Welcome to the fourth recap 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 show about a super-fan of a lesbian tennis star who aggressively pursued a romantic relationship with said tennis star, moved into her apartment, killed her cat, got engaged to her, began planning their wedding as the world’s first corporate sponsored lesbian wedding and then left her for Melissa Rivers.
This week’s episode brought us the best of times and it also brought us the worst of times. It was mostly really really wonderful but there were some scenes I didn’t love so I would like to warn you off the bat that in this L Word: Generation Q Episode 304 Recap, “Last To Know,” I have a LOT OF OPINIONS! Fortunately, I no longer have covid, although my girlfriend still does have covid. Laughing loving coughing breathing coughing dreaming. You know the drill.
Well, it’s spooky season in Los Angeles, which we know because the lyrics to the episode’s opening track are “it’s spooky season.” We see skeletons baking in front yards, doors decked out with pumpkin lanterns and, finally, at the Dana Fairbanks Memorial Tavern, some seasonal decor in the background of what appears to be a brunch date between Sophie, Finley and Dani. Before Dani arrives, Sophie warns Finley that Dani’s likely in a delicate spiral of depression.
And then I was like “Dani, if you don’t stop listening to Phoebe Bridgers you’re going to kill yourself”
But the Dani that walks through the door to Dana’s is in no such dark place. She is radiant, her eyebrows are full, her pants are high-waisted, her midriff is exposed, her separates are coordinated and she’s jazzed that her friend Roxy’s coming to town any minute now to join her in “going hard” for Halloween.
Hey besties guess who found a Xanax in their nightstand!!!
Sophie explains to Finley that Roxy is Dani’s “bad friend.” You know the bad friend!
Sophie: Last time [Roxy] was here you guys ended up in an orgy in San Luis Obispo.
Dani: That was actually a leather party in the valley and it was fun!
I love this for Dani. While Finley, who’s nailed a few jokes in this convo already, is describing how she herself is generally the “fun friend,” Roxy arrives earlier than anticipated. Dani screams. Roxy calls Dani “D-Bag”? I’m calling security.
TRICK OR TREATTTTT !!!!!!
Roxy’s played by Paula Andrea Placido, a queer actor you may recognize from playing Hannah’s hot subletter in Hacks and Debbie’s hot bartender in Shameless.
The sweet buzz of an electric toothbrush ushers us into Alice’s boudoir, where my favorite Alice outfit of the season thus far is so cute that Taylor — in a gauzy Aerosmith tee and joggers with adorable bedhead — is immediately intimidated by Alice’s seemingly effortless togetherness, referring to herself as a “Walking Dead extra.”
Apparently Taylor and Alice have been doing the horizontal mambo for three days and now Alice wants to decorate her house for Halloween on the day of Halloween so they can stay inside and watch horror movies.
Okay so I know it’s a little bit niche but I was thinking what if we dressed up as Rockford Peaches???
I’m not sure if that’s quite as niche as you think, buddy
Alice dashes to the kitchen to make Taylor some coffee. “Do you have any —” Taylor begins before letting the final words “contact solution” fade into the ether. Taylor, Alice wears glasses so therefore Alice must also wear contacts and therefore definitely has contact solution!
Meanwhile at the Shess Shack, Shane has transformed Peppermint Patty into Dolly Parton and she looks fantastic. Also Shane made breakfast. Unfortunately, Shane did not give Patty a spoon!!! How is she supposed to eat without her spoon?????!!!
What do you think, you’ll be Dolly Parton and I’ll be kd Lang and we’ll record “Honky Tonk Angels” live at the Hollywood Bowl
Tess is unmoved by Shane’s costuming skills and ignores her questions about their dinner date that evening because she’s too absorbed with her own business — such as a meeting with the contractor for ill-advised Bar #2, taking her Mom for a walk around the reservoir and remembering what her Mom wore for Halloween last year.
Yoo-hoo, you have 90 more seconds to acknowledge my existence or I am going to cheat on you
Maribel is an avocado! Micah is not an avocado, even though Maribel wanted him to be an avocado. They’re gonna go meet the “only trans and non-binary parents that [they] know” and Micah thinks he won’t be able to ask serious questions about raising and birthing children if he is dressed like an avocado.
