TV Land's Younger - Episode 6.08 "The Debu-Taunt"
Charles wants to take the next step with Liza. Millennial participates in a Debutante Ball for first-time authors.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of TV Land's Younger.
"The Debu-Taunt" was written by Sarah Choi and directed by Todd Biermann
Younger has officially blown up its central premise. This has always felt like an inevitable twist. The central lie has defined so much of Liza's professional life. It was always unsustainable though. This wasn't something that she could keep going forever. The longer she did so the more difficult and emotional it would be when the truth finally came out. There were many opportunities across the six seasons in which she could have been truthful with all of her co-workers. At the end of Season 2, her colleagues fought to keep her as an editor and assistant at Empirical. When she told Kelsey the truth in Season 4, she wanted to tell Charles and Diana but was convinced not to. When Quinn came onboard as a financial partner in Season 5, she did so with a full awareness of the scandal and the willingness to help the company weather the coming storm. Right now is an interesting time for all of this to come out for Liza and Millennial as a whole. Sure, the logistics of it are somewhat weird. The season hasn't exactly been solid with Liza and Charles as a couple. The storytelling always wants there to be a little uncertainty. Liza remains tentative with her romantic choices. Even though she is in a committed and loving relationship with Charles, every interaction between her and Josh comes with the underpinning that something could still happen between them. He is the one she talks to over the phone after her lie is exposed to the world. Meanwhile, she and Charles are stopped from moving forward in their relationship. He wants her to move in with him. His family already knows that he is his girlfriend now. She is inserting herself into more of his home life. His girls love and trust her. She is given equal access at their school. She wants to be helpful. Pauline trusts her as well. She actually views her as the editor who best understood her voice. Her sequel novel isn't going as well as her debut did. She wants Liza's input. She doesn't want what happened with Charles to disrupt them from working together. And yet, this devastating lie about her age is the thing that unravels absolutely everything. It didn't need to explode into a public scandal right now. It's something that Liza, Charles and Pauline could have talked about in private as they learn how to function as a family moving forward. Instead, Pauline wasn't given the time to actually react to this news. Instead, she was given a microphone and that picked up everything she was feeling. She is the one who exposes Liza as a fraud. It's not something that the company was expecting at all. Liza didn't know that this relationship has imploded all over again. In the aftermath, she finds herself doing damage control in all of her personal relationships. Charles and Kelsey support her completely because they know her secret. They have worked to protect her. That's what their friendship and romance actually requires. They had to support this lie even though it could do so much harm. That's what makes Liza's bond with Josh seem so easy and relaxed right now. It doesn't have the drama or the uncertainty present in other relationships. But that doesn't mean that things can't become better for Liza once more in these personal friendships. She didn't lose Charles or Kelsey after telling them the truth. Zane and Lauren may be upset right now but those dynamics didn't mean much to the overall narrative. Instead, it's all about the bond between Liza and Diana. That was the relationship that had the most to lose because of this reveal. Diana is proud to defend Liza. She views her as the closest person she can ask to be her maid of honor. Liza celebrates the news of Diana's engagement to Enzo. And yet, this runs the risk of destroying everything. Millennial has these internal discussions that allow them to be open to hearing what Liza has to say. She is full of love at the end of the day. She wants to make things right to prove that these friendships have long been genuine. But she will also have to do damage control in public. The entire company will have to do that because they'll want to support Liza despite this scandal. Quinn had a strategy for how to handle this. It should be interesting to see if she follows though on that promise considering she's not a big fan of either Kelsey or Liza right now. All of this will ensure that the remaining episodes of the season will be more dramatic than all of the preceding seasons. That's very enticing and may give the show the punch that it has long promised for so long. This central lie defined so much. Now, it's exposed and could change absolutely everything for Liza in ways that both enrich and destroy her current life.
