The Bold Type – The New Normal

By starrymag | April 15, 2019

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

Jane Sloan (Katie Stevens) has sex with Ryan Decker (Dan Jeannotte) and Sutton Brady (Meghann Fahy) has sex with Richard Hunter (Sam Page). Sutton realizes that she doesn’t have clothes for work and Richard suggests she move in. She admits it’s a big step and asks if she can think about it. Meanwhile, Kat Edison (Aisha Dee) looks at old pictures of her and Adena as Alex (Matt Ward) texts asking for her vote in the office pool for the next head of digital.

 

Jane blames herself for there being a new head of digital, as she was the one to push her to publish the article criticizing the board. She asks Ryan why he likes walking around naked and he replies that he knows she loves it and that it’s liberating. Ryan covers himself with a magazine as Sutton walks in and she giggles upon seeing the magazine includes a feature on Ben.

 

In the cab Sutton tells Kat what happened at the apartment and explains to Jane that Ryan must have been reading the article on Ben. Jane admits that her and Ben’s relationship got too complicated and Kat receives a text from Adena asking if she sent her possessions yet. Kat lies that everything’s fine, and Sutton tells them about Richard asking her to move in with him.

 

Jane struggles with the news and hits a biker when she opens the cab door. Patrick Duchand (Peter Vack) insists he’s alright and Jane yells at him for riding in the middle of the street. He tells her it’ll make a good story for his first day, and Kat realizes that Patrick is the new head of digital. Jane is incensed that they chose a man to run the digital department as a women’s magazine and Kat replies that she’s choosing to embrace the change. Sage (Stephanie Costa) points out that Patrick wasn’t in the office pool and Andrew (Adam Capriolo) tells them there’s a staff meeting.

 

Jacqueline Carlyle (Melora Hardin) introduces the staff to Patrick, telling them that he has arranged to have Betty Who (Betty Who) perform at tomorrow’s summit. Patrick tells them that Scarlet was a big part of his sexual awakening and explains that his policy for the website is to be more open in all aspects. He tells them he’d like to meet with each of them personally and Andrew tells Patrick there’s a call for him.

 

Jane visits Jacqueline’s office and blames herself for Patrick’s hiring. Jacqueline assures her it’s not her fault, telling her she’s glad she wrote the article. She declares they made change happen, telling her they have to give Patrick a chance. Patrick meets with Alex, telling him he’s underutilized. He asks Alex if he gives a lot of advice at the office and assigns Alex his own column when he admits he does.

 

Patrick meets with Kat, complimenting her work at the magazine as well as her courage to come out with Adena. However, he tells her that her current social media presence is lacking. Kat tells him she’s taking a social media hiatus, but he tells her that she is an extension of Scarlet and that she needs to keep her followers engaged.

 

Patrick approaches Jane and asks what she wants to write. Jane tells him she doesn’t write for digital, and he tells her he needs all hands-on deck until he finds a full-time digital writer. Jane admits that she’s curious as to why a man is a department head at a women’s magazine, and Patrick admits that a lot of people are questioning that. He assigns her to write a profile about him, but she declares she’ll find her own sources to interview about him.

 

Jane asks Oliver Grayson (Stephen Conrad Moore) what Patrick’s fashion sense says about him and he explains that he’s trying to look good without making it look like he put effort into it. Richard overhears Jacqueline talking to Marshall (Ivan Smith) about his annual dinner and admits that he wasn’t invited. He questions if it’s because of his relationship with Sutton and asks what she thinks about him and Sutton. Jacqueline tells him she wants him to be happy, but questions if he’s thinking clearly so soon after his father’s death. Richard tells her that his and Sutton’s feelings predate that and tells her that Sutton is moving in with him.

 

Kat takes selfies in the fashion closet. She settles on a picture and posts it to Instagram. Kat looks at an old picture of her and Adena from Paris and comments on it. Patrick tells Kat she’s gaining followers and suggests she speak at the Summit about her experience of being queer in the digital age. Sutton drops off possible outfits for Jacqueline, and she congratulates her on moving in with Richard.

 

Later, Sutton confronts Richard and tells him he can’t make her final decision. He admits he shouldn’t have said anything, but Sutton admits that it was awkward being congratulated for a decision she didn’t make. Richard apologizes and Sutton rejects his offer to go home, telling him she’ll see him tomorrow.

 

Ryan asks Jane if Sutton said anything about the incident, and Jane tells him she didn’t. She tells him Sutton is probably moving out and admits that she doesn’t like that everything’s changing. Ryan tells her they can walk around naked together, but Jane insists she needs a roommate and dirt on Patrick. Jane sees that Patrick has a gap in his employment history where she knows her was working at a company called Upright. Ryan tells her he knows someone who works there and calls him on Jane’s request.

