The Bold Type – Stride of Pride

By starrymag | July 9, 2018

By: Jessica Wolff

 

Sutton Brady (Meghann Fahy) wakes up and tells Dillon Frank (Kevin McGarry) that last night was fun. As Dillon offers to get them room service, Sutton gets a notification that she has a pitch meeting at Scarlet. As Jane Sloan (Katie Stevens) makes out with Ben Chau (Luca James Lee), she gets a text from Sutton asking for help with her walk of shame. Jane apologizes to Ben, telling him it’s a fashion emergency as she gets dressed. Ben tells her that he’s on shift for the next forty-eight hours and Jane looks forward to resuming their activities when he’s done.

 

Kat Edison (Aisha Dee) arrives and uses a kit to help Sutton look presentable after her walk of shame. Jane arrives with a leather jacket, and Sutton fixes her look. Kat and Jane confirm that Sutton looks good, but realize that she still has bed head as she walks into her meeting. Sutton attempts to sneak into the meeting, but Oliver Grayson (Stephen Conrad Moore) calls out to her and yells at her for being late. She lies that she was late due to subway trouble, and Oliver criticizes her wardrobe. Sutton tells him that the outfit is part of her pitch and suggests an article about turning the walk of shame into a stride of pride. Oliver likes the idea, but tells her to shower next time.

 

As Jane’s keyboard malfunctions in the coffee shop, Ryan Decker (Dan Jeannotte) asks to sit with her. She is surprised that he isn’t avoiding her after their argument, but he tells her that his ego is resilient. Jane comments that the article wasn’t published, but he tells her it didn’t clear legal. She comments that the only thing she accomplished today was a to-do list, and tells him that she misses structure and a steady paycheck. Ryan forwards her an email about a job opening at a magazine, and Jane is excited by the possibility.

 

Alex (Matt Ward) asks Kat how the search for social media staffers is going, and Kat admits that it’s harder than she thought it would be. Kat comments that all of the resumes seem the same, and that she realizes they need new voices. Oliver tells her that he broke in to the industry by a model taking a chance on him, suggesting that Kat looks for staffers through non-traditional means. Kat puts out a message on Twitter, and looks through the replies later that evening.

 

Sutton gets a text from Dillon asking to see her again, and Jane likes that Sutton is putting herself out there emotionally. Sutton reminds them that they have karaoke tomorrow, and Jane and Kat suggest she bring him. Kat comes across a reply from Angie Flores (Shyrley Rodriguez) that calls out Scarlet for cultural appropriation. Kat admits that Angie is right, deciding to bring her in for an interview after seeing her social media engagement levels. Jane excitedly tells them that she has an interview, and they toast to it.

 

Jane goes in for her interview and Trish Paley (Kelly Kruger) compliments her on her article about her relationship with faith. Kat greets Angie in the lobby, and brings her in for the interview. Angie is impressed by Scarlet and admits that she never thought about making money off of Twitter. Kat compliments her social media presence, but sees that Angie deleted the callout tweet. Angie admits that she didn’t want there to be evidence of her criticizing her potential employer, but Kat tells her that she’s looking for someone to help cover their blind spots.

 

Kat asks Angie why she’s interested in Scarlet, and Angie tells her that she’s been reading Scarlet since she was sixteen. She admits that she never thought working there was a possibility, but now she can’t think of doing anything else. Jane’s interview goes very well, and Trish tells her that she would be a great fit there. Kat tells Jacqueline Carlyle (Melora Hardin) that she found a great staffer, but finds out that the board rejected Angie due to her lack of college degree. She tells Jacqueline that Angie is perfect, and Jacqueline encourages Kat to fight for her.

 

Sutton brings Dillon to meet Kat and Jane and introduces them. Dillon orders shots, and they toast. The bartender (Wyatt Bowen) calls up Jane, Kat, and “Satan” for karaoke and they perform ABBA’s “Mamma Mia.” The screen freezes and Dillon offers his phone for the lyrics. However, a text from Allison Gabler (Caitlyn Sponheimer) appears, telling Dillon that she can’t wait for him to come home. Sutton stops performing and demands to know who Allison is. Dillon admits that Allison is his wife, and Sutton demands that he leave.

 

Jane and Kat console Sutton, and Kat goes to the bar to get them more drinks. Kat spots Leila (Katerina Tannenbaum), who greets her with a double cheek kiss. Leila asks if she can borrow Adena’s tripod, but Kat tells her that Adena is out of town. Kat then tells her she can come over to pick it up, and tells her to come over Friday night. As Jane, Kat, and Sutton figure out what to do next, Jane gets a call from Ryan telling her that she’s not getting the job. Jane is confused since her interview went well, but Ryan tells her they’re pushing for diversity.

