Welcome my dearest friends to a fresh, pre-chilled recap of the second episode of the third season of The L Word Generation Q, brought to you by the same network that brought you the original L Word, a meditative mini-series about getting your vagina rejuvenated and the iconic exes you run into along the way. This L Word Generation Q Episode 302 recap is chock-full of high-stakes drama, great outfits, high-brow art and low-brow art!!
Every season of this program I remember anew what a delight it is to write about and consequently discuss with all of you here in the comments!!!
We open where we departed: Bette and Tina playing tonsil hockey in the living room, their innocent brokenhearted daughter Angie walking in upon them, looking for solace regarding her split with Jordi and finding instead that her Moms are looking for solace in each other’s gaping maws.
Bette and Tina attempt to play it cool but fail immediately. “Are you seriously gonna act like I just didn’t see? Just — ew—” Angie shares before turning around and going right back to school!
And then — Bette and Tina, who haven’t had sex with each other for a significant number of years and are wet as the Everglades for each other, let Angie walk right out that door, rationalizing that they’ll talk to Angie tomorrow, NBD. And then they check in that this is real and not a mistake and then they return to the beating heart of L Word Fandom: boning each other.
Sexy Moment #2: Did You Know That This is Bette & Tina’s 11th Sex Scene of The L Word Franchise
The Players: Bette and Tina
The Pick-Up: “I mean it feels so real to me.” // “Yeah it is real.”
Content: Bette leads Tina into the bedroom because that’s what Bette does, she leads, and they undress each other and Bette’s got her hands running over Tina’s body like it’s a work of art she wrote her thesis about. “It’s been a long time,” Bette says. “I’m… different.” But Tina says she’s so, so beautiful and Bette’s like NO YOU ARE. Okay you both are!! What a Feeling!!
We then move gamely forward across the river and through the woods to where Gigi and Dani are starting the morning out with a piping hot cup of Fighting.
Lesbian Squabble #2: Step by Step
In the Ring: Dani vs. Gigi
Content: Nat wants to get to know Dani a little bit before allowing her to move in with her ex-wife and potentially corrupting her children — Eli and Olive, notorious L.A. Times cover stars best known for vomiting into a crock pot. Dani is somehow insulted by the prospect of having dinner with Nat.
“You have to stop making me feel bad for having kids,” Gigi says. Dani wants Gigi to stop talking to her like she’s a child! Gigi wants Dani to stop acting like a child and so do I.
Then, Gigi’s phone buzzes because of course Nat is calling Gigi at this moment, which causes Dani to leave in a huff, filled with the righteous anger of a person who does not have children and clearly does not understand what having children entails, perhaps because her father is a monster.
Who Wins? Gigi because she’s right and Dani is wrong.
Back at the Shess Shack, Tess is trying to seduce Shane into buying the second bar! She’s whispering about how well their bar’s doing, how it’s the only lesbian bar in L.A., and just imagine… what if they had two lesbian bars… right next to each other… in the same neighborhood…
“Oh, it would be so glam,” Tess whispers, incorrectly.
“Are you manipulating me?” Shane asks, reminding Tess that she wasn’t born yesterday as she flips Tess over, returning to her rightful throne as East Hollywood’s Top Top.
Shane is very gently reminding Tess she simply needs time to think about it, but Tess is firmly opposed to calm, rational decision-making and negotiation. In fact, she subsequently takes a call regarding an inspector coming to check out the property that afternoon. I think Shane’s best next move here, in response to Tess’s accelerated action plan for an idea Shane has yet to approve, would be to buy the second bar and then sell it to Chuck E. Cheese.
Over at FiSoMiMar’s, Finley’s also making big moves: she built an easel! For game night! A beloved pastime of the sober community! I love game night, especially when everybody realizes how fun it is to follow the rules, which I know by heart. Sophie agrees with me that game nights are cute. Also Sophie hopes Finley’s good at games because she “sucks… at losing.”
Finley wants to invite Micah and Maribel which pushes Sophie to acknowledge that womp womp actually Maribel hates Finley! So maybe they could just do some one-on-one Pictionary? Finley, possessing a social confidence that is perhaps the exact opposite of my own, is certain she can fix Maribel’s loathing by simply putting in some “hang time” with her. “I’m gonna easel her into it,” Finley ker-pows before heading upstairs.
Surprise for everyone, though: Maribel heard the whole convo! And she is a soft no on game night.
Sophie quickly convinces Maribel to put her aversion to Finley aside and give herself over to the joy of sober group gaming and Maribel relents. Sisterhood is powerful!
When you want to go where everybody knows your shipper name, there’s only one place to go: The Dana Fairbanks Memorial Tavern. Bette and Tina arrive hand-in-hand, full of promises about open dialogue and taking it slow, and Alice and Shane are, once again, pretty stoked.
However, it turns out Bette and Tina’s fingers have been too far up each other’s vaginal canals to give their own daughter a ring to learn why she’d stopped by on her first night of school. Uncle Shane’s got the scoop: Jordi dumped her. Well, Bette Porter never liked that girl, not from the very beginning!
Ivy texts Shane that she’s “still waiting on [her] haircut” which is like, ok everybody calm down. Anyhow, tonight is Marcus Allenwood’s post-mortem gallery opening, and everybody’s coming including Alice and her “age-appropriate date,” an actor who was in a Marvel movie or maybe a DC movie because what’s the difference you know???
Alice ducks out to take a call from JoJo Siwa’s people and Bette and Tina don’t know who JoJo Siwa is which somehow inspires a conversational tangent about how Alice lives in an imaginary world of unicorns, rainbows and Oompa-Loompas? Which honestly is a much better description of JoJo Siwa than Alice but I digress!
Game Night is here and Finley is getting the festivities off on the wrong foot by congratulating Marbiel and Micah on the “goo-goo-gah-gah” baby? The baby that:
- Micah has not consented to having
- Neither of them have taken any concrete steps to create
- Sophie told Finley about in confidence
“It’s gonna be cute, a little combo of both your faces,” Finley continues down this intermediate-intensity hike off a cliff. “Wait no. You’re gonna have to choose. How are you gonna choose? You guys both have such good faces?”
The thing about any two people who want to make a baby together is that truly no congratulations are in order until like week 16 of an actual pregnancy because you know, so much can go wrong. And for two people who don’t produce sperm, it can also be incredibly expensive! Luckily on this show everybody is rich, even the poor people.
“Look, we’re not having a baby,” Micah interrupts Finley.
“We’re just talking about having a baby,” Maribel clarifies.
And then Finley does the Finley thing — where when she fucks up she declares herself a fuck-up and sulkily exists the room. I look forward to Finley perhaps learning some more mature methods to dealing with self-loathing and social errors at some point.
Maribel flicks a piece of food at Sophie and chastises her for having a big mouth.
We then journey to the storied Zakarian Gallery, where Bette and Dani are outside in the soft pansexual lighting of a hot night in the city, discussing Dani’s recent success as an event planner. But Dani wants to get personal — “I asked Gigi to move in with me,” she tells Bette. “But she said we had to talk to Nat about it first. As a trio. She’s lost her mind!”
Bette is like yeah babe, that’s called parenting, get a clue! Bette points out that Gigi’s not prioritizing Nat, she’s prioritizing family, which’s something Dani should want in her partner. This is excellent advice, which Bette follows up with honestly incredibly intense inquiry: “The question is: are you ready for that? Are you ready to be a parent?”
We then shoot back to FiSoMi’s, where a riveting game of Pictionary is underway — Sophie’s sketching a bird and a piece of matzoh? — and Micah is reminding Maribel that he’s only 28, and Maribel is reminding Micah that he has mentioned that a few times.
“My Mom had me when I was 26, look how I turned out!” says notoriously mentally stable sketch artist Sarah Finley.
“My Mom had me when she was 24 and look how great I turned out!” I, another notoriously mentally stable person, say to the television set.
The squabble that subsequently unfolds between Micah and Maribel takes a few scenes to play itself out. But it begins right here right now:
Squabble #3: Baby Baby Baby
In the Ring: Micah v Maribel
I love this snippet of dialogue:
Micah: “Did you ever think that I might wanna carry?”
Maribel: “No” […] “Do you?”
Micah: “No. No but that’s not the point. The point is that you didn’t think of me!”
In the background of this exchange, Sophie and Finley are crushing at Pictionary but unfortunately nobody cares because of goo-goo-gah-gah.
Come along, Bad Art Friends, it’s time for an art show! Angie’s looking smart in her suit as Bette and Angie talk to Marcus’s family about how great it is that his work is finally getting a showcase now that he’s dead. Then Angie and Kayla enjoy a brief aside about Angie’s breakup and her future at California University.
Kayla: “You’re single and in LA and you technically have your own spot.”
Angie: “OOOO, you’re right, this could be like, my hoe phase.”
Good for her. Hopefully she won’t make the same mistake I did in college and hook up with three different boys named Andrew.
