American Woman, the show loosely based on the childhood of Kyle Richards, will not move forward to a second season.

This news comes just after it was announced Younger, a show set in present day and similar in tone, will move from its home on TV Land to a Thursday night berth.

American Woman starred Alicia Silverstone as a Bonnie, a mother of two who recently discovered her husband (James Tupper) was a cheat and a fraud.

With the help of her friends, Bonnie tried to pick her life up and move on as a single mother in the expensive suburbs of Los Angeles.

Related: Younger: Moving to Paramount Network!

Bonnie discovered the difficulties of real life after being taken care of by her husband when she not only needed to land a job without any skills but had to make ends meet for a family of three on a low-paying retail position.

Alicia Silverstone was perfectly cast as the determined mother and friend and was at her comedic best throughout the run of American Woman.

She had a lot of help from her costars, Mena Suvari and Jennifer Bartlett.

Suvari played blonde Texan Kathleen who lived under her daddy's thumb and with all the money he could toss her way, never understanding what pressures her friends felt until she discovered her lover, Greg (Cheyenne Jackson) had a secret side.

Through Kathleen's story viewers visited topical issues such as homosexuality in the 1970s, est, discovering self-worth, and depression leading to suicide.

Suvari gave a sweet emotional bent to a woman who could have been difficult to watch with her lack of understanding of her friends and her neediness. 

Related: American Woman Season 1 Episode 1 Review: Liberation

Kathleen's friendship with Diana (Bartlett) anchored her to the show.

Diana was the working woman of the series. Single, living with her mother, and striving to get ahead at her bank job, she represented the average unmarried viewer watching American Woman.

Diana toiled away at work while coworkers took pot shots at her and suffered setbacks while her male colleagues moved ahead.

Diana wanted to be noticed for who she was inside as much as on the outside, whether it was at parties or the local watering hole.

Related: American Woman Season 1 Episode 11 Review: I Will Survive

She went through a period of growth that included a downward spiral delivering her a surprise that could last a lifetime, and all of her ordeals felt like ours, too.

With Paramount taking a chance and moving Younger to the network and asking Darren Star for another series, it's a shame they don't give American Woman more time to grow. 

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While American Woman did have a grand premiere and mysteriously lose half its audience during the season (when the show only got better as it progressed), it could benefit from having some similar and well-known programming to bolster its performance.

Paramount hasn't had much success to date, and most of their series are becoming one and done. As the network tries to gain traction, the more familiarity, the better. Is this really the time to chuck something that was doing well creatively?

I'm going to miss these characters greatly. You can join them when you watch American Woman online. Even after the fact, it's still worth the watch!

The post American Woman Canceled at Paramount Network appeared first on TV Fanatic.

Not quite. The season finale tidied up some stories while leaving at least one of our favorite ladies in a very precarious position.

It was Diana who reminded her friends at one point they were all a lot stronger than they ever imagined, and by the end of American Woman Season 1 Episode 11, it was Diana who would need all of their strength to get through what comes next for her.

Right up to the end, it's Diana's arc that has been the most compelling for me.

As a single woman in the workplace who had to fight her way through a maze of male-driven companies, I understand everything Diana has experienced at the bank.

She worked hard and not only earned her place at the table amongst a league of gentlemen, but also walked straight into her first office after proving herself to Mr. Bishop.

Still, it didn't mean it was any easier for her to stand up for herself her first time in the boardroom.

Being overshadowed for most of her career, Diana found it daunting to be in a room, once again, in which she was the only woman. If ever her female coworkers must have been proud of stepping forward and representing, it must have been at that moment.

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Can you imagine the chittering going on during her first meeting in that room? I'd have been putting money on which man would try to speak over Diana first and over which man Diana would finally lean in and put her foot down.

It took her two meetings to find her footing, but Mr. Bishop wanted to hear what Diana had to say about the business. He may have made the wrong choice for promotion the first time with Jeff, but he was confident in Diana. 

Urging her to look into investing in strip malls was a win for both characters as it showed their trust in each other, and we know how successful the investments will be in the future.

Of course, just as Diana's career is going places, she's going to have to pay for stepping off the path.

Transgressions always come back to haunt, and if it weren't a pregnancy, it would have been a wealthy investor she dominated in bed stepping into a meeting someday whose name she never bothered to ask. 

A pregnancy in 1975 to an unwed woman who is interested in a successful career is potentially devastating. It's also not surprising.

AIDS wasn't a thing, and condoms break. The Pill was around, but Diana wasn't in a steady relationship when she started getting frisky at her local haunt, so she might have thought condoms (or nothing at all) were worth the risk. The withdrawal method was still a thing in 1975, too. 

I don't envy even Diana having to choose between carrying a child to term or termination, but if the show moves forward to Season 2, I'd like to see an abortion storyline. Even if she knows Bonnie has survived with kids, she also understands how difficult it is to work with them in tow — and they're grown.

The more realistic avenue would be abortion, especially since so few shows dare to tackle it. American Woman, Diana, and Jennifer Bartles are the right combination to do it justice.

I'm disappointed we didn't continue Kathleen's journey with est because there is a lot more to it than a one-day seminar. 

We witnessed the incredible shifts that could occur if someone was willing to invest when we watched Philip Jennings on The Americans. Greg's words so easily swayed Kathleen because she's still not sure about herself.

Related: American Woman Season 1 Episode 10 Review: Obstacles and Assets

She was willing to jump right back into the way things were because Greg tried to assure her he wanted what she did. And I don't doubt Greg. He wanted the life he said as much as she did, but he can't have it because his heart and mind betrays him. He's torn by his sexuality.

It's not as easy as giving up onion bagels and Mexican food, and to be honest, I wouldn't want to give up those things, either.

But Kathleen also didn't want to take her life.

It just felt good to escape the pain of her day, and she took too many valium with her alcohol. Now you can see how easy it is to overdose, although most often those two things would be aided with a third, illegal substance.

