The Bold Type – Plan B

By starrymag | July 30, 2018

By: Jessica Wolff

 

In the middle of sex with Ben Chau (Luca James Lee), Jane Sloan (Katie Stevens) talks to him about Scarlet. When they’re finished, Ben realizes the condom broke. Jane puts both Kat Edison (Aisha Dee) and Sutton Brady (Meghann Fahy) on video chat as she waits for the morning after pill to be delivered. Ben tells Jane they can handle this themselves, but Kat tells him they are part of the package deal.

 

The delivery guy arrives with the pill, along with written instructions advising Jane to use condoms in the future. Ben assures him that Jane is responsible, calling her his girlfriend. Jane is surprised, and Ben asks if he can officially call her that. She says yes, and they kiss before the delivery guy begs them to take the package so he can leave.

 

The next morning, Jane is struggling with the side effects of the pill and Sutton tells her that she can make her a smoothie using Oliver’s juicer since he’s out of town. Ryan Decker (Dan Jeannotte) is sitting in the lobby, explaining that he’s freelancing for Porch & Garden. Ryan makes guesses as to why Jane isn’t feeling well, and the girls inadvertently reveal the truth when he guesses the morning after pill.

 

Cleo Williams (Siobhan Murphy) introduces herself to Kat and asks to speak to her. Cleo explains that a beauty company wants Kat to be their spokesperson for their new Instagram campaign. Kat is surprised at being referred to as an influencer and agrees to meet with the company to discuss the campaign. Jane, Sutton, and Kat lie in the fashion closet drinking smoothies and discussing Kat’s opportunity and Sutton’s increased responsibilities in Oliver’s absence. Jane complains that she feels terrible, and Sutton recommends calling her doctor. Jane insists she doesn’t need to and calls Ben, who tells her to call her doctor.

 

Sutton joins Kat for the budget meeting and tells her that Oliver told her to simply smile and nod. Jacqueline Carlyle (Melora Hardin) begins the meeting, telling the department heads that each of their budgets will be reduced in order to expand the budget for Paris Fashion Week. As she asks everyone if they can cut ten percent, Sutton texts Oliver to ask what she should do. Unsure of what to do when Jacqueline demands an answer, Sutton simply smiles and nods.

 

Dr. Gerard (Ellen David) prescribes medication for Jane’s side effects but tells her they need to begin discussing her fertility plan. She explains that the most effective treatment for Jane’s BRCA gene mutation is to surgically remove her ovaries and that it means Jane needs to figure out what her reproductive plans are now. Sutton calculates how to accommodate the budget cuts and Jane asks Sutton to go to the fashion closet with her. Alex (Matt Ward) asks if he can come too, but changes his mind when Jane explains that they’ll be discussing her gynecological appointment.

 

Sutton lists celebrities that had babies young and mentions that she heard Mommy and Me provides great networking opportunities. She asks if Jane wants kids, and Jane admits that she always thought of it as a far-off possibility. Jane admits that it’s too soon to discuss this with Ben, since he just started calling her his girlfriend. She decides that she needs to decide before talking to him and decides to use her reporter skills to help make her decision.

 

Kat sits down with the company representative, who explains the plans for the Instagram campaign. He explains that their brand is inclusive of all woman and compliments her social media presence. Impressed, Kat signs the contract. In the pitch meeting, Jane pitches an article about young mothers. Jacqueline isn’t sure the story is right for her, but Jane convinces her by framing it as a question if babies are the must-have accessory for young moms.

 

Ryan helps Kat carry her gift beauty basket, and she tells him about her opportunity with the company. However, he tells her that a friend of his is writing an expose about the company and their donations to right wing groups. Kat realizes that they hired her to deflect the accusations and make them appear less racist and homophobic.

 

Kat declares that she’s not going to be the company’s mascot, and Sutton gets a text from Oliver yelling at her decision to cut the budget. She calls him back and explains that she did what he told her to do. After she hangs up, Sutton tells Kat that they are no longer able to afford the location for the photoshoot. Jane asks them to go with her to the playground to talk to young mothers.

 

Jane observes the playground, admitting she’s trying to picture herself there. When asked if they want kids, Kat says no for environmental reasons while Sutton says yes because she wants to do better than her own mother. Jane begins interviewing the mothers, who discuss the challenges and rewards of motherhood. One of the mothers hands her baby to Jane as she helps her other kid while Kat and Sutton play in the playground.

 

Jane struggles with writing her article, and Ben asks what she wants for dinner. He gives her some choices of restaurants, and she tells him she doesn’t know what she wants. She admits that she’s struggling but won’t tell him what the article’s about. She apologizes, and he tells her that he some time off if she has a breakthrough. Sutton approaches Jacqueline as she is getting her eyebrows threaded and tells her that they need more money for the shoot. Jacqueline tells her it’s too late as the budget is locked, telling her to work with the budget she has.