WHERE’S MY OTHER AVOCADO HALF
Can’t I just be toast
We then return to the sullied unhallowed halls of California University, where we’re meeting Angie’s roommate, Bella, not to be confused with Bella Swan or The Bellas from Pitch Perfect. Bella has a big announcement: she just got her first ever paid gig as an actor and she needs Angie to attend her performance that very evening! Angie lies that she’s gotta study and can’t make it, which means she’s obviously hanging out with her teacher/boyfriend.
Wait didn’t they already do this storyline in Grown-ish except the teacher was being played by your friend Shane?
Did that … end well for them do you remember
Indeed, we are then treated to some kind of academic situation where Angie’s pitching a project and then the class ends and she approaches Hendrix Hendrix with remarkable confidence and yanks on his shirt. “How do you always smell so good?” he says to my daughter Angie while I ride a scooter into a lake used as a dumping site for toxic chemicals and whisper as I drown, it was my time to go.
We cut to a Halloween party chock-full of tiny humans, aka children, where Maribel and Micah have arrived. They’ve barely crossed the threshold when a child vomits on Micah’s shoe and is immediately swept up into the arms of Maribel’s work friend, Reese (played by non-binary actor Armand Fields, who you may recognize from Queer as Folk and/or Work in Progress), and they are both in dinosaur onesies which is really cute! Also I have never heard someone speak my own name in a scripted television program before and it’s very strange!
Finders Keepers!!
…and then AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN we meet Reese’s partner. Max.
How the hell did they convince you to come back
Sometimes the only way out is through
For those of you who are new to the program, Max Sweeny (played by Daniel Sea) is a character from the original series:
Jenny and Max in Episode 304 of “The L Word”
Max served as an introduction to trans masculinity for a huge swath of mid-aughts queers, which was good in some ways but also bad in many ways because the stories they wrote for him often perpetuated dangerous and insidious stereotypes about trans people and also were very othering and sad!
Daniel spoke to Drew at length about their experience on the show in 2021, and I’m just so grateful that a space was made for his character to come back and exist and be held and honored and treated with respect and dignity and given a full life and a happy ending, to be a trans elder for Micah. I teared up for all of that! (Also, Drew interviewed Daniel about this episode and you can read her interview with Daniel Sea right here!)
Um so, Angie and her teacher are in costumes and that makes Angie think nobody will recognize either of them and therefore they can hold hands.
Come on, let me show you the art installation Jodi made for my mother
He says his novel was a flop and nobody read it but of course Angie has been listening to it on audiobook when she could be reading something else, like Sisterhood is Powerful. They happen upon a haunted house and Angie’s dying to head in and convinces this man to come with her. Hopefully a ghoul will leap out at him and whisper in his ear “don’t date your student” and then a witch will cackle like “hahaha you think your novel’s bad wait for your disciplinary hearing hahahahaha”
Well, the Dana Fairbanks Memorial Tavern is full of celebrants in resplendent Halloween costumes. But Dani, despite claiming earlier that she intended to “go hard” for Halloween, has opted for the world’s most basic Halloween costume: a sexy cat. Roxy is dressed as a person in a white muscle tee with a bunch of white makeup on her face. (I think she’s a vampire, I noted fangs later in the episode.) Despite their collective failures to summon suitable costumes, they will be shortly tearing into Sophie’s very creative hand-made costume! But first, Roxy comments on Shane being very hot, Dani says Shane’s got a serious girlfriend, and Sophie mutters “she’d probably sleep with you anyhow.”
Wait isn’t that the girl from those Hugo Boss underwear ads I plastered my locker with in high school
Finley says no way, Shane and Tess are basically married, as if cheating is not a very popular activity for married people. Sophie leans in closer to her bartender beau and says she “kinda saw something” the other day and Finley brushes her off as absolutely bananas. Finley, by the way, is looking fantastic in what I am going to assume is a James Dean in “Rebel Without a Cause” costume:
C’mon toss me a Junior Mint, it’s Halloween
Dani and Roxy get sent drinks from a stranger and Sophie’s curious why she’s been overlooked for free beverages — yes she has a girlfriend but strangers don’t know that — which her friends blame on her costume.
