A dinner party enhances each of the ladies’ problems and fireworks ensue.

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Starring Katie Stevens, Aisha Dee, Meghann Fahy, Sam Page, Matt Ward, Melora Hardin and Stephen Conrad Moore

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So, because drama follows the lives of the women of The Bold Type like the plague, it doesn’t take long before the episode kicks off with a major revelation:

SCARLET HAS BEEN HACKED

Goodness that was terrifying. But I feel it’s warranted, as this is a serious situation. One that threatens the privacy of the entirety of Scarlet’s employees, and is especially dangerous for Jane who, in addition to needing the anonymity of her source for her investigative piece against Pamela Dolan, also has been writing scathing emails about her boss Patrick to Kat and Sutton (because, professionalism).

Meanwhile, Sutton is feeling the pressure as she encounters the first hurdle of her and Richard’s renewed relationship: the merging of the friend groups. With Richard stuck in board meetings all day as a result of the catastrophic hack, Sutton is tasked with catering for the dinner party (which actually means that Kat caters instead).

The dinner party is the catalyst for some underlying tension to ignite and come to a head. Sutton is confronted by the gulf between her and Richard in terms of the stages of their lives. While Sutton is embarking upon a new and exciting career path (which Richard’s friends view to be just a phase), Richard’s friends are having children and settling down. When Sutton learns that Richard has been considering moving to a house, this sparks a discussion between the two about where their relationship is going. Sutton is very honest with Richard that she isn’t ready for the next step, which is entirely understandable for a woman in her late twenties going through a massive career development. What’s more impressive is seeing the brilliant communication that this couple have, such that an issue that could have been a dealbreaker is dealt with smoothly and maturely, with Richard accepting Sutton’s feelings (though I’m sure there’s more of this issue to come).

Meanwhile, Jane has to deal with Patrick during the dinner party, who has been invited by Richard following a board meeting. Patrick demonstrates during the dinner party how insanely socially inept he is, becoming increasingly animated and ranting to Richard’s fancy friends. Jane has invented a private drinking game for Patrick and ends up telling him exactly how she feels at the party, leading to voice-of-reason Kat encouraging her to apologise. Jane does so, leading to a nice moment between the two characters where Patrick opens up about the difficulties of being in charge, and conceding that he may need to make some changes in the workplace.

The dinner party also provides plenty of food for thought for the blossoming chemistry between Kat and campaign manager Tia. Kat is as confused as viewers are about Tia’s feelings and whether or not she has been flirting and bravely confronts Tia about it. Tia is adamant, however, that she does not feel that way for her and that it’s all in Kat’s head.

Brain Thunks

Sutton got on the seminar! I was worried for a moment there.

It was nice to see Pinstripe again in this episode and see Jane and he treat each other’s careers with respect. Jane is supportive of Ryan’s book and possible book tour, as well as the fact that he has to bail on the dinner party (which I was anticipating to be a large problem), while Ryan is supportive of Jane’s investigation of Pamela Dolan. It’s nice to see them working together and accepting their schedules are both fairly hectic.

Richard and Sutton are couple goals. I mean, they are the only couple on TV I can think of where an age difference is treated with respect instead of a joke, and the way that they have learned to talk through their problems is commendable, as this would have led to dramatic confrontations in the past.

Tia’s rejection of Kat was heartbreaking, though I don’t think this is the end of the situation. However, haven’t we had the whole “straight girl” storyline with Kat and Adena? It’s obvious there’s something there, I wish we could have gone down a different route in some way.

Jane really needs to learn how to be more professional with Patrick. It’s understandable that she might not like her boss – lots of people dislike their boss – but there is a way to approach that in a professional manner, and bitching about him in emails to coworkers and calling him out at social gatherings is not the way forwards. A more productive and mature route would be to talk to Jacqueline about her concerns, or to Richard as a board member about his conduct, or to just talk to Patrick frankly and honestly about his demeanour in the workplace.

Sidebar: I have changed my rating system. Why, you ask? Well firstly, everything was getting A’s, which became somewhat of a problem. And secondly, it wouldn’t let me put pictures in that section anymore so that put paid to that idea. 9.4 it is!

Next week involves the repercussions of the cyber attack, as well as involving some sort of flashback to when the girls first met each other.