Well I don’t know about YOU but I personally saw a faded sign on the side of the road that said fifteen miles to the LOVE SHACCCKKKKK? So did our favorite musical trio: Shane, Bette and Alice.
For anybody unaware of the background here: Leisha Hailey is a professional musician (she was in the Murmurs also Uh Huh Her, a band I famously adore) and played a musician in All Over Me. Jennifer Beals can sing too, and did so in “Blood and Concrete” (1991) and They Shoot Divas Don’t They (2002).
If you’d like to see a video of the performance with *just* the song audio on it and no crowd noise or crowd shots, you can do so right here.
Can every night be karaoke night? Can we have a musical episode?
JENNY IS ALIVE!!!!
HAS ANYBODY SEEN MY ASSISTANT JAMES
THEY DIDN’T HAVE TO KILL DANA!!!!!!!!
I’m honestly having a great time, and every time the camera shifts to a member of the crowd, it appears that this performance has thrust everybody into a wild state of ecstasy. Finley wins, though:
And nobody is having less fun than Gigi, who is a little tipsy and increasingly preoccupied about Bette for reasons that are unfortunately quite familiar to me: “It’s amazing how the ego takes a hit even if you know somebody isn’t right for you,” Gigi tells Dani, apropos of nothing. Dani shares that she feels good with Sophie. Gigi says closure is powerful.
Dani and Bette greet each other with the warmth of two women that many members of the internet have sexual fantasies about. Dani tells Bette she’s been “working on something for us” that will certainly please Bette, seeing how deeply Bette has always been a huge fan of Daddy’s Evil Incorporated.
Meanwhile in the backroom, Tess confronts Shane: she wants to know why Cherie broke up with her because she’s pretty suspicious that the reason starts with S and ends with E and it’s not Sophie, Science or legendary recording artist Sade.
Gay Squabble #22: Who’s Delusional Now?
In the Ring: Tess vs. Shane
Content: Cherie told Tess that they needed to break up because it was “messy” and she wanted to “take herself out of the mix,” and Tess “calls bullshit” on Shane saying this decision did not follow Cherie and Shane having sexual activities. Shane knows she screwed up with Lena, but that was like, between three weeks and two years ago and she’s totally changed now? Tess says Shane has got the look of guilt on her face, declares herself done, and leaves.
Who Wins? Clea
Gigi saddles up to Bette Porter, wall of stone, at the bar, and asks if she wants to fuck in the bathroom and then immediately says she was kidding.
I’ve got a hot tip on a one-pot pasta dish that will blow your family’s MIND
But what Gigi really wants is some closure of her own and Bette is so vehemently against this request for direct communication — albeit coming from a slightly drunk woman wearing 15% of a turtleneck sweater — that she is in fact smug, repulsed, and a incredibly mean.
Gigi: What went so wrong with us, Bette.?
Bette: You really wanna talk about this? Like now?
Gigi: Yeah, yeah I do.
Bette: Okay. Um. I think we both know that we’re not right for each other.
Gigi: I’m curious about your perspective.
Bette: I think I need… more?
Gigi: Do you really think there’s someone out there who checks all your boxes, Bette?
Bette: As a matter of fact I know there is.
She is of course referring to Pippa, who she very recently told her friends she was only pursuing as a client! But this is unfathomably unnecessary and cruel to say to anyone, let alone someone you’ve dated casually who has never wronged or insulted you on any level.
Maybe being as hot as Gigi enables a person to maintain their ego against all odds, but again, as with Micah earlier in the episode, if I were Gigi I would be in the process of changing my name and putting a deposit down on a mansion in rural North Dakota.
Guess who’s here? It’s Tom! He is coming straight from the wedding of his nightmares, wherein his ex married his best friend and Great Aunt Gilda was coming on strong. Alice is tentatively flirty about his outfit.
You do animal impressions!?!? Show me your best wild tiger
Tom was stoked when Alice texted — and she’s jazzed about this until she realizes it’s not because he wants to bang in a parking lot but because he’d been dying for an excuse to get the hell out of that wedding. He is not alone in his seeming assumption that Alice, while bisexual, is only interested in women, and volunteers to be her wingman.
Micah tells Dani that Maribel isn’t gonna date him until she solves the crisis at the border, or something, and Dani suggests that he bury his emotions and instead go talk to a hot guy who has been staring at him all night!
We HAVE to do “Suddenly Seymour” the crowd will go WILD for it
This leaves Dani alone for a mere moment because almost immediately Gigi slips in to join her, just in time for Sophie to send her a drink because this is 1959 and what on G-d’s barely-green decomposing earth is going on here??
You know MOST people have trouble holding ONE martini glass without spilling but I’ll have you know that I personally am adept at in fact holding TWO at the same time
Shane tries calling Tess, who doesn’t pick up. She heads outside, where Finley is practicing telling Sophie not to hit on her. Her first rehearsal produces the following slice of improv: “I’m gonna say it again, I love you, I think I’ve always loved you, and BE WITH ME!”
What do you mean “If you build it, they will come”?? Who’s gonna come?
Shane reminds Finley that she has a job, Tess bailed, and Shane thus needs Finley to do said job. “I fed the rats so you don’t need to worry about that,” Finley tells her on her way back inside.
Bette’s skipped out on karaoke night and has re-located to an art exhibit featuring the students of the one and only Pippa Pascal, who is somehow both hidden in the canyons of Topenga AND teaching graduate students at a local University.
I told you I’m very happy with my current internet provider
If you say so
Pippa’s aggravated to see Bette — this is not the place for a pitch — but Bette says she’s not there for Pippa, she’s there for one of Pippa’s students. Slick.
Back at Karaoke, the unrequested drama continues! This time, it’s Maribel who spots Micah flirting with a man and decides to go right over and give him a piece of her mind.
Squabble #23: Grind Up On This
In the Ring: Micah vs. Maribel
Maribel: Was I just an experiment to you? Just to see what it would be like to sleep with a woman?
Micah: That – That is not —
Maribel: Cuz it sorta feels that way.
Micah: Wait, what do you mean? I just asked you out and you shot me down!
Maribel: I didn’t shoot you down!
