The Bold Type: Season 4 Episode 12 “Snow Day” – Recap/ Review with Spoilers
As Jane struggles with being critical to an employee, Sutton is trying to be a supermom, and Oliver tries to put his feelings aside so Carly can have a relationship with her dad.
As Jane struggles with being critical to an employee, Sutton is trying to be a supermom, and Oliver tries to put his feelings aside so Carly can have a relationship with her dad.
| Director(s) | Melora Hardin |
| Writer(s) | Sascha Rothchild |
| Aired (FreeForm) | 6/18/2020 |
| Introduced This Episode | |
| Jasper | Justin Walker White |
| Scott | Mat Vairo |
This content contains pertinent spoilers.
Recap
When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong – Kat, Eva
Kat’s politics are a source of struggle for her. Agreeing to disagree, or just letting things go, it isn’t in her nature. You could even say, with working at Scarlett and finding her voice, wielding some sort of power and often being validated, it makes it difficult to smile and nod.
This is why working at The Belle is becoming difficult for while a primarily liberal establishment, it also has members like Eva, RJ’s daughter, who is the lawyer from an oil company and a conservative. One who acknowledges and initiates a conversation with Kat that gets Kat heated and leads to an insult. An insult heard by Kat’s boss, so she gets fired.
However, before you write this off as revenge, it isn’t. Eva, despite still being sore Kat got her father fired from his own company, one he worked at for 25 years, she isn’t that petty. Heck, if she was, there would have been a lawsuit by now. If anything, it seems seeing Kat fall from grace might be good enough. Plus, while she may disagree with Kat, she does love her passion which is backed by facts and not purely opinion. Making it so she saves Kat’s job.
But, one thing she can’t save Kat from is losing her apartment, so moving in with Jane is currently pending.
The Joys & Pains Of Parenthood – Jasper, Carly, Oliver, Richard, Sutton
The idea of women being able to have it all still exists, but being super mom remains a challenge, and even with Sutton only a few months pregnant, she realizes that path isn’t for her. Being a stylist is a full-time job, which requires her leaving the office, working beyond a set time, and being that Sutton wants to be the kind of woman who takes care of her husband, kid, her job responsibilities, and probably herself last, it just won’t work. Even with a husband like Richard. Which makes it seem, unless she gets a nanny, something may give.
Switching things to Oliver, his ex, Jasper, was supposed to get Carly for the day and not have to do much more than a “Hi,” “Bye,” and bring her back at such and such a time. However, a snowstorm traps Oliver with Jasper since Carly seems to have some inkling of hope her father figures may get back together.
Here is the thing about that idea though, Oliver isn’t at the point where he can move past the lying or that Jasper is an addict. In fact, Carly ends up being used as a means to get back at Jasper by making it so Jasper’s plan to hang out with Carly has to get cancelled. But with realizing he is taking out his pain and frustration on Carly, rather than communicating with Jasper, Oliver reneges. Which brings much joy to Carly and Jasper? Well, he takes it as a sign that maybe he can win Oliver back.
The Failing Feminist – Jane, Scott, Jacqueline, Oliver
Jane’s vertical is about to launch, and while her Gen Z writer, Addison, does what Jane expected and wanted, Scott is a bit more challenging. Why? Well, because Jane’s vertical she sees and hears in her voice. So Scott writing something akin to women needing to ask for help more, and her not liking the message, it leads to some awkward conversations.
The kind that, at first, Jane tries to avoid having for she isn’t used to playing the role of the bad guy, and while she has had confrontational moments with her friends, she hasn’t with an employee. Leading to, initially, her just writing the piece rather than guiding Scott to a place where they can see eye to eye.
This doesn’t work, and after a conversation with Oliver and then Jacqueline, Jane has a heart to heart. One that allows Scott to convey that the reason for his tone and message is because his mother didn’t ask for help when his dad died. So now he lives with a certain amount of guilt and wishes she would have spoken up rather than burden herself and his sisters for his benefit.
Leading to, ultimately, Jane deciding to give Scott another chance to write his article, and after he does, it goes up on the site.
Things To Note | Question(s) Left Unanswered
- Anyone else wonders if Addison, or the other members of Jane’s staff, may think Scott is getting special treatment?
Review
Highlights
Eva & The Conservative Open To Conversation
The Bold Type” has always pursued being a progressive show. Be it in the form of calling out its leads privileges, highlighting the plight of immigrants, the LGBTQIA+ community, or showing a diverse set of women. However, like most shows, there has long been a struggle in finding a way to show conservative voices and not paint them solely as an adversary.
With Eva, it seems “The Bold Type” might do what “Grown-ish” failed to do with its character Ana. Through Eva, a likely sparring partner with Kat, we may get to see the other side to the conversation without the yelling, false information, or the vibe of good vs. evil. Eva’s claim to want to find reconciliation between belief systems feels genuine, and her getting Kat rehired seems to be more than a gesture to show she isn’t as petty as Kat.
Now, are we saying Eva is a good person? Not necessarily. We don’t know her enough to make such a claim. However, she is making an effort to show that, while she loves her father, their beliefs don’t align word for word.
Oliver Not Letting His Feelings Getting In The Way Of Carly Having A Relationship With Her Father
Is it wrong I was dancing for joy that Jasper was Black? Don’t get me wrong, love is love, but there aren’t a huge amount of examples of Black gay men loving other Black gay men. So, color me surprised when Jasper was Black.
That aside, I really hope we get to explore this relationship as we did Jacqueline’s with Ian and the other gentlemen. Primarily for, again, we don’t see two Black gay men together often, and adding in them co-parenting a child adds a whole other layer. Then when you add the additional layer of Jasper being a recovering addict, it brings too much to the table to be ignored or a one-episode thing.
Sutton’s Struggles
It is really a shame the best part of Sutton’s story has long been being able to connect, even as a male, with her struggles. Specifically, what we love is that Sutton’s story never feels rushed. Each life experience always feels earned, and when troubles arise, and often are resolved, they don’t feel like something handed to Sutton. They are something she worked hard for and deserved.
Making her deciding to have a child a journey that, even with the access to financial privilege Richard can provide, an undertaking that I fully expect to maintain what we’ve long expected from Sutton. Especially considering there are signs there could be some sort of trouble with the baby. A heartbreaking possibility but yet another way “The Bold Type” can speak to anything from young women having miscarriages to the struggles of giving birth to a child.
On The Fence
Scott and Jane Becoming A Thing
There are too many noting how hot Scott is, and there was a bit of a vibe Scott and Jane may create the next #MeToo conversation. I’m not saying it is guaranteed, but I feel the show hasn’t finished with that topic, and as Jane learns boundaries and how to deal with managing both men and women, it might be a stumble for her. That and just the appearance of favoritism since it seems Scott may need more work to get in tune with Jane than the others.
Overall
Trajectory –Excelling
As “The Bold Type” explores a conservative voice, Sutton’s pregnancy, Jane’s new management position, and Oliver’s romantic life, it further pushes itself to be a rare voice for young adult television.