 

Jane tells Kat and Sutton that she isn’t getting the job due to the diversity push. Kat tells her that diversity is good, but Jane believes that she would have gotten the job otherwise. Kat questions if she only cares about diversity when it doesn’t affect her, and Jane is offended that Kat thinks she’s racist. Kat replies that she didn’t call her anything, and Sutton breaks up the awkward silence by suggesting they go home. Ryan finds Jane struggling with her computer, and she asks what errands she should do to be able to afford a new one. He comments that she sounds desperate, and Jane tells him she is.

 

Sutton tells Kat that she found Dillon’s wife, and Kat pulls her into the fashion closet. She admits that she’s thinking of telling her, but Kat doesn’t believe it’s a good idea. Sutton insists she would want to know, and argues it’s the right thing to do. Kat visits Jane at the coffee shop to finish their conversation. She tells Jane that some of what she said was problematic, explaining that complaining that she didn’t get a job because she was white shows her privilege. Jane tells her that she was stating a fact, but Kat tells her that assuming the other person only got the job because of their race makes her sound entitled.

 

Jane points out that she comes from a wealthy family, but Kat tells her it’s not about her. Jane tells her that she is in a worse financial situation than her, and that she’s upset that she was passed over on a job due to something out of her control. Kat welcomes her to the existence of people of color, and tells her that she is always aware of being in a room with mostly white people. Jane asks why she hasn’t brought it up before, but Kat admits that it makes her uncomfortable. Kat admits that her experience with Angie has helped her see that not everyone gets the opportunities that privileged people do. Kat tells her that she wants to be able to open doors for people, and tells Jane she’ll land on her feet.

 

Kat tells Richard Hunter (Sam Page) that Angie is perfect despite not finishing college. She argues that the policy prevents true diversity at even the most progressive companies, pointing out that not everyone can afford college. Richard tells her that he can’t change the policy, but offers to give her some time at the board meeting to plead her case. Kat tells him that she wants the board to meet Angie to convince them. Richard later tells Kat that he got her a meeting, and Kat thanks him. As she goes to call Angie, she gets a text from Leila confirming that she can come over. Kat confirms, and Leila responds with a fire emoji.

 

Kat calls Angie, but Angie is unable to leave her job as receptionist at a recreation center, as she has nobody to cover her. Sutton tells Kat that she can still talk to the board without Angie, but Kat doesn’t feel it will be as effective. Sutton gets a call from Allison, and agrees to meet her that night. Jane calls Sutton and tells her that Kat was right about her privilege and that she feels bad. Jane admits that she wishes there was a way she can make it up to Kat, and Sutton tells her there is.

 

Jane arrives at the recreation center and Angie tells her to answer the phones, thanking her for covering her shift. After wishing Angie luck, Jane answers the phone. As Kat and Sutton wait for Angie, Richard tells them that the board is getting annoyed with waiting. Kat promises that Angie will be there soon, but Sutton pleads with him to give Kat ten minutes. Richard promises to stall, and Kat brings Angie up to the board meeting as soon as she arrives.

 

Kat gives Angie a pep talk before they go inside. The board tells them they have five minutes, which Kat insists is enough time. Kat introduces Angie, and touts her high social media engagement rate compared to Scarlet’s. She tells them that not hiring Angie based on her lack of degree is a mistake, and gives the floor to Angie. She tells the board that she was working while others got their degrees and found a community via social media. Angie tells them that the numbers don’t lie, and promises to make them money if she is hired. Kat thanks them for their time and Angie thanks Kat for taking a chance on her.

 

Jacqueline calls Kat into her office and Richard tells her that Angie’s hiring has been approved. Richard tells her that they can’t remove the college degree requirement entirely, but the board has agreed to lift it for Scarlet. Kat thanks them, and Jacqueline thanks her for facilitating change. Jane brings Kat wine to apologize, and admits that she’s not happy with the uncertainty of her future. Kat admits that she didn’t realize how much she was struggling, but is confident that Jane will bounce back soon. They promise that they have each other’s backs, and Jane compliments Kat’s moves to make change and her hot girlfriend.

 

Sutton meets with Allison and apologizes. Allison tells her that Dillon called her a crazy stalker when she confronted him, but that Sutton doesn’t seem to fit the stalker profile. She asks what happened, and Sutton tells her they met at a bar and went back to Dillon’s hotel room. Sutton assures her she ended things as soon as she found out he was married, and tells her that she would want to know if she was in her shoes. Allison thanks her for telling her, admitting that she wants to find a good guy and telling Sutton that she hopes she finds one too.

 

Ben returns from his shift and Jane greets him with a kiss before they fall into bed. Sutton walks along the street and watches as Richard steps out of a car and enters his building with his arm around a woman. Kat answers the door for Leila, who tells her that she’s not there for the tripod. They make out, but Kat wakes up, horrified about her sex dream.