For four seasons now, Freeform's The Bold Type has chronicled the lives of three friends living and working in the fashion industry in New York City. Over the course of the series so far, one character in particular has far and away been the standout: Meghann Fahy's always inspiring, frequently hilarious aspiring stylist Sutton Brady.
Sutton is one of the most refreshing female characters currently on television, as she's unafraid to embrace her strengths and weaknesses, ask for help when she needs it, and do whatever it takes to pursue her goals and dreams. She's uncompromising in her desire for success in both her career and her love life, and she's what a strong female character truly looks like, just by virtue of existing without making grand statements at all times. We're recapping Sutton's ten best moments so far.
"Sometimes when I'm sitting, I wish that I could be sitting harder."
As we've already stated, Sutton is by far the funniest character on The Bold Type. Her hilarious one liners can often be attributed to her totally honest demeanor, as she never seems to use a filter of any kind, regardless of the situation she's in.
Despite being a young, attractive, successful millennial living in one of the flashiest cities in the world, and despite working in a totally materialistic fashion industry, Sutton often admits that she isn't exactly a big fan of exercise and eating healthy. But this particular moment, from the third season's seventh episode, finds her hilariously telling her boyfriend, Richard, just how little she cares for exercising.
"I’ve been so focused on the path that I’m on, I didn’t consider that there were others. And now… what if I’d be happier designing? Am I crazy to be thinking about this?"
It's not often that series like The Bold Type - which basically act like dream fulfillment for young adults, in soap opera form - allow their main characters to question their decisions, and to make mistakes. But the third season of The Bold Type allowed Sutton to do just that, as she found herself struggling with her career choices.
It's unrealistic to expect everyone to have everything all figured out when they're in their twenties, so it's refreshing to watch Sutton consider changing her career from styling to design. It's even more refreshing to her the frank way in which she discusses her doubts and options with her loved ones.
"I just can't get my hopes again, you know? Because... I just can't."
The Bold Type makes plenty of political statements, but it doesn't often slow down to allow its characters moments to deal with heavy emotional issues. Sutton's character arc in the series' second season challenges that.
In the ninth episode of the second season, Sutton returns home to Pennsylvania and encounters her mother, who had been an absentee, alcoholic parent and who had forced Sutton to grow up a lot faster than she should have. When Sutton reconnects with her mother, she finds that her mother is now sober and has matured, but after being hurt so many times, Sutton openly, emotionally struggles with the thought of letting her mother in her life again.
"I want this more than I’ve wanted anything in my entire life, and I would work my ass off for you."
In order to properly discuss this quote, we're going to need to provide the full context of this breathtaking monologue. After realizing that she doesn't want to be working a desk assistant job anymore, but rather work as a stylist assistant, Sutton passionately makes her case to future boss Oliver Grayson in a truly inspiring speech that speaks for itself:
"I have no fashion background at all. I never even worked in a mall. But I’ve devoured fashion magazines since I was a kid, and I have impeccable taste. I want this more than I've wanted anything in my entire life, and I would work my ass off for you."
"I'm going to be indispensable to you."
As we've just seen in the previous quote, Sutton is truly an inspiration when it comes to advocating for what she needs in her job. She's never willing to settle for less than what she deserves, and she's also more than comfortable to state her worth and prioritize her own needs, even if it may be inconvenient for some to hear.
When faced with the reality that her salary is much lower than she can live on, Sutton passionately advocates for a schedule on which she can be evaluated and receive an increase in pay. And given her confidence, and her perfectly executed argument, she gets what she deserves, and truly does become indispensable, just as she promised.
"This slut-shaming thing you're doing, it's got to stop. ... We don't tear each other down. Not as women, and definitely not as women of Scarlet."
Sutton is one of the most refreshing characters on television when it comes to her level of comfort with her sexuality, and being open with her love of men and dating in general. At the start of the second season, she finds herself the subject of serious slut-shaming by judgmental female colleagues.
And, in true Sutton fashion, she delivers the perfect feminist take down when confronting the offending coworker, using their relationship not just as women, but as employees of an empowering women's magazine to bolster her argument.
"I'm going full Hamilton on this, because I'm the definition of young, scrappy, and hungry."
Sutton is one of the most driven characters in the series, completely committed to whatever she's working on or pursuing in any given episode. In an early episode, she finds the perfect metaphor to completely encapsulate her driven nature, taking a page from the book of founding father Alexander Hamilton.
Well, from Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton: An American Musical, at least, as she completely identifies with the musical's refrain of being "young, scrappy, and hungry" in order to describe her passion.
"I used to think that us being together would get in the way of my career, but it was me who was getting in the way because I didn’t believe in myself. But I believe in myself now."
It's an insulting trope used all too often in fiction - the notion that women are unable to have it all, and can't have romance and success in their careers at the same time. Sutton's second season storyline serves as the perfect deconstruction of that cliche, as she finds success in her career and realizes she wants more than just that, too.
She learns to believe in herself, her talents, and her capacity for love. And in one of her biggest career moments in the season finale, she reunites with her love, Richard, and has him right by her side, too.
"I'm Nora Ephron, bitch."
As we've already discussed, Sutton is willing to do whatever it takes to earn what she knows - and what we know - that she deserves. In the first season, Sutton seizes upon the story of famous author Nora Ephron, who once passionately argued that she earn a higher pay rate per word count.
So when Sutton finally gets the agreement from her boss Oliver, which will ensure her higher pay and more benefits, she gleefully proclaims, "I'm Nora Ephron, bitch!" in one of the series' most hilarious and inspiring moments.
"I wanna be the girl you can't stop thinking about. I deserve to be that girl."
From the very first episode of the series, Sutton quickly established herself as the character to watch - the boldest of all the bold women featured in the series. At the end of the episode, Sutton tells Richard, the board member she has been secretly seeing, that she doesn't want their relationship to be a secret anymore.
She wants a real relationship, with dating and courting and everything. She wants to be the girl he can't stop thinking about. And Richard more than delivers, immediately asking her out on a proper date, and, three seasons later, proposing.