Micah: You weren’t exactly excited or even open to the idea of dating.
Maribel: Oh I’m so sorry I wasn’t enthusiastic enough for you! Maybe I should smile more too?
Micah: That is not what I meant and you know that’s not what I meant.
Maribel: Maybe I was a little nervous.
Micah: Were you?
Maribel: Of course, I’m human. But instead of asking for clarification you find the hottest guy here to grind up on.
Who Wins? Micah should’ve asked for clarification, but sleeping with your friend is pretty vulnerable and nerve-wracking for both of them — she explicitly shot him down and I don’t blame him for reading the room and moving on to other possibilities. Truly I have no clue what’s going on with these two but I hope to find out soon!
Because the fine gentlewoman Sophie sent m’lady Dani a beverage across ye olde karaoke bar for reasons unknown, Dani sojourns in her direction to inquire and before long, banter is afoot!
I can hold this smile for five more seconds max and then we are returning to our respective corners, okay?
Dani: Was that an apology for brutally abandoning me at the altar in front of all my friends and family? Because I’m gonna need more than a drink for that one.
Sophie: Can we just pretend to be nice to each other?
Dani: This is me pretending to be nice. [pause] Does everyone cheat? is that just something everyone does?
I wondered here if Dani knew that Gigi cheated on Nat, or if she’s simply thinking of what little we do know she definitely knows — Felicity cheating on her husband, Jose cheating on his husband, Sophie cheating on her, etc.
This is such a pure moment: Dani, new to dating, trying to navigate the norms and determine what she should accept and what bears examination.
Sophie tells her she looks great and Dani’s like, “I know.”
Of course Finley walks out onto the bar floor at the exact moment Dani and Sophie are touching each other affectionately (for, again, reasons unbenknownst to me) and thus turns on her heels and returns to the backroom, which is not exactly what Shane had instructed!
Sophie chases Finley into the back room to find her very upset. Finley was gonna ask Sophie to stop hitting on her, but realized she didn’t have to after all, ’cause Sophie’s out there with Dani. Sophie insists she’s not back together with Dani and — you know what? Let’s fight it out.
Lesbian Squabble #24: And I Don’t Know How To Hold You Without Shaking
In The Ring: Sophie vs Finley
Finley doesn’t want a friendship. “I think I’ve been pretty clear about that,” she says, accurately. As mentioned in an earlier recap, there are many extras who can absolutely testify to this fact. But Sophie heard her fucking someone else! Finley thinks Sophie should know that wasn’t real! Finley’s just trying to get over Sophie but she’s making it so hard!
Finley: You asked me to stay and I stayed. Right. Then you asked for space so I gave you space. and any time I’m near you I feel something and I just — do you feel it? Do you feel it? Or am I fucking crazy?
Sophie: Yes, okay, you’re not crazy.
Finley: Then what the fuck, dude?
Sophie says it’s just hard! There’s so much to consider. Not Dani, but everybody. “Nobody thinks we should be together,” says Sophie, and I would like to disagree on the behalf of Sinley shippers everywhere — I believe there are at least 35 of us — and likely everybody who was at the wedding and hopes all that drama was worth it for somebody. “I don’t give a fuck what everybody else thinks,” Finley screams. Sophie shuts the door. She doesn’t want to make a scene. Because you know; they’ve made a few scenes. Finley is crying. “You’re never gonna choose me, are you?” Sophie can only sigh.
Who Wins? Finley. She made her case and put her foot down, despite how painful it is to do so.
Sophie’s hesitancy is unkind but it’s also clear where it’s coming from — Finley’s choice to disclose their affair in a backwards hat humiliated Dani, ruined an expensive wedding at the Bachelor Mansion and outed both her and Finley as very emotionally reckless human beings. In all the ensuing moments of their mutual lives, this choice has continued to deliver consequences: Finley losing her job, Sophie losing her dining room table and red pepper, Dani losing her mind, both Sophie and Finley losing some respect. Sophie lied! Finley fucked up!
What Sophie doesn’t realize yet is most of their peers ultimately don’t give a shit and she has to do what’s right for her own heart. Once the drama has faded, everyone returns to their own self-obsession and whatever is easiest for them socially. Nobody is thinking about the implications of Sophie aligning herself publicly with Finley half as much as Sophie is — including Finley.
And come on, is it really better to say “that’s not mine” than it is to say “that is mine, and we know that we got here the wrong way, but we did need to get here somehow”?
Back out on the dance floor, Alice can’t make the first move with Tom ’cause rejection is a bit intimidating right now. Sophie tells her she can’t be scared forever.
I mean if you think about it, aren’t baristas basically everyday queer heroes?
Oh my God you’re right
Alice: “I think one more night of crippling fear is okay.”
Sophie: “Not for me I don’t think.”
Alice: “No?”
Sophie: “Finley’s not that bad.”
Alice: “I know that! I love her!”
Sophie: “Yeah. So do I.”
And ta-da: that’s enough, I think, for Sophie. Just even this one singular person she respects being on board with the relationship, even this one person reminding her that the only person worried about her image w/r/t dating Finley is Sophie herself. And maybe she should just fucking go for it and stop hurting Finley!
Finley continues shining as the worst employee of the year as she paces in the kitchen, feeling wholly entitled to Shane’s focus and attention because she is “actually in pain.”
Shane’s advice for Finley (and also for her and Tess, it seems) is that if they both have feelings for each other, what’s the problem? Finley groans when she hears the opening chords of “Closer” by the esteemed Tegan & Sara. Because that’s their song. Obviously.
Yeah every night around 11pm a steady drip of Vancouver water starts leaking through the crack in the roof into the kitchen and I like to think that’s Dana up there, reminding us that we threw 50 cups of her ashes into a waterfall which was absolutely more ashes than one body could’ve ever reasonably created
“Is it?” Shane asks. “Because…”
Finley’s eyes light up like a child on Christmas morning about to rip open a giant box of Tinker Toys. Sophie’s singing their song!
Attention Attention we’re gonna need a clean-up on aisle 5!
