The Bold Type – Rose Colored Glasses

By starrymag | June 18, 2018

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

Jane Sloan (Katie Stevens) waits for Kat Edison (Aisha Dee) and Sutton Brady (Meghann Fahy) at a coffee shop, but the three realize upon calling each other that they all went to different locations. Jane asks Kat how things with Adena El Amin (Nikohl Boosheri) went, and she tells them to come to her before hanging up. Jane and Sutton rush to meet Kat, and spill all of her drinks when they collide with her.

 

As Kat cleans up, Jane asks for details on going down on Adena. Kat tells them that it was awesome and that she got more comfortable over time. Jane and Sutton are happy for her, and Sutton comments that she misses sex with Richard Hunter (Sam Page). Jane declares that she’d like to like a guy again, and excuses herself when she gets a text about her article. Kat and Sutton embrace her, telling her that things will be all right.

 

Jane asks to speak to Victoria Johnson (Rebecca Croll), and confronts her about completely changing her article. Victoria reminds her that the point of Incite is to incite conversation, and that her article didn’t accomplish that. Jane tells her that she would have liked to see the changes ahead of time, but Victoria tells her that this isn’t Scarlet.

 

Jacqueline Carlyle (Melora Hardin) tells her staff that she wants to do an article covering men who are truly honorable. She assigns Alex (Matt Ward) the article and asks Oliver Grayson (Stephen Conrad Moore) to do a fashion shoot. Oliver reminds her that he hates styling the general public, but Jacqueline is confident that he can handle it. Sage (Stephanie Costa) pitches an article about household appliances to spice up your sex life, and Jacqueline suggests adding an electric toothbrush to the list.

 

Jacqueline asks Kat to stay behind after she dismisses the meeting and asks her to write a bio as the head of social media, telling her that it needs to be more substantial than her social media bios. Richard tells Jacqueline that a board member position has opened up, and suggests that she apply for it. Jacqueline isn’t opposed to having another woman on the board, but has no intentions of leaving Scarlet. Oliver asks Sutton to come with him, and Mitzi (Katharine King) starts gossiping about her supposed preferential treatment. Handing Sutton a stack of binders, he gives her instructions and warnings about the upcoming photo shoot.

 

Jane is horrified by the comments on her article and asks a coworker if Incite readers are always this harsh. She insists that the readers have only one side of the story, and sees an article that Emma has lost funding due to her article. Jane calls Emma and leaves a voicemail apologizing for her article.  Adena sees that Kat is reading the bios of her parents, Marcus Edison (Curtiss Cook) and Susan Edison (Fiona Highet) for inspiration, and Kat suggests that she meet them when they have dinner tomorrow. Adena asks if she’s sure Kat wants her there, and Kat assures her she does.

 

Jane excitedly looks through the binder of potential men Sutton will feature in the photo shoot, commenting on how hot they are. Sutton asks if she thinks Oliver picked her to run the shoot because of the gossip, and Jane reminds her that she’s good at her job. Jane continues to drool over the men, and Sutton tells her not to objectify them. Jane’s phone buzzes with alerts, and Jane is horrified to find that Emma posted her apology voicemail on Twitter.

 

Jane freaks out about the voicemail, questioning why Emma would do this. She considers sending her original article to Emma, but Kat and Sutton advise her not to and Kat tells her that it will blog over quickly. Jane sees a dance remix of her voicemail, and is disturbed when Kat starts dancing to it. Sage is excited by the men who have arrived for the photo shoot, and tells Sutton. She offers to wait with the men, but Sutton tells her to send them in.

 

Kat asks Alex to look over her bio, and he advises her to add more detail. He suggests labeling herself as the first black female department head, but Kat doesn’t think it’s relevant. Alex tells her it’s a big part of who she is, but Kat reminds him that she’s also half-white. He tells her she has the opportunity to be a role model, but Kat tells him that she wants that regardless of her race. She gets offended that he is questioning her blackness, and he replies that she’s projecting. As Sutton fits the men for the shoot, Sage questions how she gets all the good assignments. Mitzi tells her it’s because men like Sutton, and Sutton glares at her.

 

Jane finds Victoria watching the remix of her apology, and apologizes. Victoria tells her they need to change the narrative surrounding Incite and tells her that she’s booked a TV interview. Jane thanks her for taking care of it, but Victoria tells her that she will be the one doing the interview. Kat and Adena prepare to meet Kat’s parents, and Kat answers the door. Her parents embrace her and Kat introduces Adena to them.

 

Oliver tells Sutton that one of the outfits for the men came in wrong, and Sutton apologizes. He tells her to fix it and to get it together. As Sutton walks to the elevator, she finds Richard waiting. They get on the elevator together, but Sutton gets off after several moments of awkward silence. Kat rants about Alex’s advice, not believing her race is necessary. Kat’s parents agree with her, but Adena argues that labels aren’t always a bad thing. She reminds them that her bio states she is a Muslim lesbian, and that is proud of who she is.

