S02.E01: Feminist Army / S02.E02 Rose Colored Glasses

[Lady Calypso]

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In the first episode, “Feminist Army,” Jane is excited to publish her first big piece for Incite, especially since she’s writing about a female CEO she admires, and she knows Jacqueline will be reading it. Sutton is thrown when a new corporate policy seems to give her and Richard the green light on their romance. And Adena grows frustrated when Kat seems too eager to flaunt their burgeoning relationship. 

Quote

In the second hour, “Rose Colored Glasses,” believing it shouldn’t matter, Kat bristles when Alex recommends she highlights that she is black in her company bio. However, while introducing her parents to Adena, Kat is forced to confront how her avoidance of labels has affected her life. Sutton is horrified when she discovers her fellow fashion assistants think she was asked to organize a photo shoot featuring “honorable men” for reasons other than her talent. And Jane tries to defend herself after the fallout from her Incite article, which doesn’t go as planned.

[ApathyMonger]

FYI, the first episode is on Hulu now:

[tennisgurl]

I am kind of confused as to why both episodes are listed. I could only find the first episode? 

[Lady Calypso]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

I am kind of confused as to why both episodes are listed. I could only find the first episode? 

Only the first episode streamed early to Hulu. Both episodes will air tonight officially.

[tennisgurl]

Thanks @Lady Calypso !!

[KaveDweller]

I enjoyed both episodes, but I thought the second one was better. I liked that they explored Kat's feelings about being biracial, that's not usually something that gets a lot of attention. But I am confused, because wasn't she social media director last season? Did I miss a promotion?

I knew Jane was going to get fired as soon as she went off-script in the interview. Obviously they want to get her back at Scarlett, but she made so many missteps. And saying  "Incite wasn't all right or all wrong" on television was clearly not going to go over well. But did she not understand the type of news outlet Incite was? Because she said she wanted to do more serious journalism, but then her initial article seemed more like a Scarlett thing where she made it about herself. However, the editor seems a bit deluded to call herself a "hard hitting journalist" when she  used the phrase "there's a special place in hell for......" in the article's teaser.  That seemed more like a TMZ-style headline.  I don't feel that bad for the woman CEO though, since she did misrepresent herself and was using false advertising. 

If they are going to split up Sutton and Richard for real, I'd rather they write him off the show. I like Sutton, but don't want her to be all angsty all the time. This will be the case with Richard popping in all the time.

[twoods]

Stupid DVR didn’t catch the second episode, but it was good having this show back. I love the friendship between the girls. I’m bored with Kat and her relationship storyline, but I enjoy her shining at her job. Poor Sutton- I was hoping that she could finally be with Richard but the angst continues. I understand her reasoning, but they deserve to be happy together.

Yikes with Jane’s editor changing the story that much. Shouldn’t Jane have seen it first before it was published? Now I have to hunt down the second episode and watch why she got fired. Bummed her Incite storyline was so short lived. Whatever happened to that cute writer she was hooking up with? I hope to see him back this season.

[GaT]

1 hour ago, twoods said:

I’m bored with Kat and her relationship storyline,

Me too, I don't find Adena at all interesting. I'm also tired of Sutton & Richard, all we keep getting is "they're together" "they're apart" "they're together" & I'm tired of it.

[retrograde]

44 minutes ago, twoods said:

Yikes with Jane’s editor changing the story that much. Shouldn’t Jane have seen it first before it was published? 

Depending on the publication, editors may wholesale rewrite the entire article -- I've certainly done it many times. It will also vary by publication (and editor) on whether the reporter gets to see it before it's published. I personally like them to read it because I don't want factual errors that can occur in a heavily edited piece, but I don't necessarily care if they don't like the way it's (re)written. Reporters can get too close to a story and their sympathy for the subject can cloud their judgement -- which is exactly what happened here: the menstrual cup woman was doing something super shady (she didn't just make a mistake, she was trying to cover up what had happened) and the editor was right to make that the lede, not some wishy washy "well, she means well." (The actual edit was some bad writing though; "Bloody fraud" is a decent headline however).