Elsewhere in the gallery, Alice and her date, Asia, have arrived. Asia’s telling Alice how ever since her movie came out, the press has been hounding her, but she stays grounded with a lot of “volleyballs,” famously the favorite sport of noted cult leader / scammer / sexual predator Keith Raniere. Alice asks if it’s a rec league and Asia clarifies that it’s “invite only.”
As Asia dashes to get more ice for her wine, Alice turns to Shane expecting a rave review of her lady in red.
“Several red flags,” Shane immediately and correctly declares. Alice protests that Asia’s passionate about social issues and she’s got a mentor who’s in prison — “Oh who, like Keith Raniere?” Shane asks. A passing cocktail waitress catches Shane’s wandering eye and Alice clocks it, accusing Shane of getting “the itch,” defined as how when things get too real, Shane gets restless and starts to “wiggle.”
Shane denies any malfeasance or any suggestions of impending malfeasance.
Back at Quit Playing Games With My Heart Night, Sophie and Finley are still killing it.
Meanwhile, Micah and Maribel are very close to killing each other as they tumble though their landslide squabble regarding perhaps one of the most important decisions a couple can ever make besides, of course, buying a second bar.
Squabble #3 Part 2: Back in the Habit
Micah tells Maribel they’ve gotta slow down because — despite the fact that he recently proposed marriage to Maribel — his Mom doesn’t even know they’re dating yet. “We’ve been living together for like, eight months,” says Maribel. According to last year’s timeline, they started dating in May of 2021, so this means they’e been together for 15 months and Micah hasn’t told his Mom yet!??!!? What on earth do they talk about?
Back at Art Night, Bette’s sauntering through the gallery and spots Tina and decides to initiate a little role-play for all the fans at home — re-creating the legendary moment in 1996 when Tina and Bette met at an art gallery, as explained in episode 112, Looking Back…
…and the subsequent moment at the “Artist’s Dinner” (featuring special guest Catherine Opie) where Tina and Bette saw each other again…
And then, famously, Tina’s earring got lost in her illustrious mane and Bette retrieved it.
They giggle together and touch heads and fumble around and it’s really corny and I wish Angie was here to see this so we could die together because nobody wants to die alone.
Then they decide to improv by kissing.
“This is so much better than the first time,” says Bette.
“I agree,” says Tina, probably thinking about how much better Bette’s hair looks now.
My girlfriend at this point in the program had her entire face covered with her sweatshirt and moaned, “I’m flatlining.”
Elsewhere in the gallery, Dani, having come to her senses via Bette’s advice, calls Gigi to apologize — she knows Nat’s just looking out for the kiddos and she’s happy to prove her case. Also, she’d love for Gigi to come to the show tonight if she’s not too busy filming Black Bird.
Meanwhile, Bette and Tina are having a special Talk with Angie: letting her know that she’s got two Mommies who are not just her Mommis but also two Mommies Back Together and despite the fling-esque length of their courtship thus far, it’s serious business this time. Angie’s completely chill about the whole sitch, and furthermore isn’t bothered about her breakup — after all, she has Uncle Yoda Shane and her sister Kayla to also offer comfort, advice, and ho phase suggestions.
Then, a man dares to speak to Bette Porter, asserting himself as her biggest fan, which immediately inspires her to want to give him a little walkthrough. His buddy approaches Angie to apologize for his friend who “always does this” at “every opening they go to” — he beelines for the curator rather than the artist, despite the fact that in this man’s opinion, the artist is the “real greatness” and the curator just “does the paperwork.” Unfortunately for this man, this artist is dead and the curator is Angie’s Mom.
Pictionary has reached its organic end and Micah and Sophie head to the kitchen, leaving Finley alone with Maribel. Finley immediately puts into play her good intentions and her bad habit of saying the exact wrong thing at the wrong time — Finley says she’s not close with her Mom and Micah isn’t either so probs there’s no reason for Maribel to be upset about this all being a secret from Micah’s Mom.
Finley: I just… I think maybe I take things too personally sometimes, that I shouldn’t, and I think that maybe, you know, maybe it’s not about you.
Maribel: Oh, it’s definitely not about you.
Sophie and Micah return to the room to find their beloveds have crossed horns, but Finley says it’s completely fine, her and Maribel totally like each other. Maribel counters that in fact, they don’t like each other one bit. “And to be honest, I liked whoever she was fucking while you were gone,” Maribel concludes before making her exit. BIG YIKES, Maribel!!!!! Sophie does a big-ass sigh.
“If I wasn’t sick I would get up and leave the room too,” says my girlfriend as Sophie and Finley leave the room.
Maribel’s volley hits Finley right where it hurts (everywhere), and so Finley heads upstairs to sit or think or something, and Sophie follows — Sophie apologizes for how weird that all happened and Finley says it’s fine but it’s clearly not fine. Sophie reiterates that…
…and also that Finley told Sophie that she didn’t want Sophie to wait for her but also didn’t want to know about her dating other people if she did in fact date other people.
Lesbian Squabble #4: We Were On a Break
In the Ring: Sophie v Finley
Content:
Sophie: They didn’t mean anything!
Finley: There’s more than one?
Sophie: No, they, singular.
Finley: How many times?
Sophie: You just said that you didn’t wanna know about it … so now this feels like a trap.
Finley says it’s okay, it’s okay. She knows it was allowed, it just still hurts. Sophie says that’s not fair, but I think it actually is fair: you can acknowledge that although this situation wasn’t a betrayal, it’s still hard to hear about.
“You slept with someone while I was in rehab, Soph,” Finley laments. “No matter how legal or whatever it was, it still fucking hurts.”
Finley wants Sophie to apologize for hurting her, but Sophie won’t, because she says she didn’t do anything wrong. Finley says she knows it’s her own problem and she just needs a minute.
Who Wins? Whoever she was fucking while Finley was gone
A clearly distressed Finley calls Tess but Tess shoots her down like a bird in a period film about English aristocrats who shoot birds for fun.
See, Tess is all revved up to see Shane and to try once again to pressure her into making an unwise real estate investment. “You’ve got this,” Tess tells Finley despite lacking any evidence at all that Finley has got anything. It’s truly bananas to me that Tess would brush Finley off with a platitude instead of suggesting other ways to cope or people to speak to or literally… anything at all! I’m also not sure if Tess is supposed to be Finley’s sponsor or if Finley is just leaning on her for support as a fellow sober person. Either way, though, Tess could’ve done a little more here just as a pal, you know?
Tess thusly arrives at Art Night and her eyes scan the walls with thrilling intensity, as if she’s seeing art for the very first time in her life. Shane cozies up to her best girl and gives her the big news: she’s ready for the Baby Bar. “I’d do anything with you,” Shane says. Hopefully Tess’s next big idea for a thing for them to do together will be having a threesome with Kehlani.
Bette’s on the mic now introducing the show, speaking fondly of Marcus Allenwood, how he was held back by institutionalized racism and how he considered his marriage and his family to also be a work of art. “I think he understood what so many of us struggle to, and that is that our time here is limited. He reminds me not to waste another second,” Bette says, despite the fact that she did not try as hard to get Marcus Allenwood a kidney as the residents at Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital try every other episode to transport kidneys across state lines through valleys and streams.
In the crowd, Dani’s texting Gigi to ask if she’s on her way, in that anxious way that you do when you’ve realized you lost the Lesbian Squabble and would like to return to relationship harmony ASAP.
Meanwhile, Asia and Alice are wrapping up their Art Night date — Asia had a great time with Alice, who she finds magnetic. And then she asks the NXIVM question: “Have you ever done an intensive with the Executive Success program?”
Asia thinks Alice could really benefit from the Executive Success Program because it is responsible for so much of Asia’s success! Alice chugs her champagne, nods politely, and ends this courtship before Asia even has a chance to introduce her to Cally from Battlestar Galactica, which is all for the best because Cally is the worst.
Back at FiSoMiMar’s, Micah apologizes for embarrassing Maribel and for not telling his Mom. Maribel says that she’s sorry too — she feels like she’s been really intense and fucked up everything.
Maribel doesn’t want to push him into something he’s not ready for buttttt also she apparently needs to know immediately if Micah is ready for Baby. Great news: Micah has given it around 24 hours of deep, intense thought and he’s ready to begin the unwinding path of the circle of life!!!! Maribel’s super cute like, really? Even though I’m mean sometimes?
“If we can get through this,” Micah says, probably about Pictionary or the last three episodes of Season Two, “We’re gonna be okay.”
Elsewhere in the FiSoMiMar estate, Sophie’s turning in for the night and pulls back the comforter on her bed to find a pretty cute note from Finley:
Sophie’s charmed: she kisses the note and she crawls into bed and Finley rolls over and Sophie apologizes for hurting her and Finley apologizes for being crazy and Sophie says she’s not crazy and they’re both wearing soft cotton t-shirts and their bedding looks really cozy!!!
“Sometimes it’s hard to know what you see in me,” Finley admits. Sophie says Finley’s her guy and Finley makes her heart beat faster and despite both of those things being about how Finley makes Sophie feel and not about what Sophie sees in Finley, Finley accepts it and smashes all up into her. It’s a very cute moment for me and the 35 other #Sinley fans in the audience.
