BWW Recap: Liza and Josh Take a Break, & More, on This Week's YOUNGER

Greetings, YOUNGER fans! Glad to see you're back for another recap of Liza's weekly shenanigans! Still doesn't look like she's gonna give up her secret anytime soon! (Especially because the show was recently picked up for Season 3, which I failed to mention last recap... but can you blame me? There was soooo much going on!! Lol). And, fortunately (or unfortunately), it doesn't seem seem like there's any less going on this week. :-). So... onward with the recap!!

We open just in time to join a champagne toast to Kelsey's new imprint. Lauren, Thad, and Liza are all present; Josh is noticeably absent - for reasons only known to Liza, wink wink - but not for long, as Kelsey reveals she invited him as well.

Lauren begins the toast to her friend - "a shining example of what it means to be a bombass female" - and Kelsey amends the toast to include Liza, her "co-millenial" (cue look from Josh) and raises her glass to the two of them "running the world before we're 30."

Yeah. The jig is up. Josh knows right then and there Liza didn't tell Kelsey, and the way he's looking at her isn't making her feel any better.

Seriously, though, as we saw hints of last episode, Liza's double life is really taking a toll on Josh - as he'll say later in the half-hour, "My life wasn't complicated before I met [you]." Having had enough for the time being, he decides he "need[s] some time to wrap my head around all this." And though he says he'll call her later, we can totally tell by the look she gives him as he walks away, that it all basically means, as Ross and Rachel would say, "they're on a break."

Of course, as much as Liza wants to get him out of her head, the Josh-centric conversation continues with those who are unsuspecting; and when Lauren and Kelsey ask why Josh hasn't been around much, Liza reveals she and him haven't actually talked in a week. Of course, she, again, knows the reason why, but her friends, who've received Instagram posts and Facebook messages from him in the interim, decide he's "ghosting" her.

This decision then leads to an all-out man bashing (with Broadway's Kathy Najimy, returning as Lauren's mother), wherein the words "ghosting," "unsupportive" and "insecure" are all tossed around by the girls, making Liza super uncomfortable, as, again, she knows the real reason he's disappeared - and it sure ain't because of any of those. Bet she's regretting not telling Kelsey the truth earlier. Would've probably made things a whole lot easier. (P. S. Lauren also says, during the fitting, "30? No, you wanna be successful while you're still young," which prompted another telling look from Liza. Just sayin'.... it's all getting really real, really fast). Though major props for the reference to the Bechdel test - yay FUN HOME!

Some brilliant one-liners come from the conversation Liza has with Maggie as well, who, of course, knows the truth about her beau; among them: "Josh doesn't lie. That's one of the beautiful things about him I'd really like to change" and the following exchange: "We all used to lie and eat gluten and smoke cigarettes and hang up on each other." / "Now people just eat kale and tell the truth." :-)

But anyway....

At work, Liza and Kelsey are planning their launch party, and they're going full out to "target millennial readers" by inviting all the key "bloggers and digerati" - The Fat Jewish and the creator of Pizza Rat are among those name-checked - to a lavish outdoor bash.

And, naturally, they're dressed for the evening by Hector and Dorff, who ensure they'll pull out all the stops for the lady of the hour, by constructing a custom creation just for her. But Kelsey gets a little (nay, a lot) more than she bargained for... and "Hector and Dorff's take on Kelsey the boss," coupled with a slew of nasty comments on the press release Liza wrote for her (BTW, who else thought when Liza first read them that maybe her secret had been outed via the web?) leaves her only feeling more anxious about what's ahead.

It doesn't get much better at the party, as the comments keep on rolling in; despite a positive one from Lena Dunham, and a congratulatory message from a HarperCollins relation, it's not looking good overall. And things aren't going well with the dress either; Kelsey ends up getting overheated and Liza has to pry the dress off of her with a knife. Yikes! (Story-wise, I will also point out that the "dress overheating" element escalated rather quickly. IMO too quickly. Just sayin').