All that said, from memory, this editor sold Jane on the job by saying she wanted her specific voice and also really seemed to be offering her more of a features writer position than a news writer one, so there's obviously a disconnect there. If it's the case that Jane just happened to stumble across some real news when writing what was supposed to be a puffy feature, they probably should've talked about how to handle it. But Jane should also probably have had some inkling of the kind of publication she was signing up for (I think Incite is supposed to be like Vice-lite?).

Anyway, I really liked Kat's storylines in both episodes and hope Sutton gets to move on from that dull executive/lawyer/whatever guy with the doctor.

[dubbel zout]

8 hours ago, retrograde said:

But Jane should also probably have had some inkling of the kind of publication she was signing up for (I think Incite is supposed to be like Vice-lite?).

She sort of did, but I think she was so flattered by the attention of being wooed away from Scarlett, and the excitement of having her own vertical, that she didn't do enough due diligence. I also think Jane doesn't have the most accurate handle on what her skill set is, but she's very young, so it's normal she's still finding her way professionally.

13 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

I liked that they explored Kat's feelings about being biracial, that's not usually something that gets a lot of attention. But I am confused, because wasn't she social media director last season? Did I miss a promotion?

I liked that a lot, too. As for her title, she was promoted last season, but now the department is ramping up. It's a continuation of that.

[KaveDweller]

17 hours ago, twoods said:

Yikes with Jane’s editor changing the story that much. Shouldn’t Jane have seen it first before it was published? Now I have to hunt down the second episode and watch why she got fired. Bummed her Incite storyline was so short lived. Whatever happened to that cute writer she was hooking up with? I hope to see him back this season.

I noticed them pointing out that at "good" Scarlett they would never publish an article without letting the writer see the edits, but at Incite they didn't. Just like how wonderful Jacqueline would have handled the bad press, but the new editor expected Jane to. I think this storyline may have been to show Jane learning about herself as a writer. Last season she looked down on some of the types of stories Scarlett covered, but she may be realizing that she actually likes their style.

Was the cute writer she was hooking up with named Adam? It looked like he's the one that texted her something about her article.

15 hours ago, retrograde said:

Depending on the publication, editors may wholesale rewrite the entire article -- I've certainly done it many times. It will also vary by publication (and editor) on whether the reporter gets to see it before it's published. I personally like them to read it because I don't want factual errors that can occur in a heavily edited piece, but I don't necessarily care if they don't like the way it's (re)written. Reporters can get too close to a story and their sympathy for the subject can cloud their judgement -- which is exactly what happened here: the menstrual cup woman was doing something super shady (she didn't just make a mistake, she was trying to cover up what had happened) and the editor was right to make that the lede, not some wishy washy "well, she means well." (The actual edit was some bad writing though; "Bloody fraud" is a decent headline however).

All that said, from memory, this editor sold Jane on the job by saying she wanted her specific voice and also really seemed to be offering her more of a features writer position than a news writer one, so there's obviously a disconnect there. If it's the case that Jane just happened to stumble across some real news when writing what was supposed to be a puffy feature, they probably should've talked about how to handle it. But Jane should also probably have had some inkling of the kind of publication she was signing up for (I think Incite is supposed to be like Vice-lite?).

The editor did sell Jane about wanting her specific voice, which does sort of clash with what we saw here.  And the way the editor described the job last season did seem different than her talk about being a hard-hitting news outlet. But you can't always trust what is said in job interviews. 

I actually wondered how writing jobs like that work. It seems like Jane had been there a couple weeks and only wrote the one article. Wouldn't a site like that expect stories every day? 

[retrograde]

1 hour ago, KaveDweller said:

I actually wondered how writing jobs like that work. It seems like Jane had been there a couple weeks and only wrote the one article. Wouldn't a site like that expect stories every day? 

