Congratulations on making to the end of another week! Let’s get to it! On last week’s Drag Race, the Queen of Capitalism RuPaul made a crossover event out of her TV and Vegas shows. And while we’re talking about reality TV crossover events, The Valley brought another bisexual to Bravo — and she’s a former Bachelor contestant.
Someone one TikTok shared the incredibly incorrect opinion that Saturday Night Live has never had hot women in its cast, so Motti made a list detailing all 57 past women cast members just to prove a point — come for the history lesson, stay for the thirst. On that topic of thirst, this week’s anatomy of queer sex scene is looking at the rules of desire in Y Tu Mamá También. And Drew interviewed Sari Navarro, the queer programmer at the Academy Museum, about The Sewing Circle, sapphic icons of Old Hollywood, and the importance of preserving our stories. Drew also reviewed the new lesbian movie Housekeeping for Beginners, Aamina wrote about the radical politics and trans representation of Dev Patel’s Monkey Man, and Valerie revisited the intensity of queer friendship in the iconic 90s film Foxfire. Last, but certainly not least, Marya E. Gates spoke with lesbian film legend Patricia Rozema about her long and impressive career!
Autostraddle’s March Madness is down to the final four! And now is the time to vote! Our finalists are all heavy queer tv hitters and fan favorites — Buffy‘s Willow Rosenberg, GLEE‘s Santana Lopez, Yellowjackets’ Van Palmer, and The Last of Us’ Ellie Williams, so you will want to make your voice heard. It’s the start of a new month, that means Riese has everything that’s queer and streaming in April waiting just for you.
And here’s what else!
Notes from the TV Team:
+ She has done it again: for the second year in a row, Britt Rescigno, has made it to the Final Four of Food Network’s Tournament of Champions. Certainly, the chefbian has impressive throughout her TOC run but her performance in the quarterfinals might have been her strongest to date. She made ravioli, from scratch, in 40 (!!) minutes. She showcased new techniques — using a food processor to knead the dough, a vacuum sealer to hydrate it, and an aebleskiver pan to shape it — that impressed everyone. Rescigno continues her Chopped judges gauntlet: After dispatching Marc Murphy and Amanda Freitag, Rescigno now faces Maneet Chauhan for the opportunity to compete for the TOC championship. The series finale airs on Sunday! — Natalie
+ Loot is back! The hilarious comedy starring Maya Rudolph and Michaela Jaé Rodriguez returned for its second season this week and it kicks off with a hilarious parody of Vogue‘s “73 Questions.” — Natalie
+ The season finale of The Way Home was this week, and it saw the return of non-binary character Casey, who I originally thought was flirting with Alice because of how often they showed up to talk to her, but now I’m thinking they might be PULLING an Alice, and has traveled back in time to see their mother as a teen. (Also Susanna was in love with Katherine and nothing will ever make me believe otherwise.) — Valerie Anne
Grey’s Anatomy Episode 2004: “Baby Can I Hold You”
Written by Carmen
I missed her laugh most of all.
If you did not watch last night’s Grey’s Anatomy, I might as well start us off with what you likely most want to know: Arizona did not mention any updates about Callie in her grand return to the show.
When we last saw Arizona, all the way back in season 14, she was being written off in a happy ending cliffhanger of sorts. She’d decided to move back to New York City so that Sofia, the daughter she shared with her ex-wife Callie Torres, could stop with her cross-country parenting commute. And did I mention that Callie, years after their divorce, was once again single?
The last scene of Arizona Robbins that we’ve had to cling to for the six seasons was her smiling at her phone as a “I can’t wait to see you” text message from her ex-wife (and potential future girlfriend?) Callie Torres flashed across the screen. So last night’s decision to not pick up that thread at all, not even a throw away line saying that Callie stayed behind in New York to watch their daughter while Arizona did surgery in Seattle, was curious to say the least.
Sara Ramirez was not invited back to reprise their history-making role for Arizona’s last episode. They have not been invited to return as Callie in any of the years since their leaving, though they have previously said they would be open to it. And yes, I do have a lot of thoughts about those production decisions! I don’t want to take up more time than I already have in a mini-recap, but it’s notable to say the least how many fan favorite characters have been offered an invited back to the mothership over the years (hint: at this point, it’s nearly all of them) and which ones decidedly have not.
I’ll move on to talk about Arizona’s case of the week, but first I just have to say — to not even have a mention of Callie, by the woman who supposedly moved cross-country to be with her, is salt in the wound and an insult to the queer fans that have made up a core component of Grey’s Anatomy’s audience for years. Ok moving on.
Arizona is back in Seattle, and she has heart-felt speeches about surgery being magic and dimples to share!! Since we’ve last seen her, Arizona has become a world renowned fetal surgeon and has built cutting-edge research with her partner, Dr. Dottie Hinson (excuse me, I don’t know Geena Davis by any other name). She’s revisiting Grey Sloan Memorial to complete a surgical trial that involves doing brain surgery on a fetus that is still in utero, which sounds equal parts “cool” and “YIKES!” if you ask me!