“Come on,” Sophie says. “Are you kidding me right now? Look at this shit right here. Look at this gangsta shit. I am raining cats and dogs! Come on, it’s funny!”
Like… y’all know just wearing a tank top and being hot isn’t a costume right?
Sophie spent all day at Ross making that costume but her alleged friends say that “less is more” as they lead her into the back of the bar to ruin what I think is a masterful work of design that belongs in the display case of a local 4-H art show.
We then return to the Kids Halloween Party with Reese and Max and TBH I have known about Daniel Sea returning to this program for MONTHS and it has been KILLING ME to keep it a secret so I’m just really glad we are all here together finally.
Actuallllllly, I know something SUPER interesting about lobsters
So, in Daniel Sea’s 2021 interview with us, they did talk specifically about the pregnancy storyline in Season Six, and the show’s election “to leave Max pregnant and abandoned and never to have the resolution, comfort, and joy that could have been.”
Later on in the interview, they elaborate:
I didn’t even realize the joke was on me, because I just kept being so earnest like “oh my God how cool he’s going to be pregnant! He’s going to have a baby! That’s so cool! He will have a bountiful life!” Then all of a sudden they have him dressed up like Willy Wonka and everyone’s making fun of him. It felt extremely confusing and awful. I didn’t expect it to go this way. I kept being hopeful. I was still naïve about that world.
Now, Max does have a bountiful life: he notes the “gay cis guy” who left him pregnant and alone who turned out to be “the worst,” and they explain that two of their other kids were Reese’s from their first marriage and then they adopted Phoenix from foster care. Micah asks about the names they use for themselves as parents — Reese is Damba, Max is Nibby, and:
Max: Yeah we just sort of figured — Dad’s just a sound? I mean the meaning is just made up.
Maribel: That’s really funny because for the longest time I thought “Dad” was just a person my Mom made up, so!
Reese: Same, honey… but girl you gotta get rid of that shit before the baby comes. Trust me, it’ll hit you when you least expect it.
Actually yeah, she does seem to think dating a therapist is a good substitution for going to therapy
Reese and Max talk about how helpful therapy was for them as individuals and as parents in a relationship, how it helped them get on the same page and ensure they had similar values. Micah is on board for this line of thinking but Maribel immediately withdraws.
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Shout out to how hot Roxy is. Happy to see representation of a less glossy dyke!! The whole Dani/Roxy storyline was v cute, liked it a lot.
I cried a few solitary tears of joy when I saw Max!! But I remain surprised that Micah just takes all of Maribel’s shit lying down without pushing back. My man’s a therapist! He must be able to see how messed up her attitude to *checks notes* pretty much everything is? If I were Micah I’d be planning for single parenthood. Or maybe a throuple with Reese and Max hahaha. An extra parent would defo help with 4(!) kids!
I was also happy about a dyke who is less feminine (Roxy)! Would love to see more butch representation/masculine presenting folks on the show!
And I agree, why doesn’t Micah set boundaries when Mirabel is mean to him?
Why are we being subjected to Shane & Tess??? Their relationship has as much depth as Shane’s fingers to Ivy’s 🍑. Give us Shane and Quiara and move on already!
Yeah I’d be super curious to know if there’s a reason Micah just puts up with it all, cuz there are people like that (I’ve been one in the past) who just kinda endure a lot of ribbing or take the back seat. I do think there’s a sweetness there though between them underneath it all
– Max! I genuinely did not expect this! When Shane said to Max: “I want to apologize how were back then,” I knew this was the show/the writers saying “Sorry” for the L-Word treatment of Max in the OG series, and I appreciate this. But: please do it in the right way. An apology like this should contain: say what you are sorry for, say why it was wrong, accept full responsibility, commit to not doing it again, ask for forgiveness. Not a throwaway “sorry”-line which is met with a “thanks, I am happy now”! Max deserves better! Also in regard to Max’ function here as a reminder of Shane’s past to her, and asking whether she is still “Shane being Shane”.