Kathleen: Get your fingers out of my mouth!

Bonnie: I’m afraid you don’t get to decide what goes into your mouth until you can make decisions like a big girl. Now let’s go. Get it out!

_{🔗 permalink: I’m afraid you don’t get to decide what goes into your mouth until you can make decisions…}

Kudos to Mena Suvari for her portrayal of a woman over the edge on drugs and alcohol. It's not easy to get it right and still act, but she was right on as she hung over the toilet trying to talk and vomit at the same time. 

You know you have excellent friends when they stand by you through the toughest times like those. They are few and far between, so when you find them, hang onto them.

The rough night helped Kathleen see she couldn't spend her life light that. If she had trouble days into the engagement, how could she possibly trust herself to stand by Greg for a lifetime?

Related: American Woman Season 1 Episode 9 Review: The Breakthrough

Realizing they both deserved a man who was the combination of Paul Newman and Robert Redford (Oscar winner The Sting was all the rage just two years prior) was cute, and it was even cuter when she found her guy at the club.

I don't think Kathleen needs to start a serious relationship right after splitting up with Greg, but finding a cute guy to take her mind off of him will do wonders — especially since he liked Mexican food. 

There is nothing like another man (or woman) to take your mind off of the one who just got away. It's only natural that when you're feeling low, a little flirting will pick up your spirit.

As for Bonnie, she didn't need flirting. She was maybe doing a little too much of it.

She was shocked to see the cheerful man she married in the kitchen after their wild night together. He was making pancakes with the girls as if they had never been separated.

While Bonnie knows things have changed between them, Steve has a way of walking in and out of her life as if he's not made a ridiculous mistake.

Related: American Woman Interview: Jennifer Bartels on Diana's Journey, '70's Fashion & More!

His thoughts should be on the kids and what seeing him in the kitchen will mean, but through their entire marriage, Steve made decisions for Bonnie without asking, so why would he think anything would be different?

Their great divide only widened when a night at the club (dues which were paid in full last March) turns into a loud affair with former friends.

It would have been uncomfortable for Bonnie even if they didn't choose to sit at a table with people they had once known, but with that bonus, Steve speaking on her behalf made Bonnie's recent freedom all the more apparent.

Just looking out into the room felt overwhelming, but squeezed into a table that made it seem like they couldn't possibly squeeze more into the club dining room seemed to suck the life out of Bonnie.

She barely held it together for her girls as the woman beside her made assumptive comments, including suggesting that if Becca only dressed more sharply like her mother, maybe she'd have a boyfriend by now. Bonnie assured the woman Becca was very much like her mother.

Related: Younger Season 5 Episode 11 Review: Fraudlein 

Catty discussions by neighbors and so-called friends about the state of girls and their mothers were prevalent once upon a time, whether it was, "you would be more like your mother if" or the even more dreaded, "you know, you're just like your mother," followed by something unpleasant.

Opinions came without care for whose feelings they hurt and landed like a slap.

But that was before. Now Bonnie doesn't let them slide as easily, at the very least mouthing that she's sorry or making faces at her girls across the table in response to the rude words.

It was enough ammunition for Bonnie to tell Steve she'd had enough when he arrived pleased that he'd left Masha. 

They had yet to discuss anything, but Steve continued to act as if he was the only one who had any say in what was to become of their family. That wasn't the case.

Bonnie: I like my life without you. I hate the club and all those people, and I hate that you don’t ask me what I want to drink. This is about you and me. We don’t work. Anymore.

_{🔗 permalink: I like my life without you. I hate the club and all those people, and I hate that you don’t…}

Another disappointment that was that Steve did the manly thing and told Bonnie not to go crawling back to him when it all starts crumbling. If that was supposed to mean he wasn't going to help her with child support, that's a low blow.

Related: 15 Underrated Emmy-Nominated Shows That Deserve More Love

Then again, he cheated on his awesome wife for no reason and was charged with a felony, so what kind of guy was he? More on the scummy side.

It's too bad Kathleen didn't realize what a great opportunity it would be to invite a brilliant salesperson like Bonnie to her team at the casting agency, but at least Bonnie is no longer unemployed.

Bonnie decided not to take no for an answer. She swallowed her pride and forced Daryl to do the same. Their relationship was mutually beneficial even if she screwed up royally. She won't let it happen again.

"You Can't Always Get What You Want" is probably used a little too often as a song in cases like Bonnie's, but dammit, it does work.

If she was asked what she would do to support her family, it wouldn't likely be working at the May Company. She probably wouldn't want to have to move out of her house. But her girls are happy, and she has realized losing Steve wasn't such a loss at all.

Bonnie, Kathleen, and Diana have all gone through changes during American Woman Season 1, and even if they didn't want some of them, they might have needed them. Does that mean Diana will keep her baby?

Share your thoughts on the finale and the full season below. Do you want more? Dig in and watch American Woman online to see it all from the beginning.

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The post American Woman Season 1 Episode 11 Review: I Will Survive appeared first on TV Fanatic.

Bonnie is a bit confused and overwhelmed.

Kathleen wakes up with Greg behind her in bed saying the night before was pretty unexpected. He wants them to be together. He says all the right things and even has an engagement ring.

At tennis, Kathleen stretches unduly because she's trying to show off her ring. She says marriage is all about sacrifices. Greg is giving up men, and she's giving up onion bagels and Mexican food.

Diana gets an office with a window.

Kathleen is worried about Greg having lunch with an old friend at Columbia so he asks her to join. No, she's OK.

Diana discovers while she has a seat at the table, her voice isn't necessarily being heard.

Kathleen tries writing new name before entering Greg's office to have a look around. She sees many photos of him with men in frames and finds a gay magazine in his desk drawer.

At the country club, friends are excited to see Bonnie and Steve "back together," but she's feeling walled in by her old life.

