The Bold Type: Season 5/ Episode 4 – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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It’s the end of season 5 acting as a course correction, and now the focus is on self-reflection, growth, and setting up the speculative future for Kat, Sutton, and Jane.

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Episode Name	Day Trippers
Aired	6/16/2021
Network	FreeForm
Directed By	Yoko Okumura
Written By	Julia Harter, Matt McGuinness

This content contains pertinent spoilers. Also, images and text may contain affiliate links, which, if a purchase is made, we’ll earn money or products from the company.

Recap

Do I Have A Drinking Problem? – Kat, Jane, Sutton, Oliver, Carly

Since everyone is under stress in the episode, Kat decides maybe they should try mushrooms for clarity. Now, why mushrooms, of all things? Well, with Kat having a father in psychology and her own interest in knowing oneself, she thinks she can give everyone could microdose and process what’s going on.

However, what wasn’t factored in was Sutton adding more to the mixture Kat made and not telling everyone until the whole group was tripping and putting their jobs in danger. Which for Sutton was a real issue for after Carley reveals a new partner at Scarlett does fast fashion that ends up in landfills, this gets to Sutton. Leading to the first part of a two-part problem for Oliver. For part one is Sutton disrespecting a sponsor, even if the sponsor is a little sketchy.

The second part, the big one, is Oliver clocking Sutton on a hallucinogen and her drink uptake. For him, it triggers memories of Jasper and makes him feel like he needs to rein in Sutton a bit and not give her the creative freedom she was just starting to get used to. Leading to Sutton wondering if maybe she is drinking too much, and the response is that, with being her best friends, and drinkers themselves, Sutton might be at that point where some of her questions need a professional and not her best friends.

I Gotta Be Me – Kat

Kat has spent her entire time on this show bucking the system, which costs her jobs or leads her to quit her job. This episode is no different, for she damn near got fired from The Belle but then used that social media savvy to keep her job. However, under the influence of shrooms and trying to guide Jane and Sutton through their bad trips, it seems Kat rediscovers herself while in the fashion closet at Scarlett.

There, she strips down, takes off literally everything, and really looks at herself, and seems to find the clarity she preached to Sutton and Jane. And with walking out in a BADASS dress, it seems all the uncertainty and struggles to survive that came from leaving Scarlett? That chapter might be done. For with Kat’s hashtag that was made to get Zuri’s situation out there and save Kat’s job, it seems she may no longer lean on her expertise but utilize it to the fullest.

Be A Model, Not A Mold – Jane, Addison, Jacqueline, Andrew, Kat

Jane trying to be Jacqueline is a struggle, and she tries to rush years, decades of experience, into a week to hold onto Addison. After all, while Jane’s name might be the face behind the vertical, it isn’t like she is the sole person who writes for it. As she noted in a past episode, she had Scott, Addison, and a whole lot of freelancers. So with Scott gone, she can’t lose Addison too. It would be too much.

However, how does one become the mentor a young writer needs when you are struggling with getting your work done and then having to check others, give feedback, or edit? It’s all very taxing, and Jane is dealing with a major learning curve here. Which, with Addison giving Jane the impression she needs to be perfect now, it makes it so she either avoids Addison or overcompensates as she did before.

But, in her infinite wisdom, Kat ends up providing Jane just what she needs – an ally. Not Sutton, who is far too overwhelmed to give Jane help for something beyond her, but Andrew. Someone who is used to bickering with Jane due to competing for Jacqueline’s affection, yet with being told by Kat they are more similar than different, Andrew reaches out and reminds Jane to be honest. And with honestly getting Jane where she has gotten, she does just that with Addison and gets vulnerable and real with her, thus leading to Addison deciding to stay with Scarlett.

Things To Note | Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Okay, I really can’t be the only one very confused how Kat can get fired from someplace and, maybe a few months, possibly a year later, she can go to company events and walk about without it being immensely awkward. After all, she got fired for exposing a former board member, who was replaced by his own daughter, who Kat broke it off with because of her politics. Don’t get me wrong, we love seeing Kat back in the fashion closet and Scarlett, but this doesn’t feel like anything that would happen in the real world.
2. How is Sutton just turning 26 in season 1, episode 3, and only 27 in this episode? Did this show all really take place in less than 2 years?!

Commentary/ Review

Highlights

Jane and Kat Taking Steps Forward & Presenting Us Endgame

We didn’t mention in the recap that Jacqueline isn’t just prepping Jane verbally for possibly taking over Scarlett but is about to give her a trial run when she goes on vacation. So, with that in mind, you get the sense that, maybe in a few years, likely less than a decade, Jane could be the Editor In Chief at Scarlett. An idea that, hopefully in the last episode, they present to us.

Now, as for Kat? I must admit, with her social media savvy that led to her getting into politics, and never mind all the work she did at Scarlett, her hitting rock bottom like she did, it seemed off. Yet, who knows whether she was blacklisted to the point of The Belle being the only thing she could get for a long time? Granted, she also probably got comfortable since Jane was likely doing the heavy lifting, bill-wise.

But, it seems Kat is done having her moments of rebelling against the system, only to be knocked on her ass, and is done licking her wounds. With stripping down, seeing how dull she became, it seemed she realized she needed to rediscover herself. Heck, maybe being in and around Scarlett reminded her of who she was, and now she is trying to revisit that drive, that energy, and put it to something that doesn’t bite her in the ass but pushes her forward?

Leaving us, yet again, hoping we get some idea of where Kat will be at the end of episode 6.

Jane and Andrew Bonding

Being that Andrew is likely to be Jane’s assistant when Jacqueline goes on vacation for 17 days, I’m glad they are bonding. She’ll probably have to rely on him, and being that Jane doesn’t give good banter, it isn’t like them going back and forth would have been fun to watch. It would have just been Jane being bested and having to swallow her pride over and over.

Yet, with them bonding, it could mean Jane having success and maybe Andrew figuring out what he wants to do beyond being an assistant. Yes, we know he is very committed to drag but, whether or not that is the career move or just a hobby to get in touch with his inner Jacqueline? Sometimes it is hard to say since Andrew just barely has become a consistent presence.

On The Fence

Sutton Taking Two Steps Back

I want to appreciate the acknowledgment that Sutton’s family deals with addiction issues, so her increased drinking could be a slippery slope. However, it’s unfortunate to me that Jane didn’t get clocked and called out, but Sutton did – and she is being punished for it. Since the beginning, Sutton has long been our favorite and perhaps the most relatable of the three ladies, and while the Richard wedding put an end to that, it seemed without Richard, she may return to that hustler who represents the struggles of millennials.

But now, I’m unsure she may bounce back as Kat and Jane appear to be doing. Yes, alcohol dependency remains an issue, but with two episodes left, it isn’t necessarily what seems to be the best course to take with the one character who wasn’t overdosing on privilege.