Younger – Fraudline

By starrymag | August 27, 2018

By: Taylor Gates

 

 

Charles (Peter Hermann) and Liza (Sutton Foster) share an awkward post-breakup conversation that Kelsey (Hilary Duff) likens to “two butlers in love.” Charles announces that Liza, Kelsey, Zane (Charles Michael Davis), and Diana (Miriam Shor) will all be going to the Frankfurt book fair this year, as they need to be more visible than ever after their L.L. Moore scandal. This could also be a way for Empirical to close the gaps and get more buzz. Liza is excited to go to Germany, but Diana and Zane aren’t. Kelsey tells her it’s going to possible to keep her distance from Charles this way.

 

Once they get to Frankfurt, Cheryl (Martha Plimpton) greets Diana, telling her to meet her in the beer garden. She’s excited to take on the city together and have more wild and crazy nights. Diana reminds her they’re older now, but Cheryl says it’s not your age, but how old you feel…or how old you say you are.

 

Kelsey asks Liza when she met Cheryl, and Liza tells her they know each other from her old life. Kelsey is scared that Cheryl is going to play dirty since she knows her secret, but Liza tells her not to worry about it—everything is handled.

 

During drinks with Diana and Kelsey, Liza reminisces about how she’s so excited to be in Europe for one of the first times. She almost lets it slip that she went there on her honeymoon twenty years ago but quickly makes up an lie about how she went there for her seventh birthday. The three of them have a good time, but Liza feels bad seeing Charles sitting alone.

 

Liza says she’s going to the bathroom and sits down at Charles’ table. Charles admits that the company is doing worse than he’s letting on. Quinn Tyler (Laura Benanti) hasn’t said whether she wants to invest yet or not, and he can’t put all his eggs in one basket. He has tons of meetings lined up with international investors in hopes that one will bite. Charles tells Liza that, in a rough year, she’s been the one bright spot. Liza says she misses him, too.

 

Charles wants nothing more than for the two of them to get on an overnight train to Paris and wake up in a different world. She’s the only one he wants to talk to, but the more they talk, the more he wants to hold and kiss her. Liza promises everything is only temporary and wishes him luck the next day, confident he’ll get Empirical back on its feet. Charles tells her the ugly truth—they have three months to find an investor or else Empirical and Millennial will be history.

 

Liza and Kelsey are manning the Millennial booth when Cheryl and her crew go harass Liza, calling her fraudline. The irritation is short lived, however, because Diana shares the good news that both Marriage Vacation and Capitol Letters have been named the Books of the Fair. She’s set up an impromptu press meeting, and people come flocking over to talk with Kelsey and Liza. Liza frantically asks Diana to get her a pen, both of them freezing when she says this. Liza corrects her mistake, saying she’ll go get herself one, but Diana says she’ll do it.

 

Diana is intercepted by Cheryl when she goes to get Liza a writing utensil. Cheryl asks Diana what these new girls have that they don’t, and Diana replies that she’s been mentoring both Kelsey and Liza; after all, they can’t work for her for long. Cheryl pressures Diana to put on a performance like they did in 1999, already having talked to the band leader. Diana thinks she’s crazy, but Cheryl tells her to have some fun, unless, like her company, she’s past her prime.

 

Maggie (Debi Mazar) and Malkie (Sally Pressman) invite Josh (Nico Tortorella) and Lauren (Molly Bernard) over for dinner, wanting to make up for the one they ruined. Maggie promises no drama—just meat, wine, and weed.

 

During dinner, Maggie rants about children and having to dodge stroller traffic all over the city. Malkie says she was hoping to be one of the lesbian mother cliches. She tried hard for a year, but it was so expensive that she gave up. Maggie is panicked, but Malkie assures her she can’t even afford a sperm donor. She jokes that maybe Josh could give them a discount, and Lauren takes it seriously, saying Josh would be an awesome sperm donor and Malkie a great mom.

