BWW Recap: Liza Returns to Jersey for Truffle Butter, & More, on YOUNGER

Welcome back, YOUNGER-ians! (What do you think? Yay or nay on the fan name?) Glad you decided to join us for this week's recap of Liza's shenanigans.

Last week, we were introduced to Queen Bee Jade Winslow, who's supposedly writing the first book for Kelsey's new imprint. This week, we get a glimpse into how those developments have furthered, how Jade's coming along with her masterpiece tell-all, and how Kelsey's trying to hold it all together dealing with her author's horrible personality. But... that's all in due time. We don't actually open with that.

Instead, we open on an intimate moment between Josh and Liza in bed. When Liza gets out to change for work, Josh checks his phone to find that Caitlin has requested to follow his band on Instagram. For one, Liza's totally against it - which, BTW leads to "Liza's Technological Gaffe of the Week": "Ban her!" (to which Josh responds, "You mean, 'block her?'")

Josh, on the other hand, believes it's a good thing that Caitlin wants to get to know him - urging Liza to merge the two sides of her life together (and wink wink, you better believe that'll come back later; these lines are totally foreshadowing something) - but still, Liza responds, "I don't wanna throw anything new at her, unless we're serious." Josh insists they are serious (which of course, they are, but you know Liza), and she won't budge, reiterating that she wants to "give [Caitlin] more time," and he should, therefore, wait to answer the Insta request. "And," she continues, "I wanna give us more time."

Could she be delaying blending the two sides of her life together? Or is she being strategic, and is there a reason she wants to continue keeping them separate?

Aaah... we shall see. Only time will tell.

Later, while out at a "hipster bluegrass bar" watching Josh play with his band, Liza runs into Michelle, her friend from New Jersey (who actually appeared last season, back when Josh didn't know about Liza's true age, and Liza barely made it out alive!!)

And it looks like this meeting won't end any differently, as Michelle and husband Tom get one look at Josh and instantly want to know everything about him: "You have been living the dream! How does this happen?"

So much for keeping the two sides of her life separate. (See, I told you that would come back later!)

(But I do have to say, I love this twist on the show's premise: here, Liza's living life openly as a 40-year-old and now has to hide her 26-year-old antics from her 40-year-old friends. Just love how the show shakes it up every so often... and we get glimpses into what her life used to be! It's a breath of fresh air sometimes, and it also emphasizes how much she's changed, no? How much she's integrated herself into the 26-year-old lifestyle? (As Tom says, "You've wiped your mind clear of all things New Jersey.") She's come a long way since she last bumped into Michelle! (P. S. Does anyone else get super weirded out that someone else is being referred to as Michelle in a Sutton Foster show? Yes, yes, for those who don't know, that was a BUNHEADS reference. #RIPMichelleSimms).

But yeah. As earlier, Liza's still desperate to hide her 26-year-old life from the 40-year-olds, 'cause "the nuclear power plant [that is her life could] explode at any moment," as she later tells Maggie.

But it seems like that's going to be harder than she thought, especially as Josh (wink wink... here it comes) enters the scene, introduces himself, makes a note out loud as to how he "was just saying that there's so much about Liza's life that I don't know anything about... like the whole part of your life you spent in New Jersey," and arranges for the four of them to have dinner together the following night. (But not before a hilariously innuendo-laden convo involving truffle butter... just watch - words can't do it justice! BUT don't Google it!)

He really wants her to integrate these two sides of her life, and as her boyfriend, get to know the former life of Liza - and rightly so. But now, I ask, given how friendly he was being to her friends, could there be an ulterior motive here on his part? Or is he just looking out for his girl, as a sort of I-know-what's-best-for-you type of thing? Hmmm... Again, I guess we'll see.

They arrive at the dinner, and Josh pops a pot-pop - "edible marijuana so I'm relaxed" - but Liza pulls it away, threatening that he "has to experience this raw," without drugs, as he dragged them into this mess. (HILARIOUS line leading up to it, though: "Really? A lollipop? They're already well-aware there's an age difference." ROFL!) And in they go!

After dinner, Liza has a girl talk with Michelle, where the latter tries to get the former to fess up about sex life: "What is the point of having a boy toy if you can't share the details with your bored, married friend?"

"Boy toy." Ouch. Definitely the wrong word choice, and we can tell from both Liza's face and her nervous, awkward, what-are-you-kidding laugh, that it stung. Liza's response? "I know he's young... but we actually have something."

Which, of course, prompts quite the monologue from Michelle, who refuses to believe Liza and Josh have something real, and attempts to snap her friend back into the reality of who she really is; Michelle claims Josh is the "validation [Liza needs to prove] that she's still got it." (So, essentially, like Caitlin - who's also pretty much in the dark - Michelle, too, Liza dating Josh as a mid-life crisis).

But oh, she doesn't stop there. Nope, not at all. Michelle continues to steamroll over Liza, hitting her hard with the fact that she'll grow up and realize "you have wasted your last gasp of youth on Mr. Hunkalicious when you could be finding a real partner. Someone appropriate, someone you don't have to hide from your friends."

Now, here's where it gets interesting.

Yes, those words are harsh and sting regardless, but there's more to it than that.

Michelle's making these comments as an outsider. She has literally no idea what Liza's been up to... and because we, as viewers, have had this inside peek into Liza's new life (as a 26-year-old yes, but also, generally post-divorce), we know exactly what she's been up to, and how much she's been affected and changed by Josh, Kelsey, Lauren, Empirical, etc.

