Life is complicated, but it is the complexity of it all that makes it worth living. Or it could turn your world upside down.
On The Bold Type Season 4 Episode 16, The Bold Babes and Jacqueline’s lives began to get a lot more interesting as they faced complications that could rock the very foundation of The Bold Type.
Read on as we discuss in our review of the season finale of The Bold Type.
There is no denying that Kat’s life would be much more straightforward if Eva had never walked into The Bell during the snowstorm.
Kat and Eva are on polar opposite ends of the political spectrum. Sure, just as our sexuality doesn’t define us, we aren’t only our political views. In the world we live in today, our political stances help define us to the rest of the world, though.
Kat prides herself on her liberal views. She is never one who shies away from using her voice to speak up against the opposition. What happens when that opposition is suddenly lying next to her in bed, though?
Finding herself not only opening herself up to the views of a conservative Republican but also letting said Republican into her heart and pants is a completely foreign concept for her.
However, as much as Kat stands behind her views, she also stands behind what her heart tells her. Her heart wants Eva or at least is lusting after her.
Eva is a polarizing character. While fans can’t get behind her views, it is hard to ignore the fact that she is so much more than just her political views. At the same time, though, her political views are reprehensible.
It is hard to reconcile the woman we see flirting with Kat and defending her on national television with the woman who Jane and Sutton’s watch defend hard-line immigration policies.
It begs the question, though, should we reconcile these two contradictory sides of Eva, or should her toxic political views define her?
At some point, people have to be held accountable for holding views that are detrimental to the growth and evolution of this country.
Aisha Dee spoke out on Instagram and shared her views on the storyline in which she had her difficulties getting behind Kat being with a conservative Republican.
When the woman who has brought Kat to life over these past four seasons can’t even see the rationale behind her actions, it is hard not to wonder if the writers are making the wrong decision.
As someone who has been a supporter of the Eva and Kat pairing, I found myself taking a hard look at them and my thoughts on it following this episode.
Eva is likable — That is a fact. What is clear, though, is that the writers are sweeping her views under the rug to make her more likable. The writers tell us she has these extreme conservative views, yet when we see Eva on screen, she isn’t discussing them.
If the writers feel that Eva as a whole is redeemable, then they need to show all sides of her to let the viewers make their own decisions.
Hearing that she defends hard-line immigration is one thing, but watching her do it would be completely different.
With ending The Bold Type Season 4 two episodes early, we have no idea if Kat and Eva would have even continued doing what they are doing. For all we know, their differences could have been too much, and Kat would have come to her senses.
That is the problem with ending shows early. The stories we see are part of a larger story, one that the writers aren’t getting to fully tell when we don’t get to see all the episodes.
Given the adverse reaction that the majority of the fandom has had to Eva and with Aisha herself speaking out against it, I can’t imagine the writers continuing this storyline into another season. If they do, it will most likely only be long enough to resolve it.
One thing I do know is that I’m fine with them not bringing back Adena, even if Eva is gone.
Among a lot of fans, it seems like an either-or option: Either Kat is with Eva or Kat is with Adena. These are not the only options.
Kat and Adena were a great love story and were by far one of the best parts of The Bold Type Season 1. That all changed when they decided to have an open relationship. Adena, as a character, was not as likable, and she never recovered from that.
One of the greatest parts of the first half of The Bold Type Season 4 was the exploration of single Kat.
Kat went from her relationship with Adena to her relationship with Tia, to whatever she was doing with Marissa, to Eva, with only a little time in between to enjoy the full single life.
I would love to get to see Kat play the field a little bit more.
She can even take Jane along for the ride.
Luckily, the Scotty2Hotty drama took a backseat on the finale, but that doesn’t mean it is anywhere close to being over. Even more so than Kat, Jane needs time for herself and to take a break from serious relationships.
Going there with Scott complicates everything for the vertical. It would be nearly impossible to maintain a purely professional relationship if they are hooking up while Jane is supposed to be supervising him.
She can’t afford for things to be anything less than perfect right now, especially now that so much is on the line with her story for The Failing Feminist.
It is admirable that Jane fought for herself and the story, but Jacqueline’s position was completely understandable.
She obviously should have come clean to Jane about her reasoning in the first place, but I’m sure she knew that Jane wouldn’t back down if she knew why she was asking her to do it.
While, yes, her number one reason for trying to block the story is to protect her family, it also protects the magazine. If the motives behind the story get called into the question, it undermines the whole story and Scarlet.
Jane should have taken a second to see the bigger picture. Instead, she pushed forward, knowing the risk, and put her vertical, and the magazine’s reputation, on the line.
Not only will it make people question Jane, Jacqueline, and the magazine, it will also muddy up the message of the story.
Instead of shining a light on the wrongdoings of States and Nations, Scarlet and Jacqueline will become the center of the controversy, completely taking away from the point they were trying to make.
