Shane and Tess’s dark night of the soul is continuing apace, and I really appreciate that they’re giving this conflict an entire episode to breathe, compared to the lightning-quick breakup we witnessed recently between Dani and our Sovereign Queen Gigi.
So, Shane is explaining that for her sex doesn’t really mean anything — it’s just sex. Tess asks if Shane’s proposing they do ethical non-monogamy and Shane’s like OH ABSOLUTELY NOT WHAT A WILD IDEA HAHAHA WHY WOULD YOU THINK SUCH A THING WOULD MAKE SENSE FOR ME
Tess asks if Shane’s a sex addict, because that’s a paradigm she can understand, navigate, perhaps naively thinks she could even fix. Shane says maybe, but also that it’s more than that. Everything has been a lot, she argues: it was great when Tess moved in, and got harder when her Mom came — which was Shane’s idea, it turns out — and yes Shane’s so glad she came and they were able to help her and she doesn’t regret that. But they also have Dana’s. And then. And then what happened? AND THEN SHE WANTED A SECOND BAR.
Somewhere along the line, Shane feels like Tess stopped seeing her. “I’m not trying to blame you,” says Shane. “I’m just trying to explain this. There was a disconnect.”
“Yes, okay, yes,” Tess concedes. “It’s been hard. But do you know what I did when I started feeling like it was too much? I wrote in my fucking journal, Shane.”
Back at The Dana Fairbanks Memorial Tavern, Dani’s still aglow thinking of her potential future, which includes a hot girl autumn and organizing Fletcher’s album release party. But then she and Sophie’s attention is re-directed to the stage, ’cause it’s open mic night and Dre is opening up on the mic with a cover of Sam Smith and Normani’s “Dancing with a Stranger.”
Dani’s like … OMG it’s them!
And Sophie is like… OMG it’s them.
Isn’t being gay fun?
Sophie rushes into the back to inform Finley of the awkward situation that is currently taking place, namely that Finley is finding out 2-3 weeks earlier than I expected she would that Dre is, in fact, hot. But Finley thinks Sophie’s back there for that pre-planned hookup. Oops!
Finley and Sophie start making out but it’s intercut with so much else — Sophie’s memories of hooking up with Dre…
Dre singing in the present moment on the stage of the illustrious Dana Fairbanks Memorial Tavern….
…Dani about to come in her pants at the bar…
Sophie can’t ground herself in this moment with Finley, not with her ex-something providing the soundtrack to their hookup, not so hot on the heels of them finally closing the book on this topic. She calls it off and Finley backs up. She says it’s okay, they don’t have to do anything Sophie doesn’t want to do. (I do love these subtle nods to proper consent that the show does sometimes!) But it’s not that, of course: Dre is here.
Finley freezes, panics, dies inside and then decides to PULL THE FIRE ALARM.
Back at the Shess Shack, Tess is asking Shane for apparently the first time in their 17-month relationship if she has ever been to therapy and somehow, after all of these years — after foster care AND addiction AND chronic housing instability AND having a photograph of her in that transcendent lace-up leather vest from the pilot episode publicly available on a number of major image-hosting platforms AND having an illicit relationship with a hot society wife who wore garter belts to haircut appointments AND then losing Dana and then leaving Carmen at the altar and crashing someone else’s BMW into a highway overpass after a bananas bender and then being forced by Molly’s Mom to rudely dump Molly and then betraying Jenny with Nikki on the balustrade of Yamashiro and then dating Jenny and then having Jenny’s entire personality change and then having Jenny literally drop dead while they were in a fight and then going through a divorce with Quiara… Shane has still, after all of that, not been to therapy!
Shane says she’d be open to therapy if she thinks it’d help and you know what, I don’t think it’d hurt! Tess knows Shane’s been through so much, but everybody’s been through so much and it doesn’t make them hurt each other like Shane does.
Shane says she’s taking responsibility for her flaws by not denying that she cheated — but Tess says you have to take responsibility all the time, not just after having fucked up. Taking responsibility for the things you do that hurt the people you love isn’t just apologizing for those things, it’s trying not to do those things at all.
Tess wants Shane to change but doesn’t think Shane can change unless Shane also wants to change, so basically this is like that song that goes change will do you good that’s always playing in GapKids.
I also want Shane to change, or evolve, or grow, or something, and I can’t find my footing in these breakup convos — so much of it well-done and all of it is so well-acted and does feel different from past Shane, she feels more present and more mature. But it keeps stopping short of something richer to dig into.
Back at the Dana Fairbanks Memorial Tavern, Finley’s feelings are on fire and therefore the entire room must be evacuated. Sophie wants to talk — she didn’t know Dre was gonna be here! But Finley is all business: ma’am I am going to need you to evacuate the building for your own safety I am sorry for the inconvenience but please depart the premises.
Outside on the mean streets surrounding this lone lesbian Memorial Tavern, patrons mill about in confusion — except Dre, who knows precisely what they want for their evening: taking a trip to pound town with their pre-destined love, Dani. Their adrenaline is COURSING with ENERGY from their first-ever live performance in a venue outside of Ohio. But Dani refuses the invite, saying she can’t sleep with someone who slept with her ex ’cause she’s “not into being anyone’s second choice.” This is confusing ’cause Dre did not say Dani was their second choice and also Dani and Dre are both hot and they need to get it together.
But Dani gives Dre her number in case Dre ever needs a publicist for the career they just launched at open mic night, a debut so incredible the entire building caught on fire!
“Okay, I see you, DANI,” Dre says in the funniest way possible as Dani and Sophie drive off into the deep night and I pray that Dre will return and have a romance with Dani because that’s what the people need.
