Courtesy of Younger/TV Land
When “Younger” flipped the script and threw the secret of Liza’s true age out the window when she confessed to Kelsey, I thought, “Makes sense. She needs a confidant at work.” But the decision to have head honcho/el jefe Charles unwittingly find out about her deception was a stroke of genius by the writing team. It was an extremely risky move: on one hand, we all knew Liza’s secret would be exposed in some form to Charles and/or Diana. What we probably didn’t know was that vague someday would happen in the S5 premiere.
Courtesy of Younger/TV Land
Caught up in his feelings, ‘A Titanic Problem’ splits the narrative between the emotional fallout Charles is experiencing and the professional highs Liza is soaring toward. With LL Moore’s PamPam prequel series dead on arrival, Charles has to warn his Empirical staff that payroll is wasn’t made for the month. It’s a hefty blow: we’re talking about employees who live and work in NYC. Missing payroll is a harbinger of doom for a small business.
As for the younger sibling of Empirical, Millennial’s imprint is flying high. Finding out Reece Witherspoon chose Marriage Vacation for her next book club, Liza takes the initiative to set a meet with Reece’s people. She offers them an exclusive first look deal for Millennial’s upcoming works. An “incubator deal” with the potential for a major influx of cash, Kelsey and Liza’s little imprint-that-could can and will save Empirical from shuttering completely.
But…ego. And manly pride. Sigh.
Courtesy of Younger/TV Land
Bringing a deal like that to the table is an absolute coup. Instead of leaping to have his attorneys look it over, Charles tells Kelsey and Liza he’ll “think about it.” It’s a harsh blow for the imprint and their enthusiasm. Charles let his anger over Liza’s lies cloud his judgment and his company’s future. Speaking with his attorney, he confesses to falling in love with “that woman” but now wants to fire her. Luckily Empirical’s attorney thinks critically and not emotionally and let’s his friend know he can’t do that…and not get sued into the ground (the CEO kissing an assistant…scandalous).
The turning point to Charles’s attitude regarding the incubator deal was Diana, obviously. Asking him to give her a heads up on the SOTC (state of the company), she wants to potentially sell her condo without duress. Knowing he can’t do that Diana or any other Empirical staffer, Charles announces the deal, reluctantly, at the Marriage Vacation launch party.
As for the book’s author, Pauline was flying high…and grounded really quickly when Charles told her he “loves her but isn’t in love with her.” He ripped the band-aid off and I have a tingling spidey sense that his feels for Liza (because they just don’t disappear) had a lot to do with it.
Oh. Josh is back. Alone. And his green card wife ain’t joining him. “Younger,” what are you doing to us…
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