The Bold Type Review: The Breast Issue (Season 1 Episode 6)

On The Bold Type Season 1 Episode 6, “The Breast Issue,” the story continues its momentum into the final episodes. The episode had its ups and downs but, overall, I enjoyed it.

Jane must make a serious life choice regarding her future, based on her past. Kat redirects her restless energies from Adena’s friend zone to the patriarchy in Scarlet’s board room. And Sutton’s at a crossroads in her job and her love life.

However, as usual, their friendship comes out of this episode stronger than it was before it began. They remain #friendshipgoals.

Okay, now that all the pleasantries are out of the way… Does anybody else wonder why Jane has the most screen time but the least development?

As I explained in the preview for The Bold Type‘s Season 1 Episode 6, breast cancer is a hugely important issue. The death toll for breast cancer averages about 40,000 women a year, and it’s gotten even worse for middle class working women over time. So the fact that Jane’s mother dies of this disease, giving her a higher chance of also getting it, and Jane belongs to the corporate workforce is the perfect set up for an amazing story.

In the end, I still absolutely love the message. I just dislike how we get to it.

Jane remains in the same formula she’s had since the beginning.

Something happens that derails Jane’s plans, she loses it, her friends or Jacqueline calm her down, and everything is forgiven. Jane’s unchecked privilege is frustrating. She literally yells at her boss in front of the entire office because she’s asked to do her job.

Regardless of Jacqueline’s maternal side making plans to get Jane in the testing room, a journalist collecting the information and writing an unbiased article is what the job entails. Spinning an article and writing a biased article are two different things.

Biases are preconceived notions that inform a decision. Spinning an article is getting the facts and concluding where they lead with an interesting twist to create a voice.

It’s completely unrealistic to show young women that they can spaz out at work when life knocks them down, and their boss will just invite them over to their house for dinner to vent.

The message only became clear for me after Jacqueline spoke it to Kat.

There are a lot of young women at risk of having breast cancer, who are wrestling with that horrible decision, and I don’t think they need us up in their face telling them what to do. They need our support and our understanding.

I feel for Jane and the scarring memories she has of her mother as a child. I can relate to her pain more than you all know. But Jane constantly stays in her head for so long, she can’t see beyond her own perception, and she’s not learning from this mistake.

Her article isn’t just for her or to validate her feelings. It’s for women who need to know about their preventive measures, so 15 years down the line, they aren’t 60 pounds lighter and throwing up their weight in stomach acid.

Chemotherapy ravages the body, and you would think the same baby girl who had to watch her mother suffer wouldn’t want to wish that torture on anyone else.

At the end of the episode, she shows her growth by letting Kat film it. However, her character always develops by the end of the episode, only to start the next episode in the exact same frame of mind.

Every episode Jane’s problems stem from her inability to communicate or her way of solely viewing things from her perspective. There has been no growth and no new obstacle to climb.

Kat’s learned to be mature about her relationships, shown by her friendship with Adena as they build back their trust in one another. Additionally, she’s learned how to balance her reactivity.

She kept pushing to publish nipples on Instagram to prove their sexist policies to the world, but a certain boldness is necessary for their field. When Richard and Jacqueline spoke with her and told her that enough is enough, she stopped before she made the situation worse.

This shows momentous growth from The Bold Type‘s season 1 episode 3 when she goes against everyone’s advice and escalates the situation with the internet trolls by lashing out.

Sutton also no longer devalues herself. In The Bold Type‘s premiere, she needs pep-talks from just about everyone to even apply for the fashion assistant position. In The Bold Type season 1 episode 4, she knows she deserves the position, she just has to figure out how to prove that to Oliver.

And in “The Breast Issue,” she shows her own can-do spirit by not letting Richard talk her out of getting that necklace and proving her value to Oliver. She knows she can do it, without a pep-talk, and she does.

That’s growth.

I hope we can see Jane’s development more clearly in the upcoming episodes. She tackles a lot of the major issues, like stereotypical expectations for sex, how to get over the person who tore you to pieces when they left, how to handle new responsibilities in a new position, breaking glass ceilings, etc. it would be amazing to chart her growth through these life changing situations.

Okay, you guys know I can’t finish this article without touching on my once lonely ship: Alex and Sutton. Sutton grabbing his cheeks saying that she loves him? Alex telling her he would’ve kissed her in the cab? Helllooo?! Can my ship leave of the dock already?

I think Richard and Sutton are a cute couple. But The Bold Type Season 1 Episode 6, shows why their relationship would be harder than normative relationships with people closer in age. They are from different worlds.

Richard’s immediate action is to cool in the sidelines and quickly give up because, in the world of the established white male, chances come to a dime a dozen. However, Alex knows the gravity of not being a white male and losing a $5,000 necklace on your first day.

He sees her stress and matches her urgency. *Swoons*

I love where their relationship is going. I hope we get more on the fall out of what Alex says in the cab in the next episode. I also hope we get more Adena and Dan. I’m missing our favorite reoccurring characters right about now. Even if it’s just to drop by for a cameo, it would be nice to see more of them.

Stray Observations:

• Kat and Adena’s checking-in texts are the cutest thing ever.
• I love Jacqueline more and more with each scene. The whole maternal thing she has going with Kat, Jane and Sutton makes so much more sense now. Mother’s have an inhuman level of patience.
• Nice to know you can actually make copies of keys that say, “Do Not Copy.” This is a fun fact that I’m glad I know now.
• Kat’s 3c curl type gives me life in every episode.

What did you think of this episode of The Bold Type?  Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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The Bold Type airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Freeform.

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