Even though I want to, I will not make this entire recap about how shitty it was for our Bold Type girls to steal all the macaroons from the fertility clinic when Jane realizes her insurance won’t cover getting her eggs frozen. It is not the clinic’s fault Jane has bad health insurance! And what of all the other women having A TIME at the fertility clinic? Don’t they deserve some macaroons? The idea that this is just a fun thing for friends to do is enraging and yes I realize I spent a paragraph ranting about fictional characters stealing fictional cookies but cookie etiquette is extremely important. Just don’t be that person, okay?
I’ll spare you more ranting, BUT ONLY because there was one romantic development that, albeit rushed, makes the whole episode worth it. And I’m not talking about my feelings for Oliver, which are currently overflowing.
So let’s talk about Sutton. Sutton is extremely excited to live out her dream of working at Paris Fashion Week. Ain’t nothing gonna rain on this girl’s parade. That is, until, she hears that Richard’s father passed away and the wake is that evening. She feels like she should be there for him and Jane feels like she should be there for Sutton. The ladies squeeze in the wake before Sutton hops on her red-eye. There, Sutton and Richard share some comforting arm grazes and longing glances, but when Richard makes a speech about life being short and spending it with the people who make you feel alive, Sutton is sure he’s talking about Jessica. I’m surprised she could hear anything over Jane attempting to make a funeral about her being sad over not going to Paris, but Sutton prevails.
Once in Paris, she attempts to distract herself with hotel lobbies and champagne and working her butt off for Oliver. She focuses on the good things — until Jane calls with hot office goss. She’s heard that a jeweler was in the building to see Richard for a rush design job. She’s also heard that grief makes people horny. So Jane regrets to inform Sutton that it seems like Richard is getting engaged. The shock of the news causes Sutton to knock her notebook into the bathtub, with all the notes she took on pieces Oliver wants from a super secretive designer, and the water ruins the whole thing.
She tells Oliver what went down — they’re a team, remember? — and Oliver informs his assistant that team members get replaced all the time. This is VERY IMPORTANT. Luckily for Sutton, she is brilliant at her job. After a minor false start (“Is there any water?” “Swallow your spit”), she walks through that atelier with the confidence of a pro. Everyone is impressed. So when Oliver catches her crying afterward, he is confused. Sutton is so heartbroken she tells her boss everything. It turns out that Oliver is a romantic at heart and only has two rules in life: No white on Labor Day (IN WHAT WORLD would Oliver restrict himself by such an antiquated rule, but okay) and never walk away from love. He gives her permission to get on a plane and tell Richard how she really feels. You guys, Oliver has just given a “Go to him” speech and I feel alive. The best part of the scene, however, is Oliver telling Sutton that yes, people will talk, but her “talent is undeniable.” Just kidding, the best moment of this scene is when Sutton runs back to give Oliver a hug. Can we just have a show about a fashion director and his assistant? It’s really all I want.
Back to the romance: Sutton is headed off to the airport, taking a #ParisSelfie with Jane (guys, we all knew she’d end up there somehow — did they have to go through the rigamarole of her friends using points to get her there? Couldn’t she just have gone for her job?), when Richard gets out of a car in front of the hotel. He is there to see her. It’s always been her. They kiss on the Paris street. Sutton now believes in herself and her talent enough to not let such a special relationship get away. Those two are going to both walk into and out of the big Scarlet party that night together. Finally.
Did you get your fill of romance? Cool, because The Bold Type doesn’t give everyone a Paris love story.
Since Kat and Adena closed their very open relationship, things have been off. Adena is buried in her work and Kat is feeling left out. But the couple gets some good news: Adena’s visa was approved! All she has to do now is leave the country and re-enter because America! The rule gives Adena the perfect excuse to join Kat in Paris. It’ll be a way for the ladies to reset.
Things don’t go well. Adena runs into an old art-critic friend who wonders why she hasn’t been producing any work. Kat can’t seem to shrug off the idea that their relationship has something to do with Adena’s lack of inspiration. So even though she is the head of social media and is in charge of planning the huge Scarlet party that Jacqueline has made very clear is the most important party of the century, Kat takes some time to visit Adena’s ex-girlfriend, Coco. Coco is an art gallery owner who used to show a lot of Adena’s work. She’s also the woman Adena broke up with to be with Kat. Kat wants to make sure Coco isn’t blackballing Adena. It’s quite the opposite actually: She would love to show Adena’s work, but Adena told her she hasn’t produced anything worthwhile since moving to New York — since being with Kat. That stings.
When Kat comes clean to Adena about her meeting, Adena’s understandably upset with her girlfriend. The argument escalates until Adena admits that yes, she only recently started producing work when they had an open relationship — when she had more freedom. She feels stifled by Kat. It’s definitely not the best thing you could hear from your significant other. Kat has a good cry in the bathroom while Adena takes a walk.
The walk ends up taking much longer than anticipated. Kat gets a message on the red carpet of her party that Adena isn’t coming. Thankfully, she has her girls by her side. They hold her close and tell her all the ways she is inspiring to them. They walk into the party, arms linked. They don’t hug on top of the Eiffel Tower, but that would feel so on-brand, wouldn’t it?
From the Back Page
• Jane’s fertility crisis rages on. Safford Publishing healthcare covers viagra and vasectomies but not vaginas — so Jane can’t afford freezing her eggs. She is enraged. Ben offers to pretend to be domestic partners so Jane can take advantage of his hospital’s egg freezing program. Pinstripe learns of her dilemma and makes a grand gesture to help pay for the procedure by bringing over a carton of eggs and then making out with her. Egg carton aside, it is kind of hot.
• You guys, how can Jane just pick up and go to Paris? Doesn’t she have to put in for vacation? Who is her supervisor? HOW DOES SCARLET WORK?
• Instead of letting a man save her, Jane asks, “What Would Nora Ephron Do?” and writes a scathing article calling out Safford’s biased healthcare policies. Jacqueline doesn’t want to run it because she’s fearful of ruffling the board’s feathers now that there are whispers of replacing Jacqueline as editor of Scarlet’s digital side. That is, until she decides she isn’t going to kowtow to a board that is probably going to screw her anyway. She publishes Jane’s post.
I guess we know one of the big story lines for season three will be Jacqueline’s job security — Richard gets an email from the board with a short list of replacements. That’s so not cool, board.
• I wish Paris Fashion Week had been both more Paris-y and Fashion Week-y. The atelier stuff: so good! I wanted more of that. The Scarlet Soiree: Seemed like a hit, but, could we get more than the red carpet? I get “budget” but give me the juicy industry stuff.
• Alex Watch Update: Alex is allowed into the fashion closet! He quickly realizes he hates it there! Hopefully we get you some actual story lines next season, buddy!
• Jane still has to decide between her two suitors. When Kat asks who she’d want to call first with good news, Jane says she knows. Honestly, I was hoping for a “I choose myself and my eggs” type of ending, but it seems like she is thinking about a specific guy. Could it be, in a twist, her ex from way back in season one? Or maybe it’s just Pinstripe. It should probably be Pinstripe.
• “I am very aroused by this hotel lobby.” Never change, Sutton Brady.
