Welcome to the 19th recap of the second season of Faking It, an educational program about turning scrap metal into puppets from the network that brought you Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica.
We open on the Walk Down the Hallway of Shame, starring Karma and Shane, who appear to have suffered some extreme inclement weather and have also forgotten how to button shirts and wear shoes. I wonder what happened in that hotel room! Probably hijinks. You know kids these days.
I know you stole my kitten and you better give er back or I dunno what I’m gonna do but it won’t be pretty.
Cut to Karma’s bohemian outdoor shower, which she emerges from to find Amy, bearing lattes and an apology for over-reacting. After all, Amy admits, it’s not like Karma would ever go through with a ridiculous threesome!
Karma: Wow, thanks Amy, coffee and slut-shaming is such a nice way to start the day!
Here, these are all for you —
They’re poison!
How’d you know? I LOVE poison
Karma says the threesome was a fun-filled event involving lots of kissing. Lots of it! So much partial-nudity and lip-smushing. If it was possible for humans to grow plants by kissing, these three would’ve created a modest container garden.
Hmm. Why do I find this oddly arousing.
Like between Karma and Shane, for example. There was some Sharma kissing. In fact, Shane kissed Karma and said, “now I know why everybody’s in love with you.” Amy calls bullshit on that tale, so Karma starts over. In this story, Karma and Shane reluctantly swap spit, decide to pretend like the other is Channing Tatum, hop into bed and enjoy an all-night romp that has left Karma a little sore in the neck!
Back at Shane’s House of Shame, Liam wakes up next to Sasha and tries to bolt before Shane gets home but lo and behomo, here he is with donuts and lattes.
I come bearing POISON!
OOOOO poison, my favorite
Why are you always bringing me poison, brah? You know I hate poison.
Shane wasn’t okay with Liam/Sasha before, but after spending the whole night banging Karma, he knows it’d be hypocritical of him to stick to that position.
In Shane’s recap of the terrible threesome, Karma kissed Shane and said, “Wow, I’ve always wanted to conquer a gay guy.” Liam calls bullshit on that tale, so Shane starts over. In this version, Karma compliments his kissing, Shane says he’s good at more things than just kissing — and Liam’s gotta go fuck Sasha in the shower BYE!
Back at the Hipster Tofu Scramble Ginger Tea Cafe, Lizbeth and Leila gush over Lauren and Bobby’s triumphant dance at Lauren Junior Prom Under the Sea, and Lizbeth announces that she went all the way last night! That’s right: she had The Sex.
I put whiskey in my coffee and you can’t have any
Who would’ve thought that Lizbeth would’ve been the first of their threesome to have sex? Not Lauren, which’s why this confession inspires her to chat up Tommy, commanding him to come over that evening for sexual intercourse. This has been a confusing week for Tommy, hasn’t it.
Nobody can tell I’m texting right now. Or that I’m not wearing any underwear.
Felix’s Bedroom. Amy’s obsessing over Karma’s impending downward spiral: Karma’s had a very hard year and she’s living in a juice truck and clearly hasn’t attended class since before the show’s premiere and this sexual experimentation is surely her first step down the water slide towards opiate addiction, unplanned pregnancy, and huffing computer duster on a shoplifted scooter.
What do you mean it’s not a real date if I spend the entire time talking about my obsessive crush on Karma?
Felix suggests they skip the horror movie in Amy’s head in exchange for seeing a horror movie at the movies! Little does he know that Felix and Amy going on a date to see a horror movie is precisely how I would define “horror movie” to myself.
Chez Fawcett, later that evening. The parents are away on a couples’ retreat and Lauren’s wearing a football jersey and high heels and is ready to do the horizontal mambo with her #1 Man…
Just supporting my favorite Yarn Arts varsity champions
…when it turns out that her #1 Man has invited like seventy other men to her house… and uh, a keg… and a bunch of women! Lots of beer!
I’m not holding this door open all night, pal
Oh, and also: Karma! She says the party invite was all over tumblr. Probably under the #Karmy tag.
Hey I’m here for the lesbian stoplight party?
Why are you only interested in our lifestyle when a theme party is involved?
Amy and Lauren are stressed to the max. I mean, somebody’s juggling Farrah’s gnome collection and the music is super loud and should they call the cops? Of course not, there are already too many extras on payroll this episode.
I told you I can’t have sex with all these gnomes in the room! They freak me out!
Karma’s doing body-shots which Amy finds absolutely horrifying. This is one of those two-episode downward spirals, I can tell, the most brutal kind of all the kinds.
Bro, Benadryl is THE BOMB for a tough cold, trust me, chug that shit
Shane yanks Amy away from the sticky situation on her surely expensive table just as Felix shows up for his big movie date and is surprised to discover he wasn’t the only one invited. Karma tells him that clearly his plans for the evening have changed, and anyway, he should try a beer even though he says he doesn’t drink! Loosen up! Your Dad’s not here! Unbutton a top button on your cardigan! Get gum in your hair! Karma never drinks and look at her now! Tommy and Tommy’s Friend overhear the reference to Felix’s Dad and say they won’t trust him not to narc on them unless he gets drunk with them. So off they go!
