During the binge-worthy first season of The Bold Type, the audience is constantly provided with an array of color and various objects in the background of the show’s predominant scenes. Light pastels and trendy patterns always seem to be floating around behind the characters’ faces and in their wardrobes. The show is filled with natural light and warm tones, and these entities add both interest and comfort while watching the show.

However, in “The Breast Issue”, the sixth episode of the series’s first season, this story changes. For example, Jane’s usual peppy, colorful-yet-professional outfits have been replaced by an all-black ensemble for this episode. This episode features more artificially-lit spaces, and there are definitely more struggles and personal issues presented across the board in this episode than in comparison to others.

In this episode, Jane has been assigned to write an article about a female health professional who is adamant about performing breast cancer-related tests on women at very early ages. The audience later learns that Jane lost her mother to breast cancer, and this provides an uneasy feeling as the episode progresses.

Flash forward, and Jane interviews the doctor in her office for the article. Careful observation of this scene gives a feeling different than in other episodes. The doctor’s office is a bland, off-brown color. This is a stark contrast to the abundance of color seen in the Scarlet headquarters building, a popular setting in the show. This purposeful occurrence changes the happy-go-lucky theme of the show, and the sheer importance of this scene is established by the lack of natural light. A cold manner is observed in the ambience of the room in which Jane and the doctor sit, and a coldness is equally seen in the women’s interaction.

On the other hand, the actual mechanics of the show change in this episode. This being a show about female empowerment and all, there is definitely enough extended shots to go around. However, in this episode especially, there comes a point where Jane loudly expresses her opinions to her boss. As the screen focuses on Jane, the manner in which she gets more and more upset as she cries builds upon the suspense that the shot places on her. This suspense is equally augmenting for the other characters as they come across struggles within this episode — Kat knows that she must fire a worker, and Sutton realizes that she misplaced a $5,000 necklace in a cab. The screen’s intentional, extended focus on the women in the midst of their struggles and fear connects the audience to their feelings and struggles throughout the episode.

A drearily colored Jane apologizes to her boss after yelling at her in front of the rest of the company.

As compared to the previous episodes in the show, one ultimately sees that the unusually lengthy shots of the characters and their altered presentations through darker color schemes set this episode apart from the others in terms of importance and ominousness. But hey, of course, the girls resolve their issues as always, and we’re still on the hook for watching the next episode.