Not necessarily if she was a features writer. In the interview, I think the editor tried to entice her with the idea of doing a story where she was embedded somewhere, so that could take months. Assuming this place is supposed to be like Vice, they have writers in the news section who are doing multiple stories a day, and then those off doing long "I took acid and then went pig farming in a war zone" features that can take ages. But usually you're overlapping multiple articles at once. And that particular article shouldn't have taken weeks.  (At a magazine like Scarlett, I can imagine she might also have had duties like compiling those product roundups that fashion mags usually have up front, or pitching in on other recurring sections of the magazine; also these days probably blogging smaller stories daily in addition to whatever she's working on for print).

9 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

As for her title, she was promoted last season, but now the department is ramping up. It's a continuation of that.

Except for that one girl who kept tweeting the wrong thing last season, have we ever seen anyone actually working for Kat? Would she really be the one at the fashion shoot doing the Snapchatting these days? Shouldn't she have minions for that? 

[calliope1975]

I'm also glad this show is back. Sutton is still my fave, and I liked the way she eventually handled her co-worker, but I most definitely related to Kat's biracial exploration story line. Except I filled in both black and white on the SAT form and got called into the counselor's office and told I had to choose.  

[KaveDweller]

1 hour ago, retrograde said:

Except for that one girl who kept tweeting the wrong thing last season, have we ever seen anyone actually working for Kat? Would she really be the one at the fashion shoot doing the Snapchatting these days? Shouldn't she have minions for that? 

No, we haven't seen anyone else working for her. I think she's supposed to start staffing her department soon, it was mentioned.

In my company we have some people who have a director/manager title that don't actually have staff. It is usually people who were in charge of a staff, and then got re-organized and lost the department but got to keep the title. They are in charge of a specialized thing that warrants the title but doesn't require many employees. I think Kat was supposed to be like that, where she had the decision-level duties of a director, but no staff. However, social media for a magazine like Scarlett seems like it would call for lots of young assistants being involved. 

[dubbel zout]

1 hour ago, retrograde said:

10 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

As for her title, she was promoted last season, but now the department is ramping up. It's a continuation of that.

Except for that one girl who kept tweeting the wrong thing last season, have we ever seen anyone actually working for Kat? Would she really be the one at the fashion shoot doing the Snapchatting these days? Shouldn't she have minions for that? 

Kat is going to start hiring minions. She mentioned to Jacqueline she was putting together a budget for what she needed.

[tennisgurl]

I liked both episode, but I think the second one was my favorite. I really liked the Kat story, and her exploring her biracial identity. Most of her identity issues have involved her sexual orientation, and not her race, so it was interesting to see it come up. I like her parents too, and I understood where they were all coming from when they talked. I liked the stuff with her and Adena as well, and that they have settled in a bit now. 

That site was clearly a bad fit for Jane, and seemed to be a pretty crappy place in general. Its hard to sell that they're some serious news organization when their editor basically told Jane that they're interested in click bait, and not in actual news stories. I cant believe she thought that the editor would be alright with her going off script like that, when she obviously wanted to double down on the edited article being totally factual. I guess its the kind of place that wants to tell very "get people riled up" stories, instead of what sounded like the more interesting story that Jane wrote. Its too bad though, as Jane really does seem like she would be happier doing more news focused stories. Is the Huffington Post hiring? 

I like Sutton, but I hope she gets a new plot that has nothing to do with her dating life. I like that she stood up for herself, and that she is good with being a people person, but I want them to focus on that stuff, and not her rather dull relationship with the lawyer guy. Honestly, I like her better with Alex anyway. Speaking of, Alex is looking great this season! The facial hair is a good look. 

[notcreative enough]

I can see why Jane was surprised she got fired last seat she yelled no at Jacqueline in front of most of her co workers and didn't even get a slap on the wrist. She expected to be protected like she is at Scarlett. I hope Jacqueline makes Jane work for her job back or makes her start at a demotion. 

