Mistresses - The New Girls (Season Premiere) - Advance Preview: "The Girls Are Back"

4.01 - "The New Girls"

Directed by Chris Misiano

Written by Josh Reims

Reviewed by Gavin Hetherington

It’s a year from the night Joss encountered a dangerous Wilson and has to relive the painful memory while testifying in court in his murder trial. Despite moving in together, Marc hasn’t found a steady job, and April worries Lucy is growing up too fast. Karen is adjusting to motherhood while her attractive male nanny (guest star Jerry O’Connell) makes a seemingly unwarranted advance. Meanwhile, Harry and Joss take the next step in their relationship, but trouble may be ahead as Joss isn’t quite healed from her past.

EPISODE GUIDE

Season 4 Episode Guide

4.01 - "The New Girls" (May 30, 2016) - Advance Preview
4.02 - "Mistaken Identity" (June 6, 2016)
4.03 - "Under Pressure" (June 20, 2016)
4.04 - "Blurred Lines" (June 27, 2016)
4.05 - "Lean In" (July 4, 2016)
4.06 - "What Happens in Vegas" (July 11, 2016)
4.07 - "TBA" (July 18, 2016)
4.08 - "TBA" (July 25, 2016)

Check out my other Mistresses reviews:

• 
  
  Season 2 Episode Guide
  2.01 - "Rebuild" (June 2, 2014)
  2.02 - "Boundaries" (June 9, 2014)
  2.03 - "Open House" (June 16, 2014)
  2.04 - "Friends With Benefits" (June 23, 2014)
  2.05 - "Playing With Fire" (June 30, 2014)
  2.06 - "What Do You Really Want" (July 7, 2014)
  2.07 - "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?" (July 14, 2014)
  2.08 - "An Affair to Surrender" (July 21, 2014)
  2.09 - "Coming Clean" (August 4, 2014)
  2.10 - "Charades" (August 11, 2014)
  2.11 - "Choices" (August 18, 2014)
  2.12 - "Surprise" (August 25, 2014)
  2.13 - "'Til Death Do Us Apart" (September 1, 2014)

• 
  
  Season 3 Episode Guide
  3.01 - "Gone Girl" (June 18, 2015)
  3.02 - "I'll Be Watching You" (June 18, 2015)
  3.03 - "Odd Couples" (June 25, 2015)
  3.04 - "Into the Woods" (July 2, 2015)
  3.05 - "Threesomes" (July 9, 2015)
  3.06 - "Love Is an Open Door" (July 16, 2015)
  3.07 - "The Best Laid Plans" (July 23, 2015)
  3.08 - "Murder She Wrote" (July 30, 2015)
  3.09 - "Unreliable Witness" (August 6, 2015)
  3.10 - "What Could Have Been" (August 13, 2015)
  3.11 - "Guilt By Association" (August 20, 2015)
  3.12 - "Reasonable Doubt" (August 27, 2015)
  3.13 - "Goodbye Girl" (September 3, 2015)

'THE NEW GIRLS' PREVIEW

I guess the question on everybody's mind following the season three finale is - what happened after that cliffhanger with Joss and Wilson?! Will we find out in the season 4 premiere?! Yes and no. There is a big time jump following the end of season 3, and we return to Joss's life during Wilson's trial, with a few flashbacks to that night thrown in. Do we get a complete picture? No. Has Joss fully recovered from her experience? Definitely not. Despite the jump and barely any answers, there is a chance we will get more of those answers as the season goes on, as the storyline with Joss at the minute will be rather dependent on her wellbeing. Nobody comes out of her ordeal squeaky clean, and while she may seem to be rather fine, I think viewers will get a sense of things hiding under the surface. That's not to say her story is all doom and gloom when we return, oh no, in fact she still comes out with her quirky one-liners, and Harry's return also brings about a few surprises of its own, including a secret that she knows he's keeping, and we do find out what it is before the episode is over.

From the picture to the right, we can all guess where Karen's story has ended up - in hardback. The poor girl has been through so much herself, and she's bringing up her baby with a new Manny in tow, Robert, played by Jerry O'Connell. He kind of makes a move on her, which she does not reciprocate, and it tears her up a little through the episode. It comes at a bad time, too, when she's trying to prepare for her book launch. This is where Tia Mowry-Hardrict comes in. Tia plays Barbara, a very direct literary agent who has no issue with saying exactly what is on her mind. I like her for that, and she's involved in a scene where Karen does something so cringe it's actually hilarious. It took me a second to realise what's going on, and when I did, I had to cover my mouth.

If you're wondering what April is up to in season 4, I would say she's probably not as different as she was in season 3. Not much has changed, and she is on Marc's back quite a bit when Lucy isn't around. To the Mapril shippers out there, have no fear, they can't really keep their hands off each other, but he makes some life decisions that don't really rub April up the right way. Things seem smooth at first until things begin to unravel. It doesn't help April's anxiety when Lucy is off abroad on a school trip, and April cannot keep off Lucy's Instagram account. She's a very hands-on mother, I'll give her that, and I'm surprised her worried heart hasn't given in yet. But there is hope for April to change by the end of the episode as we look towards season 4, and I'm guessing there will be more character development for her away from obsessing over other people's lives.

EPISODE VERDICT

I usually find every season of Mistresses to build slowly, before it really brings out the big guns. The premiere is a bit of a slow-burner, but I'm just so relieved to see the girls again, and I can't help but get sucked right back up into their lives. I think there's enough content here to keep people interested, and there's the balance of drama and comedy that has kept us going for 3 whole seasons so far. I'd call it a subtle premiere, but that's not a bad thing, as I enjoyed it very much, and I look forward to what we have in store for season 4.

DIALOGUE TEASES

- "I definitely felt my life was in danger, and I knew I didn't have much time."
- "Is the baby okay?"
- "Who are you waiting for, Mary Poppins?"
- "It's like an echo-chamber down there!"
- "You're lucky I missed you so much."
- "Look at your hair, it's lovely."
- "I really need to tell you a secret but you cannot say a word."
- "Maybe you're the one who needs less screen time."

Any questions about 'The New Girls'? Let me know how excited you are about the season 4 premiere of Mistresses in the comments and be sure to watch it when it airs on ABC, Monday May 30th!

About the Author - Gavin Hetherington

Award-winning author of the 'Abyssal Sanctuary' series. Gavin joined SpoilerTV in August 2014 and reviews 2 Broke Girls, Devious Maids, Mistresses, Pretty Little Liars, Salem, Scream Queens and Sleepy Hollow. Gavin will write previews for Empire and Shadowhunters, and backs-up Once Upon a Time, Reign, Scandal and Supergirl. Gavin also writes special anniversary articles, most recently for Charmed. You can contact him at gavin@spoilertv.com.

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