Younger – “Like A Boss”

By: Taylor Gates

This episode opens on a New York City rooftop where Liza (Sutton Foster) is telling Kelsey (Hilary Duff) how happy she is for her about getting her own imprint. Kelsey tells her that it’s not just exciting for her, but for both of them, comparing the two of them to a young Steve Jobs and Oprah Winfrey. Thad (Dan Amboyer), being his usual douchey self, just has to ruin any ounce of feminism and fun the two are having by asking Kelsey when she’s going to be making as much money as Oprah. “When are you?” Kelsey snaps back. Buuuurn.

Lauren (Molly Bernard) slumps down next to them, saying that now that she has more vodka, she’s ready to toast. Kelsey says that they have to wait until Josh (Nico Tortorella) gets here, but Liza replies that she’d rather just tell him the good news later. Kelsey says it’s too late for that because she already invited him to their powwow.

Josh joins the party and asks what they’re all celebrating. Lauren catches him up to speed, telling him that they’re toasting to Kelsey being a “bomb ass female.” Kelsey says not to forget Liza, her “co-millennial,” which causes Josh to shoot Liza a disappointed look.

After the get together, Josh asks Liza if she was ever going to tell Kelsey her secret like she promised. Liza assures him that of course she was, but it got sidetracked by Kelsey’s news and she really can’t start over in this business as a 40-year-old. Josh says he can’t keep lying to people because he wants to live an authentic life. Liza suggests that they just stop hanging out with people from her work, but Josh says he needs some more time to wrap his head around everything. A deflated Liza apologizes for being so complicated before Josh walks off, leaving her alone. I’m starting to agree with what Kelsey said last episode—Liza and Josh’s on-again, off-again shtick is getting a little exhausting.

The next morning, Maggie (Debi Mazar) angrily slams her phone on the couch, informing Liza that one of her customers reneged on buying her Glass Nipple Lady statue after her husband determined it was too much for her entryway. “Aw, it seems like a good reminder to wear warm clothes,” Liza genuinely replies. Maggie says that she was counting on selling that piece to pay the rent and now she’s going to have to rent out a room in her apartment on Airbnb. She asks Liza if she can stay with Josh this weekend, but Liza sadly says they haven’t spoken.

Maggie doesn’t understand why Josh cares so much about this; women lie about their age all the time. Liza says that it’s a big deal to Josh because he never lies—a beautiful thing she’d like to change about him. Maggie longs for the days where people ate gluten, smoked cigarettes and lied to each other. “Now people just eat kale and tell the truth,” Liza sighs.

At Empirical, Kelsey tells Charles (Peter Hermann) and Diana (Miriam Shor) that she and Liza are finalizing details for their upcoming imprint launch party. Diana sarcastically says she’s been on pins and needles ever since she learned it would be at an “old bone-boiling plant.” Miriam Shor practically stares straight into the camera The Office-style as she delivers this line, which makes it ten times funnier.

Kelsey says that, while The Glue Factory isn’t a typical venue, it’s the hottest spot right now. She says that instead of authors they’ll be inviting mostly bloggers and digital powerhouses to expand their social media outreach. Liza says they’ve invited all the most important people, including the guy who created pizza rat. Diana is less than impressed so she grabs her coffee mug and heads back to her office.

Later, Diana calls Liza into her office and hands her a Fitbit. She says it’s not a gift, but that she and Jackie from Ballantine are having a competition to see who can walk more steps. She needs Liza to wear it for her so Diana can destroy her. She also tells her that, even though she has new responsibilities with Kelsey’s imprint, her job as her assistant takes priority. “I’m going to need you to be two people, Liza. You think you can do that?” she asks. Tickled by her wording, Liza smiles, assuring Diana that she can.

Kelsey meets Liza in the hallway where she’s walking in place in order to rack up steps for Diana. Liza tells Kelsey about the competition Diana is having, and says she feels like Katniss from The Hunger Games. I’m not sure if this is just a coincidence or a conscious reference to the pilot where Maggie was preparing Liza on how to interview as a 26-year-old. If asked the question on who inspires her, Liza was trained to say “Katniss Everdeen.” Intentional or not, it’s a nice tie-in to the beginning of the series.

Kelsey tells Liza that Lauren hooked them up with Hector & Dorff—two of the hottest designers—to get them outfits for the imprint party, so the two go off for a fitting. Hector & Dorff are super posh, offering them Schnapps when they walk in. When Liza asks for a water, they scoff, informing her that they’re not Bloomingdale’s. Kelsey goes into a fitting room, and comes out wearing what she thinks is a super hot black dress, which really turns out just to be a slip. The designers say they’re going to find her something that makes her look like a total boss.

Liza updates Kelsey on a few more people who have RSVP’d. Kelsey asks if Josh is coming, as he opened her invitation but hasn’t replied. Liza admits that they haven’t talked in about a week, but it’s probably just because Josh is so busy. Lauren says that she’s seen him post on social media a bunch, so he must be “ghosting” her. Apparently, “ghosting” means you aren’t in contact, but someone is still checking up on you through social media.