That’s your job, Finley
Finley is dazzled by this sudden and welcome announcement of Sophie’s deep actual feelings and desires via the eternal Lesbian Love Language of Tegan & Sara lyrics. You can see in this moment that Finley has never before been the recipient of a grand gesture. She stands in front of the stage like a geeky groupie, blissed out and full of that hope she’d lost in her eyes. Sophie is scared but ready to own her feelings, every word, adding, sometimes, her own words to the song, as cringey as that insertion is. But, speaking of awkward —
Listen I love love, I love this rom-com moment and that in true lesbian rom-com fashion it involves Tegan & Sara. But…. Dani is here, you morons!!!! And guess what you’re kinda making a scene!!
Surely she would not dare to do what it appears she is currently doing?
Dani is here and so if Sophie must do it this way, and I don’t think she must, maybe give Micah a heads-up to remove Dani from the premises before she begins? Maybe don’t literally insert Finley’s name into the song or give an aside like and this is true about Finley thinking about her underneath her. Does Dani deserve to witness this, let alone witness an entire room of clueless extras cheering for Sinley? My friends, she does not!
And this is why, as soon as Dani sees that Sophie is singing and Finley is standing in front of her like a silly kid just gazing and elbow-crushing to this love song, she gets the absolute fuck out of there and I believe she will shortly be filing a lawsuit against the Dana Fairbanks Memorial Tavern.
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Yesss the recap for the best episode of television ever is here!! Riese, I admire your empathy for Dani (which I struggle to feel because she is a terrible partner, on principle I have trouble feeling bad for rich people, and she will probably get to fuck Gigi so she’s really winning in the end), but please tell me we haven’t lost you on Team Sinley! Me and the 33 other members of the team need you!
Great recap
Agree! So many threads are booing Sinley (I mean I get it, they fucked up big) to say Dani deserves better, but I’m like she literally has Gigi!!!! This is a much better outcome people!!!
Like yes it sucks to see your ex move on, but honestly most people don’t get to retreat into the arms of Gigi when this happens!
right!!?! what better place to land than THE ARMS OF GIGI
“Int(o)the arms of gigi”
I predict a song with this title will be written soon 😁
lgtbi musicians or songwriters take a note..
Or someone on here can improv one?
Team Sinley! Their sex scene was so sweet and intimate I could feel the release of the tension built
RIGHT??? I am always surprised to see that so many threads on social media everybody is anti-Sinley! i respect it but i cannot understand it, so glad to be amongst my people here
I also do not understand the dislike. It seems like everyone forgives Shane, Bette, and others so much more readily. Even the accusation that Finley shouldn’t have interrupted the wedding… obviously… but also wasn’t her sense that it was then or never, and it was too important to her not to do something? This is why I appreciated so much the episode when Shane encouraged her that it matters that she spoke her truth, and not many people can do that. (Sophie hasn’t even been able to do that to HERSELF all season, apparently?)
On a related note, not to split hairs, but in that S1 bathtub season, as far as recall no one says that Sophie cheated on her previous girlfriend with Dani. All Dani says “When we met you had a girlfriend. And you were so willing to leave her, and that scares me.”
yeah! Sophie and Finley screw up, but it always feels way more relatable to me than the way annny of the original characters would just screw people over. I dunno if they’ll work out, but gosh I do sure root for them
ahhh ok good point about what she said in the bathtub, i think i assumed that she’d cheated before deciding to leave her ex.
and right of course finley shouldn’t interrupt a wedding but IT’S TV! i think we all know that was a very hyperbolic action that makes sense within a fictional TV world, considering the circumstances, even if it makes zero sense outside of it. and the over-the-top actions made by other characters seem much more easily forgiven.
I agree about Sophie and her ex!! Everyone assumes she cheated but I assumed it was also a break up with her girlfriend for Dani situation.
And also agreed about Finley – when she interrupted the wedding obviously I was like “bro what are you doing” but what you said is spot on! She loved Sophie so much that she was willing to burn all bridges to tell her. I felt the same when Micah told her to “give Sophie space.” What’s wrong with showing someone how much you love them? Especially since Sophie is definitely the type of person who really values feeling seen and heard. And same for your thoughts on Sophie this season – she hasn’t been actively trying to hurt anyone, which is why I don’t get why everyone jumps to hating her so quickly. She’s just confused, which I think makes a lot of sense when the life you’ve always pictured for yourself is falling away, even if it’s because you realize it’s not what you wanted. I feel like if anything her poor behavior has been a result of her trying not to hurt people – she lied to Dani and Finley to spare their feelings, which while misguided, is a lot different than lying out of malice or selfishness.
For me it’s that I don’t think Sophie truly has enough respect for Finley. She either doesn’t notice or doesn’t take seriously Finley’s drinking problems in season one, taking her out on a “bro night” so she can drown her own sorrows. She has sex with Finley and then (as far as I can gather) essentially orders her to stay in Kansas – or at the very least cuts contact with her. She blames Finley ENTIRELY for what happened at the wedding, overlooking the fact that she played a huge part in this by a) cheating, b) not being open with Dani and c) not being open with Finley. She then blows hot and cold with Finley, asking her out for sushi then ditching her for Dani and lying about it. And still zero concern for her drinking or general emotional welfare. I applauded Finley for calling her out this episode and I’m a little disappointed it ended with The Grand Gesture.
I’m not against Sinley in the long run, I just think Sophie has treated her pretty appallingly to date and I would have preferred to watch Finley have her own storyline this season, addressing her drinking, growing as a person, carving out a life for herself, etc.
I feel like most of my comments on these recaps are complaining about pairings so I need to add that I freaking LOVED this episode and agree Riese that it’s easily the best of the season if not the revival ♥️
I hear you. I am similarly baffled by the way everyone on the show (and watching it) blames Finley, when it seems to me that she was the one who tried to stop things, from pulling back/turning silly while dancing to the hospital to the green room. It’s now clear that she harbored feelings for Sophie, but I don’t get the sense that she would have acted on them at all if Sophie hadn’t pushed the matter and surfaced what was between them.
