Hulu’s Not Suitable for Work hits its stride with a great mid-season double-header. Episodes 4 and 5 mark a major turning point, pushing the characters into risky territory where boundaries blur, and secrets explode. This block is exciting as the characters grow both personally and professionally, despite some very questionable choices. Here’s my recap of “The Jawline of Your Dreams” and “Fisher Trashen.”
Episode 4: “The Jawline of Your Dreams”
The fourth hour wastes no time diving into the messy intersections of corporate ladder-climbing and baseline human desire, accelerating several major relationship tracks at once.
The slow-burning, enemies-to-lovers tension between AJ (Ella Hunt) and her high-stakes Managing Director boss, Bill (Jay Ellis), finally reaches a spectacular boiling point. Despite the incredibly clear workplace hierarchy and the massive risk to both of their reputations, the episode culminates in a passionate first kiss that shifts their dynamic from an anxious “oh no” into a full-blown romantic complication.
Meanwhile, Abby (Avantika) is facing her own major career temptation. She does her best to maintain boundaries with her movie-star client, Austin (Harry Richardson), who personally begs her to style him for George Clooney’s upcoming humanitarian awards gala. Fed up with being treated like absolute garbage by her toxic boss, Vanessa (Constance Wu), Abby decides it’s time to bet on herself. She risks everything, strikes out on her own, and takes the gig.
In the week’s most hilariously unique subplot, Josh (Jack Martin) and Elena team up to squash a bizarre, fast-spreading internet rumor claiming their boss is actually a ghost. While trying to manage the public relations nightmare and track down the source of the digital hoax, the shared panic brings Josh and Elena closer together, sparking a fling, and the two officially sleep together. Rounding out the apartment group, Kel faces mounting internal conflict as the pressure of hiding his passion for acting from his family wears him down.
Episode 5: “Fisher Trashen”
The second half of the double-feature deals directly with the fallout of the previous hour, forcing multiple characters to face the music. The emotional anchor of the episode belongs to Kel. After weeks of evasion, his status as a medical school dropout is fully exposed to his strict parents. In a beautifully acted, highly relatable confrontation, Kel stands his ground, coming out to his family about his deep passion for acting rather than fulfilling their lifelong hopes that he become a doctor.
The professional drama hits a wall for Abby when a vindictive Vanessa discovers that her assistant went behind her back to style Austin. While Vanessa brilliantly plays it cool and pretends to take the betrayal well on the surface, it’s blindingly obvious that she is deeply hurt, completely fracturing their professional trust.
Josh also learns a harsh lesson in office politics. Trying to score major career points with his superior, Paula, he casually eavesdrops on her and learns she is taking a rare day off to visit an endocrinologist. Wanting to look helpful, Josh pulls strings with his network-CEO father to get her an elite, immediate local medical appointment. Instead of being grateful, a furious Paula explodes on him in private. She reveals she doesn’t actually have diabetes—she simply faked the condition to secure her only day off of the entire calendar year. By trying to play the hero, Josh completely ruins her only break.
The episode concludes by circling back to our favorite corporate rule-breakers. Unable to stay away from each other, Bill and AJ give in to their intense mutual attraction once again. By the final frames, Bill confirms his feelings for AJ are completely genuine with a tender second kiss, leaving both characters hurtling toward a catastrophic HR nightmare that could tank their careers.
Not Suitable for Work beautifully captures this important mid-season phase, blending Mindy Kaling’s signature sharp, quick humor with heartfelt, character-driven stakes. AJ and Bill’s shift shows how their relationship grows from a simple office rivalry to a genuine, high-stakes romance, handled with care and finesse. Hunt and Ellis have such wonderful on-screen chemistry that the developing scandal feels both exciting and well-earned. Josh and Elena’s spark brings a lovely evolution as Josh moves from his “Thirst Monster” persona to a truly sweet and funny workplace romance with Elena, with the ghost-hunt storyline adding classic sitcom fun. Kel’s big moment features Nicholas Duvernay delivering a touching, grounded performance as he confronts his parents, adding emotional depth and balancing the zany romantic antics happening across the hall.
All in all, I give these episodes an 8.5/10.
Have you seen episodes four and five of Not Suitable for Work? Leave a comment.
You can catch Not Suitable for Work on Hulu.
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