The woman they sat with at dinner is condescending and rude. Don't you want to look at impeccably dressed as your mother? If you did, I bet you'd have a boyfriend. That's just rude.

Kathleen spills her pills on the bed when taking them, and it looks like she's ODed. When Diana arrives, she's very concerned. 

The moment Steve leaves, Bonnie pours herself a giant glass of wine. She's called by Diana to rush over to Kathleen's. Bonnie has to force her fingers down Kathleen's throat.

Kathleen is worried the kind of man she wants to marry is exactly the kind of man Greg wants, too.

The next morning, Steve arrives with news that he left Masha. He's angry that she's been trying for a few days. Finally, he tells her not to come crawling back to him when it all falls apart.

At work, Diana demands to be heard and Mr. Bishop wants to hear what she has to say.

Bonnie tells the girls she and Steve are getting divorced. She also admits they're going to have to move out of their groovy house. The girls are OK with it.

Kathleen breaks off her short engagement so Greg and she can both allow themselves to find a handsome man that's a cross between Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

Diana gets a call from her doctor that she's pregnant.

Kathleen meets a new guy at the club who likes Mexican food.

Bonnie goes back to the May Company whether Randall likes it or not. She assures Randall she'll upsell a dress in under five minutes. It's not the best job in the world, but she's good at it.

The post American Woman Season 1 Episode 11 Recap: I Will Survive appeared first on TV Fanatic.

They're at their best when Bonnie is just shy of a mommy meltdown, Diana is preaching on behalf of all working women, and Kathleen isn't leaning on someone else to find her happiness.

"Obstacles and Assets" delivered all of that.

It's no surprise at all that the sheen is wearing off between Bonnie and Adam.

Bonnie: You get to eat mushrooms all day and paint in your underwear!

Adam: That’s not fair.

Bonnie: A lot of things aren’t fair.

_{🔗 permalink: A lot of things aren’t fair.}

They have a lot of fun together, and he is sweet as hell, but he's a kid without real responsibilities who only just experiencing the adult world for the first time through Bonnie. 

It's a lot like the romance between Liza and Josh on Younger. For each time Josh did something to sweep Liza off of her feet and make her feel like the most special woman in the world, she would also find herself at a festival in the rain more miserable than not trying very hard to have fun.

Bonnie: Please! I really need this job.

Mister: And brides need white wedding dresses, and thanks to you, ours went elsewhere to get hers.

_{🔗 permalink: And brides need white wedding dresses, and thanks to you, ours went elsewhere to get hers.}

Losing her job as a result of one of those times when she allowed herself to let go isn't going to make Bonnie's time with Adam any shinier, that's for sure.

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It scared the crap out of Bonnie and plopped her right back into the real world, the world where her soon to be ex-husband is back among those making a living. They're getting along better, but he still isn't contributing to the life Bonnie's trying to continue for the girls.

Tracking down Steve is something Bonnie does very well, and this time she faced Steve and demanded something. We know how well they were living by using the inflation calculator. The $975 Bonnie owed on the mortgage adjusts to $4,567 in 2018. Imagine trying to pull that together on a sales clerk's salary.

That led to more comedic moments for Alicia Silverstone who nails every line.

Jessica: Mom! You’re walking too quick. I can’t keep up!

Bonnie: That’s why I’m pulling you.

_{🔗 permalink: That’s why I’m pulling you.}

That line reminded me of those from the premiere when the kids were scooting around the backseat of the car as Bonnie was in hot pursuit of Steve and his fling as well as the kids' suggesting biscuits at Kentucky Fried Chicken meant they were celebrating something special.

Bonnie: What are you casting for right now?

Kathleen: It’s for a teen hooker on Police Woman.

Bonnie: She can play that!

_{🔗 permalink: She can play that!}

Bonnie crashed directly into Kathleen's trial by fire when she suggested her young daughter could play a teenage prostitute, and as friends do, Kathleen willingly allowed Jessica to read for the role only because she could read the distress on Bonnie's face.

Sharing that later with Steven, though, only allowed them to reminisce together about good times and what they meant to each other.

It's natural for two people to find their way back to each other if they managed to have a cordial breakup. Bonnie and Steve never hated each other, and it never seemed either of them understood what happened between them.

Related: American Woman Season 1 Episode 9 Review: The Breakthrough

Steve sure saw a lot more in the woman he lost than he did when he had her near, and hearing that at a time she's falling apart had to turn on Bonnie at a time she really needed it. They may have ended up in bed together giggling, but I don't think they'll be getting back together any time soon.

The same goes for Kathleen and Greg. Does anyone else think that maybe Bonnie will go into business with Kathleen? She lost her job at the same time Kathleen needs someone she can trust to work beside her.

Neither Kathleen nor Bonnie had ever worked before. Bonnie quickly became the best salesperson, and Kathleen just found herself casting the rest of the season of Police Woman, one of the top hits on television.

Kathleen had no experience in casting before going into business with Greg, and while he may come back to the business, he's not going to get closer to her heart. By having a large account to cast, they could hire Bonnie for more help who would also act as a buffer should Kathleen ever feel the urge to fall back on old habits.

That would be an amazing opportunity for the friends to work together. They could also continue working with Diana for business loans as she's just been promoted to Senior Loan Officer.

One of my pet peeves (and I was even on a 20/20 panel once as an HR expert about the subject) is single people getting the shaft at work over people with families. This once, getting shafted worked out in Diana's favor.

Because Mr. Bishop let his newly promoted bro, Jeff, slide for his shoddy work over the weekend in lieu of family plans, Diana learned she and Bishop had something in common — ailing parents. 

Taking the opportunity to comfort him with what she knew about her mom's recent health scare turned into a bit of a nightmare when Mr. Bishop made a pass at Diana. 

Mr. Bishop: I thought we were having a moment.

