Younger Season 5 Episode 5 Review: Big Little Liza
Lizzy Buczak
at
.
Updated at
.
Asshole.
That's what Liza called Don Ridley at the end of Younger Season 5 Episode 5, and she couldn't be more accurate.
And while he may have an investigative nose, so do I because I was completely right about him! *Insert happy dance here*
In my Younger Season 5 Episode 4 review, I mentioned that it probably wasn't a coincidence that a broke and struggling journalist looking to make a comeback conveniently took an interest in Liza.
I don't know when exactly he found out about her real age nor do I really care, but he certainly knew when he baited her with that incredibly awkward story about his son.
I know this show is supposed to be edgy and all that, but saying that his son sent him a dick pic because he masturbated too much and thought it might be herpes was cringeworthy and reminded me of that time Liza fell for a guy who had a thing for doing inappropriate things with sheep.
Not one of Younger's best moments.
Don wanted to expose Liza since he got wind of her story, but he wanted to gain her trust first. He simply got lucky that she slipped on ice and her I.D fell out. Isn't she so gosh darn relatable?
Good riddance to you and your white male privilege, Don.
And don't get me wrong, I do feel for every other middle-aged man who suddenly finds himself out of work, just not asshole Don.
Liza's secrets are unraveling at a rapid pace which makes this show exciting on a whole new level.
I found this episode -- which found Miriam Shor (Diana) stepping behind the camera to direct for the first time -- to be the best of the season so far. Even though, sadly, Charles wasn't in it.
While I love the tension that's building up between them, straying from their conflict briefly was oddly refreshing.
Kelsey: Who is that?
Lauren: Oh, that's my new intern.
Kelsey: You have an intern?
Lauren: It's basically slave labor, TBQH, but they are getting the credit for school so my conscience is clear.
We used to think Charles finding out was the worst thing that could happen but not anymore. In fact, we don't know how bad things are going to get or what the worst thing could be.
But Vanity Fair's fact checker calling her out for being 41 and almost ruining her career by telling Reese Witherspoon's people is pretty high up there on the list.
And leave it to Liza to shut it down before it ever got to see the light. You'd think that by this point, she'd just give up and own up to her age, but nope -- she's going to keep up the ruse to protect Empirical and Millenial and thus, Charles and Kelsey.
You have to commend her for being so quick on her toes.
Accidentally creating the "age queer" movement on Twitter was brilliant, and will help her in the long run when she finally writes and publishes the book about the ageist job market.
Don pathetically tried to use her own advice against her while trying to convince her that this was an "opportunity" for her, and while he wasn't wrong about it, he was wrong for trying to make this his moment.
The world is ageist, and until that changes, I can't play by the rules.
Make no mistake; this is her moment. Yes, she can be the poster child for ageism but on her terms.
Charles already found out from an outside source, but this is her secret to tell the world; her story to break; her novel to write.
Something good has to come from all of this. And this is a movement I can get behind.
That's the great thing about Younger and why it appeals to women of many ages -- they are always trying to kick the "female empowerment" message up a notch!
As always, Josh keeps getting to me with all the wallowing and self-pity.
At first, it seemed like his tattoo shop storyline would force him to "grow up" and make a real decision about his future, but in the end, he still ended up blaming everything on Liza.
Break-ups suck, I agree, but she's not supposed to give his whole life meaning.
At 26-years-old, owning your own business is incredibly impressive. Especially in New York City. If he's having doubts about whether this is the future he wants, that has nothing to do with Liza nor should he make her feel guilty for it.
During their whole encounter, it felt like she was parenting him, giving him advice, teaching him how to adult, and lecturing him on commitments while he was just pouting.
He basically said it out loud -- he doesn't know who he is and what he wants.
That right there is why he never worked out with Liza; he hasn't gone through life as she has and before he can find that happiness with someone, he needs to find it within himself.
Jake: Can I kiss you?
Kelsey: What? Sorry, I just thought Obama's speechwriter would be a little smoother than that.
Jake: Oh, well, it worked on Michelle.
She cannot keep running at his every call to save him from himself.
Josh is almost as bad as Caitlin -- we'll get to her in a minute.
One thing I've picked up on from Josh's interactions with Lauren is that she's majorly crushing on him. She might be completely unaware of it too, but I can see them getting together by the end of the season and helping each other grow and evolve.
Though I'm a millennial, I'm always learning about "what's in" from this show. Or in this case, "out."
On Younger Season 5 Episode 5, I learned that millennials are over and done. And while I would normally find that offensive, if posting on social media and taking selfies is no longer "cool," I guess my generation really is over.
The series also tackled the gender queer storyline, and it was hilarious to see Lauren school Josh on proper pronoun usage when in reality, Nico Tortorella, the King of the gender-fluid movement, would give us all a lesson!
I felt slightly better that Maggie, who identifies with the LGBTQ community, was as confused by the new wave of labels as I.
It'll take some time to grasp all of it, but hey, at least we're heading in the right direction.
You can't assume everyone's lying just because you are.
Maggie
All those who were worried that Liza was neglecting Caitlin in college can put their fears to rest -- she's fine. In fact, she's better than fine; she's "bread facing" on the internet to make an extra buck.
As Liza would say, "you do what you have to." It doesn't sound as promising when your daughter is ruining her reputation though, does it?
I did enjoy seeing Liza as a concerned parent again, and shoving her face in a loaf of bread in public was a nice reminder that she's still the same old Liza who will do anything to protect her daughter.
And one day, she'll let her read all about it in her book!
Hey, at least bread facing was something with which I was familiar. Don't knock it till you try it, I guess.
Kelsey and Jake's relationship is finally heating up, and I'm just as torn as she's about to be. Which one does she choose? Zane or Jake?
Both guys have an allure to them. However, Zane is right about not sabotaging a book Empirical needs with personal feelings.
And we've been down this road before with her and Colin, remember? It didn't end well.
I loved the blue dress she wore to the party, but I couldn't help but stare to try to spot a baby bump on Hilary Duff. I'll be keeping my eye out for all the hilarious attempts to cover up that growing belly! I love when TV shows try as they might.
You can watch Younger online and share your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below!
Lizzy Buczak was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in June 2021..