Liza, Kelsey and Lauren all go to Lauren’s house for a drink in a hilarious scene that shows just how underrated Lauren and her parents are. The dad (Josh Pais) is basically the male version of Amy Poehler’s Mean Girls character and the mom (Kathy Najimy) is a typical ultra-Jewish housewife. I desperately want a spinoff of their family.

Kelsey, Lauren and Mrs. Heller all speculate on reasons why Josh is ignoring Liza. They think it’s probably because once women get successful, the men in their lives get insecure. Liza adamantly says that isn’t why Josh is avoiding her, and that he completely supports her. She then says they should stop talking about guys and work on Kelsey’s press release. Lauren and her mom grab a slice of cheese and leave the room so they can keep gossiping while Kelsey finalizes the press release with Liza. Mr. Heller, clad in only underwear, creepily corners Liza as she’s leaving the house. He says if she ever wants to talk about Josh, he’s here for her. It’s weird and flirtatious and leaves Liza feeling extremely uncomfortable.

At the office, Diana congratulates Liza on beating Jackie by fourteen steps, but that Jackie wants a rematch so she better step up her game today. She also informs her that Kelsey’s press release has been picked up by Gawker and is getting a lot of negative attention in the comments section. Liza runs into Kelsey’s office, who reads the nasty comments to her: things like “what a joke,” “who’s she screwing now?” and even a picture of a kitten in a Barbie car. Lauren runs in to save the day, carrying her custom Hector & Dorff dress. It turns out to be positively hideous, a large circle covering the entire front of the body and making Kelsey look sort of like an upside-down stingray.

Diana tracks down Liza at Kelsey’s Millennial launch party and asks her where the Fitbit is. Liza says it’s on her ankle, making her look like she’s on house arrest, which ups her cool factor. “Very Martha Stewart. Point me to the alcohol,” Diana replies. Charles runs into Liza and they flirt for a bit, complimenting each other on their smiles. Their conversation is cut short once Liza spies Kelsey freaking out about another Gawker comment. To make matters worse, Thad and a girl from HarperCollins insincerely compliment her outfit. Liza and Lauren send Thad off to get drinks while they try to get Kelsey to calm down. Kelsey reads a tweet from Lena Dunham congratulating her, which Lauren and Liza say is huge since she’s such a dominate force and her fans are a vital market. However, instead of making her feel better, it sends Kelsey into panic mode.

A guy in a tight black shirt and guyliner enters Josh’s shop, asking for directions. Coincidentally, the guy is looking for Liza and Maggie’s apartment so Josh goes to investigate what is going on. It turns out Maggie isn’t actually renting out a room, but rather throwing a sex party in order to pay her rent. She starts telling Josh off, saying that tight finances lead to a complicated life and that Josh should cut Liza some slack. She says that she’s low-maintenance, gorgeous and loyal, but maybe he doesn’t deserve her if he can’t see that and he should just go get himself a basic bitch.

Kelsey lies on the ground, convinced she’s having a heart attack and is going to die. Liza tells her that it’s just a panic attack and that she’s going to be fine. Kelsey says that she has to get out of the dress because she feels like it’s suffocating her. Liza can’t find the zipper, so decides to cut it off. Lauren is horrified at the prospect of the designer dress being ruined and abandons both of them. Kelsey breaks down, saying that she believes all the comments she read. She feels like an imposter because she doesn’t know what she’s doing. Liza soothes her, telling her to focus on her breathing. She says that nobody really knows what they’re doing and that you just have to fake it until you make it. She says you have to count on the people around you to help you up when you’re down. She then takes Kelsey’s hand and pulls her up, saying it’s time for them to go rule the world.

Kelsey has another miniature breakdown upon realizing that the speech she’d written on her hand has sweated off and is now completely gone. Liza tells her to put in a Bluetooth ear piece, saying she’ll talk her through the whole thing. Kelsey makes a great speech, saying that she can’t promise she won’t crash and burn, but she promises it’ll be interesting. Charles spies Liza feeding Kelsey the words and smiles. After the speech, Charles congratulates Liza on the party. He asks her where her young man is and she replies that she’s not sure there is one anymore. Charles asks if he could get her a glass of champagne and she says that she’d like that. Just then, she gets a text from Josh saying that he misses her. She says that she misses him too and she wishes he were here. He tells her to look up and surprises her by being right in front of her. They hug and she says that, even though they agreed to try to keep their romantic life separate from her work one, he’s the one she wants to share this night with.

Charles comes back and Liza introduces Josh to him as her boyfriend. Charles looks a little hurt, but hides it well, giving both Josh and Liza a glass of champagne. He says they should celebrate together. Liza and Charles lock eyes, sharing a long, meaningful glance. They both feel the chemistry they have.

An oblivious Josh takes Liza into his arms again, telling her how beautiful she looks. Liza says she’d invite him back to her place, but Maggie is renting out some of the place. Josh knowingly says that she can come to his place instead. Liza thanks him for keeping her secret. “Some secrets are worth keeping,” he replies.