fly

⚠️ Spoiler Notice: This page contains spoilers for Chapter 65 of Deep End. If you haven't read this chapter yet, proceed with caution.

Summary

Scarlett has been back at Barb’s in St. Louis for ten days after leaving California abruptly. Over homemade mac and cheese, Barb uses Wittgenstein’s idea of “dissolving” problems to reassure Scarlett that leaving was necessary for her peace of mind. Scarlett is still sorting out her feelings—not about her love for Lukas, but about whether a messy, hurtful start can still lead to a healthy future. Barb tells her every relationship is unknown until you try.

Coach Sima’s texts arrive alongside apologetic messages from teammates. He shares a photo holding Scarlett’s gold medal, urges her to sign up for Olympic trials, and nudges her back into practice. Although she is interning at the hospital and diving purely for joy again, Scarlett remains stuck on a med-school essay about courage. She drafts a raw, unsent letter to Pen, calling out the theft of her medal moment and accusing Pen of treating her and Lukas like toys. In the locker room, she notices Lukas’s location is Sweden. Instantly, she calls Barb, secures permission to pause her internship and borrow money, and plans a flight. Walking out of the swim club, she is stopped by a hand on her arm—Penelope Ross is standing there.

Key Events

  • Scarlett and Barb discuss the aftermath of leaving California; Barb reframes the decision as self-preservation, not cowardice.
  • Barb’s advice: every relationship is uncertain, and Scarlett won’t know about hers until she tries.
  • Scarlett receives texts from Bella, Bree, and Victoria, each expressing concern or apologizing.
  • Coach Sima sends a photo of himself holding her gold medal, presses her to register for Olympic trials, and tells her he’s proud.
  • Scarlett returns to diving as a happy place, training without pressure, while interning at the hospital.
  • She works on a medical-school essay about courage but struggles to reconcile her own courageousness with running away from Lukas.
  • Scarlett composes an angry, unsent letter to Pen that articulates her sense of being wronged and her desire to make Lukas the center of her world.
  • Seeing Lukas’s location as Sweden, she impulsively decides to fly there, securing Barb’s financial support and a break from her internship.
  • As she leaves to prepare for the trip, Penelope Ross physically stops her outside the swim club.

Character Development

Scarlett: The chapter marks a turning point where she stops punishing herself for leaving and starts owning her agency. She admits her feelings for Lukas are not the problem—the fear of a relationship born in chaos is. Writing the unsent letter allows her to crystallize her anger, and the spontaneous decision to fly to Sweden shows she is finally choosing to act rather than retreat. Her med-school essay about courage becomes a mirror to her own life, and by the end she seems ready to answer it.

Barb: Acts as Scarlett’s anchor and philosophical compass. Her calm, slightly absurdist use of Wittgenstein dissolves Scarlett’s guilt, and her immediate, joyful support (“mi bank account es su bank account”) underscores her role as Scarlett’s unwavering cheerleader.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Courage and Self-Reflection: Scarlett’s essay about courage, centered on Barb rescuing her, forces her to ask whether she herself is brave. The chapter frames real courage not as fearless action but as walking toward a relationship despite its messy beginnings.
  • Dissolving Problems (Wittgenstein): Barb’s invocation of the philosopher’s idea that some problems need to be dissolved rather than solved gives Scarlett permission to stop second-guessing her past choices and focus on what she wants moving forward.
  • The Unsent Letter: The raw draft to Pen becomes a tool for clarity. It distills Scarlett’s anger and her yearning for autonomy, serving as a catalyst for change.
  • Location as a Call to Action: Lukas’s location ping—Sweden—triggers the entire ending of the chapter. It’s a small detail that transforms Scarlett’s emotional breakthrough into a concrete plan, emphasizing how fleeting information can prompt life-altering decisions.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 65 is the hinge between Scarlett’s retreat and her pursuit. After pages of introspection and guilt, she finally externalizes her desires: she names what Pen took from her, admits that Lukas is what she wants, and takes a literal leap by planning to fly to another continent. The chapter closes with Penelope physically stopping her, setting up a direct confrontation that will force both women to reckon with everything left unsaid. It signals that Scarlett is no longer running—she is ready to face the people she loves and resents.

Study Questions and Answers

  1. How does Barb use Wittgenstein’s philosophy to help Scarlett reframe her decision to leave California? Barb suggests that some questions—like whether leaving was right or wrong—should be dissolved rather than solved. This frees Scarlett from endlessly debating her own cowardice and allows her to see the move as something she needed for her peace of mind, not a moral failing.

  2. What role does the unsent letter to Pen play in Scarlett’s development during this chapter? The letter lets Scarlett articulate feelings she has suppressed: anger about the stolen medal moment, resentment at being treated like a windup toy, and the humiliation of being forced into a public kiss. By putting those thoughts on the page (even without sending them), she reclaims her voice and explicitly declares that she wants Lukas to be the center of her world, which paves the way for her decision to fly to Sweden.

  3. Why is the discovery of Lukas’s location significant for the chapter’s ending, and what does it reveal about Scarlett’s state of mind? Seeing Sweden under his name turns Scarlett’s emotional turmoil into immediate action. It shows that she no longer wants to wait or overthink; her feelings are sorted, and she is ready to chase what she wants. The impulsive call to Barb and the rushed flight preparations highlight a new decisiveness, contrasting with the paralysis earlier in the chapter.