Younger – The Gelato and the Pube

By: Taylor Gates

Diana (Miriam Shor), Kelsey (Hilary Duff), Lauren (Molly Bernard), and Liza (Sutton Foster) all read Pauline’s (Jennifer Westfeldt) juicy tell-all book about Charles (Peter Hermann). Liza tells Maggie (Debi Mazar) she feels like the universe is slamming the breaks on her relationship with him, but Maggie thinks Pauline is just crazy for lying to her about who she was. Liza points out how hypocritical that is, as she’s lying too. The two of them hear a noise and go to investigate. They find a gay couple, Deane (Christopher J. Hanke) and Joe (Matthew Risch), raising chickens on the roof of their apartment building. Their new neighbors give them some fresh eggs and invite them to the farm-to-table restaurant they own.

At the office, Liza, Kelsey, and Diana gossip about the salacious contents of Pauline’s book and rave about her strong voice. Charles calls Diana into his office, and Diana lists his options—he could let someone else publish the book and become fodder for the media or publish the book himself and seem like the bigger person while also controlling the narrative. Charles is hesitant, not wanting his personal details out there at all. He wants to get legal involved, but Liza recommends he just try to talk to Pauline first. She even offers to babysit his daughters while he meets with her.

Charles takes her up on the offer. Before he leaves, Charles makes a beautiful speech to Liza, telling her that she brought light and joy back into his life after Pauline left. They make a plan at the beginning of the night for Liza to text Charles an hour in, lying and saying she needs to go home. However, when Liza sends him the message, he responds and asks if she can stay a bit longer. Liza is surprised and hurt, afraid their new relationship could be ending already. He also acts distant and closed-off when he finally does get home, simply calling Liza a car.

The next morning at the office, he apologizes to Liza for being rude. When things get emotional, he explains, he shuts down. Charles admits that marriage creates a strong bond that can never fully be severed, announcing that Pauline wants to publish her book under the Millennial imprint with Liza as her editor. Liza agrees.

Richard (Mather Zickel) texts Diana, telling her he has a surprise. She’s excited, but when she gets home, she find his son Ethan (Liam Obergfoll) on the couch and is less than thrilled. Apparently Ethan has decided to take a semester off from college a semester before he graduates. His mother is furious and refuses to take him in so it’s Richard to the rescue. Diana lies and says she doesn’t mind him staying for awhile. When she finds a flesh light between her cushions, however, she has more trouble keeping her composure and demands Richard buy her a new couch.

Liza and Maggie go to Deane and Joe’s restaurant and Liza dishes about Pauline’s book. Maggie is shocked they’re going to publish it, but Liza is convinced it could be a bestseller. Liza is excited to edit it but wishes it wasn’t so complicated, and Maggie compares her situation to having gelato with a pube on top. At the end of the meal, the waiter serves them with a $500 check even though they were under the impression they would get their meals for free. Despite Maggie urging her not to, Liza pays the bill.

Kelsey tells Josh (Nico Tortorella) she accidentally liked one of Zane’s Instagram photos the previous night, and Josh teases her that she still likes him. He also points out that all of her exes are crazy. Kelsey shoots back that his previous girlfriends are more insane. They decide to go to a bar and pick dates for each other.

Maggie and Liza walk into the same bar after their dinner. Liza buys everyone drinks from Irish bartender Clare (Phoebe Dynevor), who expresses interest in Josh but assumes he’s a player. To prove her wrong, Liza urges Josh to tell Clare about his tradition of baking dog treats and taking them to the pound on his birthday. He notices her Claddagh ring and points out the heart is pointing out, symbolizing she’s single. The two hit it off and spend the night walking around and talking. Josh invites her to get breakfast, but she says she has to get to her day job of video game designing. They kiss and he promises to text her soon. Josh texts Liza, thanking her for setting him up.

Liza and Pauline have lunch. Liza agrees to edit her book, and Pauline makes her promise to give her honest, harsh feedback because she’s tired of polite conversation. Liza brutally tells her that women aren’t going to understand how she could abandon her children to write a novel no matter how wonderful it is. Pauline tells her that’s fair but explains she did what she did for her family. She talks about the double standard of career men and women and didn’t want her daughters growing up and thinking that their mother was nothing more than a wife. Pauline just hopes Charles can understand that. Liza tells her to stop focusing so much on what Charles thinks but Pauline admits she’s still in love with him. When Charles asks Liza how it’s going, she requests that she be kind.

Deane and Joe knock on Liza and Maggie’s door, yelling at them for messing with their chickens. Maggie holds up a pan of cooked chicken, saying it’s revenge for the $500 bill. They threaten to call the police but Maggie says she’ll tell the authorities they’re illegally keeping chickens on the roof. Maggie admits to Liza that she called the health department that morning and that the chicken she cooked is from the market.

Liza tells Charles that Pauline is trying to win him back with the book and Charles promises they’re never getting back together. Her book is fiction but his feelings for her are real. Pauline may have made a mess of his life, but he’s not going to let her make a mess of their relationship.