Babes in Toyland

**Babes in Toyland** is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the Freeform drama series, *The Bold Type*. It aired on February 13, 2020.

## Synopsis

Jane volunteers to write a story about a sex club, Kat's latest crusade to save a female-oriented sex toy company could lead her to begin dating again, and Sutton has doubts about how to kick off her plan to get promoted.

## Plot Summary

Jane and Ryan are still having troubles in the bedroom so instead they’re doing face masks instead and they invite Alex to join them. The next day at work, Sutton and Kat stage an intervention, telling Jane she needs to sort out her intimacy problems with Ryan. Luckily, in their pitch meeting, a helpful opportunity presents itself. Sage pitches attending a sex party to see why they’re so popular among millennials, but can’t go herself because she’s having a little herpes flair up, so with quite a bit of nudging, Jane says she’ll go instead and write the piece. Kat wants to find a way to promote Sage’s friend’s new line of vibrators without crossing over into what would be considered advertorial content. Kat’s been trying them all and Sutton’s even gotten one that can be controlled long-distance via an app so she and Richard can have bi-coastal fun. Jacqueline, whose husband is now overseas, pockets one too.

Alex has been given his own live podcast of his “Ask Alex” column and he is scared. The first episode becomes a bit of a mess when he gets flustered and overwhelmed. Luckily, Kat is around with a pep talk. She tells him that as a straight, black man working at a women’s magazine he has an opportunity to make a difference. She advises him that just because it’s called “Ask Alex” doesn’t mean he has to have all the answers and that he should think more of it as listening and starting the conversation. Alex isn’t the only one Kat’s advising. Sutton’s still struggling to be her authentic self in the pics she’s taking for her new brand on Instagram. She can’t find a way to reconcile her two selves: the assistant who makes $750 a week and the version of her who lives in a $4 million apartment. She tried taking pics there and at Jane’s place and neither of them seemed right. In the end, it’s some candid photos snapped by Kat of a little-bit-scattered-and-messy Sutton that incorporates all her different facets. She posts them and engagement is high.

Kat is incensed to find out that Broad, the company that makes the new vibrators, has been banned from putting up a billboard because it promotes female self-pleasure. She and Sage go on a tweeting spree pointing out the disparity in treatment between this female product and ads for an erectile dysfunction medication called Rect. As a consequence of their tweets, other social media users start advocating for a boycott of Rect and that’s when Jacqueline has to call Kat and Sage into her office because Rect is threatening to sue Scarlet. Kat says she’ll change the messaging she’s putting out there and Jacqueline tells she’s proud of her from promoting female pleasure and sexual independence.

Jane invites Ryan to go with her to the sex party and he reluctantly agrees until he realizes she means for them to potentially have sex there too. He feels like she’s putting pressure on him and somehow they end up with Jane suggesting maybe she should kiss someone else too, so they’re even and he’ll feel better. She doesn’t really mean it, but Ryan doesn’t shut it down either. So off she goes to the sex club alone, calling in Kat and Sutton to meet her there. At the party, Jane ends up kissing a random guy but she isn’t into it. She’s relieved because she finally gets how Ryan feels and now just wants to be with him. She goes home and Ryan really wants to talk but she drags him to a bed and, after telling him about kissing a stranger, they have sex.

At the club, Sutton gets a call from Richard that activates her vibrator and has to hobble off, while Kat gets a “work angle” by watching a bunch of women masturbate. She interviews them about choosing self-pleasure over being with a partner and posts it to Scarlet‘s Instagram. The next morning at work, Jacqueline congratulates Kat on her work but tells her she should make time for a personal life too. Kat redownloads a dating app. Jane submits her story, “How Millennials Saved Intimacy” and Jacqueline loves it. Jane uses this opportunity to ask for her own vertical and Jac cautions that it’s a big undertaking and tells her they’ll see how her next piece performs. Having heeded Kat’s advice, Alex brings the girls in to help on his podcast as part of his new approach to ask questions as well as answer them.

## Cast

* Katie Stevens as Jane Sloan
* Aisha Dee as Kat Edison
* Meghann Fahy as Sutton Brady
* Sam Page as Richard Hunter
* Matt Ward as Alex Crawford
* Melora Hardin as Jacqueline Carlyle
* Stephen Conrad Moore as Oliver Grayson
* Dan Jeannotte as Ryan Decker