Just keep walking, keep walking, everybody’s too drunk to know it was you who farted
Shane’s freaking out that Sasha and Liam are dirty dancing like a couple of randy teenagers, but Amy’s not here for that: he slept with her best friend, why the hell is he talking to her about anything! Shane points out that she also slept with his best friend. So if you’ve created yourself a “Faking It” drinking game by this point, and I hope you have, now would be the time for you to take a drink for “Liam and Amy’s drunken romp is mentioned in a spiteful manner.” Everybody else is drinking, so!
I don’t know I thought getting my jaw wired shut would help me with my juice fast but it’s getting really painful to maintain this facial expression
Sasha’s dumb as dirt, by the way: it takes Shane about three minutes to convince her that Liam wants a long-term relationship, that their teacher/student situation is dicey, and that she should return to Jake, her Navy Seal boyfriend. So she leaves to do that while Liam’s getting her a drink.
Sparia fanfic? Really? That’s a thing people are into now?
Pages: 1 2See entire article on one page
I sort of feel like Faking It is an art piece on the futility of trying to figure out What Is Even Going On with that one straight girl.
Riese, I want to thank you so much for these recaps. Lauren is my favorite character on a TV show that I can’t watch because I don’t get the channel right now. She’s fits right in with Santana Lopez and Mellie Grant in the Mean and Bossy Femmes That Secretly Have a Really Big Heart category that I love so much. And your recaps let me see what’s going on in her life and cry for her when things like this happen.
Can we just make this the Lauren show? Please? I mean, I feel like she is having the sexuality/identity struggles that I’m actually interested in.
I actually don’t mind the Felix/Amy plot.
I’m finding Karma a lot more bareable in 2B.
I have never watched this show, and probably never will, but I very much enjoy reading your recaps.
Same.
thanks y’all!
I cackled.
I can’t tell if I’m invested in these characters for who they are, or if I’m invested for the potential of who they could be and how your recaps reflect that.
SAME!
I am enjoying this season of Karma Tries To Figure Her Shit Out. She’s more tolerable this way, when we get to see the insecurities leading to her insane behavior.
Too bad Liam didn’t drown in the pool, he is not growing on me at all. Especially not when the show is trying to let him of all people be the voice of reason/moral center. Jesus take the wheel, I cannot with this. I cannot.
Someone should make a petition to the showrunners to kill off Liam.
Or would that be too mean?… Nah!
I don’t think Felix/Amy deserve all the hate. Yes it is frustrating that the writers seem to refuse to let Amy be happy with a woman, and feel the need to stick her with a guy. But especially after the show’s actual, real, acknowledgement of bisexuality last week, it’s possible they are actually going in the direction of Amy being bi/pan/etc. Which would be great in terms of representation, and explain Amy’s consistent reluctance to label herself a lesbian. On the other hand it’s unfortunate that the show only portrays Amy, who is still likely questioning her sexuality, and Reagan, a biphobic lesbian whose viewpoint unfortunately reflects a lot of straight and queer folks’. It would be nice to see a strong lesbian character who does not date men, who is open-minded and fully supports people of all sexualities.
hm, but despite acknowledging bisexuality, they still miss the opportunity to actually represent it. if amy is supposed to be bisexual (or pan or) with wade they now have two non-monosexual characters and yet none of them seems to end up in a same sex relationship. if they still want that amy/felix thing happen, they could at least have made wade´s ex a male person. (also doesn´t the whole bisexual person initiating a threesome because of confused feelings, then changing their mind thing play into existing stereotypes?)
also, riese, as many here before i have to say how much i enjoy reading your recaps, although currently not watching the show!
But they don’t want the Amy/Felix thing to happen Amy spent the whole time talking about Karma even Felix said so
It’s not like everything’s fine as long as a marginalized sexuality gets acknowledged on a show. I’m all for bisexual characters (more people for me to identify with!), but Amy reads like a lesbian. And Amy’s story arc on Faking it would NOT be a good representation of a bi woman. That’s what I think anyway.
Amy comes off as very, very gay to me (whether that’s a product of writing or Rita Volk’s acting, I’m not sure), but she’s also 16 and is still in the process of figuring it all out. I don’t really have a problem with Felix, cause it seems very unlikely that he and Amy are really going anywhere romantically as she’s still totally in love with Karma, and I know many women who now identify as lesbians who were still experimenting with dating guys at 16.
Karma seems like a much better candidate for the much-needed bisexual character, though it’s also very possible that she’s mostly straight and just really gay for Amy. Which doesn’t disqualify her potential bisexuality in any way, I just don’t see her dating other women besides Amy. Cause she’s so obviously head over heels in love with her.
“Karma seems like a much better candidate for the much-needed bisexual character.”
