Warning: Spoilers ahead for episode two of the final season of “The Bold Type”
To say that Sutton Brady-Hunter is going through it in the first few episodes of the final season of “The Bold Type” would be an understatement. And with Wednesday’s episode making it official that she will no longer be Brady-Hunter, but just Brady, it’s easy to worry even more about our girl. But here’s the good news: Meghann Fahy says Sutton will be working through things in a healthier way.
In reality, Fahy has known Sutton and Richard’s divorce was coming for a while now. It’s something that she says she and Sam Page were very vocal about, in terms of how to handle everything. Even so, she was a bit surprised by the decision.
“I do remember, in season four, when they said, ‘You’re gonna get married, pregnant, have a miscarriage, and get divorced in the span of five episodes,’ I was like, ‘What?!’” Fahy tells TheWrap with a laugh. “I was like, ‘How are you guys even gonna do that?’ But that’s why I’m not a writer and they are, because they figured out a way to do it and it felt like it made sense.”
It’s a story arc that Fahy is grateful to have had, in fact, because so many couples do go through similar processes in real life. Of course, Sutton has a lot more to work through, even beyond Richard actually asking for a divorce (and through a proxy, no less).
Lest we forget, Sutton is also reeling from finding out that her mother has relapsed in her alcoholism, dealing with that revelation by sleeping with her now-married and now-a-father high school ex, and coming dangerously close to screwing up the career she’s worked so hard for multiple times in the process. But, according to Fahy, that struggle is one that will lead Sutton to make an incredibly healthy decision.
“Something I’m really excited about is that we get to see Sutton go to therapy,” Fahy says. “And sort of start to unpack some of that trauma from her childhood with her mom, obviously being an alcoholic, and her dad sort of not being in the picture, and I’m really excited about that.”
Of course, because “The Bold Type” is the healthy, inspiring and refreshing show that it is, Fahy adds that the decision to go to therapy will be one that Sutton makes on her own, as a genuine form of self-care. And yes, Jane (Katie Stevens) and Kat (Aisha Dee) will obviously be supportive.
“I just think it’s a really brave moment for Sutton because that can be a really difficult thing to decide to do,” Fahy says. “I mean, I’ve been in therapy for the last 10 or so years, and it’s not always easy. It can be really tough to show up.”
That said, Sam Page will be back this season, and Fahy promises that there will be a resolution between the couple. (With the way COVID cut their fourth season short by two episodes, that wasn’t necessarily a given). Granted, she expects some fans will be happy and some will be sad, but that just comes with the territory.
“I just was so grateful that we had the opportunity for him to come back, and for us to sort of follow that storyline through,” Fahy says. “Really the only thing I can say about it is that I do think the resolution — and there is one — feels authentic and true to the characters that we’ve built from the pilot. So I’m really thrilled about that.”