Mistresses - The New Girls (Season Premiere) - Review: "Proposals, Stalking, and Lactation"

4.01 - "The New Girls"

Directed by Chris Misiano

Written by Josh Reims

Reviewed by Gavin Hetherington

It’s a year from the night Joss encountered a dangerous Wilson and has to relive the painful memory while testifying in court in his murder trial. Despite moving in together, Marc hasn’t found a steady job, and April worries Lucy is growing up too fast. Karen is adjusting to motherhood while her attractive male nanny (guest star Jerry O’Connell) makes a seemingly unwarranted advance. Meanwhile, Harry and Joss take the next step in their relationship, but trouble may be ahead as Joss isn’t quite healed from her past.

EPISODE GUIDE

Season 4 Episode Guide

4.01 - "The New Girls" (May 30, 2016) - Advance Preview
4.02 - "Mistaken Identity" (June 6, 2016)
4.03 - "Under Pressure" (June 20, 2016)
4.04 - "Blurred Lines" (June 27, 2016)
4.05 - "Lean In" (July 4, 2016)
4.06 - "What Happens in Vegas" (July 11, 2016)
4.07 - "TBA" (July 18, 2016)
4.08 - "TBA" (July 25, 2016)

Check out my other Mistresses reviews:

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  Season 2 Episode Guide
  2.01 - "Rebuild" (June 2, 2014)
  2.02 - "Boundaries" (June 9, 2014)
  2.03 - "Open House" (June 16, 2014)
  2.04 - "Friends With Benefits" (June 23, 2014)
  2.05 - "Playing With Fire" (June 30, 2014)
  2.06 - "What Do You Really Want" (July 7, 2014)
  2.07 - "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?" (July 14, 2014)
  2.08 - "An Affair to Surrender" (July 21, 2014)
  2.09 - "Coming Clean" (August 4, 2014)
  2.10 - "Charades" (August 11, 2014)
  2.11 - "Choices" (August 18, 2014)
  2.12 - "Surprise" (August 25, 2014)
  2.13 - "'Til Death Do Us Apart" (September 1, 2014)

• 
  
  Season 3 Episode Guide
  3.01 - "Gone Girl" (June 18, 2015)
  3.02 - "I'll Be Watching You" (June 18, 2015)
  3.03 - "Odd Couples" (June 25, 2015)
  3.04 - "Into the Woods" (July 2, 2015)
  3.05 - "Threesomes" (July 9, 2015)
  3.06 - "Love Is an Open Door" (July 16, 2015)
  3.07 - "The Best Laid Plans" (July 23, 2015)
  3.08 - "Murder She Wrote" (July 30, 2015)
  3.09 - "Unreliable Witness" (August 6, 2015)
  3.10 - "What Could Have Been" (August 13, 2015)
  3.11 - "Guilt By Association" (August 20, 2015)
  3.12 - "Reasonable Doubt" (August 27, 2015)
  3.13 - "Goodbye Girl" (September 3, 2015)

'THE NEW GIRLS' REVIEW

Now that the season has premiered, I am now able to talk about the brand new beginning of a new season of Mistresses with you guys - yay! Anybody agree that we get a bit of a slow burn with this premiere, though with the track record of this show, a season always begins pretty slowly before building and building until, boom, the crescendo hits us by the time the season finale rolls around. I don't mind that, and I think we had a really nice set-up with this premiere. What I probably would have liked better is, rather than seen in flashbacks at court, to begin the season exactly where we left off - Joss and Wilson at Calista's house. The flashbacks were good, and I hope we see them throughout the season so we can build a bigger picture of what happened that night (especially since we know Joss lied about Wilson letting her go, instead she just ran away, and was that Calista screaming in the background as she ran?), but I'm thinking that was probably impossible due to Jennifer Esposito leaving the cast (why Jennifer, why?!) so we wouldn't have seen her anyway, but I think there are some ways around that. I really wanted me some cliffhanger pay-off, not beginning at the trial. I like what they did with what they had, so I can't complain too much about that, as I still think this was a great premiere nonetheless.

Sticking with Joss, I really enjoyed her storyline, as I think there is a lot we had to notice that wasn't so obvious. I mean, come on, nobody survives what she did last season and come out of it without a mental scratch - she's gonna be shaken up, and the trauma is going to give her major PTSD. I love the subtext running throughout this episode of it, rather than have Joss break down and explicitly deal with this PTSD head on. The other girls notice it, being the tight-knit group that they are, and they can see when Joss is suffering. Everyone knows that Joss likes to pretend like everything is fine, but she had a very rough season 3, and I love that we are still being true to Joss's unrelenting character. She tries to busy herself with helping Karen's book reading, and even finds herself instantly calling the police when her house is 'broken' into, even though I kinda knew it would be Harry. I did start to believe that she was fine when Harry proposed to her (which was hella-sweet by the way), and it was a great distraction from the cold, hard truth of what Joss is dealing with. It's a moment of happiness that she deserves, but it is just that - a moment. By the end, we see Joss at a martial arts class, where she is taking classes for better self-defence, and it explains where that huge bruise was from when she lifted her shirt up in the bathroom. That had me wondering if it was Wilson, but then I thought it would have cleared up after a year, so my mind didn't expect the martial arts classes. I think that's nice writing.