Diana: Yes, we were. It’s called compassion. It’s when one person in nice to another person. Maybe you have trouble seeing that because I’m a woman.

Mr. Bishop: I’m sorry, but you are a woman, and I’m a man.

Diana: Yes, and?

Mr. Bishop: It’s confusing. Do you want to be treated as our equals or do you want us to hold open the doors for you? Which one?

Diana: How about both? Is that so impossible?

Mr. Bishop: So how are we supposed to know what you want at any goddamned moment?

_{🔗 permalink: So how are we supposed to know what you want at any goddamned moment?}

While Mr. Bishop leaning in and trying to kiss Diana seems strange, in the present day, so does popping out a bottle of scotch. You'd never do either and get away with it now.

But who knows how it might have played out if Diana was interested in Mr. Bishop? Maybe they'd get married and live happily ever after. But she wasn't, so the conversation took a definite turn.

Related: American Woman Interview: Jennifer Bartels on Diana's Journey, '70's Fashion & More!

I always wondered, though, even today, the same kind of thing as Mr. Bishop. What if two people were interested in each other. Is there conduct you can pursue? How does one go about it in this era, and will it be flipped on its head if the relationship goes wrong? Is office romance completely off the table?

The other half of the conversation after Mr. Bishop's pass was sticking his poor hiring decision in his face. 

Mr. Bishop: You have no idea how hard it is to be a man these days.

Diana: How hard it is to be a man. Are you serious? Try being a woman. Try working twice as hard for half the recognition and a quarter of the pay. Or see how it feels to be called a bitch for speaking up for what you believe in. Or being told that because you have a career, you’re never going to have a family. [packs up to leave]

Mr. Bishop: Wait, what is it? Where are you going?

Diana: You promoted Jeff, so you can clean up his mistakes.

_{🔗 permalink: You promoted Jeff, so you can clean up his mistakes.}

What worked about that and what followed is that we've never had a clear line on Mr. Bishop. 

He could have gone either way, but for the first time we learned a bit about his home life, and as a result of making a stunted pass at Diana, we also discovered he's a stand-up guy. 

He heard Diana when she spoke to him, and he realized he should have chosen Diana a long time ago. There was easy laughter from Mr. Bishop as he left her front stoop after welcoming her to the next chapter of her career, and you could tell he and Diana would have a successful working partnership going forward.

That's a much more admirable way for situations to end than in litigation. Shit happens, but you learn from it, build on it, and do better the next time. I wonder if we'll ever arrive at a time like that again.

You have some time to watch American Woman online and prepare for the finale! That's what's coming next. Drop a comment below to share your predictions of what you expect to go down.

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The post American Woman Season 1 Episode 10 Review: Obstacles and Assets appeared first on TV Fanatic.

She tops it off by losing her job for grass stains on the wedding dress.

Kathleen is ready to kick it into gear at the office without Greg, but she doesn't quite know what she's doing. I smell a partnership.

Bonnie delivers her mortgage check to Diana while also telling her she can't cash it. At 45 days overdue, Diana apologizes, as well just as Mr. Bishop asks for a word. He must think she's going to protect her friend.

She offers to keep the check until 5 to give Bonnie the weekend to gather the money.

Mr. Bishop wants Diana to cover for Jeff for the incorrect Loan Estimate reports he submitted. Jeff has plans with his family over the weekend.

Kathleen tries casting someone for Police Woman.

Bonnie takes Jessica in for a job and wants Kathleen to cast her in the role of a teenage prostitute.

Diana finds something in common with Mr. Bishop and a moment of compassion goes terribly awry.

Kathleen gets the job not only of the prostitute, but of casting the whole season even with the crazy casting mom interruption.

Mr. Bishop visits Diana to apologize for what happened earlier and to promote her to Senior Loan Officer. He's firing Jeff. He should have done it a lot earlier.

Kathleen goes to see Greg. Are they going to continue working together?

Bonnie and Steve have breakup sex. Once he said he wanted to do the right thing, the spark in her eye appeared. Uh oh.

The post American Woman Season 1 Episode 10 Recap: Obstacles and Assets appeared first on TV Fanatic.

It wasn't wine and friends night that helped anyone take a step forward on American Woman Season 1 Episode 9, even if Kathleen was pretty proud of herself for reading the est pamphlet twice. She had a lot of work to do.

Bonnie needed a few hours to herself, and Diana needed advice she could only get from — Alan? Yep. 

Diana made a pact with herself to do whatever she can to get ahead at the bank.

Then the reality of Jeff's promotion hit her square in the face when decided he no longer needed to work because his new role was to delegate. It's too bad to go back and wonder whether Diana's recent transgressions had anything to do with Jeff's promotion, but now she's stuck with it.

What stinks is she doesn't have any friends she feels she can confide in about what she was doing to balance what she felt were the imbalances in her life. That may change with Kathleen's new est discovery, but until they're on the same page again, Diana reached out to someone else.

Even though a romantic entanglement was off the table when they first met, Alan and Diana had a wonderful conversation upon their initial meeting. They got along well and understood each other as if they'd talked before. 

That doesn't happen often, and Diana knew it. She was comfortable enough to ask Alan for a drink, and she dove straight in with the awkward question about how many men he had slept with in history as a gay man.

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Of course, Alan was shocked and ordered another round of drinks, but he wasn't offended. It wasn't like Kathleen asking some stranger in the grocery store about his sex life. Alan and Diana already had a kinship.

She admitted what we already knew — that her escapades had nothing to do with enjoying the act of sex, but they were more about controlling the situation and probably controlling the men.

When you never have the opportunity for that control anywhere else, discovering the power you have as a sexual woman can be a little heady. Whether Alan can help her lasso that power and use it in different areas of her life remains to be seen, but at least Diana got to talk about it.

And dance.