My read on Sophie’s hurtful or hot/cold behavior this season is that she’s still working through her discomfort with who she is and how she’s acted, and also the new trajectory her life is on. She and Finley have emotional intimacy and chemistry but a relationship between them perhaps feels a lot less secure than her prospective marriage to Dani, which offered financial and practical stability, the perks of having a successful careerist spouse, etc. Finley is still sorting out her life (and seems a few years younger? Given the professional careers and grad school references for Dani and Sophie, I read them as late 20s and Finley and possibly Micah as a few years younger) and a relationship with her doesn’t present any of the superficial “perks” of a relationship with Dani, which sounds crass but, I don’t know, it’s a very different life trajectory than what Sophie had prepared for with Dani.
It doesn’t excuse her behavior (and maybe I’m just an apologist for what is in actuality inconsistent writing, not character depth!), but it does help me understand her and still root for their relationship to work out. I appreciated Riese’s suggestion on the pod that the writers consider allowing their relationship to continue through the series rather than imploding it in like 3 episodes (please don’t!), and lets us see them grow up and change and work things out and navigate life together.
Will Dani and Sophie get back together?
This was a really fun episode, but I’ll be honest, I spent most of it asking IS ANYONE ACTUALLY DOING ANY WORK IN THIS BAR?!!?
I’m not sure if this was setting up for next episode to open with Shane discovering that Finley didn’t lock up and Dana’s has been robbed, but I’m going to be stressed about it all week.
Totally agree
absolutely not nobody works there i feel like they have just full-on committed to that televised workplace situation where nobody works
The karaoke scene reminds me of how fun and indulging the l word used to be.
And also, why am I reading things like “he enters her” on here? Like yo. No. Hot or not? Is this even a question?
These are nothing like the old school cheeky recaps.
“And also, why am I reading things like “he enters her” on here?”
Umm, because this is a RECAP of a TELEVISION PROGRAM, so the entire point is to, uh, recap what has happened and in this instance, THIS IS A THING THAT HAPPENED ON THE SHOW. Perhaps having read the “old school cheeky recaps” you are familiar with the concept of recapping!!
Also because BISEXUAL PEOPLE exist and in this show there is a BISEXUAL CHARACTER who has sex! With a man! Like bisexuals do!
Chill out? Recaps don’t mean play by play of heterosexual intercourse. It’s just an unnecessary description, that’s all. Love your CAPS though.
Love your biphobia tho
seems like you are intentionally ignoring the fact that its bisexual sex. and there are a lot of bisexual women who come to this site and appreciate being seen.
if it’s not your thing, that’s cool. but maybe you don’t need to make the women & other gentlefolx for whom it is feel bad. the site has made it clear they are welcoming to our whole community.
That’s a lot of emotion for ‘he enters her.’
The Micabel stuff was so irritating to me on this episode! Maribel was completely in the wrong here, I think Micah was very clear in his desire to talk with and spend more time with Maribel and she completely shut him down and then she totally interrupts and embarrasses him when he’s trying to hook up with someone else?! That is completely irrational and unfair–you can’t have it both ways! And this just feels so out of character for her, she’s snarky but has never been a bad communicator.
right i’m so confused about what’s going on there!
Same, but all I really care about is that the slow burn seems promising for these two getting more screen time together. Like, maybe next episode Maribel gets more screen time to explain her actions? Sounds good to me!
Yes! That made me so uncomfortable. Maribel was so clearly in the wrong and Micah was communicating so clearly
Yeah Maribel came off pretty biphobic here, which is a bummer not only in itself but because it means Micah is once again basically the only character on the show getting a phobic plotline for their main arc. Siiiigh.
This is my favorite episode!!!
Everything is so messy! When Micah, Dani, and Gigi walked in and saw Sophie, Maribel, and Bette, I was waiting for the chart to pop up and the OG opening song to go tew tew tew tew tew tew tew tew tew in the background.
Sinley was worth the wait! Has it really been since January 2020?!?! I’m glad to hear there’s possibly 35 of us shippers, cuz I was starting to think it was 15.
And I’ve decided the thing I ultimately care about most, aside from Sinley, is Gigi’s happiness. I’m really enjoying the GiNi buildup, but I just want Gigi to be happy!!! Even if she wears a turtleneck sleeve for the rest of the series, as long as she is happy!
one thing that suggests to me we are closer to 35 than 15 is that there are three (3) Sinley fan-vids available on YouTube
Excellent episode and excellent recap!
thank you!
This episode was so good it almost made me forget I’m single
“nobody is respecting Cherrie’s SURNAME CHANGE” JUSTICE FOR CHERRIE jk I don’t really like her and I’m glad she didn’t ruin Shane/Tess
it’s good to declare justice for someone i think, as a rule
I’m all for Alice and Tom, however if Nat says she chooses her, she will run right back. I see her hurting Tom because he has already fallen for Alice big time. Which is a shame because they work together. I said a few episodes ago, Alice is gonna use Tom to make Nat jealous and show her other people find her desirable. Crappy, yes, but happens all the time.
I’m so ready for Dani and Gigi to kiss already. It’ll be like watching your own first kiss with someone you’ve wanted to kiss for so long…intense and passionate. I stan them for me and for each other, of course. Lol.
Solid recap as usual. Always good for a giggle. Why was Finley wearing so many layers indoors in LA!
It was my fav episode of the season by far. Everyone was together and we finally got somewhere with a bunch of these storylines that been dragging on for far too long. It was generally a joyful and playful episode for the majority of the characters, which had been missing from this season. I’ve already watched it like four times. Where was Angie though? Poor kid missing out on all this fun.
Very happy that my number 1 gal Finley is happy and now with who she was pining so hard for that she ruined a bachelor mansion wedding. But I’m finding it hard to forgive Sophie for all her bs this season and for putting my dearest Finley through the emotional ringer… I did love the Sophie singing scene despite it being pretty ridiculous in the context of the evening… but I love that song and couldn’t help but love the scene when it made Finley look like the happiest puppy in the whole wide world. Also, who doesn’t love a grand romantic gesture. It’s the lesbian dream. I have loved Sinley from the beginning but Sophie’s behaviour this season has put somewhat of a damper on the pairing for me. Hopefully, she can make up some ground within their relationship and offer some much needed support for my fragile Finn bean.
