Joss rejecting the advances of Olivier on Mistresses was a major sign of growth for her character, as the sexual free spirit validated her commitment to Alex and desire to work her way to the top of the company without having to sleep her way there. The idea of Joss being in any relationship, let alone her first with a woman, would have seemed ludicrous at the start of the season, but she’s shown that she’s gotten more comfortable with the idea of a monogamous relationship and that her former life of bed-hopping doesn’t have quite the same luster anymore. However, on the next episode of Mistresses, it seems that even someone with the best of intentions and the noblest of hearts can find a way to mess things up.

That’s because, at least per the preview, she gave in to temptation and hooked up with Olivier, something that has more impact on her sense of self than she might have anticipated. While there’s the expected argument with Alex about trust and whether they had built up enough to be able to withstand something like this, Joss’s girlfriend brings up an interesting point when she asks whether or not her partner missed sleeping with men and if that played a role in her indiscretion. Joss has always fancied herself as being a sexually progressive woman of the new millennium, someone who isn’t afraid to do anything or try anything, but her cheating might be partially due to missing men/feeling uncomfortable being in a relationship with a woman and partially due to sabotaging what’s been her best chance at a lasting commitment. She’s never had to worry about upholding a relationship for a long period of time, always pulling away at the first sign of ties being bound and feelings coming on, and things with Alex have been decidedly calm/happy, at least compared to her other dalliances. Could Joss have (subconsciously) decided to sleep with Olivier in order to not only bring the drama that had been missing in her life, but give the relationship with Alex an excuse to crumble, allowing her to fall back into old habits?

Elsewhere on Mistresses, Karen begins her deposition with Sam acting as her alibi, while Harry goes to the clinic to find out the paternity results himself and April is forced to be around Richard during an amusement park date with their kids.

Mistresses airs Mondays at 10:00 on ABC.

Will Joss decide that she misses being with men after hooking up with Olivier? Is there a chance that Sam turns on Karen once he gets on the witness stand? Was April wrong in ending things with Richard over his fight with Paul?

About the author: Hana Blazikova View all posts by Hana Blazikova