Yup, I agree 100%
*chorus of heavenly angels*
I finally caught up with the show and the recaps! This season has been interesting. I hope next season Karma figures herself out
Are we supposed to really consider Felix a viable candidate for Amy’s heart? She seems to ditch him at the first opportunity to go running after Karma and her latest crisis. She showed more interest in Reagan and even then Karma was still her first priority. Now they are having Karma and Amy kissing again. I mean, come on. They are going to drag this Karmy shit out through the whole series so I can’t take any of Amy’s love interests seriously until they can convince me that she still isn’t in love with Karma.
she needs a new viable love interest! WHERE ARE THE QUEER WOMEN AT THIS SCHOOL. kim eventually got saint on sugar rush, fiona eventually got imogen on degrassi…
Love these recaps. So much going on. Can’t they just find like one lesbian at all anywhere in Texas for Amy? I saw a lot of parallels between this and yesterday’s article on other TV lesbian kisses.
They’re in Austin. Of all the places in Texas where you could find a lesbian, Austin is #1.
As a very big appreciator of BOUNDARIES this messy-edged friendship with kissing and crushes just gives me so much anxiety. Friends are friends! Straight girls are straight! Don’t date your friends who are straight girls! End of story!
The name “Sharma” seems really close to either “shart” or “charmin,” which is entirely appropriate since that whole scenario is full of shit anyway.
I feel compelled to write a comment for the first time in my life to announce to anyone who will listen that I feel like Faking It is harassing me.
I have a sinking feeling, as this show progresses, that Amy and Karma will not end up together in any romantic capacity. What was I thinking? Hoping that would actually happen? Really, though.
And I don’t mean forever! I mean ever. For a moment. For more than an episode.
I realize this is a show about high schoolers, and, having been a high schooler, I recognize that one’s identity at this age is continuing to change at a rapid rate. To ask for any kind of boundary drawing would be antithetical both to the age of these characters, and to the project of television drama.
I am supportive of Amy’s evolving sexuality. And of Karma’s.
However. I feel like I’m in a sad universe in which executives at a major TV network approved a show featuring two women as leads, only to manipulate their friendship into something occasionally romantic for the sake of Faking It’s plot so that we are left (as queer women or otherwise), with any kind of lesbian behavior only as a narrative tool.
Maybe I would even rather they just be great friends. If Faking It can’t bring itself to portray queer women with any kind of happiness or success for longer than a three episode mini-arc, then can we at least have some really successful, platonic romance?
I really don’t want Faking It to be one gigantic practice in queer-baiting, but I have the sneaking suspicion that at the end, Shane will be happy with some great guy, Lauren will be happy with some great guy, Liam Booker will ascend to acceptance and love most likely of himself, Karma will find happiness and success with someone other than Amy, and Amy will look onto this scene with wistful grin, glad that her predilection for the female sex has allowed everyone else to find it in them to come to terms with themselves.
Grey areas are great, and extremely productive. But I feel like all the female characters I looked to as a teenager to provide some guidance for what a successful, and happy queer life look like were not present in exchange for the dramatization of a grey space. This lack of positive portrayals of queer women caused turmoil in my personal identity for longer than it should have. This lack continues to make it difficult for my relatives to imagine what a successful relationship might look like for me. Sexuality, regardless of gender, is fluid. But why are straight couples allowed to settle, while lesbians are left to faking it?
And don’t get me started with Regan. I can’t with her.
This episode’s kiss isn’t fair. This is a personal statement, and in no way a means to discount any of the other character’s experience. But like, this show is breaking my heart one episode at a time.
Let everyone have love that isn’t a secret, and isn’t a lie. This can be dramatized. I promise. Have you ever gosh-dang seen Friends?!
You know what. I probably just want some good ole’ Paige and Alex. Take me back to Canada, land where I’ve never been!
While I wish this was my official resignation from watching this show, I did watch all of season six of the L Word, and most movies on Netflix in the Gay & Lesbian category including but not limited to A Perfect Ending and Room in Rome, so let’s be real. It might be bait, but it’s bait I’m clearly starving for.
I agree with every golden word. You need to comment more often!!
“Sexuality, regardless of gender, is fluid.”
That I can’t agree with. My sexuality is not fluid. You can only say that about yourself, you can’t claim you know other people’s sexualities. Claiming that sexuality is fluid as a general rule is the same as insisting that we are all bisexual, which frankly, sounds exactly like some of the things homophobes say about gay people, erasing us because they can’t imagine that anyone can be different than them.
Goodness, that was not my intention at all.
I did not mean to insist that anyones sexuality was a general rule. Nor that everyone is bisexual?
I meant to insist the opposite–and commend Faking It for portraying queer characters in the midst of questioning their identities. In other words, a general appreciation for portraying queer characters in all states of identity making.
Apologies.
Every time I see the pool photo on Twitter/here I can’t help thinking that the writers must’ve been having some Cruel Intentions nostalgia.
Elaine Atwell’s recap on AfterEllen presented another scenario that resonated with me so deeply it made me go “WHAT” to myself.
It is possible that Karma is into Amy. It is also possible that Karma loves Amy deeply as her best friend and is into the version of herself that she can see in Amy’s eyes.
Having done this with multiple boys throughout my life (loving them deeply as close friends with very slippy boundaries between friendship and romantic/sexual interaction), I am kind of embarrassed because in general I find Karma annoying. But nope, in this scenario I am definitely her.
Aw, this was a very good post. Taking the time and actual effort to make
a top notch article… but what can I say… I put things off a lot and never manage to
get nearly anything done.