 

Lauren is excited, and Josh seems to be game to donate sperm. Maggie asks Malkie when she planned on telling her about all of this, and Malkie admits she was just worried about how she was going to react. Maggie is blindsided, and Malkie is disappointed she’s not on board.

 

During a Millennial Q&A, Kelsey announces the company’s next few releases. Someone in the audience inquires about Liza’s age, implying that she looks much too old to be a millennial. Liza cuts the Q&A short, apologizing to Kelsey for having to keep covering for her. Kelsey doesn’t want to talk about it anymore, instead wanting to go get drunk.

 

Kelsey and Liza dress up and go to a German bar. When Kelsey goes to get them drinks, Cheryl swoops in and surprisingly offers Liza a job. Cheryl tells Liza that she isn’t making enough money at Empirical and that she knows the company is going underwater. This way, she’ll have a job and not have to lie to everyone, putting them all at risk. Cheryl assures her there’s no pressure to accept and just to think about it.

 

Charles shares some good news with Liza—Media Italia seems to be interested in investing in Empirical. Zane helps Kelsey back from the bar, suggesting she get some food to counteract the alcohol. Kelsey shuts that idea down, saying she’s celebrating.

 

A host at the club announces that they have two special performers that night: Cheryl and Diana. The Empirical staff is shocked to see the two of them sing and dance to a song from Cabaret on the stage.

 

After the performance, Diana tells Liza to get them all shots, which she enthusiastically does. Cheryl takes a shot and then kisses Charles, saying there’s more where that came from if he’s interested. Charles excuses himself back to the hotel, which bums Liza out.

 

Later that night, Liza goes to Charles’ hotel room and says she think she’s found a way out for all of them. Charles says if she comes in, he can’t promise he won’t try to kiss her, and she starts making out with him in the entryway.

 

Liza shares her plans to potentially go work for Cheryl, saying that Kelsey can breathe more easily if she’s gone. Charles isn’t convinced Millennial will be the same without her, but Liza reminds him that Kelsey is the real star. Plus, begin apart during working hours would allow them to be together outside of them. Charles jokingly says she has a contract with Empirical, and if she spends the night with them she can be released from it. Liza smiles and agrees.

 

Liza spies a drunk Cheryl when she walks out of Charles’ room and says yes to her job offer. Cheryl gets suspicious and knocks on the door Liza came out of, surprised to see Charles standing there shirtless.

 

Kelsey gets a little sloppy at the bar, and a German guy gets too handsy for Zane’s liking. Kelsey tries to diffuse the situation, but Zane punches him before walking Kelsey back to her hotel room. Unfortunately, Kelsey has lost both her coat and key.

 

Kelsey wakes up in Zane’s bed as he is getting dressed. Horrified, she asks what they did, but Zane assures her he just tucked her in after she passed out. Kelsey wants to buy Zane breakfast, but he can’t—he has a meeting with an unsigned author who wrote the first book in a series about the Sicilian mafia that could be the next Godfather. Zane says after his comeback he’ll have his pick of breakfast dates, but Kelsey flirtatiously says he can’t do better than her. It turns out, the author Zane’s meeting with is the guy he punched the night before. Needless to say, the meeting doesn’t go super well.

 

While leaving the hotel, Kelsey tells Liza how excited she is for Millennial’s upcoming year and says she feels she may have misjudged Zane. Liza stops her, asking if she sometimes hates her a little for making her lie on her behalf all the time. Kelsey says it’s okay, but Liza says that it’s only okay because they’ve dodged the bullets so far. One day, it’s going to blow up, and they’re never going to recover.

 

Kelsey assures her that everything is all right and nothing bad is going to happen, but Liza tells her she’s going to take the job Cheryl offered. She can’t have Kelsey hate her, needing to get out before that happens. She needs to leave on a high note. Liza tells Kelsey she can never repay her for what she did and how beautiful and fun their journey has been together. Kelsey breaks down, hugging Liza and sobbing.