It didn't sound like the Bay City Rollers, but the song was Saturday Night by that band, and I can't stop singing it. It was just a pop song about having fun on a Saturday night. It wasn't about love or lust or drugs or angst, just a good old-fashioned fun night out.

We could use music like that now that just pushes your ass to the dance floor without wanting to cry or beat up one of your enemies or take drugs or start a revolution. 

I'd like to see Alan stick around if the show does the same. He'd make a decent addition to their posse. He can offer unique viewpoints on the things the gals talk about, and he's a lot of fun. 

Related: American Woman Interview: Jennifer Bartels on Diana's Journey, '70's Fashion & More!

Plus, now that Kathleen has had her breakthrough about rolling through men in the hope of finding daddy's respect, maybe she won't care what Greg did, or Alan did with him.

Kathleen likes being the center of attention, and that worked very well for her at the nine-hour est meeting. If nothing else, I would have pushed the envelope to get my share of the proceedings so I could leave to have a wee. I mean, damn!

est Leader: Are you a football fan?

Kathleen: I am. Even when he and my brother would go to a game, I’d still sit in front of the TV and watch.

est Leader: Did he ever take you to a game?

Kathleen: Oh. No. But he only had two tickets.

est Leader: Didn’t you ever think one of them could have been for you?

_{🔗 permalink: Didn’t you ever think one of them could have been for you?}

The way Kathleen talked about her daddy was heartbreaking. Timmy got everything while she sat in front of the TV and waited for daddy to be proud of her. I have to hand it to the est leader; he knew how to read the signs of their relationship.

She was so shiny about her daddy, but it was an outward shine that didn't seem to go very deep.

When she started outlining the ways he supported her by the times he bought her things or lent her money, you could see the light dawning within her. But her breakthrough was very cute.

Related: American Woman Season 1 Episode 8 Review: Jack

I think many women still seek approval from all around them as Kathleen was doing when she asked the leader if she had the breakthrough. Then she didn't give a shit because to her, THAT was her breakthrough. Only to realize THAT was the breakthrough. It was two-fold.

With only one episode left this season, we don't have a lot of time to see how she changes, but I have hope after her call to daddy.

Bonnie may not have a job after taking shrooms and blowing off a wedding dress dropoff, but the dress did a lot for the two men in her life.

Her attire and the shrooms effect on her already spunky personality led both guys to comment on how sexy she looked. And let's be honest, who didn't think Alicia Silverstone looked superb in that strange getup?

Bonnie: I sort of missed my psychedelic drug window. I was too busy raising my girls.

_{🔗 permalink: I sort of missed my psychedelic drug window. I was too busy raising my girls.}

When you date a man 15 years younger that you (give or take), you get to relive all kinds of things.

Bonnie and Adam continue going strong, with him interested in both showing her things she missed and discovering stuff he has yet to experience.

Bonnie gets stronger as a result of their adventures together, and facing the principal on Becca's behalf while half-high was a hoot (but not a good lesson for the kids in the audience … bad. Very bad!)

Bonnie: Why? Are you intimidated by intelligent young women? You know, Jerry, I see you. You’re just a dark, rainy storm cloud hovering over a beautiful tree, and you try to scare everyone with your thunder and your lightning, but you know what? My daughter can take anything you rain down on her because she’s that tree. She’s a goddamned redwood.

Steve: Yeah! You’re goddamned right she is!

_{🔗 permalink: Yeah! You’re goddamned right she is!}

Bonnie is growing up to be just like her daughter, Becca, and in doing so is going to dive into later in life adventures with her girls that she wouldn't have had if she'd remained married to Steve.

Similarly, Steve is also seeing how he held his sexy wife back from developing into someone he might have been challenged by and attracted to for the rest of his life by not including her more closely in his world.

A lot of marriages have failed because men thought wives were to be treated one way while their mistresses could be treated another. In other words, their wives were to be cared for and treated like fragile objects, protected from the world. 

And while they withered away without anything exciting in their lives, their husbands would go out and share all of their dangerous thoughts and inhibitions with women who wouldn't be raising their children.

As Steve sat there rubbing his thumb along her neck and shoulder, it was fairly obvious how Steve was feeling. What makes Bonnie a stand-up woman was that she kept him at arm's length and told him to leave.

She could have easily succumbed to this different side of the man I'm sure she still loves, but she's not allowing herself to fall for his behavior. That's redwood behavior, alright.

If you watch American Woman online, you know how discussion can revolve around the show. What did you think about "The Breakthrough"? Drop me a comment below, and share your thoughts on what might come in the finale!

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OMG. Jessica's commercial is for a Wonder Woman doll. She'll never tell Wonder Woman's identity!

Bonnie's boss asks her to take a wedding dress across the city. She's annoyed.

The look on Kathleen's face when she learns the est meeting is nine hours with no breaks, she is not pleased.

Bonnie decides to picnic with Adam even though she needs to deliver the dress.

Jeff delegates his work to Diana.

Kathleen tries to give her story at est and is told she's talking like a victim. She's embarrassed.

Adam has mushrooms, and Bonnie decides to take some of them.

Bonnie and Adam appreciate nature will on shrooms.

Diana works her ass off as usual.

Bonnie tries on the wedding dress as the sun starts to set. She realizes Adam is 25 and that she was in Jr. High when he was born.

Diana asks Alan out for a drink and then asks him if he's slept with a lot of men. He orders more drinks.

Kathleen watches someone have an epiphany at est and wants to go again at which time she learns she doesn't speak unless spoken to at est.

Kathleen realizes she's never thought about her father.

Bonnie gets a phone call while Adam and she are playing monoply. Becca's getting suspended. So a shroomed up Bonnie heads to the principal's office — in the wedding dress — and finds Steven in the room, as well.

Alan is asking Diana how many men there were. She has no idea. His response is wow, and Diana couldn't even even say she enjoyed it but that she needed it. She needed to feel in charge.

