The Bold Type Review: Trippin’ (Season 2 Episode 9)

On The Bold Type Season 2 Episode 9, “Trippin’,” we get something that’s more akin to a bridge episode.

It bridges the issues introduced at the beginning of the season to what will be their conclusions on the finale.

After Sutton closed her heart and had to deal with push-back every time she tried to open herself up again (*cough *cough the unfaithful karaoke boyfriend), she struggles opening herself up after an even bigger heartbreak: her mother abandoning her.

Kat realizes that sleeping around with other women with no attachment feels the same as sleeping around with a bunch of men with no attachment: fun but empty.

And lastly, after Jane gives Pinstripe the big speech about her not wanting to juggle a bunch of people and settling down with just one in The Bold Type‘s Season 1 finale, she’s stuck emotionally juggling two men: Ben and Pinstripe.

Let’s start with Sutton since her issue has the least mess, shall we?

Sutton has an extremely emotional journey. She goes from ecstatic to bitter and angry to vulnerable and compassionate by the end of the episode. Although her story is written well, like always, I still feel as if it could be drawn out.

Her mother’s explanation for how she finally turned her life around didn’t sit well with me, especially not when you’re talking about a decade’s long addiction.

This should’ve been, at the very least, a 2-episode arc, so we can better see how and why Sutton is so hostile in the beginning. Instead of just going off of her word things were horrible and we wouldn’t understand, let’s get a glimpse into the dynamic she alludes to when she defends how callous she acts toward her mom.

The cardinal rule for all story-tellers: show don’t tell. I need more showing. Yes, it takes more time, but I expect The Bold Type to be on for a very long time so what exactly is the rush?

With such a great story under The Bold Type‘s thumb, like a recovering alcoholic changing her habits so she can integrate herself back into her daughter’s life, it deserves to be explored in more depth.

Nevertheless, the story still had me in tears and gave Sutton much-needed context.

Sutton explaining how she had to be the adult while she was still a child and she always had to compete for affection with her mother’s new boyfriends adds perspective to her character as to why she’s such a hard worker and why she tries so hard to be a people-pleaser.

You know what else gave some insight into their character? Kat’s choice to get rid of the extra bodies in her relationship. Although I’ve seen others say that her decision was too fast, it makes sense when you put her past in context.

She’s always been a player with many men. She’s never liked to be tied down because she’s never had anyone to hold her down until Adena came into her life.

Now that she has that love, it seems the tons of girls who throw themselves at her can’t compare to the love of her life. Being in love with someone and only wanting to be with that person is also something very new in her life, in addition to her realizing her sexuality.

So, it makes complete sense that right now, with all the pressure of her new position, she needs someone who knows her as a human and not just as a body.

But now that Adena has a taste of a life that doesn’t require her to be tied down, will Kat have to deal with Adena shifting her own attention to someone else? Or better said, something else?

Kat thinks that Adena was using “studio” to mean another woman, and even though Adena doesn’t mean it in this way, that doesn’t mean the studio doesn’t represent something very important in her life.

Adena has gotten accustomed to spending a lot of her time in the studio, and it might be hard for her to rein in her time to reallocate it to Kat.

That small look backward at Adena as Adena gets lost in one of her prints is very telling. It seems Kat’s decision won’t immediately end the time and space Kat and Adena have spent apart throughout the season.

Distance can make the heart grow fonder… but it can also reveal that your heart’s in another place.

In addition to the former representing Kat’s point of view in “Trippin’,” it also represents Jane’s relationship with Pinstripe.

Can you believe that last moment between them? A part of me is squealing for joy, and yet the other part of me is vastly annoyed.

I’ve always liked Jane and Pinstripe together. On record, The Bold Type Season 2 Episode 4, I’ve said how Pinstripe and Jane’s banter is unlike any other we’ve seen on the show. Those two are absolutely fireworks.

However, then The Bold Type gives us Ben. Sweet, caring, considerate, and patient Ben. We’ve watched Jane time after time push Ben away with an attitude, a misunderstanding, etc. and every time Ben is there with flowers to hear her apology, give her amazing life advice, and support her.

Yet the truth is Jane has been emotionally cheating on him this whole time. Every time she and Ben come up against the smallest of issues, Jane runs to Pinstripe to make her feel better, realizes Pinstripe really isn’t the one who can fully do that for her, and then goes right back to Ben.

That’s just not fair to Ben, at all.

Initially, I thought they had planned to have Jane and Pinstripe become close friends for about two seasons and then reintroduce them as love interests after they’ve had time to grow up a bit more and better fit one another. Apparently, that’s not the case.

Pinstripe was appealing to Jane as more than a friend, and Jane still saw Pinstripe as more than a friend, which makes every time she ran to him to complain about Ben an even bigger betrayal.

I don’t know how I feel about this. I always wanted Jane and Pinstripe to get back together, but not at the sake of such a great person like Ben being on the short end of the stick.

I’m so tired of the good guys being treated like crap because the “bad boys” decide they can be decent for a second or two. With that mini-rant out of the way, I hope Jane shows just how much her character has grown in the way she handles Pinstripe’s pass at her.

If she still has feelings for him, any at all, she needs to stop leading Ben on now. If she doesn’t feel anything for Pinstripe like that anymore then she also needs to stop spending so much time with him because it seems to be confusing him.

As it so often is, the ball is in Jane’s court, here’s to hoping she calls the right play.

What did you think of this episode of The Bold Type Season 2 Episode 9? Do you care how Pinstripe and Jane end up back together? Do you actually ship Jane more with Ben? Do you think Kat and Adena’s relationship will be able to bounce back?

Share your thoughts (and mini-rants) in the comments section below!

 

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The Bold Type airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on Freeform.

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