Jacqueline Carlyle IS Scarlet Magazine, a fact that The Bold Babes were teaching RJ the hard way. 

On The Bold Type Season 4 Episode 1, Jacqueline and the rest of Scarlet magazine faced the fall out of the revolutionary fall issue.

How did Jacqueline manage to come out on top? Join us as we discuss! 

Jacqueline has been pushing the boundaries at Scarlet since the moment we met her, and it is probably also pretty safe to assume, long before that. 

Up until now, she has managed to come out relatively unscathed by her actions. Her clear disregard of RJ's wishes was the straw that broke the camel's back, though. 

If you ever needed proof that Scarlet is stuck under the thumb of narrow-minded toxic masculinity, RJ's decision to fire Jacqueline over the fall issue was more than you could ever need.

Jacqueline was not acting alone in her decision to overhaul the fall issue. Oliver and Patrick were right by her side helping to create the masterpiece that they ended up with. 

Who is fired though? 

Not the very green male head of digital content. Not the male head of fashion who had been flaky as of late, having his new assistant take lead on many shoots. 

No, instead it is the female Editor-in-Chief who is responsible for the overwhelming success of the magazine up until this point that is the one cut loose. 

Many could argue that Jacqueline has been insubordinate multiple times before now and that they were well within their right to fire her over this.

However, you have to wonder if a male Editor-in-Chief would be forced to break ranks as often as Jacqueline has. 

Jacqueline has proved her value to the publishing company. She has shown her ability time and time again to make the right decisions for Scarlet and its readers. Why can't RJ just trust her? 

If you look at even just the event that finally made RJ fire her, it shows just how behind the times he is. 

Firing Jacqueline when she allowed Jane's story to be published that directly attacked the publishing company and their policies would have made sense. 

Firing her over, pushing the boundaries and trying to make Scarlet more inclusive? That is just bizarre. Scarlet is the type of magazine that you would expect to do this. 

Do you think middle America wants to see a photospread of lumberjacks in ballgowns? Do you think they wanna be told their favorite jeans contribute to climate change? They don't. This bubble you all live in downstairs; it is not the rest of the world.

RJ

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Highly conservative people rigid in their views are not the ones reading Scarlet. 

If you look at the articles they have published up until now, at the employees that fill the halls of Scarlet, nothing about RJ's decision makes sense.

Thank god for the power of social media, and for The Bold Babes sticking their necks out there for Jacqueline and the issue.

Watching the whole magazine turn to Jane, Sutton, and Kat was a testament to who they are as characters. 

Jane and Sutton may not be high in the ranks of Scarlet like Kat is, but if this episode proved anything it is that they are all considered leaders at the magazine. 

In another world, these three would be the future of Scarlet. Jane would take over as Editor-in-Chief, Kat would be her right-hand woman, and Sutton would be the next Oliver.

The battle for Scarlet isn't over, though, and it wouldn't be at all surprising if when The Bold Type ends, none of them are at Scarlet, Jacqueline included. 

They may have reinstated Jacqueline, but is she deluded enough to think that RJ is really waving the white flag?

Now might not have been the right moment to get rid of Jacqueline, but have no doubt, as long as RJ is at that company Jacqueline's position will not be safe. 

I know there was a game plan RJ, but it wasn't working. Kind of seems like the bubble you live in is bursting.

Kat

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At least while she is there, she is getting experience in what it means to be a purely digital magazine. It could come in handy down the line.

Jacqueline actually agreeing to come back caught me off guard. 

Jacqueline's pride must have been wounded when the company she has invested so many years in unceremoniously threw her out on the street. You would have thought she would have at least wanted RJ to grovel a little bit harder. 

As I said, though, Jacqueline IS Scarlet. She still feels like she needs them just as much as they need her. 

She doesn't understand yet that she is the essence of what makes Scarlet, Scarlet. It is her leadership, her vision, the team that she has assembled, that have made Scarlet what it is. She could do that anywhere. 

Jacqueline would be better off creating her own magazine. Her team would follow. 

Sure the new magazine wouldn't be the same scale as Scarlet is without the backing of a large publishing company, but it would be theirs, not the people who sit in a board room. 

Until then, Jacqueline will continue to make Scarlet the incredible progressive magazine that readers have come to expect. 

It's only too bad that she doesn't have Patrick at her side to help her navigate the digital world. 

Patrick has come a long way since his introduction on The Bold Type. Once a thorn in all of our sides, he was finally starting to feel like a member of the team. 

Kat's speech sure did a number on him. Yeah, he didn't quite have the soul of Jacqueline Carlyle, but he was a fetus compared to her. Maybe he could have gotten there over time.

He was an unfortunate casualty of Jacqueline's climb back to the top. I'm sure he will land on his feet, but maybe he should have taken a few of the bottles of the rosé to soften the blow. 

Did anyone else start to think that he was the one who leaked the issue? It is probably a good thing he didn't otherwise it would have felt even worse having him leave. 

The Bold Babes are the best employees you could ever ask for. Well, not if you're the publishing company that they technically work for, but if you're Jacqueline then absolutely. 

It has to say a lot to Jacqueline about what they think of her as a boss that they would be willing to take an uber to Jersey, commit theft and spend all night distributing her work because they believed that strongly in it.

Not to mention Sutton having to strip for it and Kat making a fool out of herself trying to flex her flirting skills that are clearly out of practice, despite the recent war for her heart. 

Kat: Wait, what do we do when we actually get in. There's gonna be a security guard.
Sutton: Simple, flirt with him.
Kat: Ooo, is it okay to weaponize our sexuality like that?

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That is real love and respect. 

Although the majority of the episode centered around their mission to get Jacqueline her job back, it was reassuring that there aren't any major catastrophes brewing in The Bold Babes' personal lives yet. 

Sutton and Richard continue to be couple goals.

Normally a couple taking things long distance would have me saying prayers for the couple, but if anyone can make it work it is these two. 

After all, it says a lot about a couple if the lawyer in the relationship is supportive of the other one after they commit a serious crime.

Richard: There are cameras all over that plant Sutton, how could you do this?
Sutton: How could we not? Have you seen the magazine? These are people who have been marginalized over and over again who are front and center for the first time in their lives. And now what? They're gonna be marginalized again. At the very least, those people deserve to see themselves in print, and Jacqueline deserves to know it wasn't all for nothing.

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The biggest travesty about them going bicoastal is that we will be limited in our great Suttard moments for the time being. 

Hopefully, Pinstripe behaves so that we have at least one healthy couple on our screens on a regular basis to root for this season. 

Other thoughts: 

• Kat's speech to the board showed just what a boss bitch she is and proves just how unfortunate it is that we don't get to see her taking on the political leadership role that she is meant for. 

• Raise your hand if you want us to get clips of Angie on The Bachelor! Also, I'm right there with Jane rooting for her to get on Bachelor in Paradise. 

• Will Jacqueline get rid of the bean bags now that she is back in power? 

• It feels like there is some relationship drama coming down the line for Jacqueline and her husband and I'm not sure I'm ready for it. Can't this woman just catch a break for one second?

• Is there cut footage of RJ walking the marathon in those heels that we can watch? It's for science.

• Jacqueline may very well be my spirit animal. Day drinking the expensive wine? My kind of lady. 

Are you glad to be back within the walls of Scarlet? 

Do you think Jacqueline made the right choice to come back?

Join the discussion below Fanatics and make sure to watch The Bold Type online! 

And we sure would appreciate a follow of our new Twitter account as we work to rebuild our audience! 

@TVFanatic

Meaghan Frey was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in September 2020.