 

Victoria prepares Jane for her interview, telling her to say that she was wrong to call Emma but to not make the rest of the interview about her. She tells her to emphasize the hard-hitting journalism of Incite, and criticizes her Scarlet style. Kat asks her parents what they think of Adena, and Susan is supportive while Marcus is hesitant. He asks Kat about Adena’s parents, suggesting her willingness to label herself makes her seem adolescent. Kat asks him not to psychoanalyze Adena.

 

Richard tells Jacqueline that Cleo Williams (Siobhan Murphy) has been elected to the board, and she tells him that she wants to welcome her properly. Adena comments that Kat’s parents seem lovely, and tells her that what she puts in her bio is up to her. Jacqueline is introduced to Cleo, who is a big fan of hers. Jacqueline tells her that the board is excited about her and asks her what interests her about the digital space. Cleo tells her that she’s seen the power of the Internet firsthand, and asks for a selfie with her.

 

During the photo shoot, Sutton is hesitant to help dress the men but does so at Oliver’s urging. Oliver asks her to help one of the men, Ben Chau (Luca James Lee), smile for the camera. Jacqueline asks Kat how her bio is coming, and Kat tells her it’s almost done. Alex overhears and tells Kat that he didn’t mean to pressure her, but asks why she’s so hesitant to acknowledge that she’s black. Kat tells him that she struggled to identify her race on tests, as she felt choosing one would reject the other parent. Alex tells her that standing up for who she is matters.

 

Jane sits down for her interview with Chad Horford (Michael Mancini), and he tells her not to be nervous. Chad starts the interview, and asks Jane if Incite is fabricating her stories. Jane follows the script, and Chad wraps up the interview. However, Jane interrupts him and defends Emma, saying that she made one mistake. Chad confirms that Incite’s story was fabricated and Jane tells him that neither Emma nor Incite are completely good or bad.

 

Sutton talks to Ben, who admits that he doesn’t feel like himself. She attempts to relate that he is being judged, but Oliver calls her over and tells her that Ben looks more uncomfortable that he did before she talked to him. Jacqueline asks Oliver to let her handle this, and asks Sutton what’s going on. Sutton tells her about the gossip, and tells her that it’s affected how she approaches talking to men in the office. Jacqueline tells her that she is a people person, and that men are people. She tells her that her not to let other people affect her, and tells her to get back out there.

 

Sutton approaches Ben and asks him about his motivation for taking part in this article and photo shoot. He claims it’s good publicity, and admits that photographs make him uncomfortable. Sutton teases him about his reverse bucket list, causing Ben to smile. Oliver declares they have the shots they need and Sutton high-fives Ben.

 

Kat sits her parents down, and asks why they’re against labeling. Marcus tells her it’s because they believe it’s what’s on the inside that counts, but Kat believes it’s more than that and asks Marcus why she doesn’t know anything about his side of the family. Marcus explains that he grew up in a time of segregation, and that they didn’t want her to be affected by race. Kat suggests that they are avoiding the subject, and Susan tells her that other parents assuming that Kat wasn’t biologically hers affected her. Marcus tells her that it wasn’t their intention to make her feel that she couldn’t take ownership of who she is, and Susan tells her it’s her choice to make.

 

Oliver compliments Sutton’s work, and Sutton calls Jane to ask about the interview. Jane gives her the details, and asks how the shoot was. Sutton is confident, and they agree to meet for drinks. Sutton approaches Mitzi, and calls her out for her slut shaming. She tells her to compete with her based on merit rather than gossip, and invites the men out for drinks. At the bar, Sutton leads a toast and introduces Ben to Jane. Sutton asks Kat if she wants to talk, but Kat admits she just wants a drink. A song comes on and Kat, Sutton, and Jane join to dance together to it.

 

The next morning, Kat talks to Adena about her race identification issues, commenting that she’s seen the world through rose colored glasses. Adena reminds her that her parents had the best intentions at the time, and Kat comments that she kept the glasses on long after. Adena comforts Kat, and Kat decides to identify as black in her bio. She thanks Alex, telling him that it’s important to embrace this part of herself.

 

Jacqueline and Richard get in the elevator together, and she tells him she approves of Cleo. She gets off, and comments that maybe she’ll ride all the way up the elevator with him someday. Jane visits Victoria’s office, and Victoria tells her that everyone makes mistakes. Victoria tells her that she made a mistake thinking she was a good fit for Incite and accuses her of making the interview about herself. Jane tries to defend herself, but Victoria fires her.