Art Night is still throwing down and Tina’s very proud of Bette. Carried away in the passion of this artistic moment, Bette whispers “stay” to Tina, like it’s a sexy and exciting thing to say. But it’s not. Not to Lisa Loeb and definitely not to Tina!
Lesbian Squabble #5: You Think Your Things Are More Important Than Everyone Else’s
In the Ring: Bette vs Tina
Content: Tina says Bette’s not the only one with a career! Tina’s gotta go back to Canada to film Season Nine of Criminal Minds: Deep Federal Law Investigation Squad. Bette’s doing it again! She’s prioritizing herself over Tina and not holding space for Tina to have her own career and her own deer picture!
Who Wins? Timbits
Tina storms out of the gallery and Bette beelines for Alice and Shane in a hot panic — she’s fucked up, she’s not sure what to do now.
“Bette we’ve been here before with you and Tina,” Shane says. “Why would it be different now?”
“I know you asked her to stay but maybe…?” Alice suggests.
Shane agrees.
Bette realizes: “I need to go.”
Outside the gallery, Tina gets into her enormous Lyft and heads out to Terminal 1 at LAX, which is definitely the wrong terminal. Angie’s flirting with the man with the annoying friend when Bette bursts from the building like confetti bursting from the embers of a “happy new year” text — followed by Shane, Tess and Alice — high on life and experiencing an undeniable adrenaline rush from the very concept of doing something selfless for her beloved Tina Kennard.
“I’ve gotta go win your Mom back, again!” Bette shouts, and then Angie kisses this man right on the mouth and gets into the vehicle and Angie’s driving and they’re going to follow Tina all the way to LAX, famously the absolute worst drive in the world.
Meanwhile, poor Dani’s trying to pull Bette back for the Vogue interview she so painstakingly acquired for Ms Porter but Bette blows her off because Bette is all about love and not her career!!!!!!
Meanwhile Gigi is driving to the art show, singing along to the radio nonchalantly without a care in the world, which is a surefire sign that she’s about to get railroaded by a semi-truck.
Bette asks Angie if she can drive faster but also safely, and Shane says Tina’s not picking up her phone — because Tina has of course downloaded a meditation app onto her phone and is blissing out probs wishing she had a more expensive shirt to meditate in.
Alice says she feels like she’s in The Parent Trap. Tess has appointed herself Head of GPS — she’s got eyes on the cars ahead of her and is anybody worried about Angie getting a point on her license and having to pay $268 a month in car insurance!!!
Gigi’s phone buzzes and in a classic kiss of death move, she turns to look at it — it’s Dani, with harsh words about Bette and a plea for Gigi’s arrival, and Gigi texts that she’s on her way. This is when you know for sure for sure she is about to get T-boned.
And then! Here comes that car like it’s on a pre-planned track at the Universal Studios Backlot tour, smashing right into Gigi. Fortunately, we’ve all already seen clips from future episodes of a seemingly alive + well Gigi in the trailer, so I did not lose my mind at this moment, but nevertheless was… disturbed, and perhaps also slightly annoyed.
Speaking of people playing fast and lose with traffic, Parent Trap continues and honestly this is my #1 recurring nightmare that suddenly I’m on my way to a flight for an unplanned trip and I’m not dressed appropriately and don’t have any luggage! So I really salute Noted Control Freak Bette Porter for diving headfirst into this abyss for the glory of love. It’s also entirely unrealistic that Bette would truly just get on a plane to Canada in her current attire without any luggage, but I will suspend my disbelief because we’re all going to die some day, what’s a little bumper-to-bumper???
Traffic’s backed up more than usual — there’s an accident, Shane notes, and Tess winces that she hopes everyone’s okay, which means it’s definitely Gigi’s accident. But with traffic at a standstill, the kids have nothing to do besides scream into the wind!
Then, suddenly, it is as if Bette is not in fact merely heading to Toronto, Canada, for a few months but perhaps is actually on the verge of literal death? Because she begins doling out send-offs to her Scooby Gang like these are their final moments together on this wretched earth.
“I love you, you’ve created a wonderful full life for yourself and I’m so fucking proud of you,” Bette says to Shane, henceforth cursing the wonderful life.
“You are incredibly special, like unicorns and fucking rainbows special, and apart from Tina you are my absolute favorite ex-girlfriend,” she tells Alice.
Bette tells Angie she loves her and she hugs her and she hops out of the car to the siren song of a soft rock cover of soft rock classic Suddenly I See! Everyone in the car is cheering! Bette’s running!
Everybody (me) is thinking about the classic lesbian romantic comedy Imagine Me & You!
Tina is still listening to her meditation app! Bette bangs on her window! Tina asks if she’s crazy!
Bette: “I love you, I’ve always loved you. I love you and I’m in this forever.”
Tina: “I know, I know, I know you love me and I know you believe in this but that’s not our problem. It’s more complicated than that.”
Bette: “Okay, I hear you, but I spent the last 25 years of my life building my career and I’m so proud of that. And now I wanna spend the rest of my life with you. You are my home. I wanna love you better each and every day, I wanna love you more deeply each and every day and I don’t wanna wait another minute to do it.”
Tina suggests Bette’s not thinking clearly because she loves Los Angeles! She loves her friends and she loves her job and she loves paying $7 a gallon for gas and $15 for a jar of tomato sauce! Bette says that while it’s true that she loves Los Angeles, she loves Tina more. Honestly I would rather live in Toronto than Los Angeles but unfortunately I am merely an American citizen, just like Bette, but let us not dwell upon this technicality!
Anyhow, it’s true: Bette loves Tina more than Crying While Looking at Art and Leaving Her Friends’ Events Early and Wearing Gigantic Sunglasses in November and Screaming in Griffith Park. Take this woman to the top of the CN Tower she is ready to commit!!!!!
I hope Bette has a change of underwear in her purse.
Back at the Zakarian Gallery, Dani apologizes to the Vogue man who says he cannot promise a reschedule, which’s bad news for Bette who in my opinion would’ve looked resplendent iin Vogue.
Dani’s phone buzzes. It’s Nat.
Dani picks up and Nat tells her that Gigi’s been in an accident and she needs Dani to come now.
The Round-Up:
Sex Scenes: 1 this episode, 2 total
Squabbles: 4 this episode, 5 total
Quote of the Week: When Tess, Shane, Alice and Bette all had their heads out the window screaming TINNANAAAA at the same time
Comments
I’m sooo thankful for these recaps!! I don’t know how I go through most of the year without them. I would be lying if I said I managed to focus on anything but Bette and Tina (and a little bit of Gini). But almost all of the other storylines are driving me crazy!!
Sisterhood is powerful!! My goodness I laughed out loud. It truly is.
I expected a lot from this ep and this recap and both of them delivered. I wanna thank this opportunity to thank Riese for
– the Grey’s Anatomy reference. Seriously.
– “Her own deer picture”
– “experiencing an undeniable adrenaline rush from the very concept of doing something selfless for her beloved Tina Kennard.”
– Quinn Fabray!!! I would be happy if I wasn’t sad.
– paying $3.99!! Money well spent.
I’ll be sad watching new eps without Bette and Tina, but at the least the recaps will keep me entertained.
thank you laura honestly nothing brings me more joy than a list of my best jokes and references!!!
“I would be happy if I wasn’t sad” so real
Haha Gen Q is back to being ridiculous. We had a good run (one episode).
Micah and Maribel…wtf. Absolutely hilarious to me personally that a man who has just PROPOSED can say “we need to slow down”. Also Maribel is thinly written and extremely mean. It’s not cute and it’s not ok. Her actions this ep were frankly unhinged. She shouldn’t be actively trying to undermine her sisters rlship and happiness like that. She’s way too invested! Like come on, it sucks to disapprove of a loved ones partner but there’s a way to express that, which isn’t “hey let me drop a bomb in the middle of pictionary just to fuck with ya!!”. Also Micah should not have a baby with Maribel, because Maribel shows absolutely no sign of being a flexible person and as far as I can tell, a lot of being a good co-parent is being able to not be rigid and self righteous all the live long day. Micah will never win a fight with Maribel, he’ll never get to assert his opinions.
she is very thinly written — this is honestly something i start to notice when i’m attempting to write quizzes related to the l word! is which characters i have a really tough time coming up with answers for, and maribel was definitely one of them.
I sort of feel like Maribel’s primary function at this point is to fulfill the role that Dani/Sophie played in s1, eg manufacturing drama out of nowhere to make the episode more ‘exciting’. She pops up in a scene, creates conflict, and disappears again.
