Josie hires Pepper, with whom she has had a tense relationship of late, to chart the course of her future. Pepper may be full of shit more often than not, but she knows how to work connections to get what she wants. Josie is inspired by this, and I fully expect that the next season we will see the two of them working together to make the Pussycats big on their own terms, free from Cabot interference.
In my reviews this season, I’ve tended to be harsh towards the Jorge character because he often makes decisions that directly work against his best interests. Jorge also has a tendency to not take advantage of the opportunities that come his way. Johnny Beaucamp always rises to the occasion with his performance as the series’ most under-written character, and lately he has been electrifying. Tonight’s most touching scene has Jorge learning that his uncle died of AIDS in a powerful speech delivered by his father. This scene illuminates us to the fact that Mr. Lopez isn’t homophobic, just concerned about Jorge’s well-being more than anything. In return, Jorge/Ginger work overtime to save the family bodega. A move that succeeds, for now.
So as Katy Keene wraps up its inaugural season, all of its characters are left in a better place than where they began. This is not important, prestige television, but a fun diversion. The value of such things are too often overlooked. I’m grateful for Katy Keene, and excited to see what the future holds for the series.
Fashionable Facts
• In what is this TV season’s poorest-kept secret (and as I mentioned above), Mark Consuelos appears here as Hiram Lodge. This was an odd creative choice because the character is currently facing a debilitating disease on Riverdale. Katy Keene takes place five years after the events currently depicted on its sister series, so to have Hiram alive and well here completely takes the suspense out of that storyline. It was reported this week that next season of Riverdale will have a five-year time jump, making both CW Archieverse shows set concurrently. As of yet, Katy Keene doesn’t have the buzz of the other Archie shows (something that will likely change once it hits streaming), so there is logic behind such a decision that will enable crossovers a plenty. Still, it’s a bit of a bummer that Hiram is going to play the heavy on both series. That is unless he really will be uprooting from Riverdale and moving to NYC. The time jump also provides numerous options to explain Hermione Lodge’s absence from these programs — Marsiol Nichols was to leave Riverdale before this truncated season halted production. Time will tell how much of an impact the brooding Hiram will have on Katy Keene’s fluffy world, but hopefully the writers will give his character a makeover to better suit his new environment.