Younger – Fever Pitch

By: Taylor Gates

Liza (Sutton Foster) has a dream wherein she goes to Charles’ (Peter Hermann) office to talk about him blurting out his feelings for her, eventually leading to a steamy make out session. She tells Maggie (Debi Mazar) about it, and Maggie’s advice is to just bang him already and get it over with. Liza, however, is determined to shut down the workplace romance before it happens.

Kelsey (Hilary Duff) dreads going to work ever since they lost L.L. Moore, and Liza tells her to go straight to PitchFest instead. Kelsey doesn’t feel like she has the mental energy or patience to handle PitchFest and begs Liza to cover for her. Liza agrees and Kelsey goes home to pack for a vacation up north. At Empirical, Liza knocks on Charles’ door, but Diana (Miriam Shor) informs her he’s not coming in because of Moore.

Lauren (Molly Bernard) is convinced some time away from her job and Zane will do wonders for Kelsey. Josh (Nico Tortorella) sees them packing and inquires where they’re going and Kelsey invited him to tag along.

At PitchFest, Liza hears tons of terrible pitches, including both “Lolita” and “Girl on the Train” ripoffs. In between horrible pitches, she daydreams about Charles and texts Jay. It’s not until a woman named Pauline (Jennifer Westfeldt) approaches her table that she actually seems excited about a book idea. Pauline’s novel is a deeply personal story about a woman who loses sight of herself as a writer and a person because of the responsibilities that come with being a wife and mother. The main character feels stifled by married life and decides to take a little break from her family. Liza thinks it could work as a Millennial title as a sort of cautionary tale and tells Pauline to email her some of the chapters she has written.

Josh and Kelsey are bantering by the river when Lauren comes out with a pot of iowaska—a hallucinogenic mixture. She and Kelsey are excited to try it, but Josh takes it and throws it in the water, saying it is a sacred Peruvian tradition that shouldn’t be experienced outside of the country. When Liza calls her about the book idea, Kelsey omits the fact that Josh is there with them, making Lauren suspicious. She tells Kelsey the two of them are definitely going to hook up and that she’s been shipping them since they moved in together, but Kelsey is adamant that they’re just friends. Stoned, Josh tells invites them into one of the rooms of the house, which is filled with furniture shaped like dicks.

Liza is working late and alone at Empirical when Jay texts her about PitchFest, asking if she wants to get dinner or drinks and discuss her great find. Charles walks in and the two make awkward eye contact. Liza tries to finish up some work but is clearly distracted by Charles’ presence. She rejects Jay’s offer for the time being and goes to talk to Charles, and it’s not long before they start kissing on the desk. Liza tries to stop it to tell Charles her secret, but he quiets her, saying all they ever do is talk. They’re interrupted by the janitor coming in, which leads to an uncomfortable moment. After he leaves, Charles picks up the manuscript Liza tossed aside in the heat of the moment. It turns out the author, Pauline, is actually Charles’ ex-wife. Liza apologizes for unknowingly accepting the pages and Charles rushes out of the office, taking the manuscript to read over and call his lawyer.

Kelsey and Josh drink and bond over their trust issues and people betraying them. Kelsey is worried about losing her job over Zane and Josh still feels wounded from Liza and Montana’s lies. Their heart-to-heart leads to a kiss, but Kelsey quickly ends it. The thought of them being together isn’t crazy, she says, it’s just not right.

Charles calls Liza, revealing that he read Pauline’s chapters. He says the writing is honest and has definite parallels to their marriage—now he’s just trying to figure out his next steps. Liza suggests he call Pauline, but he wants to wait to read the whole book before they talk. He tells Liza he doesn’t regret what happened between them that night, just that it was cut short. Liza texts Pauline, requesting more pages.