The Love shack scene was fun and made me appreciate Shane’s sex appeal for the first time ever so that was a bit of a shocking development for me. She really handled that mic stand like a pro…
I kinda like the slow burn of Shane and Tess especially considering Shane’s history. Tess deserves to be treated right! I’m glad Cherie is out of the picture. Wtf was all that!
Looking forward to seeing how DiGi plays out considering Gigi’s cheating history. Some good news for me is that these scenes with Dani and Gigi are actually making me like Dani for the first time ever. These two actually make some sense and Gigi has been getting Dani to open up emotionally in a way Sophie never could. I still will never understand how her and Sophie ever even got together considering Dani’s morally repugnant job at her rich daddy’s nepotism factory. Did they never discuss how gross that whole situation was? So weird. Also, I have to say I was annoyed that Dani said twice in this ep that Sophie left her at the altar. Technically she left Sophie!
Bette was such a bitch to Gigi. The whole time. I’m so glad it’s over because I couldn’t take anymore of her generally unenthusiastic attitude towards Gigi as a human being outside of sex. Farewell GiBette. Bette has been pretty awful this season so she doesn’t deserve anyone right now but we all know she’s gonna hook up with sexy artist lady.
One last note – where is Helena?? Is she or is she not coming back? I can’t wait to find out what her new personality will be in Gen Q.
I’m confused about Helena tbh — she was listed as a cast member for Season 2 of TLWGQ on imdb pro (other writers made note of it also, not just me) for one episode but now her name is no longer on the cast list? idk if their plans changed (which is possible i think, bc covid) or they’re trying to keep it under wraps.
Are you literally inside my brain rn? Everything you said above. Fully agreed. 100%
sorry i know this comment is from fully a year ago but i’m losing my mind at “technically she left sophie” that’s the most ungenerous possible reading of that situation??? was dani supposed to go through with the wedding after finley fully interrupted it and sophie did not immediately deny having feelings for finley???? what the fuck
As always, a romp of a recap, Riese. I bow at your feet with these image captions and this week was particularly (literally laugh out loud) superb.
Did not expect Sophie and Finley to happen in this episode (was thinking we’d have to wait until later in the season) but have watched these scenes about 10x today. Ahhh.
I am feeling the Alice/Tom dynamic, and I like how his character is written as someone who seems comfortable in his own skin and stepping into this queer world that is very much not his.
I am still delighted by Gigi although curious about the Bette disappointment (is it just that sting of rejection? B was unnecessarily cruel) vs. her interest in Dani. Also that sweater was … a choice. As someone who has spent most of my life in New England, I am also impressed by some of the characters’ commitments to wearing layers/sweaters/jackets when other characters are wearing just a bra and a lightweight button-up.
Regarding the Pippa comment about a real chance to show her work, I think she means a concrete, big name or publicity exhibition, rather than just the gallery affiliation. (Knowing the L Word, it will probably be some kind of glitzy, Instagramable installation space in/around LA.)
thank you! i also thought we were gonna have to wait all season so i was delighted and now i am frightened because we’ve still got four more eps so there’s no way it’s all smooth sailing from here. there are shades of alice + dana happening with all this too i think.
and yes i think you’re right about the art show. after a week of mulling it over lol i actually looked it up and i guess being represented by a gallery is sort of like having an agent? so like bette could represent her and also get her a show at a museum.
I keep thinking the writers are going to and do a Dana/Alice parallel with Sinley and I really am begging them not to!! They’re so entertaining and have so much chemistry I really feel like they’d be a long-term couple that would be really fun and interesting to watch. And, I would love to see Finley work through her issues with someone who loves her at her side
I’m pretty sure this is going to end up being one of a very small number of TV episodes that I’m happy to revisit on a whim, years later, just as an individual episode without re-watching the series as a whole. It was so fun and charming even though the amount of time spent at the Dana Fairbanks Memorial Tavern makes me think this was a bottle episode, and usually I dislike those.
The karaoke promo pics had me nervous for weeks about potential for second-hand embarrassment but it ended up being totally delightful, same with Sophie singing to Finley. I hate that Dani had to see it, and I hate that Bette was so vicious to Gigi for no reason, but overall, this show is really delivering and I love it!
Yes to all that! I may have already rewatched today – which is unprecedented for an l word episode. Like, usually their biggest appeal is familiarity and jokes, but the karaoke caused no second-hand embarrassment, and this episode had parts I disliked but without a cringe factor, which is kinda noteworthy for this dear show.
Also – there are many gems on the internet, but those captions are the one thing I literally laugh at every week.
yes!!! even the parts that irked me didn’t make me upset, just… lightly irked. i can only watch the press screeners a certain number of times and i sometimes reach that number cuz i write the recap in stages and often go back to take extra screenshots, transcribe more dialogue etc. but this was the first time where i kept wishing i could watch it again for fun! but i couldn’t risk losing a viewing that i might need later so instead i just sat on my hands and waited
These recaps always make me laugh out loud, and this one was no exception.
Seriously though, WTF was Gigi wearing? 15% of a turtleneck sweater about sums it up, and it’s just baffling! Why do so many of the characters on this show wear so many layers and blazers and jackets and sweaters IN L.A. Isn’t it 70 degrees there pretty much all the time? I just don’t understand.
However questionable the costume department’s choices are though, the music department was on point this ep. Those are definitely the songs that a bunch of lesbians would choose to sing at karaoke, I’m just saying. (Sophie B Hawkins!!)
And, last but not least, WHEN ARE GIGI AND DANI JUST GOING TO KISS ALREADY!? Dani’s face as Gigi walked away in the last scene was epic. She is absolutely SHOOK and I am HERE FOR IT.
it actually is kinda cold in december and january, which is when they were filming this season i think. there is a very brief window of time where it makes sense to wear a jacket, but like i have never needed a winter coat here. and INSIDE A CLUB absolutely not, it’s funny when sophie is in a short-sleeve shorts romper and finley and bette are both in layer after layer.
i remember the night we did our live TLAB show with the cast in 2019 that i was FREEZING in my dress!
but maybe what we have been missing all this time is the options afforded to us by 15% of a sweater. an easy way to transition summer outfits into winter hits!
