The Bold Type Review: The New Normal (Season 3 Episode 1)

We are definitely not in Paris anymore on The Bold Type Season 3 Episode 1, “The New Normal.” But something tells me that Sutton and Jane really don’t mind.

The Bold Type Season 3 premiere opens with a lot of sex, and I had the candy. (Lindt Lindor salted caramel and dark chocolate truffles in case you’re wondering.) 

I might’ve only been eating the candy but Marcy Playground had it right — sex and candy is a great combination. 

This time in particular because The Bold Type gets the ships right. We know Richard and Sutton are together from the Season 2 finale. And OK — let’s just keep the honesty flowing because even just typing the words “Dr. Ben” makes me yawn. So, we all know JaneStripe are a thing, they always were.

But trust me — shows aren’t always so kind about ending love triangles. Sometimes they drag on so long it feels like torture and then when the torture is finally about to end the character you were so rooting for makes the wrong choice. 

So, yes. We need to take a minute to appreciate The Bold Type for making the right choices — even if it’s just for now. You know you’ve been burned and you need to remember to protect your hearts. You’re welcome. 

Speaking of protecting hearts, let’s really begin this review with Kat — because she needs a huge hug. Think about it. Paris might have gone from a dream to a reality for her, but then it went from a reality to a nightmare real quick.

If given my choice between a nightmare or a dream — it’s dream every time right? I’d literally force my hypothetical boyfriend to break up with me when we landed at JFK just to keep Paris a reality. 

Enough about me because Kat isn’t fully leaning into her heartbreak for most of the episode, and she needs to. But her story isn’t really about heartbreak at all. It’s about being real with ourselves, our friends and social media. 

That’s really hard — especially when social media is part of your job. Plus Kat has a new boss to impress (we’ll get to him, don’t worry)!

It’s important to remember that no matter how real anyone is on social media, they’re showing you the real curated version of themselves.

Even when she gets past the “ignore all feelings and take a lot of selfies of my amazing life” stage and starts being her more authentic self — it’s not like she’s having crying sessions on Instagram Live, right? 

It’s the same thing with your favorite mommy or lifestyle blogger, YouTuber, or socially conscious celebrity. And that’s OK. We can be more honest on social media without sharing everything about ourselves or caring what others think. 

Typing out that last sentence really helped me solidify the lesson all of the ladies were learning on this episode. It’s a waste of time to care what everyone else thinks. About your job, your boyfriend, your character, or your Instagram feed. 

Cheesy lines are cheesy for a reason — they’re so true everyone says them too much. So, I’m going to type one out. You’ll really only be happy if you stay true to yourself. 

Jane learns this the hard way — but let me just say before we dive in that I appreciate her seemingly (because we never see full articles) objective reporting on Patrick Duchand. 

I’m 100% on her side here. There’s nothing wrong with a man working at a female-focused publication. It’s just absolutely ludicrous to have Patrick running the whole digital department, no matter what he got fired from his last job for stripping, in the name of gender equality. 

I even resent the show a little bit for making him so likable. I’m not seeking to villainize him, here. But the fact is this man has control over what female voices say and if they’re being silenced. That’s not OK, no matter how nice he is. 

But Jane needs to learn that Patrick is sort of….kind of an all right guy. No matter how much she wants to write him into a villain. Only fiction writers have that kind of power with a pen. 

For the record, it’s equally ludicrous that Patrick tells Jane what her new job is. But let’s save that anger for another review, OK? Something tells me all of our anger is going to build up. 

Even though Jacqueline loses control of a piece of Scarlet on this episode she has way too much control over Sutton’s life and we need to talk about it. 

I’ve always loved Jacqueline. She’s everything a boss should be to an extent that surprises me sometimes. But she has no right to insert herself into Sutton and Richard’s relationship. 

It’s not even very frustrating that they let her get to them — because they have a mature conversation about it. Sutton is right to take some time to think. But Jacqueline’s opinion, and that jerks at the Summit who thinks Sutton Brady would let him get away with asking her boyfriend how flexible she is — don’t matter at all. 

If Sutton were to make any other choice at the end of the episode, it would’ve been frustrating as hell.

Because friendships come and go and some stay some even grow. But the only person whose growth you can control is your own — and in some ways your partner.

So in this case? Screw what Jacqueline Carlyle thinks.

Sutton is ready to move in with Richard and her opinion is the one that matters most. 

We’re back at “You’ll only be happy if you stay true to yourself.” So, it’s about time this review comes to an end. But before it does I think I need to admit that perhaps life was simpler in Paris for Jane and Sutton too. Sex and candy aside. 

No matter where they are it’s cathartic to hang with the ladies of Scarlet. So settle in. Hopefully, it will be a fun, wild, illuminating ride. 

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

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

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