Younger – Lizability

By starrymag | September 4, 2018

By: Taylor Gates

 

 

Cheryl (Martha Plimpton) gives Liza (Sutton Foster) a tour of the office, saying that because they’re part of a large corporation, they have more money–they’re not some floundering family-owned publishing house. They are, however, looking to grow their young female audience, which is why she wants Liza to run her own imprint called Chicky. It’s targeted towards women, but they’re not excluding men.

 

Liza is shocked by the space that would be her office, and Cheryl says that she’s earned it. She worked her way from the bottom to build something amazing, and they’re not ageist at their company. Cheryl gives her the contract for her lawyer to take a look at.

 

Diana (Miriam Shor) is panicked, as Joe Biden is throwing a Capital Letters party and nobody is set to be there. Zane (Charles Michael Davis) smugly tells Kelsey (Hilary Duff) he thought she stayed in touch with her authors. He offers to go to DC, but Kelsey says she will. It’s her book, after all.

 

Kelsey tells Charles (Peter Hermann) she’s going to have to expense the trip, but he tells her Jake (Jason Ralph) specifically asked that she not be there. Kelsey admits that the two of them shared a moment but that she promptly shut it down. Charles tells her that Jake came to him and asked if Empirical could publish the book but Zane said no.

 

Charles has a meeting with Quinn (Laura Benanti), saying that he hears her first few chapters are very promising. Quinn plays coy, admitting that writing is challenging but Kelsey and Liza are keeping her sane. Quinn gives Charles some good news: she’s quietly been putting together a group of investors. At this point in her life, she wants to put her money where her passion is.

 

Charles tells Kelsey and Liza that Quinn is impressed with them. So impressed, in fact, she wants to make Millennial the flagship brand instead of Empirical. Kelsey tells Liza she can’t leave now, but Liza thinks it’s all the more reason she should. If she leaves, Quinn’s investment is clean. Kelsey isn’t sure she can do this without her.

 

When Kelsey leaves, Liza tells Charles that if she stays, it won’t end well. She doesn’t want to go, but they can’t take the risk of her sticking around. Liza is certain that Kelsey can run Millennial herself, and at the end of the day, this is still Charles’ company.

 

Josh (Nico Tortorella) asks Maggie (Debi Mazar) for updates with Malkie (Sally Pressman). Unfortunately, Malkie still desperately wants a baby and Maggie has no interest. Maggie apologizes to Josh for Malkie making him uncomfortable by all the sperm talk, but he was flattered. He also thinks it’d be cool to have a kid running around. Maggie asked if he would seriously do it for Malkie, as she told her to ask him, and Josh considers it.

 

Liza tells Quinn about taking the Chicky imprint job, and Quinn says it doesn’t sound like the right fit for her, as her tastes are more sophisticated. If it’s not about money, Quinn doesn’t understand why Liza would leave a company she helped build right as it’s about to blow up. Liza tells her the truth: she’s not a young woman. She lied about her age to get a job, making Quinn’s investment fraudulent.

 

Quinn is shocked but still wants Liza to stay, saying her secret might never even come out. Liza tells her it will, and Chicky is going to bury it. Quinn wants to do something better and celebrate it. After all, she embodies everything she talks about in Claw. It would be huge for Liza, Millennial, and Quinn’s book. She’s not going to let Liza go, and that’s final.

 

During dinner in his new tiny apartment, Enzo (Chris Tardio) tells Diana that he has been named to the team tasked with plumbing a fatberg–a huge mess in the pipes. Diana can’t help but laugh, but Enzo is serious. After all, this can get dangerous. Diana cracks up again when he says the word duty, and Enzo gets fed up. He grabs his coat and says he’ll always be a joke to her. Diana promises that’s not the case, but he leaves, upset.