THANK YOU. I started to write a comment about Maribel below, but ran out of steam beyond saying I was tired of it. She was super mean last season as well, with very little context. I know the show is very proud of itself for its representation, but could it go beyond ticking the ‘disabled person’ box and give the representation a fully-realised personality, ideally with some redeeming features so we can root for her?
yes to all of the points above. Thinly written but also seemed more consistent in s1 – acerbic humor but not just downright mean the way she often seems to be in season 2 and 3. I feel like when we are struggling to reconcile the big swings/inconsistencies (the confusing brush-off/jealous “was I an experiment to you” with Micah in the karaoke episode for instance) that says more about flawed characterization/ writing then the character.
All three of the OG trio may act inconsistently, or say one thing but then work against their own interests, but these inconsistencies are generally consistent with the idiosyncrasies of their character (and of people IRL).
The one piece I did believe in this Maribel storyline, based on past drama we’ve seen, was her throwing Sophie’s fling in her/Finley’s fade. We saw both sisters betray one another’s confidence in that family meal on S2. And Maribel seems to have issues around fidelity (eg with their dad, investing in Sophie’s marriage).
I had some kind of hope after season 2, wishing they would turn their stuff around after messing up Finley’s addiction storyline. And now… My hope dies a slow death. The story is written in a way that I increasingly cease to care for the protagonists, even Sinley. I ship no one of the couples any more, and they are ruining Sophie and Finley for me. Booo! Will keep watching because I love the community aspect more than the show, I *love* Riese’s recaps (thanks! I am very grateful and look forward to them every week and the whole day today) and I love the podcast… But the show itself doesn’t catch me anymore. May this change soon for the better!
Random thoughts:
• What’s up with Tess’ pressure on Shane regarding the bar? Please respect a “I will think about it” – this is really manipulative behavior and I hate it! And also, I don’t get it – how can they have “more” of their lives with a second bar next to Dana’s when they already run a bar together, live together AND take care of Tess’ mom? If anything, they could have more independent lives, get some space from each other if that is even possible?
• Shane does not pass on other people’s secrets. This is inconsistently written. In the OG series, everyone trusted Shane with their secrets because she did not share them. Maybe she changed her personality in this aspect though?!
• Micah didn’t tell his mom about dating Mirabel, they were together for a year and lived with one another for eight months, and Maribel does not know??? What’s up with TV couples not knowing this kind of essential stuff about each other?!
• Also, good to know that they lived together for 8 months due to Mirabel’s clumsily written exposition… Surely there are more eloquent ways to tell us?
• Shane agrees to opening a second bar in order to convince herself that she doesn’t have “the itch” – it will backfire as always. And it is so boring. Why are Shane and Tess not non-monogamous like Shane and Quiara? But an open relationship might mean that the writers don’t get to recycle the same stuff all the time. I knew that moment of “She is all domesticated now” and its repetition in the summary would indicate that Shane feels trapped. Been there, done that. Let’s try something new for once!
• Same with Bettina: Fine, they’re back together, maybe give them something more original this time?
• Bettina move to Toronto and that is the conclusion of L Word Generation Q… THE END! Or the show continues without them?
• Hahaha, Shane saying “Marvel and DC – what is the difference?”. That was funny. I see her point, however, there is something crucial: Marvel doesn’t take itself as seriously and brings more lightness and fun to the stories, also (mostly) better storylines, while DC manages to have real queer main characters with actual screen time that are essential to a plot and cannot be easily cut out. At least in the series.
• Writers, please make Finley develop more self-esteem
• Wow, Mirabel is so mean! I would not want to have a baby with her! Yes she is truly thinly written and I don’t know why Micah is with her precisely
• Others have said it before me: Don’t re-write history, it has not been shown yet that Sophie loses herself in Finley even though the storyline pushes this idea
• What happened after Dani got arrested? In which way was it the hardest year of her life? Even her and Gigi seemed so pale together this episode. I hope Gigi is all right after the car crash! I call it now, Gigi and Nat will get back together and leave town or something like it
• I really want to like this show, but they are making it hard for me
They established very early in season one that Finley and Sophie are most open and comfortable when they are around each other. It’s the reason their relationship was so appealing in the first place. I don’t understand how the writers could throw all that away.
“how can they have “more” of their lives with a second bar next to Dana’s when they already run a bar together, live together AND take care of Tess’ mom? If anything, they could have more independent lives, get some space from each other if that is even possible?”
Wow yes, an extremely valid point. It’s already so much to live together AND work together, now working together on even more projects… is messy! and will be moreso if they ever break up
Very much yes, I feel that Tess is acting in an increasingly unhinged way (particularly compared to the grounded/discerning version of her they introduced in season 1/early season 2). I used to adore her and increasingly I just find her behavior grating and often detrimental to the other characters in her orbit.
Two other Tess points:
It’s hard to swallow (believe) her blowing Finley off so completely, especially when she’s been back for all of 2 days?
I also found her way of speaking about her mom (in the season premiere) not to track with how attentive and concerned Tess has been. I know from personal experience how hard it is to care for a parent with dementia/physical issues so I have no beef with her expressing impatience or overwhelm etc, but it felt like another case of poor characterization in the service of easy exposition (“she’s crabby today, I don’t know if it’s the dementia, the MS or just her personality.”)
Agree re: your last paragraph. She wouldn’t express frustration with her mom in front of her mom, it was just bad exposition to reveal the multiple diagnoses. It’s also doubtful that anyone caring for a relative in their home would want to expand their workload by opening a second bar.
Yes that comment was so weird. And to me was a prime example of the show “telling and not showing” which is one of my biggest gripes and I know riese has talked about before I think
These recaps continue to be the light of my life while the UK waits for this season to drop! Was cackling from “gaping maws” and tbh didn’t stop, think I maaaaaybe enjoy the recaps even more than I enjoy this deeply weird show that I, for unknown reasons, still love. Anyway thanks, Riese!!!
Thank you!
Babes, it’s already up on paramount+ via Amazon! No waiting 6 months for this season to drop in the uk 🙌
Maribel saying what she did to Finley literally hurt ME in my body, a person just watching these fictional characters from home!! I truly think if I were Sophie I would be figuring out how to never speak to her again despite my blood relation. In addition to it blowing up Sophie’s spot, it was so unnecessarily cruel. Especially because Finley hasn’t…done anything to Maribel? Like except be a little socially weird but Maribel can’t really hate her for that since she herself has been only exclusively socially weird.
And this wholeee thing with Micah is bananas. I get yeah Micah wanted to propose etc, but having a baby is a much bigger step than getting married in my opinion, how have they not had lengthy discussions about it?? How could she possibly not understand Micah needing time to process parenting a whole new human???
I want to like Maribel but it’s extremely difficult – I feel like the show wants us to see her as this funny truth teller, but like with so many things have not done the legwork to get us there. Like, I think we’re supposed to believe Dre is a better fit for Sophie than Finley because Maribel said so, but the way she’s been acting makes me firmly believe the opposite lmao.
But, anyway, loved the cute Sinley scenes, as someone who loves game night and can bring the competitive spirit like Sophie and vibes like Finley and also loves rules, like Riese! And loved the cute Gini scenes, even though if I were Gigi I definitely would just call it with Dani acting this way.
And as always, love these recaps so dearly and they make me laugh so much and I love having a space to process my emotions re this batshit show
Oh and I also liked Alice’s date turning out to be in NXIUM – felt very on brand for her
yes, it’s totally weird that micah and maribel wouldn’t have talked about any of this stuff before, especially children, this far into their relationship! i guess that makes for high drama, but when the characters are already written so thinly, it can often feel like all they are is empty drama and we’re less willing to suspend our disbelief for them in the same way we can for like, bette suddenly deciding to move to canada without any planning or packing or anything, you know?
Also loved the cute Sinley scenes and Team Play By The Rules 4Ever
– Who is Maribel as a person, besides being mean and a lawyer and Sophie’s sister? And who is Micah except for being trans (the majority of his storyline revolves around this instead of giving him depth), a social worker and friend of a number of characters? I am not being sarcastic here – I would really like to know! Who are they as people? What are their personalities, qualities, strengths and weaknesses? What do you all think?
– How did Bette manage to run in those heels???
– And yet another instance in Generation Q in which a person with “they”-pronouns is included in the dialogue but has no face and no appearance. It is not as progressive as the writers may think!
– Riese, the recap was so funny and true – once again! – and I laughed a lot. The pictures of Bettina now and then were great. And if you were to write another timeline for this season (the concept of time in the show), I for one would celebrate it!
I came here to say the same thing re: they/them pronouns. Once per season. Box ticked.
I would also like to propose a law against TV shows portraying any character having sex with their bra on. Absolutely respect nudity clauses and cover what you need to so that actors are comfortable, but lose the goddamn bras!!!
Some people have sex with bras on, I’m half joking as I say this but this is top erasure. Or dry hump erasure?
i do feel like i am already a little confused about time — like this episode felt like it happened a day or two after episode one, but the time on shane’s phone was september 22, which means Angie moved in to college kinda late, right? i feel like most schools start after labor day weekend.
yes both the bras and the offscreen they-pronouns person are DISCUSSED in the podcast that comes out on monday!
this might actually be the ONE time the timeline maps onto reality: CA colleges like UCLA – which California University is surely the fictional version of right? – start later (like Sept 20) as they are on the quarter system.