To her younger work buddies, Josh is most definitely an appropriate choice. Sure, that's because they all think she's 26, but Kelsey and Lauren are as much her friends as Michelle and everyone else from her former life - maybe at this point in time, perhaps, even more so.

So, in that sense, Liza's not "hiding her BF from her friends" - as Michelle has implied - at all, nor does she have to hide him. (I mean, yes, again, to be fair, she is hiding another big secret, but that really is for another time).

Which begs the question: If her "friends" - from either side of her double life - cannot accept nor support her life choices, whatever they may be, are they really enough to be called her friends? Again, we've seen how Liza's integrated herself into this new world, and she's clearly kissed some elements of her old life goodbye, or at least, changed enough to look at them differently.... so, maybe it's time to get rid of Michelle, too? In a way... hasn't she sort of done that already?

I mean, the difference in Liza's reaction to meeting Michelle in Episode 2 vs. now, is night and day. Liza's definitely changed and maybe she's better off without Michelle.

BUT, again, that doesn't mean Michelle's words don't get to her (for one, the look on Liza's face while Michelle is monologuing is heartbreaking!!) And thus, she removes Josh's pot-pop from her pocket, and chews it right off the stick!

And for what it's worth, what happens next is pretty funny, at least dialogue-wise: "Sugar... [it] makes me nutso [too]. I'm hypo-glycemic." And shouting to Michelle to Google "Truffle-butter" was worth a chuckle or two. (If we're being completely honest, though, on a critical note, I don't think this scene was as funny or as long, as it could've been... Foster didn't have enough to work with - and I know she's got the comedic chops!!)

But, seriously, comedy aside, we all now the real reason why Liza ate the lollipop: she felt helpless. Michelle got under her skin, and she began to doubt her future with Josh (which, as I've said before, has become quite typical of their relationship).

The difference this time, though, is that Liza's not just whining about petty relationship things - like Josh walking out during Ping-Pong, or standing her up at a bar 'cause he had to work.

This is a real issue - especially long-term - and, what's more, it's spurred on by a real, in-person confrontation with a friend... and not just the paranoid, may-or-not-be-true thoughts that are stewing in her own head.

And, because it's a real issue and not a petty problem, Josh takes on a more serious tone when addressing it - as does the whole scene in general, for that matter. He's not fed up, or calming down a frantic Liza, as he has in the past. Here, he talks quietly, honestly (!!!), and directly to her. In the sweetest way possible, he lets her everything's gonna be okay, stating, "I don't know what our future holds. But I know I don't wanna bail on this."

So, yes, they're addressing the same problem they have in the past - and landing on the same solution - but, because of the circumstances, the approach they take to solve it is different. And Josh and Liza do step up (and grow up!!) to address it from that angle... which confirms that their relationship really is serious (and hopefully they're ready to move on from the minor, unimportant obsessions!!)

Maybe THE TALK from Michelle was exactly the kick Liza needed to get her priorities straight. Hmm... so, again, I wonder... was that why Josh wanted to her to go to the dinner? Could he have seen this coming? Did he know it would end like this all along? And ultimately strengthen their relationship? Um... I don't know... but it definitely sounds like a possibility.

Regardless, it's safe to say these two have entered a new phase in their relationship. It'll be interesting to see where it'll go from here.

So, in the end, Liza and Josh are safe (once again) for another week... which looks to be more than we can say for Kelsey and Jade. While Liza's "truffle-buttering" it up in Jersey (sorry... had to!!), here's what went down at Empirical.

As you might have expected, Jade-the-monster is still giving the Empirical team a run for their money. From her OUTRAGEOUS suggestion for a cover photo to her incredibly inappropriate idea for "what you'll hear when you open [the] book," - not to mention the fact that her pages are overdue (and virtually nonexistent) - she's totally getting on Kelsey's last nerve.

After a tense meeting, the editor corners her author, and demands she see the pages by the following night. Jade, ever the manipulator, says she'll do so only if Kelsey can meet her at a dive bar for the exchange - again pushing that "chill, lax" business relationship onto her editor.

Kelsey agrees, but (surprise, surprise), Jade's ultimately a no-show. And the whole situation takes a turn for the (even) worse, when Kelsey finds out - via Twitter, mind you - that the author's blowing her advance on extravagant purchases - again, before handing in her pages.

So, she and Lauren track Jade down at a rager, demanding to know what's going on. And boy, does Jade reveal the truth. Affirming how nasty and conniving she really is, she screams: "Don't you get it? Bitch... there is no book."

Yikes! See, I knew this girl was trouble! Abort! Abort! This is not good!!

And that's all she wrote... so I'm definitely looking forward to picking up with the Kelsey/Jade storyline next week. (Judging from the promo, Kelsey's definitely in for a ride!)

P. S. Both Maggie and Diana received short shrift this week due to the direction of each plot line. Both received under two minutes of airtime, and only really appeared to support the two leads. :-(. Oh, well. You win some, you lose some. Here's to hoping we get more of these two next week.

P. P. S. Are we getting back to #EmpiriConda at any point? I mean, I'm not trying to push it that much... but it did seem like it affected Charles, and I'd be interested to see how that resolved itself.

Sounded like it's just starting to stir up trouble for Empirical. Then, again, it's not like somebody doesn't already have that covered.

Well, folks... until next time... stay YOUNGER.

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Top photo: TV Land; Linked photo: @YoungerTV Instagram