I finished the seventh season/series finale of ‘Younger’ and… I miss it already.
I have been watching the show since it first started so obviously I feel a kinship with these characters. I read the book and feel like I know these people intimately, and I relished living in their world. Sutton Foster makes a great Liza, but the people around her just as easily colored the show and made it moren appealing.
But it was touch and go therefor a while. I really did not cherish a Liza and Charles ending. It felt too ‘fairy tale’ for me, and if I remember correctly, wan’t faithful to the spirit of the book. But it saved itself the last minute, and I actually loved the way it ended with Liza and Josh maybe getting an open-ended ever after. But the best thing for me this season was Laura Benanti, who plays Quinn. She is such a charming presence that she was a little like the villain you rooted for. And seeing Foster and Benanti together doing scenes is sheer Broadway heaven.
Everything leading to the fifth season finale of ‘Younger’ has been a doozy – there are entanglements everywhere, and we see Liza almost getting a solution to her biggest problem – the fact that hiding her age will no longer be a liability for her. As a matter of fact, this has proven to be some kind of asset for her – she got a competing offer from Plaza Publishing, heading her own imprint. But there are complications, of course. The imprint is not really her style (a beach read fluffy kind of brand) and of course, Liza is much much more than that. But Cheryl, who offered her the job, has something on her and Charles – she caught them and has leaked to Page Six that tidbit, jeopardizing Quinn’s plan of infusing money into Empirical. This is a bit of a plot stretch – in this day and age, do people really care if executives are having affairs with their secretaries? Consenting adults and all that. But okay, I will still play. Kelsey is then promoted as the Head of the House and Charles is, as Diana states, ‘being put out to pasture’ by being the Chairman of the Board. By the end of the episode, we see Liza and Charles holding hands in public, but we see in their faces fear and resentment – of course they will never be happy – what would we have to look forward to in Season Six?
It’s Sutton’s World, we are just living in it. Sutton Foster is a different kind of triple threat – she is great in ‘Younger,’ and of course has won multiple Tonys, and now has released her new album, ‘Take Me To The World.’ And as I listen to her new album, I realize more and more, and it is very evident in this album that she falls more under ‘actress who sings.’ In each of these tracks, we get a glimpse of a character, and she tells the story of the songs via these characters. My favorite track is a slowed-down emotive ‘C’est Magnifique,’ which turns that song upside down. This isn’t a joyous can can interpretation of the song. Here’s what I get – we see a contemplative woman singing by Montmarte about love lost. It is quite dramatic, and never feels heavy handed. The rest of the songs have the same feel, with her medlettes (a fun ‘Everybody Says Don’t/’Say Yes’) and theatrified pop songs (Paul Simon’s’ Old Friends/Bookends’) She has great takes on showtunes old and new: a simmering ‘Stars And The Moon,’ and joyous ‘If I Were A Bell,’ and she does a great balance on classics old and new. This is a great album, one that grows more with each listen, and I hope to play it often.
I have not written a whole lot about the fifth season of ‘Younger,’ which started fairly recently. I am still enjoying it, and by now it is great to see all the regulars so comfortable in the skin of all of their characters. And it was very interesting to see where they are going after the fourth season bombshell. Kelsey is hurt that Liza lied to her, and initially is so mad it lasted three episodes. Younger handles this story well. Crazy Ex Girlfriend did the exact same thing and their treatment annoyed (they made it run too long) And then there’s Josh’s new girlfriend, a plot point that was used to manipulate their storyline as a couple setting up the finally moment of Liza and Charles kissing and doing almost all. I predict this will be the season of ‘Chiza’
There is something a little off for me in “Younger” as Season Three progresses. I am up to the third episode and I can’t keep on wondering – is it going to be more of the same ‘ol, same ‘ol this season? Yes, I know that the whole show dangles on the premise that at any given time, Liza’s big secret has the potential of being revealed, but on both episodes, we do get that danger, but the conflict got resolved very quickly. On “The Marshmallow Experiement, the threat was the unlocking of Thad’s computer, and on ‘Last Dat=ys Of Books’ it is the threat of her old town mates snitching on her Empirical co-workers. These threats are getting close to being unbelievable at this point.
I wrote at the beginning of Younger’s second season that has started hitting its stride. And I was right – the series found its footing last season – all the characters have fallen into place. As the third season starts, I almost feel like these characters are old friends – we have had some history together, we have gone through some stuff together, and we now are all in this as we tackle what’s next.
Luha Thoughts 