Otherwise it did seem like this episode was a day or two at most after the premiere.
I am excited for the podcast tomorrow! And for your end-of-season breakdown of the timeline which we all know is coming.
Riese, is there a way to get notified when people reply to comments on here? My current method involves going to my profile and clicking on each of my comments individually, which feels a little narcissistic…
happy recap day to all who celebrate and prayers UP for my wife (gigi)
I know we’re supposed to believe that Bette has been a horrible, selfish person all this time and only recently been redeemed by looking inward, therapy and the silent retreat. But, the notion that she always prioritizes her own career over Tina’s…that’s wrong, right? Didn’t Bette give up her job at the end of Season Six to follow Tina to New York for her job at Focus Features?
wow yes you’re totally right, i forgot about that since i only watched the episodes that season once for the recap in 2009 and once for the podcast in 2021 and therefore it isn’t seared into my permanent memory like other parts of other seasons are.
She was also unemployed for much (all?) of season three and Tina HATED her for it so much that she ran into the arms of a man who clips his toenails over the living room coffee table.
Yes!! Like this story has already been told!
Yeeeess! Thank you!
Also, are we going to talk about how the “meaningful” changes are only made by the Black woman? And those changes are to be less “angry” / more palatable to white pple?
A great recap, as always! Now that the dust has settled on this time jump, I think Micah and Maribel’s relationship has fared the worst out of all of them (and the bar is low, imo!).
I completely understand that skipping a year means that we don’t get to see a lot of things, but the pacing of their dynamic has always felt off to me and that’s continuing in this season so far. They had like two and a half cute relationship moments last season, then they bicker, then Micah makes a weirdly escalated joke about being Maribel’s future esposo, and now we’re supposed to be invested in a marriage proposal and talk about babies? For want of a better word, this drama about having a baby feels unearned.
Also, Riese, please know that the pinnacle of photo caption humour was achieved with your reference to Jen from Appleton.
thank you so much courtney i wasn’t sure how many people would get the reference but i knew even if just one person did that would be enough joy for me!!!!
also yeah, this series has a huge problem with not realizing that these characters go on living even when we’re not looking at them, which makes time jumps particularly clumsy
“this series has a huge problem with not realizing that these characters go on living even when we’re not looking at them”
This! so much of the dialogue / relationship-building suffers from this. Exacerbated by time jumps for sure!
It’s one reason the bottle episodes often work so well I think? These disjunctures can’t happen so much of everyone is in the same place most of the time!
Is Jennifer Beals leaving the show?? Why did this feel like the series finale at episode 2 😭
she edited her IG caption from “playing bette has been an honor of a lifetime” to “playing bette is an honor of a lifetime” I think she’s likely leaving after she and laurel come back for episodes 9&10
yeah it had big series finale energy, which is interesting
Another fantastic recap Riese. Truly, these are what make the show for me.
A few observations…
I can’t…I won’t…I refuse! to get on the TiBette train. I jumped off that rickety, wobbly-wheeled, Bugs Bunny cartoon of a railroad handcar circa S4 of OG TLW. As my granny used to say, “You can’t hide sh*t in my lemonade.”
A lot of people (including my friends) don’t like Finley, and I get it to an extent; however, those same friends love Shane and have since the beginning but IMO Shane and Finley are the same. They both are deeply wounded, deeply insecure, crave stability but don’t know how to live in it or hold on to it, desperately want to be loved but don’t know how to give/receive/maintain it, and do f*cked up stuff to hurt the people they care about which ultimately hurts them and that fuels the self-sabotaging cycle they don’t like/hate but can’t break out of because they’re used to living in that chaos. People love Shane because all of that is wrapped up in a cool, broody, withholding, mysterious exterior whereas Finley is basically a hyperactive gnat with their insides on the outside.
It’s natural for Dani to feel threatened based on what happened with Sophie and given Gigi’s history with Nat but to react with tantrums and petulance? No ma’am. Give me Dani S2 who started to talk things out instead of this childish foolishness.
Maribel was so grimy for purposefully trying to hurt Finley by telling her about Sophie’s fooling around. She’s intelligent enough to know that that could be a trigger for an addict and she said it anyway. Also, the fact that she continues to place all the blame for Sophie’s hurt on Finely without even remotely acknowledging the part that Finley’s addiction played or truly acknowledging Sophie’s role in the damage that she’s caused is high-key annoying. By all means, Maribel should love her sister and want to protect her but she also needs to love her enough to recognize that she’s f*cked up and does f*cked up things too.
I like that Alice feels like Alice this season. More of that, please!
Lastly…not nearly enough Gigi. Not even one scintilla of what I deserve. Then to turn around and hurt her off-camera?!?!? You raggedy b*tches!!
“As my granny used to say, “You can’t hide sh*t in my lemonade.””
And just like that I have a new favorite saying!
Seriously though, I’ve never quite understood the Finley hate. I think you’re onto something with your comparison to Shane. I’d also throw in that she also has a side of Alice in her, meaning she has this quirky way of sticking her foot in it. But because of the way she’s written, Finley’s quirks and insecurities are seen has faults to hold against the character while with Shane and Alice it’s just seen as part of their charm.
I’ve seen many say they hate Finley because she’s a “freeloader” or “bum” even though she has about the same financial situation as Shane (employed, but not exactly rolling in it). And, I feel like it doesn’t acknowledge that other characters that “have it together” like Dani, are generationally wealthy and/or got their positions through nepotism.
My point being, I think there is something to your point that people only want to see characters struggle if they do it in a certain way
I think a lot of people forget that Shane was a “bum” too through various periods of OG. She was primarily kept and held up by other people or the wealthy which is very apparent in that one season where she was doing drugs with that one friend of hers from the past or the fact that people kept buying/giving her things/giving her jobs that frankly, she didn’t deserve. Again, broken/hurt people who are broody and inaccessible are for some reason way more attractive (especially in the lesbian community) than hurt people who are overly anxious and verbal about being broken and what they want/need.
I would love to see this show acknowledge the extent to which Sophie enabled Finley’s drinking prior to rehab. They were ‘party bros’ before getting together and I hate the way season two suddenly spun on its heel and painted Finley as the problem and Sophie as the injured bystander as if she wasn’t cheering Finley on right up until the DUI. Then this season, so far we’ve seen Sophie:
– take her newly sober girlfriend to a bar on her first night out of rehab
– express relief that Finley is “still fun”
– turn her nose up (initially) at Finley’s suggestion for a sober activity, as though it’s genuinely never occurred to Sophie that they might need to find alternative activities to bar-hopping now that Fin’s in recovery
OMG yes yes yes to all of this. I second everything you say (also in your other comments). Will Sophie’s behavior ever be addressed critically? Will her prior enabling get into focus at some point? Probably not! I will be pleasantly surprised if it happens though.
Seriously, why do the writers make these choices? I am Team Sinley for sure, but the bad writing of Finley’s falling off the wagon and Sophie’s ignorance and drinking enabling without taking responsibility for her own shit make it hard for me to watch.
wow i never even thought about how she would know that could trigger an addict and did it anyways!!!! honestly it was one of those scenes where i’m like ok do i just roll with this bc it’s a campy soap opera because of course nobody in real life would ever say something like that unless they were a complete asshole!
also excellent point about finley and shane. i think also finley is so open about what she desires and what she’s missing, whereas shane is withholding and brooding, so i feel like some of all this is tied up in misogynistic tropes of how it’s hotter and more cool to be desired and silent than to be the one experiencing desire and trying too hard.
absolutely not enough gigi in this!!! my favorite thing dani has ever done is date gigi so i’m nervous for the future w/r/t that
“i feel like some of all this is tied up in misogynistic tropes of how it’s hotter and more cool to be desired and silent than to be the one experiencing desire and trying too hard.”
I’m not religious but amen!
I have a lot of thoughts about this but one is that 28 is not young to be a parent ??
That’s really subjective and personal though. For example I’ve always strongly believed that neither marriage nor babies are suited to one’s 20s. Your 20s are for figuring out YOU. I’m 28 and I simply am not ready to stop living my life for me and to live it in service of a baby. I can even imagine that someone who has transitioned might even feel like the years before said transition didn’t feel like “doing” life the way one truly wants to, and therefore it would track that Micah needs more time of his own life being his before diving into parenthood. But I guess he got over that in…checks watch…the course of a day lmao.
So true. I’m 45 and I’m still playing video games, buying things I want to buy for me, going on vacations around the world, going to see sports and concerts and the movies…I’m still living life for me. I’m way too selfish for a kid. Besides, not fond of them anyway. I do not have a single parental bone in my body. And I’m ok with that.
Yeah, it definitely depends on the person but I don’t think 28 is super young, 30 is the average age of first pregnancy these days, though it may feel young in the queer community specifically?
i imagine that will change over time, as gay marriage and being out is more and more accepted, but right now we’re all lagging behind heterosexuals. and also less likely to be able to get pregnant accidentally, or without the tons of money it costs to get pregnant if you don’t have one sperm + one egg producer in your relationship.