I'm still saying "yes, yes, yes" to April and Marc though, and upon reflection, I much prefer seeing the premiere the second time around, when I know that the issues they deal with are pretty much dealt with head on by the end, and even helps inspire April's character a bit too. We probably see April as the more responsible "mistress" due to her hard role as a mother to a teenage girl, so sometimes I take her for granted for what she has to deal with. Her story here mainly involves Lucy going away on a school trip, and being the hands-on mother she is, April stalks her Instagram to see that Lucy is taking a lot of selfies with a boy. I'm sure any mother would feel the same way, that she's just a young girl and having an interest in boys could be self-destructive at that age - am I the only person worrying that maybe Lucy will fall pregnant? I think that could happen, or I also read that Lucy will actually turn out to be a lesbian, which is something I would totally love to happen, and see April deal with that as a mother as I'm not 100% sure of how she'd react. I know she'll react so badly if Lucy becomes pregnant. Other than Lucy, April has more mature problems with my absolute bae Marc, who wants to join a band, which to April looks like he is abandoning his duties as an adult. I can see where she is coming from, but I'm glad she sees in the end that it's more about inspiration, and she's inspired to take a painting fellowship, which means she won't be so tied to her store - I'm excited to see the new April, and I hope she gets to relax a bit more.

Now to poor Karen, who like Joss, also had a rough season 3, even if it wasn't as dramatic. I'm still not over the fact that Vivian died, but I love that the baby is named after her, which I find both sweet and comforting. I am rather mad that Alec would leave her and the baby, especially since he would have loved that baby due to her connection with his late wife. I pray to God he comes back, and who knows, maybe he'll try and take the baby away from Karen, which I think would make an interesting storyline. I kind of liked her scenes with the "manny", even though I think her character could do a lot better storyline wise, especially since her other one involves her having published a book, and she does a book reading at April's store. I mentioned in my preview that Karen does something rather cringe and it made me laugh - I was talking about lactating while all eyes are on her. Only Karen, who I find incredibly cute and hilarious when she doesn't mean to be. I know this is a totally natural occurrence for women who have given birth, but what I find funny is how sitcom it was, that it had to happen at the worst possible moment, when she's also being judged by a prospective agent. That's So Karen.

So what did everybody think of the new characters? I'm not sure entirely how I feel yet, and I didn't instantly fall in love like I did with Calista last year, but I think each one has potential! Starting with Tia Mowry (whom I love) as Barbara Rutledege: I like her. She's rather cold, honest, and I can imagine her to be a tougher character to crack down and see whatever is lurking underneath. I'm intrigued, at least, and I did enjoy her first scene with Joss - "oh I get it, you're mentally ill from the trial, I am so sorry". Really good introduction, though I thought her appearance at Karen's book talk was perhaps too convenient and then quickly picking Karen up as a client, though I loved when Karen accepted and Barbara was just like "I know". So full of herself, which I love. The other new character, the manny Robert, is another acquaintance of Karen (she gets all the newbies), and so far he seems cool, and again I'm a fan of Jerry O'Connell so I'm interested to see where this heads, but so far I'm not totally convinced by the manny-seduction-storyline. I'm willing to be proved wrong.

EPISODE VERDICT

We probably expected something a little different coming into season 4 following the conclusion of season 3, and despite some qualms about that, I'm rather fine with this direction. Good news is, 4 seasons in, I'm still enjoying watching these girls, and the ambience of the show is always a treat to have, and the slow-burn of the premiere still has no effect on me as a viewer. I know we will have more to come, and the set-up is keeping me intrigued. I'm especially looking forward to seeing how Joss's PTSD works out, as well as her bizarre engagement with her ex-brother-in-law (though I love it, I know people will be having problems with that). Karen is also going to have some good scenes with Barbara and Robert, I imagine, and as long as I get plenty of April with Marc, then I'm good. Most dramatic premiere they could have done? Definitely not. A good premiere anyway? You bet'cha. Let's see if season 4 can surpass the enjoyment of season 3.

What did you think of the season premiere, 'The New Girls'? Let me know your thoughts of the episode in the comments and be sure to watch the next episode when it airs on ABC, Monday June 6th!

About the Author - Gavin Hetherington

Award-winning author of the 'Abyssal Sanctuary' series. Gavin joined SpoilerTV in August 2014 and reviews 2 Broke Girls, Devious Maids, Mistresses, Pretty Little Liars, Salem, Scream Queens and Sleepy Hollow. Gavin will write previews for Empire and Shadowhunters, and backs-up Once Upon a Time, Reign, Scandal and Supergirl. Gavin also writes special anniversary articles, most recently for Charmed. You can contact him at gavin@spoilertv.com.

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