Welcome back! This week was hot, cold and sweet and no I am not referring to the coffee Diana is trying to avoid because of her cleanse. We got to see Charles and Liza dive headfirst into lusty and fun couple time while danger lurked in the form of a vengeful Pauline, Maggie face her commitment issues head on and Jake throw a professional tantrum after Kelsey wants to pump the brakes on their personal life. Let's discuss!
A second chance
Zane < Jake
Now onto my least favorite character at the moment, Jake. His wishy washy tendency to run to Charles with every bump in his relationship with Kelsey is getting more than old. When Kelsey told him that she wanted to slow things down romantically to focus on the book, Jake just couldn't help himself to try to switch back to team Empirical and Zane. This was so predictable it hurt, but what I did like was Zane's refusal to bite. Sure, he was angry with Kelsey because he thought she used the personal relationship with Jake to steal him and his book away for good, but he refused to play the game and told Charles straight up how hard Kelsey has worked to make this book something worth reading. This moment had me screaming, 'TEAM ZANE', because he didn't try to get back at Kelsey, he rose above his anger and hurt to make the correct call. I really hope down the line Kelsey finds out about this, because it showed a whole new side to Zane that I liked, even though it may have cost him professionally. Oh and Jake is acting like a spoiled toddler and needs to stay in DC, there I said it.
The walls are down
Who else had to fan themselves during that cold or should I say hot open? The song choice for Charles and Liza's first time was perfection as was the way they interwove them talking about when they first knew they were into one another. This is the kind of pay off I believe shippers of these two deserved and it was nice to see them so open and ready for this new chapter in their relationship. I was kind of surprised that the show jumped ahead after, but it was a smart choice because we got to see Charles in a full beard! Did he do because he had something to hide from everyone which was Liza? Or was he doing it to hide from Liza upon his return? Turns out it was not the last one because the two snuck around like seasoned veterans. Now here is where I rain on the parade because I must be honest with this review. This is sweet and fun right now, but how can these two build a foundation for relationship if they have to sneak to library steps to be real with one another, and then pretend that their relationship is purely professional? I am not sure, but this will definitely be an issue as they move along. Their first obstacle already happened when Pauline shows back up and nearly pops their bubble.
Pauline being here this week made sense because she is the storm cloud that is lurking in Charles and Liza's sunny outlook. She passive aggressively trolls Liza during the pitch meeting with Reese's people and gives Liza a tongue lashing only those two understand. I seriously have no sympathy for her, she left Charles to write this book and be free, what did she think would happen? He wasn't living in a vacuum, of course he would form feelings for someone else because he thought his marriage was done. I did respect Pauline earlier this season for realizing they were done, but now she is clearly out for blood and the two should be worried about her finding out about Liza. I also was not surprised she leveraged her knowledge of Charles and Liza's new relationship to get out of her option for a second book to move over to a bigger publishing house. These are the things that worry me for Charles, if enough people know about Liza and his relationship with her, it could sink his business..... Stay tuned to see if we get there, because I am afraid of this threat. For now, Charles and Liza are determined to be happy and I think it makes sense because they are finally on the same page.
Some Odds and Ends:
* Am I the only one who was unaware that publishing houses take winter breaks like schools do? I don't recall them ever doing this before in the show.
* Josh is the sweetest friend ever to these women. From him trying to diffuse the tense dinner and sweet hug to Maggie on her way out to him helping Maggie paint the mural for Malkie, I am a fan of it all. He also is great wingman for Lauren. I love him not being a bed hopping lothario lately.
* Okay how did Diana not pick up on any of subtext of Liza and Pauline's tense exchange? I mean it was clearly very personal and she just thought it was a great pitch! Come on Diana..... read between the lines.
So that is all for this week. What did you think? How much would Pauline love to know about Liza's real secret? Will Maggie and Malkie make an honest go of it this time? Let me know!