It is funny how the age for kids changes over time… My grandmother was 21 when she became a mother, my mother felt old for having her first kid in the age of 24 (it was the early 80s after all) and now having a child in one’s twenties is considered young, haha.
But Riese, you are definitely correct that it is different for queers who don’t have an egg producer and sperm producer in terms of organizing and money, this changes everything for sure!
I meant the *average* age for having kids
i think you should keep it up, amazing. thank you
ok so i know it’s a bit of a joke at this point to demand shane and tess name their new baby bar “Jenny’s”, but i will *never* understand the commitment this show has to erasing the importance of jenny schecter to the thrust of the entire original series. i know s6 happened in this universe, but even if we’re making it canon (and the writers sure are), i just don’t believe that she isn’t an important fixture in shane’s life to this day. i truly think s2 of the original is such a beautiful snapshot of the (romantically charged) friendship that developed between shane and jenny, and in many ways this ran parallel to that which formed between dana and alice. dana is still recognized by alice and the entire cast in a way that jenny never has been, and it’s hard not to consider the factors that may have influenced this decision (ie. collapsing the nuances of her mental illness/trauma into a caricature in the later seasons, leading to a continued justification of erasing her humanity and the significant role she played in all the characters’ lives (even if these relationships were fraught))
i know i’m like one of ten jenny apologists that walks this earth, but i’m still devastated by the way she was brushed off then and is still being brushed off in the reboot. she was in the opening and closing scenes of most original episodes (at least s1/s2, usually her or bette), which i feel frames a character’s importance to a story. maybe i’m just riled up because i was 6 when the original came out and couldn’t get mad about this back then. but still!!!! i just want an episode, or even a scene, where they remember jenny pls!!!
thank you so much for the recaps, one of my fav parts of tlw is getting to listen to the podcast and read these every week:)
#justiceforJenny I agree and I would love to see it.
I agree, but I don’t have high hopes – there was an episode of Pants (Leisha and Kate’s podcast) where Marja came on and answered fan questions and she noticeably struggled with a question about why Jenny hasn’t been referenced, and strongly implied she had no idea how to fit that into the plot. I might be projecting a bit here but I felt like she was quite dismissive of any questions that didn’t heap 100% praise on the reboot. Hoping to be wrong on that front though!
i am also one of the jenny apologists still roaming the earth and i agree! if we’re supposed to accept that season six happened how it did, and that jenny indeed died by suicide in bette’s pool…. wouldn’t that be pretty effing traumatic for everyone involved? like shane had just cheated on her with nikki and then she offs herself and shane has not mentioned her name one time??? they find out most of the things they’d blamed jenny for weren’t her fault (like stealing the negative) and nobody feels even a little bad that she jumped into a pool and died afterwards? i feel like that would kinda stick with me like … forever
So true Riese. If a person (partner/friend/relative) dies by suicide, this stays with you. It changes you. It changes your body. It shapes you for years and decades to come. It is so unrealistic that Jenny’s friends and lovers would not speak about her, that they wouldn’t be scarred by her suicide, feel guilty or struggle to not feel guilty so much, and would not want to process this. It is never “done”!
I had to think of this – if anyone is interested, this is a podcast with grief expert Megan Devine and Elle Stanger about grief of intimate partner death loss:
https://www.theytalksex.com/episodes/the-trans-masc-porn-episode-yhcz3-f599g-8chxj-ad43m-wcrjh-ynnkd-jyg3y-djaz3-ggr7y-zm3t4-37552-d46a4-mx8ag-6yb9w-md5rl
(By the way, the podcast is an hours long, not 4 hours as it looks like. And Megan Devine can be found on “Refuge in Grief.”)
In conclusion, Shane was Jenny’s partner in season 6 and she would definitely be changed by that experience.
Signed, another Jenny apologist
Ash, I’m so glad you brought this up. It really is egregious. Even if many of the characters had fraught relationships with Jenny by season 6, this is a tight friend group and she was a part of it.
Many of these characters have trouble being vulnerable or emotionally open, but I still find it hard to believe she would NEVER be mentioned, given that all the OGs knew her and their lives are intertwined.
I too am a Jenny apologist and #shenny devotee (sidenote, shenny day remains one of the best things that’s ever happened on the internet) and I’m very disappointed that there’s not even been a throwaway line to acknowledge her!!!
I feel like Finley needs some better friends. Every episode someone manages to tell her how annoying she is, insults her, or blows her off.
Like 98% of the time Tess gives her bad advice or blows her off. Shane treats her like the annoying kid you try to avoid. Maribel is just down right cruel to her. Dani holds a deep grudge against her. And when Finley, who is clearly and understandably struggling with self-worth issues, asks her girlfriend what she see’s in her, she says… you make my heart beat fast?? Um, no, that’s a sign of heart disease. That’s not a feeling or helpful information in this conversation.
I feel like I need to make a list of positive Finley thoughts and send it out to the world in hopes of generating some better karma and energy for the character.
“you make my heart beat fast?? Um, no, that’s a sign of heart disease.”
lol yes. like let’s get some specifics in here!!! like i think sophie’s answer actually just added to finley’s problem of not understanding what sophie sees in her, bc basically she was like “what do you like about me” and she was like, “i like you”
Maybe the very few Finley fans who might exist out there can answer Finley’s question what Sophie sees in her better than her actual gf:
– Finley has a big heart
– She is loyal and a good friend
– She is caring and looks after people (e.g. when Sophie’s grandmother was in the hospital. By the way, we never learned what happened to her grandmother after that episode). She even prayed with Sophie even though her Christian background does not bring up good memories for her
– She provides much needed comic relief
– She wants to change for the better (unlike almost everyone else on the show) and attempts to take responsibility for her actions (also unlike many other characters)
– She isn’t into power, control and status
– She is sweet, warm and open about her vulnerabilities
Seriously, there are so many things the writers could have done with Finley: explore her religious trauma! Her family background and the issues there! Leaving her home early! What is up with her not being able to have sober sex (except for when being with Sophie)! So many appealing chances wasted for an addiction storyline that was incredibly bad! It’s so, so frustrating.
As a fellow Finley fan, I agree there are so many things to like about her, and so many thing she brings to a partnership! There was a reason I was Team Finley rather than Team Dani after the season 1 cliffhanger
And I agree that I was hoping we’d get to see her at home to understand that dynamic and we got nothing! It looks like maybe her mom makes an appearance during a thanksgiving episode, based on the trailer? Let’s hope they don’t mess that up!
Great coincidence that this aired right after The Vow wrapped up, I hope they wrote that plot just for the lesbian NXIVM defector Susan Dones. Keith Raniere also hates lesbians LOL.
The parentification of Angie makes it impossible for me to like Bette or Tina. She was a total afterthought for them all episode; they don’t even ask why she’s home from California University, they’re more concerned with themselves than her feelings about seeing them kiss, they make out at the gallery opening for Marcus with no regard for her comfort level, Bette interrupts Angie living her own life and meeting a nice boy to make her drive the car to resolve her parents’ love life like a friend and not a daughter, then everyone yells at her while she’s driving. They admit they’re terrible parents and do nothing about it. When she acknowledges other sources of support and minimizes their bad parenting, they take this at face value. Don’t let her accommodate you. Accommodate her! She doesn’t want to lean on you because you taught her she can’t!
Thank god we have evidence of Gigi’s survival because it wouldn’t surprise me if this train wreck of a show decided to kill off their best character. PROTECT GIGI AT ALL COSTS.
Kudos Riese for your CanCon references.
Good points! Angie is gonna be working all of that out on a therapists couch v soon. It’s often only once you move away from home that you start to realise how messed up your family dynamics are.
Thank you for acknowledging the lack of care and attention to Angie’s well-being. She’s only 18, but the show continues to adultify her, overlooking her emotional needs. We didn’t even get to see her grieve her relationship with Jordi, her first girlfriend! Like, do the writers even KNOW any lesbians??
This is such a great point about Angie, @donnamartingraduates. Yes, she has a support system in Shane and Alice but when she was hurting, after her break-up with Jordi, Angie went straight home to her Mama B for comfort. Now her mother’s just abandoned her, as if her job as a parent was done the day she dropped Angie off at Cal U.
(I’d be remiss if I didn’t also note how this “adultification” is a particular issue for black girls…and it’s frustrating GenQ doesn’t avoid it here.)
Yeah, it’s extra shitty they did this to a black girl, especially because they are presenting it as just fun family hijinks.
Not to beat a dead horse but this is why I don’t want Bette and Tina back together. Since Angie was a fetus, she’s been a pawn or casualty in the theatrics of their relationship (so have others). I don’t see this time being any different.
Me and my friends always joked about how Bette and Tina were always forgetting they had a kid in the original.
Seeing Angie as a real character now, it doesn’t feel funny. My heart just really aches for this poor kid never getting the parenting she deserves. Them justifying leaving her to go have sex when she was clearly upset about something? I can’t!