Kudos Riese for this stellar recap, and thank you for the reference to Clea. It would be great to have her return for a cameo as the manager of a Hot Topic where Alice and Shane go shopping for Angie’s birthday. I see that that actress hasn’t had an IMDB credit in 10 years, perhaps she’s painting houses in the Lower Mainland just waiting for them to call her up.
This was not the strongest night for our beloved Gigi. Her mangled turtleneck was a crime against good taste. Then she allowed Bette to be cruel to her without sticking up for herself, which feels very out of character. Why not land a goodbye burn? “Bette, you’re a nasty pretentious mess. You will inevitably earn Pippa’s disdain and Jodi was too good for you. Congratulations on parentifying your daughter.”
“Kudos Riese for this stellar recap, and thank you for the reference to Clea. It would be great to have her return for a cameo as the manager of a Hot Topic where Alice and Shane go shopping for Angie’s birthday.”
This is an excellent free idea for anybody who is reading!!
I projected myself 100% onto the scene with gigi and bette and assumed she hadn’t said anything because she was trying not to cry, as i certainly would have
Okay, so this was def the best episode of the season. And I’m stoked about Sinley.
But…can Bette like, stop? SHE’S SO MEAN. And pretentious. And I kind of can’t stand her this season.
Anyway, #justiceforgigi
THANK YOU. Bette is awful and I’m always hesitant to bring it up because of all the Bette fans…but she is so mean.
She’s downright awful for no reason! I really don’t think any of her meanest moments this season have been out of character, but it feels like she’s punching down more or something? Or just being worse to people who we specifically see try to be nice to her?
I love a good Bette Porter oneliner here and there, but I really don’t love how she hurts people so casually and is still surprised at every minor challenge.
i agree, it’s not out of character but there is something different about it this season and i think you’re right, it might be punching down? carrie is certainly no helena peabody! and like bette’s behavior has been cruel and abusive in the past — the #1 thing i noticed on my rewatch for the podcast was how absolutely terrible bette was in so many cases which i had not noticed when i watched it back in the mid-to-late 2000s.
but i feel like this dynamic with gigi is a new one, like it’s not new that bette is mean, but it’s new to see it played out in this kind of scenario. idk if that makes sense.
absolutely. not entirely out of character but somehow more cruel than usual. what always bothered me about her was that she was often incredibly rude to people she clearly saw as “beneath” her, like servers, assistants, etc. but this season it’s out of control. the second she acted the way she did towards poor Carrie i was pretty much enraged 🤣
i also agree though that some of the most hilarious one-liners have been said by a super sassy Bette (but not really in this series?)
I am curious about the move to make Bette as unlikable as possible this season. Was this an artistic choice? Or a strategy to break her stranglehold on the fans so that we might open our hearts little wider for the newer cast members? In that case, Gigi seems to be the biggest benefactor of displaced Bette stans.
I loved everything in this episode except for the Sophie and Finley storyline. I know I’m in the minority here, but Finely is the worst. I really don’t know what Sophie sees in her (besides the fact that they’re trauma-bonded) because she’s so, so mediocre.
Rosanny Zayas (Sophie) is an incredible actor!
Yes I know everyone will hate what I’m about to say but I’m disappointed in the writers for seemingly romanticizing/glamorizing/minimizing the pain and destruction caused by affairs.
Finley is superbly annoying; always out of breath, disheveled, and clueless. I was so happy to see Sophie “chose” Danny (yay for once the writers got it right) but that turned out not to be true. The bar scene where Sophie sings a song to Finley was absurd and cheesy. And Danny was there? This storyline is very offputting – there is nothing to root for in Finley and Sophie. An affair is not something to be celebrated and cheered on. Hopefully the fallout from the affair is accurately portrayed. The majority of affair partners don’t stay together when reality comes back into play after a grass is greener flare up of juvenile immaturity. I would like to see Sophie realize she made a mistake and dump annoying sloppy Finley.
Comments like this emphasize how differently people interpret the exact same thing. I’m not Team Sinley, but Sophie and Dani were not good partners and they were not in a healthy or positive or liberatory relationship. Do you honestly think their relationship worked? And to be frank, Sophie has been experiencing the fallout this entire season. Every episode someone reminds her of how awful the affair was. The affair was not glorified.
> Finley is superbly annoying; always out of breath, disheveled, and clueless.
I’ve read Finley as neurodivergent (ADHD or autistic) and your remark feels a little ableist.
Yeah I feel like there’s something like that going on, and maybe also some kinda negative feelings about more andro/butch people, in the Finley hate.
I definitely feel like that’s the case, and falls in line with the Carrie hate also.
I am, in general, a Better Porter fan, but jesus they have gone out of their way to make her the most unlikeable person possible this season AND THAT IS SAYING A LOT! Just absolutely callous and cruel for…why? It’s really hard to watch.
I love Tom and Alice together and, based on the promos, I am scared for their future. He deserves better than whatever is about to happen.
So, Autostraddle is my only real fandom source, so my view might be skewed (I feel like I’m SURROUNDED by Sinley shippers), but…I don’t like Sinley as a couple and it has very little to do with the cheating. Or rather, it’s not about the cheating as an act of cheating. Last season, Finley was one of my favorite characters and this season I honestly can’t stand her anymore. Last season she was a sweet, loveable mess, she had some pretty deep-seated issues, but she was trying her best. She was lost and she got called out by the pastor she was “fudging” and after the cheating incident and all the destructive drinking, she realized she needed to work some things out, so she went home to do that…for herself. This season, she says she went home and did that (in part for Sophie instead for herself), but the second she gets the Sophie bat signal, she runs back and falls into ALL of her destructive behaviors again. She makes impulsive decisions that hurt people. She rushes into things without thinking or asking questions. She walks away from her job (which is painted as noble but is really just a messed up situation). She starts drinking her problems away after she explicitly states that she stopped (and no one around her seems to notice, btw).
This is not a person who should be in a complicated relationship with her former best friend whose wedding she ruined. This is a person who has regressed and needs HELP. This is a person who, at worst, learned no lessons, and at best, really needs a support system and doesn’t have one. Sure, Finley and Sophie have chemistry, but if these last few episodes don’t end with Sophie realizing that Finley has some problems and needs help, who cares? This relationship will be unhealthy just like her last one was (albeit in a different way), and I don’t want to root for that. I want better for Finley.
