Younger is back! Thankfully the network executives realized they needed to give us an hour long season premiere in order to help us really start the year off right. They gave us two back to back episodes that I’ll be reviewing together in this post, “Tattoo You” and “The Mao Function.”
Just to refresh your memory, season one’s finale was jam packed with exciting moments. Josh found out that his hot girlfriend is 40 and not 26 years old (shocked was an understatement), Maggie and Lauren made out and Liza’s daughter, Caitlin is back from India.
Season two will definitely focus on Liza’s two worlds beginning to collide and how she will navigate through it all.
The arrival of Caitlin certainly makes things harder for Liza. She thinks Caitlin will never understand and just judge her for it, but honestly, if Caitlin would’ve been cool when she thought that what her mom was going to tell her was that she’s transitioning, then I think she would be fine with her mom lying about her age. Caitlin seemed like a pretty chill girl but then gets totally freaked out when she sees Liza kissing Josh at the tattoo parlor. She decides to go live with her dad so her mom can continue with her Brooklyn life. Will she be back to live with Liza anytime soon? It seemed like the show put her away for a while just to untangle the other story lines.
This season will also tackle the difficulties that Josh and Liza face as a couple. It’s not just the fact that she lied about her age, it’s that she’s had a whole family and life that she never shared with him. If he had seen a picture of Caitlin he wouldn’t have unknowingly given her and her friends tattoos (it’s a small world after all). Josh loves Liza and wants to work through the complications. Liza however is extremely on edge and insecure about it, which makes her constantly jump to conclusions that they keep breaking up. I understand Liza however, because even though I believe Josh genuinely wants them to be together, he’s not making it easy by always bringing up Liza’s age. After drinking one too many shots, as they’re trying to get intimate Josh blurts out in a drunken stupor, “When I was born you were in middle school,” along with, “you’re closer to my mom’s age than mine.” No one would ever want to hear those words from their significant other! Subconsciously, the lying and secrets are really getting to Josh. He can’t lie for Liza, it’s not who he is and he makes a good point in stating he can’t lie to her friends because they’re his friends too. Only time will tell how long Josh will be able to cope with Liza’s double life. Meanwhile, he urges her to come clean with Kelsey, her coworker who has become her best friend.
Liza’s truth will have to take a backseat because Kelsey’s promotion is Liza’s career gain as well, which gives her “no choice” but to stay mum. Kelsey was being given a great offer from a rival book publisher that not only will be giving her more money but more of a voice as an editor. Charles hears word about it and asks Liza if she knows Kelsey’s offer when she drops off a manuscript, which is a key moment where you get to sense the underlying chemistry between these two, a clear story line that will be developing this season.
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Liza tells Charles that any employee wants to feel valued at their workplace. Enough said, Charles gives Kelsey a great promotion which includes her own imprint. She gets to pick her team, and she’s looking for a group of trendy, smart millennials. Who better than her bff Liza? This puts Liza in a bind because her real age will get her kicked off this great opportunity. Will she really compromise her friendship with Kelsey for a career advance? Maybe she’s more of a millennial than she thinks!
Personally, I think Kelsey would be understanding and would even keep her secret, but the longer she stays quiet the messier it will be when the truth gets out.
Even though these two episodes weren’t full of jaw drop moments, I still feel like they set up groundwork for the rest of the season. Though it may have been a little slow in the start, I think the season will definitely be taking everything up a notch.
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This is not a show that comes to mind when you think of the TVLand channel. I love all the millennial references, the witty humor, the sarcasm and all the characters really. I’m also not the only one who thinks this show is great. It was announced that it has been renewed for its third season! YES.
Rating: 6/10
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