 

Kat sees that Adena has replied to her comment and posts another selfie to Instagram declaring she’s having a girl’s night out. She tells Alex that she’s going to a bar, and he asks to join her for help with his column. Kat agrees on the condition that he takes photos and videos of her for Instagram. Jane meets Ryan’s friend, who tells her that Patrick was fired for exposing himself at work to his girlfriend, Stacey (Daniela Sandiford). Kat takes a selfie of her and Alex drinking shots and explains Patrick’s request to increase her social media activity.

 

Jane thanks Stacey for meeting her and asks about Patrick exposing himself. Stacey admits it’s not her story to tell, but Jane tells her that her voice can help stop the cycle of sexist behavior. Stacey explains that Patrick dropped his pants to prove that she deserves equal pay with him for the same job and that it was to prove a point that the only difference between men and women is biology. She calls it the nicest thing anyone’s done for her and tells Jane that Patrick is a great guy.

 

As Kat and Alex continue partying and taking pictures, Jane is surprised that Sutton is at the apartment, and Sutton tells her she felt like being home. Jane tells Sutton what she found out about Patrick and Sutton admits that she feels it’s too soon to move in with Richard. Sutton admits that she doesn’t want to lose their friendship, and Jane tells her that their friendship will still remain. Jane admits she doesn’t want this chapter to end and Sutton thanks her for her honesty. Jane takes a call from Ryan and tells him she’s spending the evening with Sutton.

 

Kat sits with Alex, who admits that he’s not too popular at the lesbian bar. He tells her that she has never been this active on social media and asks what’s really going on. Kat confesses that she’s struggling with her breakup with Adena. He tells her that there’s no expiration date on heartbreak and that she can move on when she’s ready. Alex helps Kat stand up and she kisses him before declaring she shouldn’t have done it.

 

At the Scarlet Summit, Kat approaches Alex and thanks him for setting her alarm. He asks how she’s doing and wishes her luck on her speech. Patrick introduces Jane and Sutton to Betty Who and thanks Jane for her article. Eli (Randy Thomas) asks Richard how flexible Sutton is due to her young age. Richard lists Sutton’s great characteristics, and Sutton adds that she’s also flexible as she joins him. She comments that Eli will never know how flexible and advises him to work on his marriage instead.

 

Jacqueline welcomes the crowd to the Summit and introduces Kat. Taking the stage, Kat tells everyone how it’s a great day to be queer and how many strides society has taken in this time. Kat declares how glad she is to have Scarlet as a platform for her journey and the crowd applauds. Patrick approaches Kat afterwards and tells her anyone could have made that speech. He tells her he wanted her to put herself into the speech and Kat tells him it’s hard when she’s faking it. She admits that she thought she was straight before meeting Adena and is struggling with their break-up. She calls herself a hot mess right now, and Patrick tells her that should have been her speech, as people want honesty.

 

As Betty Who performs, Jane and Sutton find Kat standing alone in the crowd. Kat admits that she’s been a mess about Adena, and that she felt that telling them would make it real. Sutton and Jane comfort her and Jane suggests they enjoy the concert as they move towards the stage. Later, Sutton asks Richard if what happened with Eli happens often. Richard tells her it does as people assume their relationship isn’t serious. Sutton realizes that is why he told Jacqueline she was moving in and tells him she understands. She tells him that they can’t care what people think, remining him that she almost lost him because of it. Richard admits it’s harder than he thought, and Sutton tells him it’s them against the world.

 

Jane comments on Patrick’s gesture at Upright, asking why he didn’t tell the press why he did it. Patrick tells her he signed an NDA and compliments her work. He tells her he knew a good reporter would find the story and tells her he’s assigning her to be his full-time digital writer. Kat cries in the bathroom and records a video of her declaring that she’s going to show the real her from now on. She declares that she’s heartbroken and that she’s still figuring things out. Kat declares that it’s time for people to show the world what they’re really going through and posts the video.

 

Jane walks out of the bedroom naked, and Ryan admits it makes him happy. He asks her how it feels, and she admits that it’s kind of liberating. Ryan strips and Jane tells him he doesn’t have to worry about Ben as she chose him. He admits he can’t figure out how he got so lucky and they kiss. Sutton tells Jane and Kat about her conversation with Richard and Kat asks if she’s going to move in with him. She replies that she’s going to keep things the way they are, and Jane tells her to do what’s right for her.

 

Jane assures her that their apartment will still be there, and they can still hang out. Sutton admits she wants to move in with Richard and Jane offers to help her pack. The three of them finish packing up Adena’s stuff and Kat takes a picture of herself with the boxes before posting it. Kat admits it feels good to be honest and sees that a lot of people have been inspired to post their own posts about the heartbreak they’re experiencing. Kat sees a post from Adena with an old picture of the two of them, admitting that the break-up has been difficult for her too and Jane and Sutton comfort her.