Katy Keene may have struggled with her decision about accepting K.O’s proposal, but the answer was right there in the title of the episode: you can’t hurry love. 

Katy put off the decision for a good chunk of the episode as she dug deep to figure out why she couldn’t muster up those three letters when K.O got down on his knee, and the Alphabet City Bandit definitely bought her some time to get her feelings in order.

It’s pretty evident that Katy knew the answer to K.O’s question the whole time but chose to sit on it because facing the truth was too hard and painful.

However, her thought process showcased a level of maturity that The CW has been lacking in its shows particularly on Riverdale.

The characters on Riverdale jump headfirst without thinking of the consequences of their actions, and yet, on Katy Keene, all of the characters exhibit an enlightened and aware sense of self. It’s refreshing and proves that maybe this is the first CW show geared at a more mature “young adult” audience.

In my review of the Katy Keene pilot, I mentioned Josie’s comment about being in college and wondered if the series was taking place in a not-so-distant future. After all, if the timelines were parallel, Josie would still be in high school and Katy’s mom would still be alive. So, it’s possible that this maturity stems from Katy and her crew being out in the real world.

Not only are they out of high school and faced with that reality, but they’re also in New York, which is no Riverdale. Katy and her friends face real-life problems here like rent, which is $1,000 just to sleep on a pull-out couch.

Riverdale may be the murder capital of the world, but it’s also a sheltered, small-town where the teenagers don’t deal with regular life consequences the way characters based in a real city do.

NYC is the real jungle. It’s “do or die.” It will tear you down just as quickly as it’ll build you up. And that’s a fact.

It’s fast-paced and requires you to either keep up or get left behind.

And maybe the most important lesson of all is that your no one special until you prove that you are. Everyone is out there chasing a dream and trying to make a career. What separates you from the sea of other hopeful, young people is your passion, your level-headedness, your talent, and your hustle, baby.

And yes, that took us on quite a bit of a tangent, but it also brought us to exactly where we needed to be.

Katy Keene wasn’t ready for marriage, not with K.O, not with anyone, because she was still living her life, experimenting, finding herself, and trying to become something and someone.

Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean K.O cannot be a part of her life, but Katy is ignoring some cold-hard facts here.

I don’t want to be the person that says the cliched “high school sweethearts never last,” but the odds of that happening are unlikely, at least for now until she experiences some other firsts before settling down.

K.O. is Katy’s safety blanket. He’s someone who has been there for her since day one, he’s reliable, and he and his family filled a void when her mother died. It’s what makes this decision so difficult for Katy because, on the outside, he is the perfect man and should be an easy choice. Oftentimes, the easiest choice is the hardest to make.

There’s a problem when a relationship becomes more about convenience and comfort than genuine love, and it’s a realization Katy wasn’t ready for. Even when she suggested they insert a step in between engagement and move in together, it was just her way of deferring the inevitable. She wasn’t ready to accept that her chapter with K.O may be coming to a close and a new one may be opening.

However, the dead giveaway was that Katy’s answer to Josie’s “do you love him” was “we’ve been with each other since high school.” Katy, honey, that wasn’t the question.

That right there told Katy everything she needed to know, which is why we know this relationship is hanging on by its last thread.

And maybe it should be because as one door closes, another door opens. In this case, that could be applied to her career or her love life, which I feel will both be wrapped up in Prince Eroll in some way.

This is only the second episode of Katy Keene and Prince Eroll is two for two.

He came back to the Lacy’s after his successful first visit with his “pauper” girlfriend, only this time he was solo and looking for an engagement ring.

After firing her, Gloria was forced to call Katy back to her team because of Prince Errol’s request, and she wasn’t pleased when he suggested Katy design the ring because she “understood” his girlfriend.

And yes, they were planning for a proposal, but I can’t be the only one who felt some sparks between Katy and Eroll, right?

His comments about hoping the ring would convince Patricia to say ‘yes,’ seemed off base since Patricia nearly had a panic attack the last time she was in the store about dating a prince and fitting into his lifestyle.

My guess is that she’ll reject the proposal and Eroll will find himself in Katy’s arms and vice-versa. Wouldn’t it be so fitting if they both found comfort in each other after rejected/rejecting proposals?

Gloria saw how great Katy was with the customers and realized she’s a huge asset to the team but to that, I say, you snooze, you lose.

Katy needs to step back and forget about the proposal drama for a hot second and realize that she just designed a custom-made wedding ring for an actual prince.

That’s unheard of and impressive and means she’s way too talented to be working at a department store as “one of Gloria’s girls.”

She needs to take that untapped talent and let it flourish, baby!

Jorge’s dreams of getting onto Broadway have hit a bit of a snag as he got blacklisted for his outburst at one of the directors.

Broadway is a small community so Jorge should have seen this one coming, but also to hell with people not believing in you and wanting to stifle you.

This is just a small setback, but Jorge is destined for great things and the right Broadway role will become available for him.

Constantly getting told “no” builds character, and lord knows Jorge and Ginger have plenty of it.

Jorge’s decision to remain in New York City and keep fighting was for the best. It would have been great practice to join a roadshow, but only if his heart was in it, and clearly, it wasn’t. He felt more like he was running away than committing to a stepping stone towards his dream.

People always say it’s about the journey and not the destination, and that’s so fitting here. Jorge’s endgame is booking Broadway, and he’s been so preoccupied with realizing that dream that he failed to realize how much he appreciates the everyday things like auditions, hanging with friends, and the freedom to perform nightly shows as Ginger.

Pepper Smith is giving me Anna Sorokin aka Anna Delvey vibes. If you don’t recognize the name, Delvey is a German woman who posed as a wealthy heiress to scam New York hotels, fashionable friends and banks with fake documents, checks, and more before reality took its toll and she was arrested for fraud and countless other crimes.

She lived this glamorous life and convinced everyone that it was real, but meanwhile, she wasn’t paying tabs and was racking up debt left and right. It’s pretty fascinating and feels like the inspiration to Pepper’s character as she too pretends to stay at glitzy hotels and rocks designer outfits like it’s nobody’s business when, in reality, she owes 60k on hotel room that she’s gotten kicked out of and has essentially become the squatter she was worried about.

What’s her deal? Will she realize her dream of turning the dumpy place she negotiated an 18K a month rent deal on into the mecca of art, music, and fashion?

And then there’s sweet Josie who has gotten tangled up with the Cabot twins, who she says are less crazier than the Blossom’s, but I wouldn’t be too sure about that.

Alexander seems very on board with helping her singing career even if his sister doesn’t, but it’s pretty evident that she’s the one pulling all the strings and wielding all the power at Cabot Entertainment.

Even when Alexander saved Chubby’s Record Shop, Alexandra became the rightful owner. Josie, if you want the boy, you’re going to have to deal with the sis.

Then again, Josie will just remind us where she’s from and that she’s been through worse, which, in all fairness, she has. She’s made it out of Riverdale alive, and that’s not something Jughead can claim at this very moment.

What did you think of the second episode of Katy Keene?

Are you hooked yet? Is it making you nostalgic for Gossip Girl?