Showrunner Amanda Lasher and Katie Stevens break down the biggest developments from Tuesday's sophomore finale.
Warning: Spoiler alert! Do not proceed if you have not watched Tuesday's season two finale of The Bold Type.
Who did Jane Sloan choose: Dr. Ben or Pinstripe?
On the season two finale of The Bold Type, Jane (Katie Stevens) finally made a choice between the good-natured, stable Aussie doc Ben (Luca James Lee) and the charming, newly minted book author Ryan (Dan Jeannotte), aka Pinstripe. The love triangle had been heating up all season, ramping up in the final episodes when Jane made the life-changing decision to freeze her eggs due to her BRCA gene.
There was Ben, who suggested domestic partnership to take advantage of his hospital's free egg-freezing program. There was Ryan, who offered to use his new book advance to help Jane financially. Jane took neither Ben nor Ryan up on their offers, as detailed in her Scarlet essay calling out its parent company's "lame policy" for female fertility, but she learned through the process that there was only one person she wanted to share any news in her life. The identity of who, however, will remain a mystery fans won't learn the answer to until the new season.
"It really sucks because I know who it is and I am not allowed to post anything with that person until season three comes out," Stevens tells ET of Jane's choice, chuckling at the months-long moratorium that awaits. "We're filming season three and I’m doing scenes with this person. But I think that the decision she makes is a good one and I think she will be happy. I’m all for Team Jane’s happiness. It’s all very cute!"
"We felt that there was passionate feelings for Team Ben and Team Pinstripe, and the more we debated, we felt like there were things that each guy had to offer that Jane would respond to. The more that we would get excited about each option, the more we wanted to see how it plays out and we're looking forward to, in season three, to how that plays out," showrunner Amanda Lasher tells ET, promising that fans will learn Jane's choice "pretty quickly." "You hope that people are on different teams, because that's more interesting and more reflective of what life is, but it's fun to see the different sides of Jane coming out with the different guys."
While the answer to Ben versus Pinstripe won't be revealed for a while, Stevens explained why they're both good romantic options for Jane, especially after the journey she's taken this year.
"In a time of such chaos for Jane, she had somebody like Ben, where he represented stability and he represented somebody who knows exactly what he wants and knows who he is. While those are all the things Jane was searching for in herself this season, to have somebody who represented that, that was what was so attractive about Ben," Stevens says. "What was so attractive about Ryan to her is here was this person, to her, who didn’t represent any of those things. And now here he is, he’s really showing up as a friend and they have really unbelievable chemistry and he has been a constant in her life for a little while."
"That’s where the confusion lies: Do I go with the person who I wanted to be with but didn’t really know that they were there yet, and now they’re there? Or do I go with the person who knows exactly what they want, is a good choice and a choice she knows is safe?" she explains. "She was not in a stable place in her life and now she is. She’s in a place where she’s taking control of what she wants, but that also means she needs to make a decision about what she wants in terms of her love life."
Adds Lasher, "The thing I loved about the finale is even though at the very end, there's a choice between two guys, it isn't about her choosing between two guys, it's about Jane taking her destiny into her own hands. It's not until she does that that she turns her attention to the men and that she wants to be her own Prince Charming. That was the true love story that we were invested in for Jane."
It's been a rocky season for Jane, who dealt with everything from getting fired from Incite to struggles with freelancing to facing tough decisions about her future fertility plans, but Stevens noted that the hardships have made the aspiring writer more comfortable in her own skin by the season's end.
"She really did take a lot of risks and put herself outside of her comfort zone, and I’m really happy for that because it made her more clear on who she is and what she wants out of life," Stevens says. "I hope we continue to be that -- maybe in a less heavy emotional aspect -- [but] really trying to let go and lend herself over now to life experiences. She does need to think about how precious life is, and having the information that she has BRCA, I’d like to see her enjoy her life now."
Thankfully, Jane wasn't the only one with good relationship news. After a season spent apart, Sutton (Meghann Fahy) -- her blossoming fashion career on relatively solid ground -- decided that true love was too important for her to pass up, rekindling her romance with Richard (Sam Page) in Paris and going public at the Scarlet bash.
"We really wanted to have Sutton step into her own and realize that she doesn't have to worry about what other people think about her and that she could stand on her own two feet. I felt very, very strongly for her to go on that journey on her own, and when she met Richard, it was on her terms," Lasher says. "What's nice about seeing Sutton and Richard together is their relationship was always so secretive and in the shadows. Being able to see how they move through the world together in public and face challenges without having to be secretive about it. That right there is fun and interesting and we have a lot to play with."
But Kat (Aisha Dee) wasn't so lucky in the romance department. Her relationship with Adena (Nikohl Boosheri) fizzled by the end of the season, with the photographer expressing her desire to have some space, in part because her creative output was suffering. Is this it for Kat and Adena?
Lasher was coy about Boosheri's future on the show, saying, "Adena is Kat's first love and I think that our first loves stay with us in ways that are hard to shake." Asked specifically if Adena's story is complete, Lasher admitted she was "not at liberty to say that."
And should there be worry over Jacqueline's standing as editor of Scarlet after she published Jane's critical take on the magazine's parent company's lack of coverage for specific women's health needs? "I don’t know, how worried are you?" Stevens says with a laugh. "I will tell you that I’m doing scenes with Melora [Hardin], so she’s still on the show."
Adds Lasher, "Here's the thing about Jacqueline: She is a fighter and a survivor. No matter how hard she may be up against the world, you should never underestimate her."
As for what fans can look forward to in the coming third season, Stevens and Lasher shared some teases (and some personal wishes) to tide viewers over until the show's return.
"The first episode back is one of my favorite episodes of The Bold Type of all time," Stevens hints. "There's music, there's office stuff, there's out-of-office stuff. We changed our hair a little bit. There are some new characters who are going to come in that I can’t talk about yet." Lasher shared details on one of the new faces fans will meet in season three, revealing that the character will be a new employee at Scarlet "who really challenges each of our characters in a unique way."
And while there's no immediate plans to meet members of Jane's family just yet, Stevens was hopeful that Jane's father and brother, the latter of whom she spoke with over the phone in the penultimate episode, would come into the fold at some point. "Jane never really mourned the loss of her mom. That’s why we see it bubble up to the surface and come to a head in certain scenes," Stevens says, "and maybe having her confront her family about that [would be cathartic]."
The Bold Type will return for season three in spring 2019 on Freeform.
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