I was also kinda mystified by how Finley at first was going out of her way to hide the beer cans, then 5 minutes later was pounding beers in front of Sophie and they didn’t acknowledge it at all…
I’m pretty much with you on all this. I think Toboni is an incredibly warm and charming and funny actress, so it makes the mess of Finley kind of lovable and, as a pretend person in a pretend story, engaging to watch. But if we’re meant to take her actions at face value, she is a dangerous and self-destructive person and desperately needs some help. (And if we’re meant to think the unhealthy things about Sophie and Dani as a couple were serious and real, I assume we’re meant to think the same here. Nothing to do with the cheating.)
It was disturbing to me that we were meant to see such a cruel public action as a big sweet romantic gesture in this episode — which isn’t Finley’s fault, of course, but is part of a pattern in this aftermath.
My GUESS is that they’re putting them together like this to introduce the alcoholism story so Sophie can support her through it, instead of isolating her from the cast for that storyline?
I really hope you’re right. The original L Word didn’t exactly treat mental health with much grace, I hope Gen Q can do better. I feel sometimes like I’m taking this show too seriously with how unforgiving I am of characters’ dismissal of each others’ addictions and other deep-rooted issues, but it matters. It matters because we see and normalise these behaviours in real life. Gen Q may be a soap opera but that shouldn’t mean it can’t dig a little deeper into addiction and show characters actually expressing concern for and supporting each other, rather than enabling each others’ self-destructive spirals and encouraging the audience to cheer them on.
Such a wild feeling to be so consistently delighted by an episode, but here I am! Feeling it!
I loved way too many things to get into without losing my whole entire mind (but not Bette reaching toward the zenith of her cruelty or whatever was up with Micahbel tonight), but my favorite part was Finley subtly demonstrating that the secret to never losing a day of business to Dawn Denbo’s rat antics is to cultivate your own local rats to defend the perimeter of your lesbian karaoke and poker tavern.
Lastly, please be advised that while I’m on board for pretty much all the pairings we saw some development for tonight, I will actually be insufferable when Gigi and Dani get together and I will not apologize. I’m even here for that incomprehensible little turtleneck cutoff thing and, again, not apologizing!
I also loved the weird turtleneck sweaterette situation? Not everyone could rock it but Gigi does…
yeah, thank you l word for giving us half clothing items to judge. I too think Gigi rocks the weirdo turtleneck
my favorite part was Finley subtly demonstrating that the secret to never losing a day of business to Dawn Denbo’s rat antics is to cultivate your own local rats to defend the perimeter of your lesbian karaoke and poker tavern.
this made me laugh out loud!!!
Bette Porter is the Tom Brady of lesbians.
Hahahaha this is the funniest thing ever!
HELLO I AM ALSO A SINLEY SHIPPER. grateful to have found my people at last
WE ARE HERE 4 U
okay, now that’s out of the way — these are my thoughts:
1. I deeply enjoyed this episode
2. I fully cried when Sophie sang Closer to Finley!!!!!!
3. I feel like people do not give Finley (/Jacqueline Toboni) enough credit! obviously she is kind of immature, annoying and responsible, but she also feels like a real person, and is genuinely likeable in spite of her flaws, and I think that’s special and goes past the more one-dimensional characters that this show sometimes creates
4. Alice and Tom hooking up! SO KEEN! get it!!
5. I also feel like Maribel was more in the wrong and was kind of puzzled about how she acted (clearly blowing Micah off, then getting really mad) but hopefully we’ll get more insight into her actions next episode?
6. Bette is mean, but also Bette has always been mean so I do not know why people are surprised by this
7. “Love Shack” was bizarrely amazing
I personally am less surprised that Bette is mean and more disappointed that she hasn’t grown as a person since the original series. I think in the original series she often (not always) had a lot of righteous anger and now she’s just mean to be mean.
Rosanny Zayas is such an incredible actor and now it has been revealed she can also SING??? Holy cats. Also I really love her scenes with Jacqueline Toboni because they can both act so well. I really would love it if Sinley could be happy together for a long time, but I’m sure the show will swiftly pivot to drama and heartbreak.
even their fight scene i was like wow it’s just great to see them act the fuck out of this, it was so good
I like Dani so much this season and I couldn’t stand her in the first one!
Bette is insufferable.
I liked having everyone in one place and the drama that ensued in this episode but I’m finding the writing just terrible, so many conversations just didn’t make sense and so many characters made weird incomprehensible choices, I found it hard to really get in to the episode
me too! i have really turned around on dani, her journey this season is so interesting
hi riese do you see gen q as 1 big fuck up by all concerned and it will take more than an iron to take out all the wrinkles ur recaps are making me not wanna watch gen q and dump it coz it is poorly seen to be about ppl having sex messing up having sex ignoring others theres no chemistry at all and its making bad light of lgbtqia+ which is wat the show is all about and im thinking the shouldnt have called it l word in the first place coz its not supposed to be a show just about lesbians im just very disappointed in everything that the show is airing i mean wtaf is jb leisha and kate and marja playing at its a total embarrassment of all gay ppl and im sad i think they all need slapping the crap out of them
Punctuation maybe? Also What the…? Though the OG TLW was centered around lesbians, it also tried to show us lesbians were part of a larger community. Alice has always been bisexual which was talked about, explored, and debated and Max was a transman who had relationships with both men and women (same as Micah). Oh, and there were bisexual men, men in drag, open relationships, heterosexuals (gasp), and more.
It both irritates and baffles me when people have a revisionist recollection of something and will denigrate and browbeat other people for remembering/honoring/portraying it accurately.
Lastly, the show is called The L Word Generation Q with the Q standing for queer which covers all facets of the LGBTQIA+ community. As a representative of any letter within that acronym, the television portrayal of love, drama, and sheer shenanigans of any other set of people from that same acronym who all struggle to be accepted within society should make you proud, not ashamed.
