Ep 9. The Incident at Pound Ridge

Liza's life turns upside down in season 4 episode 9 of Younger, titled The Incident at Pound Ridge. Liza is ecstatic as Charles takes her home to meet his parents, but things quickly spiral out of control when they come across a car accident. Charles’ father runs over a woman's foot and Liza jumps in to save the day. However, her good intentions turn disastrous when she accidentally sends a batch of risqué photos live on social media.

As Liza's life turns into a complete nightmare, the fallout from her mistake reverberates through her personal and professional life. Her co-workers are concerned following her absence; the mishap could threaten her reputation, and her relationship with Charles. Meanwhile, Kelsey comes across an old manuscript of her boyfriend Zane's, and enlists the help of Lauren to figure out whether he plagiarized or not.

The main focus of The Incident at Pound Ridge is the shaky ground that Liza's character is treading following her social media slip-up. As she attempts to limit the damage, and clean up the mess, Liza finds herself relying heavily upon Kelsey for help. This brings Kelsey to the forefront of the episode, and her character, as well as her relationship with Zane, gets more screen time.

As for Charles' introduction of Liza to his parents, it marks a significant step forward in their relationship. Additionally, it gives us the chance to peek into Charles' life, and equally important, as an audience member, it allows us to see the contrasts between Charles and Liza.

On the other hand, Kelsey's storyline this episode is unexpectedly anticlimactic. While it is an essential episode for her character development, it isn't the "explosive" outcome that one would expect from such a storyline. Although they've used Kelsey’s relationship to expose Zane's underlying deceit and manipulative nature, the result is not conclusive. It feels like the show is stretching out the dramatic tension and teasing the audience to push them to watch subsequent episodes. Yet the lack of resolution on Kelsey's part manages to keep the audience in perspective with the show’s longer arc.

Lauren's part in this episode is small but significant, as she finds herself affected by Liza's social media scandal. Her participation in trying to solve Kelsey's situation allows us to see Lauren's character from another perspective, as she gets more involved in her friend's lives than ever before.

Overall, The Incident at Pound Ridge is an excellent progression for the show's overarching storyline. Although the episode doesn't come with as many twists and turns as Younger fans may be used to, it does a great job of keeping viewers on edge, eager to see how Liza and Kelsey’s interactions and choices will affect their respective careers and romantic entanglements. The episode ends on a strong note, opening up a world of potential for how the future of the show's characters will play out.