They aren’t just hurting themselves. If this goes wrong, they are hurting the women whose stories they are telling.
Jane and Jacqueline should have made the decision together for Jacqueline to talk to one of her contacts at another publication and try to get them to run the story.
Given what an emphasis there has been recently on Jacqueline wanting to spend more time devoted to her marriage, and even telling Jane that she is the future of the magazine, I have to wonder if the writers are setting up Jacqueline to step down as Editor-in-Chief.
I’m not sure what Scarlet looks like without Jacqueline Carlyle in charge, and I’m not sure if I am ready to find out.
Of course, it has always seemed clear that Jacqueline would leave eventually and hand over the reins to Jane; it just seemed like it would be further down the line.
Something I have spoken about previously in my reviews is the idea of Kat taking over Scarlet when Jacqueline leaves, given her background in social media and the fact that Scarlet is now purely digital.
Could it be that this is the direction in which the writers are heading?
We have never really seen any controversy between The Bold Babes themselves, something that has been a welcome differentiation between The Bold Type and other programming targeted at young adults.
If Jacqueline were to step down and offer up Jane as her replacement to the board, but Eva suggested they bring back Kat, and Kat got the position over Jane, that would spark some conflict between the two.
This is pure speculation, but given how obvious it seems that Jacqueline wants Jane to take over sooner rather than later, it just seems like there is going to be some type of bump in the road.
Bumps in the road are not something we can have with the Bold Babes right now, given Sutton’s fragile state. She needs both Jane and Kat by her side.
In my review of The Bold Type Season 4 Episode 15, I took a harsh stance against Richard’s reaction to Sutton breaking the news to him. As someone who identifies most closely with Sutton, I am fiercely protective of her character.
There is no villain in this story, though. Richard and Sutton both want different things. Neither one of them is wrong for what they want.
It would have been ideal to see them get past that initial shock of Sutton revealing she doesn’t want kids and have a mature conversation about it, but right now isn’t the time for that.
Richard has been a great character who has bee an incredible partner to Sutton, and I only hope we get some real closure to his character in the future.
The aftermath of Richard and Sutton’s break up is taking Sutton down a dark path.
As soon as the preview for this episode went up and we see Sutton having sex fans were speculating about Richard and Sutton reconciling. If only that were the case.
Sutton is grieving the loss of the man she loves, and sometimes in grief, we make terrible decisions. Sutton’s grief drove her into the arms of her former boyfriend, Billy.
Of course, Sutton and Billy have great chemistry; you would hope so since the actors are together in real life. It was fun to watch the two of them pull off a con for old times’ sake. Why couldn’t it have stopped there?
It was clear the moment was coming the second Billy appeared.
Sutton went home looking for the comfort of something familiar. Obviously, some mother-daughter time with Babs would have been the ideal option, but Billy provided the same comfort.
Sutton is not in the right in what she did.
Sutton made a terrible mistake that doesn’t just affect her, but it affects an entire family. Sutton isn’t perfect, though. She makes mistakes just like the rest of us, and this is a mistake that she will hopefully learn from and grow from.
Probably not yet, though.
If Sutton had just slept with Billy and gone back to New York, she might have been able to talk it out with Jane and Kat and started to heal from her break up. Instead, she went to see Babs.
Sutton’s relationship with Babs might have started to mend during The Bold Type Season 2, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t fragile. Finding alcohol in Babs’ fridge was the final push for Sutton to fall down the rabbit hole.
Watching Babs change was like a beacon of light for Sutton. If Babs could change, maybe Sutton wasn’t doomed to head down a similar path as her.
Finding out that Babs hasn’t changed, or at least seeming to find out as I personally think Sutton jumped to conclusions and the booze was actually the new boyfriend’s, must make it difficult for Sutton not to feel like she is heading down the same path.
She is drinking to cope with her feelings, pushing away the people who care about her the most, and exhibiting self-destructive behavior. Sounds like old school Babs to me.
Sutton isn’t the old Babs, though.
She is going through a rough patch, but she is so much more than those poor decisions.
Sutton might have to hit rock bottom first before she is going to bounce back, but Jane and Kat will be there to catch her. She just has to let them.
Heading out of The Bold Type Season 4, no one is in a very good place.
There are none of the usual positive notes for our favorite characters to end on.
This second half of the season has been controversial, to say the least, and with having to omit the final two episodes, it is impossible to know if the writers would have steered it back towards more widely accepted path.
One thing is for sure — the writers of The Bold Type are not afraid to continue to be bold.
Over to you, Fanatics.
How did you feel about the season finale of The Bold Type?
What are your thoughts on the controversial storylines we have seen play out over the second half of the season?
Do you still want to see more of our favorite ladies?
Share your thoughts in the comments below, and watch The Bold Type online at TV Fanatic!
Meaghan Frey is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.