Younger – A Christmas Miracle

By starrymag | July 30, 2018

By: Taylor Gates

 

 

Penelope (Lois Robbins), the woman who bought all of Maggie’s (Debi Mazar) artwork, gives her a bracelet to show her thanks. She and her husband Luca (Michael McKenzie) are beyond excited to add her work to their collection. She reminds Maggie about their Christmas party, and Maggie promises she’ll be there. Liza (Sutton Foster) thinks the apartment looks lonely without her work, but Maggie assures her she’ll get over it. She almost blacked out when she saw the check they wrote her.

 

Caitlin (Tessa Albertson) tells Liza that she’s riding home with her dad from school and that they’ll meet her at the Christmas party. Liza isn’t too excited to see David (Paul Fitzgerald), but spending one night together as a family was the one gift Caitlin requested that year.

 

Kelsey (Hilary Duff) is hanging out in bed with Jake (Jason Ralph) when she gets a text from Zane (Charles Michael Davis) asking her to get breakfast in half an hour. Jake gets a message from his agent saying that New York Magazine is going to feature an excerpt from his first chapter. Jake tells Kelsey they make a good team before kissing her, asking her to shower with him. Kelsey replies to Zane saying that she can no longer make their breakfast.

 

At their staff meeting, Kelsey tells the group that Marriage Vacation was number two on the New York Times’ Holiday Reads list and that Jake’s chapter is going to be featured in New York Magazine. Kelsey invites everyone to the New York Times’ holiday party, and Charles (Peter Hermann) and Diana (Miriam Shor) both accept.

 

Kelsey apologizes to Zane for springing the news about Jake on him, but Zane tells her he’s the one that leaked the chapter so he already knew. He asks her what time they should head to the party together, but Kelsey says she’ll have to meet him there, feeling guilty about dating Jake, too. Kelsey panics when Liza tells her she won’t be there to run interference for her.

 

Enzo (Chris Tadio) surprises Diana by bringing her a giant, live Christmas tree. Diana is less than thrilled, as she doesn’t want the pine needles all over her carpet. He tells Diana he’ll set it up while she finishes getting ready. Though she’s originally skeptical, once Enzo lights it up, Diana grows fond of the three. The two kiss and open a bottle of champagne.

 

At the book party, Zane and Kelsey are both shocked by how much buzz Jake’s memoir is already getting. Zane tells Kelsey that this is going to be a big year for them and kisses her, which Jake sees from across the room. Kelsey chastises Zane, reminding him that they are in the presence of their boss and one of their authors.

 

Liza, David, and Caitlin all arrive at Julia (Maddie Corman) and Bob’s (Grant Shaud) Christmas party. Julia and Bob are wearing ugly Hanukkah sweaters along with their daughter Rose (Sarah Cohen). Rose tells Liza and David that Caitlin told her about the Miller family Christmas tradition one night while they were drunk and pressures them to do it now. Liza is hesitant, as they only do it in the privacy of their own home, but everyone begs, and Liza finally relents.

 

Liza and Caitlin dance and sing “The Lonely Goatherd” from The Sound of Music while David plays the accordion. Charles comes in, and Julie and Bob tell him they’ve been wanting to set him up with Liza for awhile now. When Liza spies Charles, she gets flustered and embarrassedly runs out of the room right after the song is over. Charles, however, is amused.

 

Julia and Bob introduce the two of them, and Charles and Liza pretend to meet for the first time. Caitlin pulls Liza away to meet her friend Becky, but before that, Liza introduces her to Charles. Julia tells Charles they’ll set the two of them up if he’s interested, and Charles smiles, saying that Liza is certainly interesting.

 

Maggie tries on different outfits for Penelope and Luca’s party while Liza fills her in on the yodeling situation. Maggie replies that she’s never been more secondhand embarrassed in her life. Liza gives Caitlin a hangover drink, and Josh (Nico Tortorella) stops by to drop off some presents. He tells them not to get too excited, as it’s just a little something he made. Liza gives him a hat he crocheted him, and they hug.

 

Caitlin is excited that Liza and Josh are hanging out again, but Liza says they’re just friends. Caitlin doesn’t believe her, reminding her Josh is perfect. Liza shuts her down, saying she’s still too old for Josh and her romantic relationships are none of her business.

 

Charles calls Kelsey and Zane into his office, telling them that Jake has decided he only wants to work with Kelsey on the book from now on. Jake said that he didn’t want to tie up two editors when one could do the job. Zane is clearly disappointed and upset with Kelsey.

 

Kelsey catches Zane outside the office, and Zane pulls her into a conference room. She promises she had nothing to do with Jake’s choice, but Zane guesses that there’s something going on between the two of them. Zane tells her she now has her bestseller all to herself and hopes it was worth it.

 

Charles tells Liza it was nice to meet her last night, but Liza is still mortified that he saw her yodel. Liza tells Charles the history of the tradition, saying it meant more to Caitlin than she realized. Charles tells her about the time he had to be in a bunny costume for three hours on Easter, reminiscing that it’s amazing what they do for their kids. Liza says Caitlin is the reason she worked so hard and asks him about his holiday plans. Since Pauline has the girls for a few days, he’s going skiing and then meeting his girls in Florida.

 

Diana gives Liza a Christmas gift, saying her tree looked lonely with no presents under it. When Liza opens the box, she sees an enormous holiday statement necklace. Diana says that jewelry should inspire envy—not seizures. Liza gives Diana a scarf she knitted, and Diana tries to hide how touched she is. She gives Liza her bonus from Charles, and although it’s more than she approved, Diana assures Liza that she earned it. There is also a card from Charles saying that they’re lucky to have her along with an enormous check. She goes to Charles’ office to thank him, but when she gets there, the janitor tells her he just left.

 

At Penelope and Luca’s Christmas party, Maggie is introduced to an artist she is a fan of named Akilah (Tonye Patano). Akilah asks if she’ll be joining her in St. Bart’s in February at an amazing artists’ retreat. Penelope assures Akilah that Maggie will be there, though she might not know it yet.

 

Maggie asks Akilah where Penelope and Luca are displaying her art, and Akilah says it’s in a storage facility. She tells Maggie that she is an investment now—what she does isn’t really up to her anymore, as Penelope and Luca basically control her life. Maggie gets freaked out and tells off Penelope and Luca, saying she didn’t make all this work just to have it hidden away. She says she’s not the right fit for their collection and leaves.

 

Caitlin finds Josh, wishing him a Merry Christmas and saying she hopes he and Liza can work things out. Though Liza didn’t specifically say anything, Caitlin tells Josh he’s the best thing to happen to her in a long time. She tells him not to give up on her.

 

On the way to the airport, Charles hears a commercial for The Sound of Music’s return to Broadway. He tells the driver to turn around and go to Liza’s house instead. As Liza is walking home, she sees Charles at her doorstep. Charles tells her he doesn’t care who she is anymore, and the two kiss in the snow.