I hope the Sutton mean girl drama is over. She slept with 2 guys and only one they know about. They need to give her an actual storyline. 

Don't really care about Kat's girlfriend but her conversation with her parents about race was well done. And I guess they want this to try and explain away Kat's unawareness for last season about racial issues.

[dubbel zout]

3 hours ago, notcreative enough said:

I hope Jacqueline makes Jane work for her job back or makes her start at a demotion. 

A demotion would be a punishment, and that's not appropriate here. However, there's no reason Jacqueline shouldn't make Jane thoroughly justify why she should be rehired at Scarlett.

[SnarkEnthusiast]

On 6/13/2018 at 3:38 AM, GaT said:

Me too, I don't find Adena at all interesting. I'm also tired of Sutton & Richard, all we keep getting is "they're together" "they're apart" "they're together" & I'm tired of it.

Kat and Adena are always going to be heavily featured, for better or worse, because Tumblr loves them. Tumblr loves lesbian couples, doubly so if they're a twofer minority, and is responsible for generating much of the buzz around this show with teens and twentysomethings. They're catering to their base so strap yourself in for a lot of pointless angst and mundane domesticity because the internet has decided they're the alpha couple of the show. Adena seems unnecessarily dour a lot of the time and it's a buzzkill for their dynamic. 

I like Sutton better with Alex, but honestly all her romantic storylines are boring. I hope this slut shaming thing isn't a season long arc. The actress playing her antagonist is absolutely terrible, which also lessens the emotional impact. Why does she care what a rando underling thinks of her?

Jane is very entitled. I don't know if it's because she's trying to portray Jane out of her comfort zone, but Katie Stevens' acting was very wooden this ep.

[tennisgurl]

I also loved Jane's attempts at dressing like a "serious journalist" as opposed to her normal outfits. It was like watching Not Another Teen Movie in reverse. "She has glasses! And a ponytail!" 

[calliope1975]

9 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

I also loved Jane's attempts at dressing like a "serious journalist" as opposed to her normal outfits.

Was that flannel? Nice.

[notcreative enough]

6 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

A demotion would be a punishment, and that's not appropriate here. However, there's no reason Jacqueline shouldn't make Jane thoroughly justify why she should be rehired at Scarlett.

You're right demotion might not be the best term but I don't think it would be practical or even realistic for someone who quit their job get fired after one or two weeks and expect to get the same position and pay back that they had before. Jane's position should have been filled at Scarlett. It looks like they have x amount of writers desk. Should the pert that got hired to replace her be fired so that Kabe could get her spot back. 

[Cassandre]

On 14/06/2018 at 6:23 PM, SnarkEnthusiast said:

Kat and Adena are always going to be heavily featured, for better or worse, because Tumblr loves them. Tumblr loves lesbian couples, doubly so if they're a twofer minority, and is responsible for generating much of the buzz around this show with teens and twentysomethings. They're catering to their base so strap yourself in for a lot of pointless angst and mundane domesticity because the internet has decided they're the alpha couple of the show. Adena seems unnecessarily dour a lot of the time and it's a buzzkill for their dynamic. 

And I hope they will stay heavily featured. I'm not on tumblr but I'm glad to know they love them. The medias love them too. We can't forget why. A lesbian muslim and a queer black woman together in a world where LGBT people aren't represented enough.... I can't really expect tumblr not to like them.... I can understand why you wouldn't like their storyline just like most of us don't appreciate the Richard and Sutton story but it's just not the same. There's no "pointless" angst that doesn't get solved after one episode in The Bold Type. So I can deal with it even if I don't see it as "pointless".  They are just portraying Kat and Adena's journey as a couple. Knowing that Kat has never been in a serious relationship before and now she has to deal with a woman. They do it in a positive way. When something is wrong we see it and they end up talking about it. They are honest and supportive with each other. I must be the only one here to think that but the writers are doing an amazing job with them. This relationship seems good for Kat. I just hope they find something for Adena to do in this season. A permanent job. I don't want her to be just Kat's girlfriend. I don't read spoilers but I heard some stuffs are coming. The sooner the better. 