Once the surgery is over, Arizona hangs out with Dr. Bailey in the attending’s lounge and I kept waiting for Teddy Altman (another OG Arizona bestie, shout out to Seasons Six-Eight!) to make an appearance, but alas I was not given that gift. I was, however, given the gift of Jessica Capshaw’s warmth and laughter and impeccable humor and line readings. It is very hard to pull off the cringier parts of Grey’s dialogue well, but Capshaw slipped right in like an old friend you’ve missed or your favorite sweater you forgot in the back of the closet. The show could use more of her. There’s spark when the early season players come back that is just… missing these days. I know you feel it, too.
She also looked fucking great, I gotta say! If Grey’s Anatomy didn’t give us the Calzona update that many of us were hoping for, at least we got to see television’s longest running lesbian character back in her glory.
Station 19 Episode 704: “Trouble Man”
Written by Carmen
Liam will not stop crying. The overall premise of Station 19 this week is about how everyone at the fire department is having a terrible, no good, very bad day. I believe it had something to do with a full moon? But I’ll admit that I was emptying out the dishwasher when that exact explanation was given. For Carina and Maya, who are still on maternity leave away from the station, the “terrible, no good, very bad day” is about Liam — who, again, will not stop crying.
It starts off innocuous enough, Maya being hotly and adorably butch with her power tools fixing up Liam’s nursery where Carina begs her wife to put down the power drill and pick up some diapers. The thing is that Maya cannot stop worrying about everything that might go wrong (an occupational hazard, I suppose). And when Liam starts off his next round of crying, Maya sprints from the kitchen to his bedroom to save the day. Carina wants Liam to learn how to self-soothe, Maya wants to try attachment parenting. It turns into an ugly fight and before she says something she’ll regret, Maya walks out of the house.
Maya comes home in the middle of the night and Carina is waiting by the front door, ready to admonish her wife that she can’t just leave when things get hard. In their new fight, Carina ends up locking them both out! And Liam starts crying again! Maya luckily finds a crowbar in Carina’s trunk (because Carina doesn’t remember to lock her car, a charming character moment between the two of them). Anyway, Captain Bisexual saves the day! Which is what Captain Bisexuals do best!
The next day, Maya and Carina lay next to each other in bed with the sun streaming in. They decide to play a game, “Truth or Scared.” They have to say what scares them most. Maya is scared she will die on duty and not make home to her wife and kid. Carina is afraid that the last few days will mean that Maya will never want kids again, and she still wants to try IVF. Maya promises that she will never tire of having kids with Carina, so I think we might somehow still end up with baby #2 before this final season of Station 19 is over.
OK! I have to be real with you, is baby Liam the cutest? Yes. Do I love seeing Maya and Carina, after all these years, learning effective communication and mature coping strategies? Yes. But after four episodes, am I SO READY to get these two back to literally… any other plot now? That’s a yes, too.
The Equalizer 405: “The Whistleblower”
Written by Natalie
It’s been over a year since we last saw Aunt Violet’s girlfriend, Trish, on The Equalizer. In the interim, Vi has reunited brothers separated by the system, been held hostage by an abuser, and talked down a grocery store robber. On top of that, every time her niece, Robyn, gets embroiled into a dangerous situation — which is pretty much every week — Vi and Delilah get put in isolation, under the protection of armed guards. Those incidents place huge demands on Vi’s time and attention and warrant total discretion, none of which is conducive to maintaining a healthy relationship.
Which brings us back to Trish. Vi invites her over for a home spa day, in hopes of addressing the distance between them. Trish softens Vi up with a gift but then starts to pepper her with questions. She asks about Robyn’s travels and the NGO for which she “works.” She spots Delilah toying with a switchblade — part of her training — and grows alarmed. Vi, on the other hand, is completely unbothered and that only causes more alarm bells to go off in Trish’s head.
After their massages, Trish returns to asking questions about Robyn’s travels and work. Vi strings together a response that doesn’t actually answer any of Trish’s questions. When Trish again presses for more information, Vi wonders what’s provoked this interest in Robyn’s work. Finally, the truth spills out: Trish wants to know why Vi is so secretive about her niece and so many things in her life. She points out how frequently Vi cancels plans and how her explanations about the reasons why are always so vague. Trish chastises Vi for not opening up to her in the way that she’s opened up to her. Vi understands her girlfriend’s feelings but can’t promise that things will be different moving forward.
“Relationships are based on honesty, Viola. If we don’t have that, what do we have?” Trish laments.
Later, Delilah returns home to discover her Aunt curled up on the couch when she was supposed to be out with Trish. Vi admits that they had a disagreements about the secrets she’s forced to keep and Delilah nods, knowingly. Robyn arrives and susses out that Vi and Delilah were talking about something serious. They both reveal the toll that keeping Robyn’s secrets have taken on their personal lives. Robyn’s indignant — she doesn’t want what she does impacting their lives — and promises to figure out a solution.