The Bay City Rollers (but perhaps a remake) comes on and they hit the dance floor! S – A – T – U – R – D – A – Y NIGHT.

Becca has been very naughty in class. She gave Mr. Knave the finger after he told her to shut up. That sets Bonnie off and she even calls him Adolph.

Kathleen has a breakthrough in est. She goes home to phone her daddy, telling him not only did she want to see Don Meredith but daddy's an asshole.

Bonnie never delivered the dress, but Steve took a liking to the woman she's become since he left. She sends him away before he can form any other ideas.

Bonnie takes the girls over to Mr. Knave's house so she and Becca can scribble Fascist Pig and the like on his car in lipstick.

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Kathleen was having a hard time letting go not only of Greg, but the news of his sexuality, what it meant to her and about her, and Diana's keeping the news to herself.

Kathleen needs some work on her filter and her self-confidence, and if she takes the path that struck her like a ray of light at the end of "Jack," she should get some help in those areas soon.

I remember growing up the girls from Texas always finished in the top in beauty pageants. 

If you were to watch Miss America or Miss USA (and all the little girls did at that time), you could count on Miss Texas to be stepping onto the stage as a finalist. It seemed the state was very good at producing superficial beauty and charm.

Related: American Woman Season 1 Episode 7 Review: The Agreement

Kathleen sure as hell doesn't know her value as a person outside of her physical appearance or her wealth. If either of those things was stripped away, she'd be lost forever.

It's a shame she thinks she can run from herself by changing out all of the furnishings inside her home. Yes, money can provide you with a new environment, but you're still going to be living inside it.

Kathleen's friends are unlikely to realize just how low her self-esteem is as she does a fairly good job faking being someone she is not. 

Kathleen: Excuse me?

Man: Yes?

Kathleen: You’re very well dressed.

Man: Thank you.

Kathleen: Are you a homosexual?

_{🔗 permalink: Are you a homosexual?}

She got very lucky asking the "right" homosexual a question in a public place, as he had some sympathy for her obvious plight. I also had to wonder if she'd been brushing up on her gay facts.

Earlier, Kathleen seemed otherwise clueless about the ways of Greg's friends and now she's spotting well-dressed men and casting them as homosexual. Or maybe that's just because of her job as a casting agent. Right. Highly unlikely.

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It seemed he would be the man she hit in the parking lot to allow for a more lengthy discussion, but discovering an est billboard works, too. All I know about est comes from Philip attending on The Americans, but if he could be transformed, anybody can learn from it.

I have high hopes Kathleen can discover some sense of self if she allows herself not to become screwed up by the side of it that was kind of cultish (OK, I remember that side of it from the 70s).

Diana: Ladies, I’d like to propose a toast. To Jeff! The only man for the job.

_{🔗 permalink: Ladies, I’d like to propose a toast. To Jeff! The only man for the job.}

Diana's discovery that she is an inspiration to the other women at work at the same time she lost the promotion to Jeff was a cool story detail.

They might not have been as inspired by her if they knew what she was doing at night (depending on the woman), but she needed to know how they felt about her standing up for herself against Mr. Bishop and leading the way for other women in the office to try to get ahead.

Related: American Woman Season 1 Episode 6 Review: The Heat Wave

She was starting to act like a man when she wanted to be a powerful woman, and that's not the way to get what you want. During all of the most important moments of change, it's hard not to want to become the other side while you try to rise above them and be better.

Another kick in the pants was screwing a guy with a wife and kid. Diana was so intent on herself and not knowing anything about the men she picked up, she forgot that men don't take the time to provide that information and that's how families like Bonnie's are torn apart.

It took a while, but I finally identified with her mom, Peggy, and the way the two connected on a different level. Maybe my relationship with my own mother is too similar, but when Diana got home with the bad news about the job, Peggy was genuinely concerned for her daughter.

The way Peggy consoled Diana, though, could have set a different pair off. 

Peggy: This tuna fish sandwich has given me terrible heartburn. I think the tuna might have gone bad. You want the other half?

Diana: You just said that it went bad.

Peggy: Oh, you’ve got a strong stomach. You’re just like your father. He could eat an old shoe and be ready for anything.

Diana: Thanks, Mom.

_{🔗 permalink: Oh, you’ve got a strong stomach. You’re just like your father.}

That's a mother who cares so much for her daughter that she can't express it for how vulnerable it makes her feel. She does it with a side glance and the hope her girl knows her well enough to understand exactly what she's saying, and Diana did.

That's why when Peggy had a heart attack, it shook the frivolity right out of Diana. She and her mother talked for real because her mother was already as vulnerable as she could be being so close to death.

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With the support of the women in the office and her mother cheering her on, Diana's new attitude with Mr. Bishop more than deserved the inspiration she was already spreading through the bank. 

And she has her fan back. Damn straight!

The situation with Bonnie isn't as cut and dry, though. Secondary infertility isn't a medical diagnosis as much as it's a state of fertility, just as Bonnie said. Whatever is wrong with her is something else entirely. Uterine damage, fallopian tube issues — maybe the doctor didn't think she was smart enough to understand.

The issue is one many women would endure, but normally wouldn't discover unless they were actively seeking to become pregnant.

Nonetheless, the desire to have a baby when you're told you can't have one probably swells to a fever pitch, and I hope that's what happened to Bonnie in the hospital.

A story in which she decides she wants to adopt a child because she can't have one doesn't sound fun at a time she's without Steve or any other man in her life on a permanent basis. She still can't meet her bills, nor can Steve.

And getting back together with Steve just because they're in a better place doesn't sound like a good plan, either. But them being in a decent place to parent and stop jabbing at each other was a welcome change. 

What did you think of this one? Do you have a favorite character? Diana is mine because my experience in life most closely mirrors hers. If you're here, drop a comment below and don't forget to watch American Woman online if you need to catch up.

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The post American Woman Season 1 Episode 8 Review: Jack appeared first on TV Fanatic.