Edited June 20, 2018 by Cassandre

[SnarkEnthusiast]

14 hours ago, Cassandre said:

And I hope they will stay heavily featured. I'm not on tumblr but I'm glad to know they love them. The medias love them too. We can't forget why. A lesbian muslim and a queer black woman together in a world where LGBT people aren't represented enough.... I can't really expect tumblr not to like them.... I can understand why you wouldn't like their storyline just like most of us don't appreciate the Richard and Sutton story but it's just not the same. There's no "pointless" angst that doesn't get solved after one episode in The Bold Type. So I can deal with it even if I don't see it as "pointless".  They are just portraying Kat and Adena's journey as a couple. Knowing that Kat has never been in a serious relationship before and now she has to deal with a woman. They do it in a positive way. When something is wrong we see it and they end up talking about it. They are honest and supportive with each other. I must be the only one here to think that but the writers are doing an amazing job with them. This relationship seems good for Kat. I just hope they find something for Adena to do in this season. A permanent job. I don't want her to be just Kat's girlfriend. I don't read spoilers but I heard some stuffs are coming. The sooner the better. 

Yeah, I don't want you to think I don't like them! And I don't expect them to be treated differently or more dramatically as a lesbian couple. I feel like my post read as me complaining that they're overly featured or something for token points but they're actually totally my lesbian power couple fantasy as a bi woman lol. My frustration stems more so from the fact that the writers seem to be a little lax thus far with their development in terms of making both of their storylines constantly worrying about the other's intentions or breaking up as opposed to developing them as characters, especially Adena, who has basically existed thus far to be Kat's closet key lol. Because the fanbase is so hungry for representation, writers often coast on making them their own swirling bubble of recycled angst (think Emily/Naomi from Skins and Cosima/Delphine from Orphan Black) instead of giving them storylines as individuals. But Adena calling Kat out on her shit is a good start.

[CurlyATX]

I'm glad they talked about race.  My husband is multi-racial and he has tan skin while his mom basically looks like she stepped out of a Norwegian travel ad.  I know that she always felt like she had to "prove" that this was her son and one time had even colored her a hair a horrendous dark brown because her daughter wanted them to have the same hair color.  I can't imagine how hard that must be.  My boys and I are all around the same shade of brown and they are about a shade or two darker than hubs so neither of us get any stares.

We did have an interesting talk about which box should the boys check (Asian/indian or Hispanic/Latino).  We basically said that most of the time those boxes show what OTHERS think you are and are meant to help counteract any biases people may have.  So, due to their names, we had them choose Hispanic/Latino because upon first glance most people may consider them that.  They aren't denying my heritage at all.  

Kat is also young enough to feel that the business world is straight meritocracy.  As she rises, she may start to see where the subtle preferences are- how all the board basically looks the same (minus Cleo).  

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

And then of course, Cleo is still white, straight, cisgender, etc. 

[dubbel zout]

35 minutes ago, ZuluQueenOfDwarves said:

And then of course, Cleo is still white, straight, cisgender, etc. 

Which I think is intentional, given she espouses a very particular form of privileged white lady nonsense. (I say this as a somewhat privileged white lady myself.) 

[morakot]

As multi-racial/cultural myself, it always seem odd to have to announce yourself as the minority race. On my first US Census form, I checked all the boxes that applied to me. (I got a follow-up call to clarify but they accepted my multiple choice.) The US is the only country I've lived in where I had to confine myself to one race, and I'm proud to be a multi. I don't want to live in a one race box. Obama should have been proud to be bi-racial as should Kat. 

In a world where people are no longer accepting a single box for sexual preference or gender, it's stupid to insist on a single box for race.  Alex was wrong. Kat is bi-racial, not just black.