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Lipstick Jungle Season 2 proves to be unfolding with the sexy situations, budding romances and unending excitement you’d expect from Nico, Wendy and Victory.

After last week’s stunning season opener, Nico is left dealing with the grief of losing her husband to not only another woman but also to death. The emotional turmoil is compounded with the fact his mistress Megan is pregnant…and now she wants money to support her in a manner to which she is accustomed and appropriate for her condition. In a heated discussion, Nico tells Megan to return to her life of Ugg boots and Ramen noodles—she wasn’t getting anything from her.

Meanwhile, Wendy’s latest film—a John Lennon biopic—isn’t going to plan, as the star Noah Mason (Noah Bean) has blown off fittings and meetings. Has his drug addiction returned? He dodges the question, and Wendy tells him to get clean while she holds production.

But Wendy finds out the truth when Noah’s wife Lily pays her a visit. Noah has an inoperable brain tumor, with only a year to 18 months to live. Lily begs Wendy to let Noah play this part before he dies—it’s the only thing keeping him going.

There are insurance issues, but Wendy decides to forge the necessary papers allowing Noah to work. Wendy tells Sal (David Norona) to move up production to the next week, contradicting her previous instructions about moving production back while Noah got “in shape” for the film. Pressured, Wendy confides in Sal about Noah’s cancer…and then tells him the conversation never happened.

Victory’s storyline provided the comic relief for the week, filled with her repartee with Joe and the introduction of a potential love interest: Rodrigo (Carlos Ponce), a contractor Victory meets when Roy inadvertently sends her to the wrong address for a meeting.

Luckily, Victory is in need of a contractor to build out the newly leased store space. She reminisces about the old days when she would sketch garments for clients on the spot. After Rodrigo suggests a workstation for the middle of the store to bring the beating heart of her business to the premises, he has the job…and her interest.

Together they shop for vintage fixtures at a midnight flea market, followed by breakfast at a funky old bar. Was it a date? Victory can’t tell. Nico suggests she ask him out on a real date…and she finally musters the courage to do it.

Nico and Kirby have a first date, of sorts. After trying everything to stay away, Kirby finds himself at Nico’s door. She’s making soup, so she invites him in for an evening of cooking, sipping wine and talking.

But things heat up again when the pair go to a Sarah Bareilles concert, only to find out the club theme for the night is swap-a-palooza: when the gong sounds, you take off an article of clothing and trade it for something else. The magic of the sexual-tension filled evening takes hold as Nico and Kirby find their way to the roof for a moonlight close encounter of the most romantic kind.

After her crazy night, Nico realizes she gave up her carefree twenty-something days, jumping right into her 30s, hosting dinner parties for Charles and his stuffy collegiate peers in the comparative literature department. She’s starting to realize how much she gave up to be with him—and she’s not the only one…

Nico meets Megan and gives her a check and also sets up a trust for the baby beyond what is required by law. Why? Megan questions. Because she is 22 and Nico realizes they have a lot more in common than she thought.

The episode closes with Nico packing Charles’ personal effects, sending Megan the special brown sweater she had given him for Christmas. Contemplating where her life has taken her, Nico examines her wedding ring, removing it as she is ready to move forward.

Last week, I mentioned Candace Bushnell was speaking locally, and I wanted to ask her about some of the plot diversions the TV show makes in relation to the novel. What I learned was quite interesting.

She wrote the pilot for the show, and the first thing she wanted to change was everything. And with the collaborative effort of 16 writers on the show, the plot literally changes by the minute.

Some changes are dictated by the television medium: the episode begins with an eight- to10-minute teaser, followed by five acts with commercial breaks in between.

Many changes are dictated by the audience. Specific to my question about the budding romance between Nico and Kirby, the answer is that viewers love Kirby, so his role has grown to meet the demand.

Other changes are more practical in nature. Some locations in the book, such as Romania for Wendy’s pet project Ragged Pilgrims, aren’t feasible. And I think it’s hard for today’s audience to connect with that kind of film. Shooting a film about John Lennon, rather, is much cooler. Plus this kind of minor detail has little impact on the overall story, which is more centered on these women’s relationships.

Looking at relationships, there is a significant difference between the book and the show: Wendy and Shane. Much of the book is dedicated to Wendy’s storyline, where she is more ruthless than her television persona and her marriage falls apart in a bitter divorce.

But a TV storyline where all three women have bad relationships is unappealing to the masses, so I think it makes sense for Wendy’s relationship to be solid, especially since there are suggestions of professional turmoil on the horizon. No good deed can go unpunished, and the previews hint at Wendy getting in hot water over forging Noah’s medical paperwork clearing him to work.

Overall, I like where the storyline is going. It is interesting to see how a set of characters can be taken in a different direction. As a kid, I enjoyed a series of books called Choose Your Own Adventure. At the end of each chapter, there were two choices of how the plot could go, and you would turn to the appropriate page to keep reading. Same with the movie Sliding Doors. I even ask myself “what if” I had made one decision differently. What path would I be on now? I’ll never know the answer to that one, but it is fun to think about it.

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