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Script My Life: The Bold Type Season 3

What happened to Jacqueline?


With such a cliffhanger, I am grateful that 'The Bold Type' is renewed for season 4. I stan over this feminist Freeform series based in New York city. The show follows three women who are best friends working at a prestigious fashion magazine. We have Jane Sloan (Katie Stevens), Sutton Brady (Meghann Fahy), and Kat Stevens (Aisha Dee). The three are building their careers and figuring out life in the big Apple. Under the guidance of Scarlet magazine's, editor-in-chief, Jacqueline Carlyl (Melora Hardin), the trio tackle modern day issues affecting the world.

From the get go, I love the characters and obviously their fabulous wardrobes. This season though, I felt disappointed that the ladies weren't giving us wardrobe goals as in previous seasons. The season opens up with the announcement of a new head of digital coming in. According to Jane, this move poses a threat to Jacqueline's career. The team meets Patrick Dooshean, the young, new head of digital. Jane dislikes him from the onset however slowly discovers layers to her eccentric new boss.

Throughout the season we see conflict between print headed by Jacqueline and the digital, headed by Patrick. The board at the parent company, Safford, has been trying to get rid of Jacqueline, will they succeed?

Kat, Sutton and Jane experience developments in their love lives. Kat is newly single after breaking up with her girlfriend, Adena (Nikhol Boosheri). Sutton and Richard (Sam Page) are getting serious and move in together. Jane chose bad boy, Ryan a.k.a Pinstripe over the good guy, doctor, Ben.

In their careers, Kat accidentally lands a city council candidacy. Sutton decides to try her hand at fashion designing. And Jane is about to expose a powerful photographer, Pamela Dolan for abuse. 

The emotional roller coaster for invested fans are Kat's love life and Jacqueline's career. Kat has a heartbreak and unexpectedly finds new love. The conflict comes when her first love returns, leaving her at a crossroads. Our favourite boss lady, Jacqueline's career is hanging on a thread. As she celebrates her tenth year as editor-in-chief at Scarlet, this might be the last. Between the need to move the magazine forward with the times and the conservative board, primarily male dominated, Jacquie has to choose Scarlet readers first...always.

Let's get into the fashion closet and chat more about the women of the Bold Type:

Kat Stevens

Kat has always been the daring one of the trio. She's a vocal feminist with a knack for social media. She is faced with admitting the truth of her heartbreak on social media. This actually goes viral and makes her a hit on the internet streets. Upon discovering that her favourite lesbian bar is closing down, she decides to take action. She hosts a well attended fundraiser to save the bar, however doesn't meet the target. Not the one to be defeated, she decides to support a candidate whom she feels could make a difference. During this support, Kat is thrown into the race. There's potential for a career change for Kat. With the assistance of strategic campaign manager, Tia, Kat could be on her way to be city councillor.

Unfortunately end of season, Kat loses the campaign by a margin. In the love zone, Kat falls for Tia, who is easy going and fun. However, Adena returns to New York and shakes things up for Kat. The two admit to still having feelings for each other. Kat is caught in between the two but eventually chooses to be with neither as she discovers herself again, post the election disappointment. During the  season finale, Adena tells Kat that she got offered a job at Scarlet as the in-house photographer. The working situation will be interesting - watch this space!

Lesson learnt: Don't move onto a new relationship without closure from the last.

Sutton Brady

After announcing their relationship officially and publicly in Paris, Sutton and Richard are learning their way through their often complicated relationship. Members of the Safford board don't take 40 year old Richard's relationship with 26 year old Sutton seriously. To prove them wrong, Richard asks Sutton to move in with him. She's a bit apprehensive at first but eventually agrees. Independent Sutton now has to learn codependency on her beau, including sharing work secrets and buying sewing machines.