Steve calls Bonnie with news the judge accepted a plea bargain. He's back at the office with his feet on the ground. He's in the game again. If there's anything she needs, just let him know. But, no, he can't pay the mortgage because he's financially strapped.

He'd like to take the girls out for dinner tonight, though. Maybe Bonnie will join? No.

Kathleen wants a whole new look in her house, and she has no budget. She doesn't want to see a single thing in there that reminds her of her old life.

Bonnie is looking at a uterus on the wall of her doctor's office. The doctor has a message for Steve about golf. Then he drops some bad news on her.

Kathleen goes to visit Alan at his office. She wonders if Greg was "like this" when they were in New York together and asks if Alan loves him.

Kathleen says Greg warned her Alan was a bad person and he doesn't get to rewrite the rules to fit his needs.

At home, Bonnie is looking through the baby albums.

Becca doesn't want to go to the dinner with her dad. The three of the girls start looking at the album before Steve arrives.

Diana gets back from lunch to a congratulatory party for Jeff who was promoted while she took a break. The other women in the office took up a collection for her, though, because they consider her an inspiration. that has to be the nicest thing ever.

Diana breaks down when she gets home, and her mom sounds sincerely concerned about why she didn't get the job. Peggy consoles her daughter in the only way she knows how.

Kathleen is at the grocery store and asks a man if he's homosexual. She's reaching out to see if there is anything she can do about Greg. The man ultimately treats her nicely, but given the circumstances, it's surprising.

Outside the grocery store, Kathleen uses the pay phone to call her daddy. She lies about things with Greg.

Diana is at her haunt again and meets a guy who who is into astrology. She tells him the stars just lined up for him when he says he lives right around the block.

Kathleen gets into the car and spills her pills all over the car. She slams her car into reverse and then into another car because she wasn't looking at where she was going. On a billboard behind her is an est sign.

The girls and Steve get home with Jessica excited about eating French fries with mayonaise like they do in France.

Bonnie is drinking and Steve asks to join her. He wants to know what's up with her. Bonnie shares that the doctor said she can't have any more children due to secondary infertility.

The only good news is that since she can't get pregnant, she can have as much sex as she wants.

Jack is the name of the little boy Bonnie always wanted to have that she'll never have now.

diana is directing her new friend what to do. He gets to do nothing on her own. She's having fun until Thomas' wife, Amy, and their child walk into his apartment. Awkward.

Diana arrives home to an ambulance taking away her mother. At the hospital Diana learns Peggy had a heart attack. Her blook pressure is a little higher than the doctor would like, but she's OK.

Diana has been telling her mom that she's been working late.

Bonnie sees babies in the hospital and her heart swells.

Diana gets to work the next day and Mr. Bishop is a smart ass. She gives him a bottle of boose for the day he promotes her because she's going to make it impossible for him to overlook her again despite the mistakes she's made lately. Then she returns to get her fan.

The post American Woman Season 1 Episode 8 Recap: Jack appeared first on TV Fanatic.

Bonnie was focused on her children and the men in her life, Diana was starting to spiral out of control, and Kathleen agonizingly discovered Greg's secret.

Only Bonnie came out of "The Agreement" better than she entered it, and it's time to worry about Diana and Kathleen.

It feels good to have a bar you frequent, and where you know you can receive attention, especially when you don't need to put out much effort to get it.

Diana has found that in the place she visited after the dinner party on American Woman Season 1 Episode 6, and she doesn't seem ready to give up that woman's choice environment yet.

That's fair, but it's also a small place where it's easy to get a reputation fairly quickly. Men talk, and the way Diana is behaving will have men talking in no time. If I believed Diana genuinely didn't care what men thought about her, I'd give her a pat on the back.

Dude: Can I have your number?

Diana: Why do you want my number?

Dude: Because I want to see you again.

Diana: [kisses him passionately] Get out of my car.

_{🔗 permalink: [kisses him passionately] Get out of my car.}

We've witnessed Diana go to great extremes to get attention, though, and the attention she craves is for more than sex. While she's digging the idea of having her cake and eating it too right now, she is looking for more in the long run.

It's also concerning when her nighttime proclivities begin affecting her job, something of which she has always been very proud.

Yes, she has an asshole boss who deserves the behavior Diana is showing him at the office, but Diana deserves to move up in the company without having Mr. Bishop holding against her anything she does while she's sowing her wild oats. 

Mr. Bishop: You came in late today. Again. And now you’re dozing off in meetings?

Diana: I haven’t been getting much sleep at night.

Mr. Bishop: Is this conversation amusing you?

Diana: No sir. I’m just happy to be here.

_{🔗 permalink: No sir. I’m just happy to be here.}

Does she deserve to be "judged" in this way? No. But it's 1975, and that's the way the cookie crumbled.

Thankfully, Diana had her head on straight when Kathleen was suffering. She could have handled the situation with her friend much differently, but it's not what Kathleen needed.

Diana: You think I could have fixed this for you?

Kathleen: Yes! You could have told me.

Diana: You wouldn’t have believed me because you already knew it was true.

Kathleen: What? I didn’t know!

Diana: Yes, you did. How many times did you complain that the sex was disappointing? How many times did he have a last minute meeting that kept him out half the night? You knew. You just didn’t do anything about it.

_{🔗 permalink: Yes, you did. How many times did you complain that the sex was disappointing? How many times…}

Seeing Greg kissing Alan was a terrible way for Kathleen to find out about Greg's sexuality, but Greg wasn't going to tell her, and Kathleen wasn't ready to face the truth. Even though Diana knew, it wasn't up to her to wreck their friendship to point out something to which Kathleen was turning a blind eye.

That didn't make Kathleen's situation any less heartbreaking.

