The Bold Type Review: #TBT (Season 3 Episode 6)

The ladies of Scarlet have reached a major milestone because The Bold Type Season 3 Episode 6, “#TBT,” is the first flashback episode of the series.

I wish I could say it doesn’t disappoint. In fairness, it does not meet my expectations, but they are incredibly high. 

Perhaps it’s better to say that the episode, while adequate, could’ve been so much more.

In particular, the setup to the flashback falls short.

The girls are triggered by the memory of Bobby O’Neil’s allergic reaction to the sandwiches. They instantly want to go to the fashion closet as soon as Sage reads the article — it’s on their faces.

We’re supposed to be invisible viewers of their lives. There is no need to set up the flashback so blatantly. If I met my best friend on the day I almost killed a man, I’d remember.

I just met her in Social Studies class when I was a junior in high school. I think she transferred into the class late, so she walked in with a note.

We didn’t almost kill a man by accident that day. I don’t remember every detail because we didn’t steal sandwiches and have to replace them either. We might not have even talked much at all.

It’s a boring memory, but I remember something. I shared to prove the point that there is absolutely no need for Sutton to ask Jane and Kat if they remember the day. Furthermore — it’s harmless that we know the flashback is Jane’s first day.

But it’s absolutely deflating that Kat tells us that’s the day they almost killed a man.

I love this show so much. So, of course, I’ll keep watching. But there’s no point after that. Technically, I could just fast-forward to the present day where the conflict is meatier and unknown.

I wish they all walked into the fashion closet and started arguing about what happened that day, then faded into the flashback with no introduction.

Sadly, the whole flashback also has an “over-tell” problem.

Jane being nervous and jittery is understandable. But the characters go to extreme lengths to tell us they are going to turn into the people we know them as.

We already know them. No need to be so blatant.

Sutton creates her assistant to Lauren position that same day, Kat is working for an extremely unqualified and annoying male boss who has very little digital literacy. Jacqueline literally announces to Jane that she looks like a writer the second she meets her.

Newsflash — coffee runs may be a real errand interns have to run sometimes, but at a company like Scarlet, even in 2014, Jane would have a title that is more than just “intern,” a major that lends itself to the work, and Jacqueline should already expect that she will be writing.

She’d be an editorial intern already. Literally.

This is also the day Sutton meets Richard. I love that he’s involved in the sandwich scheme. But you see the trend here, right? All of the things are happening at once, and it’s way too much.

There is even a hint to viewers that Jane hasn’t orgasmed. The flashback isn’t even the whole episode; that is so much to put on a few scenes. All of this happens, plus all of the girls solidify their place at Scarletin their own ways.

I love that the fashion closet becomes their place right away.

The episode soundtrack is great, and if we didn’t already know it was coming, the sandwich problem/Bobby’s peanut allergy attack is a compelling problem that feels realistic.

In the present, there are no problems with the episode at all. It would’ve been stronger if the flashback were shorter, and we had more time with the girls’ conflicts outside of the email hack.

As a writer, I’m most intrigued by Jane’s. The Pamela Dolan story can’t be dead that quickly, can it? She’ll be back for some reason. She has to be.

It’s quite unsettling to see Jane give up so quickly. Honesty and integrity are essential in a good journalist. Her decision to tell the hairdresser the truth before the woman confesses anything is the right one.

There has to be another way to the truth about Pamela.

Speaking of truth, that’s the theme of this episode, and Tia gets some credit for being honest to herself first and foremost.

There’s a nuance in her coming out to Kat that makes her story so unique. She knows who she is, and, yes, she’s denying it and hiding from everyone.

She says, “I don’t want to want it.” Everyone’s coming out experience is probably different, but what I’ve seen on TV in the past makes it feel like characters are hiding from people, sometimes themselves.

Tia is such a confident character in other areas of her life that the suppression of her sexuality feels more intense. 

Internally? She’s denying herself pleasure. She’s punishing herself for being gay by not admitting her feelings for Kat and has been punishing herself since high school.

I hope a coming out story similar to this exists on TV somewhere, and I just haven’t seen it yet. The reason it’s so powerful to watch might just be that I’m not used to seeing a female character so confident in other areas of her life struggle to come out.

For the record, Tia and Kat should be together. Tia officially should not be Kat’s campaign manager, though.

This episode is a small bump in the middle of a stellar season. But the show hasn’t slowed down when it comes to addressing issues that matter — and they don’t have plans to stop.

The Fine Print:

• The issues that Richard and Sutton are tackling are so well timed and healthy for them to be talking about, yay!
• Does anyone else feel a spark between Jacqueline and Bobby? I don’t want it there.
• Kat and I are kindred wine tasting spirits. I pick wine by the label too, sometimes. FYI: it hardly ever turns out well.

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

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The Bold Typeairs Tuesdays at 8/7c on Freeform.

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