Career wise, Sutton's love for designing is roused when she redesigned an ill-fitting dress for a model. The original designer is upset but commends Sutton for creativity. With the support of Oliver (Stephen Conrad Moore), Sutton attends a design workshop. The outcome is a successful fashion showcase which includes diverse, relatable models. These models include her best friends, Kat and Jane. With the success of the showcase, Sutton is offered her first gig to design a dress for a high profile celebrity. Eventually the pressures and loneliness of design force Sutton to decline from her dream of being a fashion designer. She also realises that she must encourage Richard to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams even if it means long distance.

With Sutton in New York at Scarlet and Richard in San Francisco investing in clean energy – will their relationship survive?

Lesson learnt: Don't be afraid to try your hand at your passion.

Jane Sloan

Oh, tiny Jane! This season we see beige Jane begin to evolve and develop some colour. She and Ryan share a lot of romantic moments that would make you hash tag, #CoupleGoals. In the character development of Ryan a.k.a Pinstripe, we find that the renowned playboy is actually boyfriend material. This is until he confesses to kissing someone else whilst on his book tour. Jane finds herself internally conflicted between her principles and her feelings for Ryan. Ryan confesses to being in love with Jane and what happened was a stupid mistake. With the help of Kat and Sutton, Jane realises that she too, loves Ryan. She gives him another chance, with a warning of course.

During this season, Jane successfully freezes her eggs. This was made possible after she wrote an article against Safford's policies towards employees' health care. Even with the victory of policy changes, Jane feels that the article had a side effect on Jacqueline's career. Now she wants to rescue her boss' career with an exposé for the Fall print issue. Upon stumbling on information about the abusive nature of A list photographer, Pamela Dolan, Jane is prepared to write that headlining article that she's always wanted. This doesn’t come unchallenged with hurdles such as the hacking of the Safford server and Pamela Dolan getting ahead of the story. Jacqueline hands the article over to Patrick to publish it on the Scarlet digital with much success. Jane is disappointed but what's the next big story for Jane Sloan?

Lesson learnt: You can change the narrative by bending or breaking the rules.

Jacqueline Carlyl

Jacqueline Carlyl is my ideal boss! For the past three seasons she has allowed her Scarlet staff to meet their potential. She's an empathetic mentor whose guidance aides Jane, Kat, Sutton and the rest of the team to grow. She's the definition of the bold type, with her instinct to take risks when it comes to Scarlet.

She's a passionate journalist whose mandate is to put readers first and engage audiences. (When I grow up, I want to be Jacqueline Carlyl.) However, the tide is high and we see how conservative misogyny threatens Jacqueline's career. The magazine is doing well under Jacqueline's leadership yet the Safford board has been trying to push her out for a while. When she decides to revamp the fall issue to be inclusive at the last minute, Jacqueline states that the board will be against it, but she will still do it. In the last scene of the season finale, we see Jane, Sutton, and Kat perplexed as the Scarlet offices are being cleared out and Jacqueline is out of sight. Was the fall issue the final push or Jacqueline's final bow?

Lesson learnt: Always follow your intuition, even if it means giving up everything.

I'm at the edge of my seat for the upcoming season. I enjoyed the character development for characters such as Oliver and Alex. Alex becomes Jane's support system as they become housemates. Oliver becomes a father as he adopts his ex lover's daughter. The introduction of Patrick is refreshing too. We find out early in the season that Patrick is an ally to feminism. He might be eccentric, however his approach towards digital offers relevance to Scarlet. I would love to see Angie's character develop in the next season in promotion of the show's diversity. The flashback to when Jane, Kat and Sutton met offered insight into the women's careers and friendship. We catch a glimpse of the love connection between Sutton and Richard. Of course, we now understand why the fashion closet is the meeting space for top secrets.

Scripting my life to the third season of 'The Bold Type,' I am in the trio's shoes of self expansion. I choose to challenge myself and pursue my own passions despite the obstacles. I still aspire to be like Jacqueline - bold. Otherwise, like the anticipation for season four, so is the rest of my plot line.

All I can say is that we all need those best friends who offer you ice cream and vodka to cheer you up...

Until the next season...

P.S. Always write your own love story!

Ciao!

Lady E

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