 

The next day, Diana orders Liza to book her a massage. She’s realized she’s not compatible with a plummer. Liza tells Diana the two of them were sweet together and it shouldn’t matter what he does, but Diana tells her apparently the feelings aren’t there anymore. Liza offers her condolences, saying even when you know things are doomed from the start, it still hurts when they end.

 

Kelsey storms into Zane’s office, asking why he didn’t take Jake’s book. Was it because he felt sorry for her or wanted to see her go through the hell of promoting an ex’s book? Zane admits that he’s in love with her. Kelsey is taken aback, but Zane keeps rolling forward. He congratulates her on winning their little competition, hearing about Millennial’s domination.

 

Liza tells Charles she’s torn. If she leaves, Quinn could pull her investment, but if she stays, they’re in the same mess. Charles says it’s not the same because she’ll no longer be an assistant–she’ll be a Millennial co-founder and executive, one that’s more age-appropriate. They get caught up in the fantasy that they can go public with their relationship when Cheryl texts Liza and ruins the mood. She wants to have lunch and discuss the next day.

 

Lauren (Molly Bernard) makes Josh meditate on the decision whether or not to donate his sperm. During this process, he has a dream that he and Liza are raising a baby together. Lauren snaps him out of his slumber, asking if he got his answer. He smiles and says yes.

 

Liza goes to meet with Cheryl, wanting to decline her offer, but it’s hard to get a moment alone with her. Instead of a private meeting, Cheryl has thrown a Chicky launch party complete with an entire new staff for Liza and someone in a chicken suit. Liza finally admits that she’s not taking the job, and Cheryl screams at her, telling her to get out.

 

Diana is freaking out, as the news is saying that Enzo has gone missing while trying to dislodge the fatberg. She runs out of the office, yelling at everyone not to flush anything. Everyone cheers as Enzo climbs out of the sewer, and Diana hugs him though he is covered in crap.

 

Josh tells Maggie that, after giving it some real thought, if he has a kid, he wants it to be his own. He’s worried that’s selfish, but Maggie tells him it’s honest. She’s so excited for Josh to have a child so she can spoil them. Later that day, Lauren hears a knock on the door and screams. When Josh opens it, he sees a very pregnant Clare (Phoebe Dynevor) standing there.

 

Kelsey confronts Zane as he’s cleaning out his office. With Empirical taking a backseat, there’s no room for him anymore. Kelsey says he can come work at Millennial, but Zane says he could never work for her, jokingly saying because he’s so much better. Kelsey asks if he already got another job, and he simply smiles as the elevator shuts.

 

Quinn meets with Charles, showing him a blind item email she and her group of investors was just emailed about Charles having an affair with his 27-year-old employee. Charles asks why she would base something off a blind item, but Quinn tells him Cheryl Sussman has already owned up. Charles informs her Cheryl has been trying to poach Liza, but Quinn wants to cut to the chase–is the article true or not? Charles owns up to it but says it’s consensual.

 

Quinn says she can spin Liza’s lie since ageism is wrong, but she can’t spin Charles’ wrongdoing in this climate. She tells Charles she has to pull her offer since it comes with too much liability. Charles, however, thinks there’s another way.

 

Charles makes a speech to his staff, announcing Quinn’s investment. Quinn is so excited about the company’s future, saying she wants to make Kelsey and Liza the center of the company. With that in mind, they have promoted Kelsey to publisher and Charles to Chairman of the Board. Diana is shocked at this coup, informing Liza that the Chairman of the Board only comes in for quarterly meetings and budget approvals. They’re putting him out to pasture.

 

Liza asks Charles why Quinn would force him out, and he tells her she found out about the two of them. Liza apologizes, but Charles says it’s a good thing the company is surviving. This used to be his whole life, but maybe it’s time for a new one with Liza and his kids. His father’s company is still alive, and he gets to watch Liza help run it. He has everything he wants now and is incredibly happy. Liza says she is, too, and they kiss. They walk away hand-in-hand, but their smiles quickly fade as they realize all the changes that are coming.