Gigi…gahhh can that woman get any hotter? The only thing missing from this episode was her in a blazer speaking Farsi.
Like so many others have said, I’m starting to like Dani. Maybe that grating personality she displayed in S1 was due, in part or on the whole, to her relationship with Sophie? They made no sense…still trying to understand how that came about. Thus far, Dani has shown herself to be a top but I have a feeling she’d gladly bottom for Gigi which…I mean…who wouldn’t?
Bette has always been curt and rude but I think the lack of a stable relationship combined with Tina moving on, her not having the pull she’s used to having in the art world, and Angie finding familial connections outside of her have jettisoned her into the land of the unlikeable…almost. Tina said it best in the OG TLW; when Bette feels out of control and/or scared/threatened she lashes out and puts people in a box. Sadly, so many people are going into that box right now.
Finley is such a love-hungry puppy and I want someone to hug her and tell her to love herself first. I like Sinley a lot, but I really want Finley to not seek validation from a relationship.
Yes to this! Finley needs to be secure in being Finley.
Fantastic recap as always, Riese!
My main thoughts on this episode are as follows:
– Sophie singing was nice, but uh…did she have to sing the whole song? Like…she legit sang it in its entirety. I just feel like the time could’ve been better spent on something else, like…IDK, Tess and Shane enthusiastically putting their bodies and mouths on one another. But I’m a dreamer.
– Speaking of Shane and Tess…not to be dramatic, but if we don’t get a sex scene between these two by then end of the season, I’m gonna self-immolate.
– The general consensus is that Bette was referring to Pippa as the person who “checks all of her boxes” but my immediate thought was Tina. I mean, in hindsight sure, Pippa does make sense because that’s clearly where Bette’s mind is at right now, but given Carrie and Tina’s prior convo about how Bette clearly still has feelings for Tina, that’s what clicked for me in the moment.
– I NEED to know if that was actually Kate singing during Love Shack, because…I’m gay. Knock a little louder sugar, indeed.
– I love Tom and Alice. I think they’re super cute together.
I love Tom and Alice too, and I really didn’t expect to at all!
I too was surprised by the lack of biphobia in this episode! Hooray! I think it would’ve been understandable if one the characters made some gender-related comment about Alice being into a man (for apparently the first time in many years?)(who knows, maybe they will address this in another episode) but I am glad the dialogue didn’t veer into any biphobic territory. Happy for Alice and Tom, love is love indeed, the end.
welp, when Shane suggested betting on Alice and Tom hooking up that night, Bette said: “Ooh, I do not want to spend any time picturing that”, and to me that did come across as a little biphobic, since Bette doesn’t particularly have a history of being squeamish about imagining her friends hooking up with people? Am keen to hear alternative interpretations of that line though, since I too would love an absence of biphobia for f’ckin once!!
No yeah I totally heard that as biphobic
Jesus Riese you are fucking hilarious! You had me laughing outloud about Gigi!
That was an UNDERGRAD thesis exhibition (BFA), which I think doubles down on Bette’s obsession with Pippa. No one normally pays that much attention to 22-year-olds! Right?
Excuse me, one of those 22 year olds is going to redefine neo-expressionism!
Hey Riese, just wanted to add that I believe “Britt” is the second instance of they/them pronouns, as Jose referenced his ex in this manner in the very first (or second?) episode of s1. When Micah is helping him move furniture, shortly before smashing his window and boldly inviting him to dinner.
It would be nice to see an explicitly non-binary / gender nonconforming character on screen though. At the moment it feels the show’s patting itself on the back by ticking the “they” box in throwaway dialogue.
Watching the original L Word characters sing Love Shack was genuinely thrilling. I couldn’t take my eyes off Leisha, she is an amazing performer. I’m not familiar with the bands she was in previously so I had never seen her sing. It was such a perfect choice for the three of them. I especially liked the part where Shane briefly protests because she “always” has to sing the guy’s verse.
Also, Rosanny is so talented. Loved watching her sing Closer.
First on an unrelated note- petition to put the comment box at the TOP of the comments!
Second, if you told me when this show started that one of the newer none main characters I would care about intensely in season 2 was Gigi, season 1 me would laugh at you. She’s really come in to her own. She’s amazing and deserves good things.
and lastly, I’m a bisexual woman…I’m glad they are giving Alice bi-things to do (see what I did there), but TBH there were only 2 sexy times and one of them was hetero. If we are going to continue the cis hetero fun times (get it Alice!), I’m going to need MANY, MANY MORE sexy times from the rest of the cast.
Is it just me or do most of the sex scenes this season take place in or end up in bed? I need to see Tess & Shane on the porch steps, or Dani & Gigi against Dani’s big ass windows, I don’t care, but pleaaaase less beds.
when is the podcast episode coming??? desperately need the banter
Ok but really where is Assistant James and his sideburns
he is probably on hold with bette’s dentist
“They have changed”
HAVE SEX!
Can we please have Bette stop dressing like Bea Arthur? No one wears scarves like that anymore. Jeesh.
Meowww, Shane singing…has she done this on the last series if so, I don’t remember but that was kinda really hot! She was and still is my favourite character and made me realize that hey, women can be attractive as hell. Yep, Kate Moennig forever!
so I’ve been continuing to think about this episode and, okay, initially I was like: was Tom being biphobic by assuming Alice wasn’t into him? and maybe he was, but I also like Tom and prefer to read it as him engaging in classic lesbian behavior ie not picking up on any of the signs, over-eagerly offering to help your crush hook up with other people (both things i have done far too many times to count).
basically: Tom is lesbian culture!!! you heard it here first!!
Belated comment, but: I kinda appreciated Tom assuming Alice wouldn’t be into him, given the number of cishet men who assume that every woman is available to them, up to and including actual lesbians sometimes. So I think he was overcorrecting (as a plot device to up the tension!) towards “No, she’s obviously just here for the ladies” but I appreciated him defaulting to not assuming a queer woman would want him. And also how totally he was there for it as soon as she indicated interest. Since we know him a little bit at this point we also know it’s not just about knocking boots–he and Alice really do get along wonderfully.
Did not expect to be shipping a m/f ship in this year 2021 on the L-Word, but hey.
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