Sometimes it feels like the producers come up with random ideas that they then pick out of the hat to decide the plot of each episode. Bette running after Tina? It felt more appropriate for a finale. Gigi gets in a car accident?…Okay. The “someone important is in the hospital” plot device already happened s1 with Sophie’s grandma.
Maribel and Micah’s relationship is totally underdeveloped, so how and why would we root for them? Also, making Maribel the antagonist is so fucked up given that she’s one of the show’s few Black characters. And I have to hand it to the casting director for their commitment to the paper bag test, because with Angie’s new love interest we have yet another Black character who is lightskinned. It’s beyond parody at this point.
I don’t know if I would keep watching if Kehlani wasn’t on this season. The writing is so frustratingly bad.
And with the way viewers jump on hating Sophie despite the fact she hasn’t done anything worse than any of the OGs, it’s all so gross
This ep def lacked some of the cohesiveness of the first, but I love any time I get the dynamic of the og crew without Gen Q, which this ep delivered on. The dynamic is tight, well written and understood.
That said, the Sophie and Finley dynamic was something that I think really pulled viewers into the new crew towards the end of season one. It was built on the fundamental chemistry of the two actors, which is why it worked so so well. But season two really forced the dynamic into a different direction, and unfortunately I think wrecked it. Which is why this season, the carry over is so lackluster. It’s just a big miss all around. The previous chemistry was so intense, so fun, and now, as a big time Sinley fan, it’s just flat. Bummed at the squandering of such a solid potential storyline.
That all said, some loose threads…
Why and how did Maribel become the greatest villain of our time? You hate Finley? Why? Pretty sudden surface level take on a relationship you’ve been in the weeds of since day one.
Not to be nit-picky, but the scene with Maribel disappearing into the French doors is, one, hilarious, but two, is she in a stand up chair? What is happening?! All for seeing the reality of our lives, the varied reality of those with limitations, but please show it(!) show why this woman is at eye level for clarity, understanding, awareness.
I know everyone *wants* to hate on Finley, but my great question remains, why? Is she your smart friend? No. Is she your always prepared, thoughtful friend? Also no. Successful friend, no. But is she a normal, flawed human who is legit always trying to do good? Yea! Of all the kinds of people I know in my sphere, I have to say, a Finley is the most easy to deal with. The most chill. She’s doing no real harm. I continue to not understand why this show wants to present her as a villain. Not a soul on this show is trying to better themselves (except Bette, now) but Finley.
Finally, Tess, Tess, Tess. Enough. My gut says they’re going to “open a bar” across the street from their other bar, and it’s actually going to become a Shane TM salon. And by they, I hopefully mean Shane and Finley. And Tess leaves to do literally anything else because she is by far the least interesting character and the worst actor in the mix.
Yeah, as 100% of the people brought into Gen Q by the insane chemistry of Sophie and Finley, season 2 was tough. I was like you have this goldmine, what are you doing?
I like that they’re happier now, but also afraid at any moment the rug could be pulled out
I feel like Finley represents this certain type of incredibly cute peter pan white masc lesbian who so many people are attracted to and can therefore get away with murder within the queer community so everybody perceives her as having this sort of natural cultural cache / privilege within the queer community (despite usually lacking it entirely outside of that community) that is so strong it can withstand nobody liking them and everyone being mean to them!
Oh yeah that’s interesting, I didn’t think of that! Mostly I think because they’re all super hot, and this particular fanbase seems to favor the Bette Porter-esque high femmes so I never thought of Finley having any more luck than anyone else, haha. But you’re totally right she’s a popular type
Listen, I know the folks at autostraddle aren’t the biggest Tibette/Bettina fans but my god they have chemistry, they are meant to be together, even if they are meant to be (toxic) together. This arc (knowing what likely happens in 9/10) feels like the ultimate fan service to me given JBeals and LuH want to leave and I’m here for it. Give me my horny, semi-toxic milfs please.
I love tibette. we’re not being made fun of at all. they’re endgame goals. like the time tina cheated with henry in their bedroom and didn’t use protection. and the time she tried to erase bette from the equation and raise angelica with henry. and the time she freaked about having a Black donor. I also think it’s awesome that we’re sold this pile of gorgeousness whenever the show needs numbers. organic storytelling at its best. tibette loonies flip out on social media, boycott the show, and directions change. it’s nice to know that queer/lesbian/bi women deserve good storytelling. funny how this gets renewed but League hasn’t.
So this episode, for the third year in a row, we have an off-screen non-binary character (whoever Sophie was fucking while Finley was away). It feels pretty… tokenistic at this point? Like they’re ticking a box each season. We’re only two episodes in I guess, so there’s time to rectify it and have an actual living breathing NB character who interacts with the core cast in a meaningful way (Ivy??).
In other news I’m so tired of the show constantly manufacturing drama and conflict via Maribel. So tired in fact that I lack the energy to leave a coherent well thought-out comment about it, so for now I will peruse the other comments to see if others feel the same way!
I know a lot of people in the comment section aren’t the biggest Tibette/Bettina fans but they have such fantastic chemistry and Jennifer and Laurel seem to feel so comfortable and safe working together, I can’t help always wanting them to be together even with their past conflicts. To me, they are meant to be together, even if they are meant to be sometimes toxic together. Both Jennifer and Laurel have said things like “for Bette, there’s only Tina” and vis versa, so even though it seems like fan service, it seems to me solidification of the core couple of the show, and they actually haven’t been broken up for that long – only about four years by my count? Divorced about a year before season 1 of gen q, I think. Anyway, I think it’s a great way to send Jennifer/Bette and Laurel/Tina off if they are indeed leaving gen q – a core couple of the show reuniting.
Not to be thirsty, but we’re two episodes deep and there’s been a real shortage of spicy scenes. I’m here for the story and all (I guess) but give the people what they want!
Totally! ESP when the story telling is so … lackluster and surface level. At least give us some sex! Also love your name 😂😂😂
I agreeeeeeeeee
Forgive me but I’m only here for Bette/Tina – I can’t help but ship them. Their chemistry is so good and Jennifer Beals really sells it. I love a soft Imagine Me and You-style endgame romance.
Plus the OG cast scenes are just so much better than the scenes/writing for the new cast. The new cast scenes are cringey, plodding, awkward, scattered, and somehow feel more dated even though they’re supposed to be the new gen?
It was nice to see more time given to the characters with each other like Finley and Sophie in bed being sweet, or being weirdos during Pictionary (Finley doing a vocal run LOL) the OG’s at Dana’s just having a casual conversation. The characters get to breathe a little! Maybe it seems refreshing because of how last season went.
I think I’m the only person who likes Tess and Shane together!!! Maybe not all Tess’ choices, but I like them as a couple.
I really like how Leisha Hailey is styled in this episode. Her look at the art gallery reminded me of Sarah Paulson a little bit.
Assorted comments first:
– I know the show had Gigi point out that Dani is acting like a child, but I need the writers to say that with their whole chest. Bette was asking the question that needed to be asked — how is Dani going to be as a stepparent if she’s throwing tantrums at the thought of *a* dinner with Nat? What happens when Gigi can’t make some important event because her kids sick? What happens when Dani herself might have to make a sacrifice for the kids? I don’t particularly like Dani but I’d trade all of Micah and Maribel’s scenes for more time for them to talk about what an asshole Dani is being here.
– I go back and forth on Finley but my eyes nearly rolled out of my head at that “Aren’t you going to apologize for hurting me?” comment? Because 1. Sophie didn’t tell Finley about her hookup, Maribel did, 2. Finley was mostly in the right up until that comment! DADT is a perfectly valid relationship model (probably…not the best for them at that moment but whatever) and its perfectly normal to be in your feelings/need a minute if that agreement gets breached! But Sophie, as far as what we know, was following the rules! This was probably one of the more in-character moments for them but it still made my blood boil.
– I am trying to follow Drew’s sage advice from the podcast re: Tibette and let go of the potential of Bette’s character but my god this is the most boring iteration of Bette. I don’t really need Bette to be nice or kind or introspective but/and I think a Bette that’s gotten her fairytale ending is a Bette that doesn’t have anywhere else to go, narratively.
The show is just…so poorly written. This particular episode felt so weird–the ensemble feels deeply disjointed from each other, even in the same scene. Are we in a coming of age story? Are we in a season/series finale? Are we in a soap opera or nah? Are we supposed to acknowledge that every relationship choice every single person makes in this episode is absolutely bizarre (except idk maybe Alice?) or are we supposed to just roll with it.
I don’t need the characters to make choices I consider to be good, but I do desperately need the show to help me understand *why* they make the choices they make and ground the show in something at least adjacent to logic. I love the L word, I mostly liked the first 2 seasons of Gen Q, and this episode feels particularly egregious.
Yes, to everything you said! The fundamentals of narrative storytelling are nowhere to be found.
It makes me respect Ilene Chaiken so much more, tbh. The original L Word was really bingeable and, with a couple of exceptions, good at balancing narrative tension, pacing, and levity.