It's uncool of Alan to continue harping on Greg for the same reason as it would have been for Diana to step into Kathleen's relationship. Greg is a grown man. It was up to him to make his own mistake. Alan seemed like a decent guy upon our introduction, but pushing the issue with Greg proves otherwise.

Another person doesn't get to set the agenda for anyone whether it be sexual or otherwise. Greg was allowed to lead on Kathleen for as long as he liked. If they eventually found happiness together after he told her his truth, then so be it. It wasn't Alan's battle to wage.

A lot of couples in the 1970s decided to continue even after the truth was revealed. As we don't know what the future holds, it will be interesting to see where this goes. 

I was crushed when Adam told Bonnie he wasn't into a relationship with her that included her kids, but her response to it was so genuinely groovy it was hard to feel pain for long.

She thought he'd get along great with her kids. He wasn't interested. She was willing to leave it at that. After everything she had been through with Steve, Bonnie has found some strength in the aftermath.

Bonnie needs strength to get through days with Becca and Jessica. Becca is pushing the envelope when it comes to her mom, and she even tried to hijack her sister's birthday.

She not only tried to sabotage the day by revealing that her mother was dating someone else, again blaming dad's absence on Bonnie, but that she wants dad to attend Jessica's party via Jessica's sweet little voice. 

Bonnie was never going to let her daughters be unhappy, especially during a birthday. 

What she didn't know what that the timing would finally allow Steve to shove his foot in his mouth and prove to the girls that all the fault in their separation didn't lay at the feet of their mother.

Things could have gone terribly when Adam showed up with the gift for Jessica, but Bonnie and the kids handled it much better than expected. Becca wasn't a brat because it was time for Steve to step into the shadows.

In real life, she would have rebelled and shouted and made quite the spectacle. Frankly, we didn't have time for that. What played out instead was necessary and more fun to watch (for me, so hopefully for you, too!).

Steve: What’s that?

Adam: It’s a gift. For Jessica.

Bonnie: Adam, you didn’t have to do that.

Steve: A present? You don’t even look like you could afford a present.

Bonnie: Steven, that’s enough.

Steve: What? I’m not the only one in the room thinking that right now. Jessica, does Adam give nice presents?

Jessica: I don’t know. This is my first one.

_{🔗 permalink: I don’t know. This is my first one.}

Steve tried to make everything nightmarish from the moment Adam walked into the room, and who could blame him? They've made James Tupper look like a goofball in hair and makeup. Next to Adam, Steve seems like a buffoon!

He's also forgotten that he was the idiot who let a woman like Bonnie get away. Seeing someone else with his wife would start to sting at that point.

Adam: I want Jessica to open it.

Steve: Angus, what you want in this house doesn’t really matter, does it? Besides, the suspense is killing me. [holds up painting and snickers]

Jessica: Wow! Is that me?

Adam: Your mom told me that you like stars. Do you like it?

Jessica: Yes, I do. I like it a lot!

Steve: Don’t be stupid, honey. It doesn’t even look like you.

Becca: Don’t talk to her like that, Dad.

Steve: Don’t sass back to me like that; do you understand?

Becca: She’s just a kid.

Steve: And so are you!

_{🔗 permalink: And so are you!}

Yelling at the kids set things into motion, and in their hearts, Becca and Jessica knew their mother wouldn't date someone who would treat them poorly. 

Jessica was genuinely excited about the gift, and it was quite lovely.

Jealousy on their father was something new, and it was also frightening. The way he kept disrespecting Adam by calling him Angus and calling him talentless while Jessica loved the painting of her didn't help matters.

There's nothing worse than the guy your wife is dating being more insightful about your kid on her birthday, though.

Bonnie: What the hell are you doing?

Steve: I’m just expressing my opinion. I think this looks like shit.

Adam: I just paint what I feel, man. I painted Jessica’s innocence and, and her wonder because that’s what’s beautiful about her, alright? The rest isn’t important.

Steve: That’s just a bunch of bullshit covering up an even bigger lack of talent.

_{🔗 permalink: That’s just a bunch of bullshit covering up an even bigger lack of talent.}

And the worst of it came when he said what it might not have dawned on Steve while he was running around with other women. It couldn't last forever. He couldn't cheat on his wife and keep her.

Life doesn't work that way.

Steve: I won’t be asking you to paint me, Angus, no offense.

Adam: That’s cool. I’d probably paint a lot of things you wouldn’t like.

Steve: Like what?

Adam: I’d paint you melting into the background, Steve. That fading man. I’d make you a ghost.

Steve: You’re gonna take my place, are ya?

Adam: I don’t know, but somebody will.

_{🔗 permalink: I don’t know, but somebody will.}

Those lines were soft, yet some of the most painful Adam could have delivered to Steve. It's hard to imagine, but it's entirely possible their disagreement may change things between Steve and Bonnie going forward.

Steve finally admitted he's afraid of looking bad in front of his kids (too late) and going to prison. 

Who wouldn't be afraid of that? And why hasn't he shared that with her before now? They were together long enough that being truthful would have done a lot more for them from every standpoint going forward than the behavior he's continued after being outed for his affair.

Parenting would have been easier, and Bonnie might have been willing to work with him when it came to his trial if Steve lent a hand with the house and kids.

Instead, they've been dancing around because Steve was too afraid to be honest.

And in his wake, Bonnie found a man like Adam who is fresh and free, honest about everything (that we know). The stark contract must be shocking to Bonnie.

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I love the final scenes of Bonnie on the bed with her kids. They should do that more often. It's a nice way to end episodes, by remembering that first and foremost she's a mother and their lives come first. 

She could have taken a victory lap when she was finally off the hook for the breakup with their dad, but instead, she wanted to make sure her daughters would forgive Steve and maintain a good relationship with him. He's their dad, and nobody will ever take his place. He's all they have.

Diana and Kathleen can use a little of that strength. Maybe she'll share with them on the next episode!

Be sure to watch American Woman online if you're not caught up. OK? OK.

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