Kelsey's totally distraught, and doubts she has the qualifications to ever run an imprint. Sounds like the perfect time for Liza's advice: "Nobody knows what they're doing. You just fake it 'til you make it." (On a personal note, this really hits home right now, but that's beside the point). On that subject, after Kelsey tells Liza she's "sweated off" her speech, the latter agrees to feed a speech to her friend via Bluetooth. And what a great one it is... and the double meaning between Kelsey's new professional venture and Liza's professional/personal double life is totally there: "I may crash and burn, I may disrupt the whole industry, who knows? I can't promise anything... other than it will be interesting." I mean, come on! Is Liza really talking about Kelsey here?! Read between the lines, people! Love it! Anyway, after delivering such a well-received speech, KP is back on top! But, would you have expected anything less from the boss? ;-)

Meanwhile, Maggie's in a bind 'cause she's behind on paying the rent. When one of her buyers backs out of a sale, she tells Liza she'll rent out the place for the weekend to a couple from Albany via Airbnb. Yeah... so, that's what she tells Liza. Turns out she's actually hosting a "sex party" - no, really.

Unfortunately, that's the only detail we really get from this scene - it's not really a big plot point at all. BUT it is important in that Josh walks in and Maggie tells him straight up: "Cut Liza some slack." When he protests that she made his life more complicated (here's where that aforementioned quote comes into play), Maggie counters with: "That's adult life and she's an adult. Maybe she's not for you." Hmmm.... So, Josh has some thinking to do, doesn't he?

Side note: In a separate work plot line, Diana instructs Liza to act as her personal stepper for a FitBit stepping competition she's having with a friend. I totally thought there was gonna be more from this plot line, like something was going to go wrong, or have it tie in to the other stories in some way, but it didn't... and it didn't even have any closure. So I hope that's brought back in a later episode.

However, it does make but it does make for some funny moments as Liza continuously tries to meet Diana's goal throughout the episode (Case in point: "I never thought I'd be here at this age").

Bonus points, though, as we do get the clever line: "You're gonna have to be two people, Liza. Do you think you can do that?" (Oh, if she only knew!) and one of the best ROFL moments in the series thus far, in regards to Liza's fashion choice - "What is that? Some sort of plaid diaper?"

So, anyway, let's get back to the party, where there's some MAJOR sexual tension between Liza and Charles... and if they don't realize it's happening, it's okay 'cause we totally do. First, he compliments her smile - "You have such a nice and friendly mug," (to which she replies, for the record, "Thank you. So do you") - and then, later, he gets to talking with her and offers to bring her champagne... which she accepts, amid flirty glances. This is just too good! In one interview available on YouTube, Peter Hermann perfectly described the Liza/Charles relationship as "impossible and inevitable," saying, "It's just not supposed to be but Oh my God, is it supposed to be!" And based on those looks, he's so right!! I can't STAND it!!

But, it's all interrupted by Josh, who - presumably at Maggie's behest - has come to the party after all, and wants to step back into Liza's life. They kiss and make up (for the record, that's three for three).... while Charles arrives behind them with the champagne. Uhhh.....

Liza smiles, and introduces them, and Charles can tell she's clearly happy to have her boyfriend back. BUT watch her face as she watches the two shake hands; it's clearly looking toward Charles, is it not? And it's quite happy. Is she thinking, "I'm glad these two have met, and I'm so happy that Josh and I could patch things up (again)?" or is she thinking, "It's great that Josh and I have patched things up, but man, wouldn't Charles and I make a great couple?"

Of course, Josh, while he knows Liza's real age, does not know of all the glances going on between her and Charles; and Charles would be fantastic for her if he knew she was 40; but he doesn't...

and Josh knows, and is dating her, but he is 26... so, wouldn't she be so much better off with the person her own age? My gosh! It is just not supposed to be, but Oh my God, is it supposed to be! Hahahaha.

Well, Liza... you've certainly got yourself quite the love triangle. Hope it all works out for you.

And to you all, until next time.... stay YOUNGER.

Photo Credit: TV Land

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