Comedy-drama with fabulous characters in flawed situations
ALL GOOD things must come to an end.
Such is the dilemma of life, including the fictional ones on the small screen.
I don’t know how this happened but I had never watched a single episode of The Bold Type until recently.
Admittedly, I am somewhat of a magnet to chick flick shows.
What can I say, I love the drama, the romance and, more importantly, the spirit of sisterhood.
Yes, there will always be tears.
But there are also those milestone moments, where career success, finding oneself and braving the unknown, manifests with praiseworthy results.
It’s like following that “eat, pray, love” mantra. A wonderful, self-enriching journey. And that’s what The Bold Type is in a way. Through its protagonist, it becomes a celebration of bravery, a determination to live one’s truth and a desire to make a difference.
And they do so in style, might I add. It includes all the click-bait emotions attached to the modern world, where cancel-culture, influencers, the Twitterverse, podcasting and gender neutralism are the socially-relevant topics of change.
True to form, the fifth and final instalment of The Bold Type addresses it in an admirably voguish way.
Think of this show as the love child of Ugly Betty and The Devil Wears Prada.
Each and every character is brilliantly etched, straddling that fine line between fabulous and fallible.
The three main anchors are BFFS Jane Sloan (Katie Stevens), who is the editor of The Failing Feminist vertical at Scarlet magazine; Sutton Brady-hunter (Meghann Fahy), a gifted stylist at the magazine; and, last but not least, Kat Edison (Aisha Dee), the former social media director at the publication, who, unbeknown to everyone, is going to return.
Since this is the end of the road, so to speak, for the series, the writers have gone balls to the wall with the story arcs.
Jane, while celebrated for her tenacity as a storyteller, makes a few missteps. She’s also in limbo when it comes to her personal life.
She’s unsure whether to succumb to her feelings for her columnist Scott Coleman (Mat Vairo).
Of course, we can’t blame her. He’s got that Kit Harrington (Game of Thrones) vibe going on.
Then there is the emotional-casserole in the group – Sutton.
She’s heartbroken over hubby Richard Hunter (Sam Page), who wants a divorce.
Optimistic of a reconciliation at first, she eventually puts on her big girl panties and prepares for the leap into divorcée territory.
This brings us to Kat, who is juggling many issues. One being her messy entanglement with Eva Rhodes (Alex Paxton-beesley).
The other is her decision to champion for the fair treatment of a childhood friend who, after falling on hard times, ended up committing a felony, which put the kibosh on her job prospects.
Meanwhile, Jacqueline Carlyle (Melora Hardin), the editor-in-chief of Scarlet magazine, finds herself in a conundrum when she backs Jane on a story that puts her in the firing line with a rival, who happened to have had an affair with Jacqueline’s husband, Ian.
Her decision raises eyebrows but Jacqueline’s integrity steers her in the right direction.
In other news, as fans play catchup, Alex Crawford (Matt Ward) is poached by the opposition while trying to right a wrong.
His work wife Sage Aiello (Stephanie Costa) is gutted but celebrates his promotion.
And the ever-so-reliable Andrew (Adam Capriolo) seems to be troubled by something and it affects his work.
The only person who seems to have the calm of a Buddha is the magazine’s fashion head, Oliver Grayson (Stephen Conrad). But how long will it last for?
Shake-ups are par for the course. And the writers have a few gems up their sleeves.
All in all, the journeys of our millennial anchors will, amid plenty of soul-searching and life-changing decisions, come to a satisfying and surreal conclusion. It’s a bold move.
Then again, that’s life!
◆ The Bold Type is currently streaming on Showmax
“As an actor, the biggest compliment you can get, in my book, is for someone to believe that you’re the character.” Matt Leblanc