All American 601: “Things Done Changed”
Written by Natalie
When All American returned for its sixth season this week, the show had hit fast-forward — past the aftermath of Patience’s stabbing and her recovery and how it all impacted the people around her — and landed 15 months later. Patience is recovered and finally ready to return to the stage at the spot formerly known as Slauson Cafe. But before she can even show up for soundcheck, Patience’s world is rocked again when the news reports that a chain of custody issue with the security camera footage means that her case against Miko has developed into a she said/she said case. There’s even a chance that Miko could be released on bail.
For her part, Coop’s been the supportive friend throughout, reluctant to share the feelings she’s been carrying for the past 15 months, because Patience is already going through so much. Both Coop and Layla push Patience to talk about how she’s feeling but the songstress stubbornly refuses. She’s fine, she insists. Still, her friends persist, pushing Patience to tell the truth.
“Look, am I pissed our security-camera footage got thrown out? Yes. But I am alive to tell what that bitch did to me, and best believe I will,” an exasperated Patience assures them. “I am not deluded. I know the trial won’t be easy, but I did not spend the last year rehabbing, both mentally and physically, just to crumble when it matters the most.”
Coop and Layla try to take Patience at her word but, the next day, when Patience climbs to the stage to perform, she freezes and imagines seeing Niko in the crowd. She rushes off stage. With Layla and Olivia tending to Patience, Coop opts to stand in for her ex-girlfriend and takes the stage to perform her old single, “You Don’t Ask.” Coop and Patience’s fans sing the hook together in Patience’s absence. It’s a testament to how All American has evolved Coop’s character that I found it a little odd to see her back on the mic.
Backstage, Patience chides herself for believing that she was okay and that she was ready to perform. She asks to be taken home, by Olivia, and Layla proceeds to make everything about her. She’s convinced that everything that happened to Patience was her fault and that Patience holds her responsible for it. But later, Patience approaches Layla directly and sets her straight: the only person responsible for what happened to her is Miko. They return to the Baker mansion and where the entire crew — AKA, the Vortex — has all come together for a sleepover to make sure Patience knows she’s loved.
Top Chef: Wisconsin Episode 2103: “Take It Cheesy”
Written by Natalie
Stepping into the shoes of Padma Lakshmi was always going to be a challenge, even for someone as charismatic and charming as Kristen Kish. Over 19 seasons as host/judge/executive producer, Padma had really molded the show in her image. And while it feels too early to make a judgement about how she’s doing, this week’s episode did showcase one facet of the Kristen Kish era that I’ve come to love: her unbridled exuberance.
Kristen’s been a guest judge on Top Chef before but then, she was more restrained, only showing emotion when the situation warranted. This is different. Watching Kristen Kish host Top Chef is like watching a kid wake up on Christmas morning. The chefs walk into the kitchen for the quickfire and she’s there, smiling brightly. Or if a chef makes something outstanding in the elimination challenge and she breaks the judges’ typical reserved decorum by announcing, “Michelle’s dish, I thought, was fuckin’ fantastic.” I don’t know if it’ll always be like this — or if we’re just seeing the freshman glow — but it makes watching this season so much fun.
Another thing that was great about this week’s episode: Top Chef alum Carla Hall and actor/writer/director Clea DuVall joined Kristen to judge the quickfire challenge. This season’s chefbian, Rasika, recognizes Clea immediately, noting, “I did watch But I’m a Cheerleader when I was first, you know, realizing that I am queer.” Top chefs, they’re just like us!
The quickfire challenge requires the chefs to pair Door County (WI) cherries with an ingredient hidden behind a mini door. The prize? $5k. By virtue of her elimination challenge win last week, Rasika gets to pick first and she finds cipollini onions behind her door. She opts to focus exclusively on the two ingredients she’s been given, using the tartness of the cherries to balance the sweetness of the cipollini onions. She pulls out the win again, bringing her total winnings thus far to $15k and cementing her as one of the top contenders for the Top Chef title.
In the elimination challenge, chefs drew knives to select a brand of cheese to highlight in a dish for Top Chef‘s first-ever Cheese Festival. Rasika gets the Dunbarton Blue Cheese which she incorporates into a rice cake (paniyaram) with braised chicken thigh korma. She doesn’t win this week but gets rave reviews from the judges, especially Gail who called the dish “fantastic” and “beautifully balanced.”
More than who won and who lost, it felt like this elimination challenge really separated contestants into two tiers: the top tier chefs, like Rasika, are being really creative and thinking outside the box, while the lower tier chefs all make basic croquettes. We’ll see if that separation holds next week.
My main takeaway from Arizona’s return was remembering how she and Carina broke up over differing views on parenting. Parenting views that their return on Station 19.
Debbie Allen said they invited Sara back.
I have a lot of respect for Debbie Allen, and the only people who would know the exact terms of those conversations would be the ABC/Grey’s production team and Sara Ramirez. With that said, Sara Ramirez has previously said on their social media that despite reports they were asked to return and were unable due to a scheduling conflict — no request had been made to their people. I’m always hopeful for whatever miscommunication to be cleared up between them and for Sara’s return one day as Callie, a character that meant a lot to me personally! We can always hope.