 

Jane admits to Alex that she’s struggling with her article, and Kat tells Cleo and Richard Hunter (Sam Page) about her situation with the company. Cleo admits she had no idea when she worked out the deal, and Richard is unable to find a loophole in the contract for a way out. He explains that not participating would open them up for a breach of contract lawsuit.

 

Jane and Kat observe as Sutton tries and struggles to convince the owner of the bar to let them hold the shoot there at a reduced price. Kat asks Jane how things are going, and Jane admits that she’s struggling with the article and the thought of having kids. Jane asks what she’s going to do about the company, and Kat suggests that she bury the ad in basic hashtags. Sutton drinks in frustration and tells them that the bar inspired the shoot and gets inspired after commenting that the bar is like a movie set.

 

Kat struggles to film her Instagram ad without calling out the company and decides to go for it once she remembers that the representative complimented her outspokenness. Jacqueline tells Jane that her article is going to be the lead of the issue before asking to see a rough draft. Jane tells her it’s taking longer than she thought it would, and Jacqueline suggests approaching the article from a different angle.

 

Sutton takes pictures of the bar, and then brings Jane and Kat to a flea market to try and get props to recreate it on their limited budget. Sutton encourages them to haggle and they successfully buy all the props they need. The three relax on their newly purchased couch, and Sutton tells them they have on more stop to make. Jane and Kat hold Sutton’s legs as she dives in the bar’s dumpster for authentic cups. After working all night, the three are about to recreate the bar in Scarlet’s studio and Andrew (Adam Capriolo) tells Jane that Jacqueline wants to see her.

 

Jacqueline asks Jane why she’s struggling with her article, and Jane says that she hasn’t found an angle that works yet. Jane admits that it’s too personal and tells Jacqueline her personal dilemma after some prodding. Jacqueline admits that it’s a difficult decision to make, and Jane admits that her friends don’t truly understand what she’s going through. Jacqueline assures her that she’s always there to talk to, and Jane thanks her. Jane promises she’ll figure out the article, and Jacqueline assures her she’s not worried and suggests a different approach.

 

Sutton oversees the photo shoot, and Kat compliments her work as she tweets out photos. Cleo asks to speak to Kat and confronts her about her Instagram ad where she promotes the product before calling out the company’s practices. Kat argues that she promoted the product, and Jacqueline asks if the allegations against the company are true. Kat tells her about the report that just broke, and Jacqueline asks Cleo if she knew about it when she made the deal. Cleo tells her she didn’t, and Jacqueline tells her that doing ads like this betrays the trust of their readers. Cleo replies that she was trying to boost revenue, but Jacqueline tells her that Kat and Scarlet’s integrity shouldn’t be up for sale.

 

Jane tells Kat and Sutton that she plans to tell Ben what’s going on, and Sutton encourages her that Ben should know. Sutton gets a text from Oliver complimenting the shoot, but angrily adds that this means he’ll be expected to do more for less. As Jane and Ben play scrabble, Jane tells him they need to talk. She tells him about her diagnosis and he embraces her. She tells him about the choice her doctor gave her, and he starts asking questions from a medical perspective. Jane tells him she needs him as her boyfriend, not her doctor. Ben apologizes but continues asking medical questions until Jane stops him, telling him she doesn’t need medical advice. He admits he’s trying to process this, and she tells him that she just wants him to know what’s going on and asks to resume their game.

 

Jane tells Kat and Sutton how Ben reacted, and they sympathize with her. Jane admits she didn’t know how she expected him to react, and Sutton suggests making a pro-con list for this decision. Kat questions if Jane is struggling with seeing herself as a mom because her mother died when she was young. Jane suggests it’s possible and admits that she only has memories of her mom when she was sick. She questions what her mother was like outside of that, and Sutton tells her that she had to have been amazing since Jane is amazing. Jane wishes she could ask her mother for advice, and Kat and Sutton embrace her.

 

The next morning, Jane finishes her article and gets a call from her brother. She asks him to tell her about their mother, and he mentions that she would sing them Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide.” Kat promises not to sign another contract without thinking, but Jacqueline suggests that she find companies that are worthy of having her as a spokesperson. Sutton gets a text from Oliver telling her to clean the juicer twice and to pick up his travel memos. Kat looks up businesses owned by black women, and Sutton picks up the travel memos. The assistant (Aishah Francisque) mentions that she’s holding a seat for her, and Sutton is thrilled that she’s going to Paris for Fashion Week.