THE BOLD TYPE: Four Lessons Learned in “Feminist Army” & “Rose Colored Glasses”

Freeform’s THE BOLD TYPE kicked off its second season with a two-hour premiere tonight and we have to say, Kat, Jane, Sutton and co – it’s good to have you guys back! The return of these 20-something besties navigating their way through their professional and personal worlds wasn’t without accomplishments and disappointments so this week we’re spotlighting the different lessons the characters learnt…

Lesson #1: Embrace who you are

The core three struggled with being who they are in different ways – we had Sutton being slut-shamed by her jealous colleagues when Alex and Oliver asked for her assistance in styling shoots, which caused her to hold back when working with models and the absence of her usual spark did not go unnoticed by her bosses Oliver and Jacqueline. In fact Jacqueline pulled Sutton aside to find out what was wrong and gave her some advice that had Sutton holding her head high and embracing her friendly and outgoing self.

Kat struggled with her bi-racial identity when she was asked to provide a bio for the company website. She shared it with colleague Alex to get his feedback and he questioned why she didn’t highlight the fact that she was the first black female social media director at the company and she didn’t see it as a big deal. With her parents in town visiting, the situation caused Kat to look at her life and how she has avoided using labels all her life – it came down to the way she was raised and certain situations when she was younger and in the end Kat decided to embrace her black heritage and include the mention in her bio.

Then we had Jane, who found herself in hot water when her boss decided to change the angle of a story Jane wrote right before it was published so Jane didn’t see the final version until it was live. Quite different to the original intention of her story, Jane tried to apologize to the subject of her story, who was now in the spotlight thanks to Jane’s published piece. The result was Jane herself being turned into a viral meme and her boss stepping in and arranging for her to appear on live TV for some damage control and to put the narrative back in their publication’s favor. Her words on air didn’t sit well with Jane, so she went off book and spoke from the heart. This may have cleared her conscience, but it also resulted in her being fired. We’re totally Team Jane so good on her and just remember, everything happens for a reason!

Lesson #2: Set your own pace

Taking things at your own pace was a recurring theme in the season premiere as well. When a spot on the board frees up, company lawyer Richard tries to nudge Jacqueline to take it. While it’s a great opportunity and is something that she would be interested, the timing wasn’t quite right and Jacqueline knew that she wasn’t ready to give up Scarlet yet so she politely declined. Could this decision come back to bite her with the new board member appearing to be a potential thorn in Jacqueline’s side? Perhaps but Jacqueline is well aware of the big picture and we’re sure that there are no regrets with her choice.

Sutton also had career decisions to make when a change in company policy paved the way for her and Richard to become public about their relationship. However, after having a good think about it, Sutton realised that as much as she loves Richard, it wasn’t time for them to become public yet, not while she was trying to build her career. He wasn’t looking forward to continuing to sneaking around so they called it quits yet again. We’ve still got our money on them though – the timing may not be right now but who knows in the future?

With both Adena and Kat back in the States and seemingly shacked up together, things seem to be going pretty well. However when Adena begins to feel uncomfortable with the way Kat is handling their relationship, particularly in public, she’s not afraid to draw a line and express her concerns to Kat. (Even if it leads to an awkward outburst during a Scarlet party about Adena wondering why Kat is ready to go down on her yet…) Once they talk it out back at home and get back on the same page, things seem to be back on track again for the duo – Adena even meets Kat’s parents!

Lesson #3: Don’t be afraid to speak up

Adena told Kat what she wanted and as awkward as that conversation was for them, it improved their relationship. Sutton shut down her slut-shaming colleague and was much happier after being super conscious of the way she presents herself which resulted in her being someone that she’s not. Jane tried to apologize to a subject and also defend her actions to her boss and while things didn’t end up working in her favor, at least Jane can have a clear conscience and not worry about any bad karma heading her way. As we said before, things happen for a reason so as sucky as the situation may be for Jane right now, it’s all part of her journey. Then there’s new board member Cleo, who doesn’t seem shy on sharing her opinions about Scarlet and it’s future. Something tells us that Jacqueline won’t be afraid to speak up against her though and we’re sure she’ll do it with class and grace.

Lesson #4: Always specify your location

When arranging meetups, always specify the meeting point, otherwise you’ll end up at three different juice chain locations like Jane, Kat and Sutton and trying to navigate your way back to each other only ends up wasting precious spill time – we mean that both literally and figuratively. 😉

THE BOLD TYPE airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Freeform.

Related links:
THE BOLD TYPE: Refresher and Sneak Peek
THE BOLD TYPE: The evolution of the leading ladies in “Carry the Weight” (and why we need a Season 2 already)