'The Bold Type' Season 4 Episode 15: Jane and Scott's ill-timed office romance reduces MeToo to a tool
Spoilers for 'The Bold Type' Season 4 Episode 15 'Love'
When Jane Sloan (Katie Stevens) got her own vertical in Scarlet magazine, she hired Scott Coleman (Mat Vairo) as one of the writers. At their very first meeting, the chemistry between the two was evident. Over the course of the last few episodes, the two grew closer, sharing intimate details that no one shares with their bosses (no matter the age difference between them) and have hinted that there may be more to them than a professional relationship. We were hoping that the show refrains from venturing into this territory, but the Freeform show wasted no time in getting right into it.
In the latest episode, Scott confesses about his feelings for Jane. And while we do not get to see this conversation through as it is intercepted by a phone call from Sutton (Meghann Fahy), we know Jane likes him too. But is this the right time for an office romance? In a post-MeToo era, one must tread carefully with this narrative. Jane is Scott's boss but there is undeniable chemistry between the two. Should they take it forward? If one of them leaves Scarlet, probably. But not with the two working together.
Not only us, Jane herself has scorned at the idea of indulging in a relationship with her employee since the show returned from its mid-season break. That doesn't matter to her friends Sutton and Kat (Edison, played by Aisha Dee), who relentlessly tease her about her attraction towards Scott. This would have been cute, friendly banter had it not been so cringe-worthy.
For a show whose entire USP was that it is a "woke" series, 'The Bold Type' has made itself redundant. If it is trying to flip the debate about boss-employee romance with Jane and Scott, it is not likely to work. You could argue that Sutton and Richard too fall into the category of office romance, but they did not work as closely as the former.
The show has discussed the MeToo issue to redundancy. In the latest episode, it practically uses the issue as a tool to pave way for Scott to confess his feelings. These feelings might be genuine in nature but it is ill-timed for the Freeform show to introduce the angle now. Jane is her own boss now what with the brand new vertical. Indulging in feelings for Scott might not be the best move she makes.
How will the writers take this forward? Given the state of the character arcs for the other two protagonists is going downhill, we cannot wait to see how they ruin this too. 'The Bold Type' airs on Thursdays at 10 pm PT on Freeform.