Agreed on this being the most boring iteration of Bette! I read that this was the last thing Jennifer Beals wanted to do with her before she went, which honestly makes me think slightly less of her, haha.
I did get Finley wanting an apology – I think you can apologize for hurting someone even if you didn’t do anything wrong. Even if just to apologize for the way she had to hear about it
The story telling is just baffling. Like so many shows who I imagine have even smaller budgets have infinitely better writing and continuity. What is happening here? I’m genuinely asking. After all of the critiques of season 2 I had my hopes up. The og l word was surely soapy and had its issues- but this is like next level. I want it to go on and I want the actors to keep their jobs, I just want better writing!!! I have literally never thought about writing on a show before until watching gen q season 2
I feel bad saying this because I try to be grateful the show was renewed for this season but … how does the writing just keep getting worse? I really do not think season 1 of gen q was this poorly written, and it was left off in a way that had so much promise. Did they just fuck up season 2 so bad that they’ve given up? ESP with the gen q characters? I am holding out hope that with bette and Tina gone (NOT a bette and Tina hater) but with them gone will it allow for some depth to be created for the new characters? Did love the goofy and sweet moments between Sophie and Finley tho- besides the absolute nonsensical storyline they are trying to make us invest in for Micah and Maribel. Eek.
I absolutely squealed at the Imagine Me And You reference in this episode, and I’ll personally venmo you for the $3.99 you spent renting it for the graphic. Please don’t take me to task on this
thank you Nell this means a lot to me
This show is so poorly written, but I can’t help but be sucked into the sheer stupidity of the show. Do recovering addicts really want to work in a bar surrounded by their temptations?? Inquiring minds want to know 🤔
After the issues with season 2 I was hoping the writers would refocus the show and manage the plot and characters better. Sure it’s only ep 2 but I’m already losing interest. I just don’t understand some choices: why do we keep returning to Shane’s problems with monogamy and commitment. Shane cheats. We get it. It’s done. It doesn’t always have to be the thing that causes problems in her relationships, especially because it’s so easy to solve after all these years. And maybe I’m alone on this but I don’t want Bette and Tina back together. It’s the same forwards/backwards dance. It’s been done. We know how the story goes. Plus I wish the writers were more intentional about continuity. Things just get dropped off and isolated into past seasons with no real impact on the present.
And Micah and Maribel? Proposal? Child? When both of you are not on the same page at all and it takes all this to find out.
Why does Finley never move past ‘I’m just a big fuck up’? Why do that to Gigi? Why wreck Angie and Jordi after writing their relationship to shreds and seeming to want to fix it? Why why why so many things?
If they’re going to bring Bette & Tina back as a relationship, I’m fine with parking them in Toronto and giving us one phone call an episode. Give their screen time to Angie’s Hot Girl Autumn.
AND ALSO, let Angie be bisexual but not in the exhausting way Alice is PERFORMATIVELY BISEXUAL. Let her just date some nice people up and down the gender spectrum and make the kinds of colossal mistakes someone whose idea of love was molded by Bette and Tina is certainly gonna (but not breaking up and making up with Jordi for NINE SEASONS).
Among other continuity issues ——Why was the Kiki Smith still hanging in Bette’s home???!?
I think that was to imply that Tina gave it back to her, she couldn’t bear to think of breaking their former home.
no but I really really need to know why Bette’s mom isn’t dead anymore and how she got her hands on that drawing of a friggin deer, I’m hoping they answer these annoying questions! rl point: I need Laurel to get a better job than this tibette drivel. I need Bette to be more interesting than tibette drivel or meanness. I’ve waited years for Bette-character-development and it seems to happen when she’s with her friends, including Dani, including Alice and Shane (CH’ane! bc I still haven’t forgiven them for that mess of representation) when they’re not drunk on forgetting that tibette is toxic horribleness. and why is Shane in this weird happy ending when we were promised that Shane would never be in a boring long-term thing LOLOL? please tell me the rest of the season will make things more interesting for all of them. Alice in a relationship is always more interesting than Alice dating randos, for example, but I can see where they’re giving us some kind of real’ish (she’s filthy rich now which is less interesting in some ways for Alice) story here at least. They’re breaking Gigi and Dani up bc Sepideh had another acting gig I think? but pretending that Dani is 9 when she’s like what 30 I don’t know, is stupid. continuity writers! or did they really truly fire a person just to market tibette crap for the weirdos who are obsessed with them? bc I think they did. they got rid of someone on the writing team who had some promise (I’m 87% sure I’m right) which sucks. there are like 9 low-follower accounts on twitter who obsessively push tibette and seem to have been created just for that purpose so someone is working hard to MAKE it happen. if nothing else, it’s all a fascinating study in the political economy of television making and marketing?
Ok this episode was…weird? Uneven? The building of tension, the choices, the acting, it all kind of felt like it was written by a neural net that was fed the l word Gen q and acted by body snatched automatons?
I feel you, Darcy. I adore these actors but it feels like the writing (and/or editing?) is causing ripples across the show, including in the acting. Rewatching season 1 there was this kind of vibrancy and joy and fun and pleasure, whereas now it often just feels wooden or stilted. Even the characters that previously had a lot of chemistry (like Finley and Sophie, I’m #Sinley #36 – there are dozens of us!) feel stilted.
The writing baffles me… it is often both narratively bizarre, seems to betray the characters and relationships it has previously established, and often seems to lack specificity. As in the Finley/Sophie scene: “you’re my guy, you make my heart flutter ” – really? that’s all they’ve got?
I know Riese, Drew, and Analyssa have adopted a more positive perspective (I hope they know better things are coming!), but I’ve been sort of bummed out by these first two episodes. I was so excited for the show to come back, and now I barely feel excited about the next episode because I worry it’s just going to go more off the rails?
100% agree with everything you said! the writing AND the editing, you’re right…like when even jennifer beals’ acting can’t save something, it’s…not good
I no longer watch this show because I don’t care enough to pay for showtime, but I do care enough to read these recaps on the clock!! It’s like a much lower stress version of actually watching.
psssst use a good adblocker and sflix.to it has all of the episodes at least the same night the show comes out
It seems like even though the show “skipped” a year the couples that were together in that year had zero communication with each other or these issues that are coming up now would have already been resolved. Surely there are ways to create drama that don’t come across as fabricated out of nowhere. Why do I keep watching again? Not sure anymore.
I think they are making Tess into this new flighty, kind of off the wall person so that we all see why Shane would end up cheating. It’s the only thing that makes sense to me. “Well of course Shane cheated, Tess just pushed for too much.” As much as I love Shane this same storyline of her blowing up her life has gotten really old. Again, if Bette can grow up why can’t Shane??
Micah and Maribel should not be having a baby, I’m not even sure they should talk about marriage at this point. Why do tv couples always jump to the largest commitment ever when it comes to trying to prove how much they love each other? And for the love, please talk about this for more than a day. I think a goldfish would be a better idea for these two at this point.
Not too excited about future episodes without Bette but at least we still have Gigi.
I forgot in my comment last week to mention I can’t wait for the inevitable Phyllis or Nadia cameo with Angie going to CU. Surely Nadia is the head of the art department by now… (Fine, I just really miss seeing Jessica Capshaw in well anything)
everytime a kiss or dramatic event happens on screen they start the soft indie rock pop and i am suddenly transported to a TJMaxx fitting room trying to dress more femme to please my parents. i know the l word has a bad history with music but please dont do this to us.
Amazing* They/Them representation in this show once again
**faceless persons Finley and Sophie have sex with that hurt the other.
How is it possible that the way they look at each other and how they play that they didn’t feel something more for each other?
FWIW, Dre actually does make an appearance in episode 5
How would I get through this series without your recaps?! I just finished watching S2 in October while recovering from surgery and I’m still not sure if I’m relieved or horrified that I got to jump almost immediately into S3, but here we are. I’m watching solo (on the Hulu account of my ex who I don’t talk to anymore, of course) so I’ve been pausing the ep halfway through to read half the recap; it’s too painful to get through otherwise!
A few thoughts-
— What happened to Dani being arrested in the Big Dramatic Ending of S2???? Obviously consistency is not this shows string suit but to have no one even mention it??
— that Shane/Kehlani hair situation in ep1 really shoulda counted as a sex scene in your tally :D (i’m a Shane girl always and forever so maybe I’m biased, but whew, hottest scene in these two eps so far!)
— THANK YOU for detailing how terribly the writers handled the Finley alcoholism plot. It was so hard to watch.
— thanks also for paying the $3.99 to make that truly inspired graphic
— I’m not a Tibetter and never have been but I will grudgingly admit this episode was sweet with them. And if they’re both now off the show, good riddance!
— yes to all of the wtf about Micah and Maribel, and Sophie/Finley no longer being fun, and Tess being an idiot, and in general all these couples having such terrible communication
— A League of Their Own proved that lesbians can have nice things (and excellent writers and characters); why do we have to go back to the crap that comes out of the GenQ writers room?? It makes me so mad.