– Micah’s and Max’ meeting would have been a great opportunity to ask questions about trans parenthood (questions and answers/education with actual screen time for the viewers). To have conversations about being a trans parent. I liked Max’ and Micah’s chemistry and I would be shipping them if that didn’t break up Max’ family
– Crying on T: testosterone works different for people. Some find it hard to cry. Others do not. It would be nice to see a variety in this, not a message as if “not crying on T” was the rule
– Yes, Mirabel should definitely go in therapy and look at her childhood baggage – parents pass so much on to their kids and it is good to look at one’s emotional baggage before bringing a new being into this world
– I agree with Finley that Sophie has a pattern of cheating, but Sophie having sex with Dre was not cheating as Sophie and Finley were on a break. And Finley conveniently forgot to mention that she and Sophie also cheated together when Sophie was with Dani
– I liked the Sophie-Mirabel-sister moment. But I found it inconsistent that Maribel was like “No, you’re not like dad” because after the cancelled wedding, she said to Sophie “You’re just like dad!” Maybe she was angry then and wanted to comfort Sophie now, but that is a change of 180 degrees.
– Yaay, I like Dani and Roxy! And I like seeing Dani being single and a side of her that is not about getting married but attending a leather party. I want to see more of that! But “wife”-talk with Roxy? That is fast! They do not even know if they are compatible as a couple!
– While I don’t love the storyline with Tess and her mom at all, I do appreciate depicting how caring for a parent can mean less time/energy/thoughtfulness for a partner which can put a weight on the relationship. I further appreciate showing that relatives oftentimes do so much, sacrifice so much, and the person who needs care doesn’t actually want that and is not happy with the situation. It’s so real. The person who is in need of care is like “I don’t want to be your patient and prefer to be in a nursing home and that you visit me instead me living with you, and that it is not my relative who helps me in the bathroom, but the actual nurse” and the caring adult child is like “but…but I am doing this for you [with the underlying message: so be grateful]!”
– Finley makes it all about herself that Shane is cheating on Tess… Also, way to go to talk to your boss like that
– I loved Angie’s Black Panther look! Still hate the boyfriend-professor-story though. Also, why doesn’t he wear a disguise that covers his face? He was totally recognizable and someone in fact did recognize him, I am sure of it (a person looked at him in passing in a *very* specific way)
– Someone (Riese?) wrote recently that Pictionary was a metaphor about whether the couples were on the same page, and it is true. Micah and Mirabel are not on the same page, not in Pictionary, and not about parenting. I hope they realize that they are not compatible and break up. So far this show has not shown me much about why they like/love each other or why they are meant…to BEEE
– I love the Alice/Taylor-dynamic, they are so humorous together. And Taylor is courageous! I continue to ship them :)
– Can people stop speaking about others in front of them? Tess about her mom to Gloria, Tess about Victor in front of Victor… Argh. Just go to another room. Please
– Looking forward to the interview with Daniel on Monday!
Yes to the leather party comment! I feel like this is the first time in gen q that kink is mentioned! I wanna see more of that vibe and less “monogamy is the one and only goal”. Let’s see something more non-normative!
I feel like I would’ve also liked more explanation from both Sophie and Maribel, it was a surface level convo I hope they dig more into over the season
yes i also:
– love the alice/taylor dynamic
– would’ve loved to hear more about micah’s questions about trans parenting, he had so many and i don’t know that we heard any of them! hopeful we’ll get that down the road? i do imagine a lot of what’s going to be different for them is the conception process, which they don’t seem eager to address just yet. they’re definitely putting the cart before the horse but i forgive it cuz i was just so excited to see the max/micah connection, and it was wonderful that the writer for this ep was non-binary
– really would love to see more of dani’s leather side
How the hell did we go from Angie dating a cute trans girl to this gross storyline???
I didn’t see it coming. I thought when he said he was happy she’s in his class that meant that obviously they were not going to keep making out.
well, jordi wasn’t actually a trans character, marja said that her character was cis! but yes, i don’t really know or like that/how we got here…
PS – Random rant:
I don’t get it – why are Shane and Tess not in an open relationship like Shane and Quiara were? Actually, what happened in the last 10 years for Shane? Or Alice? Does anyone remember that Alice has two siblings? What is up with Shane’s brother? Shane’s father? I would have loved to see Bette and her mother meeting up and the build-up to that, instead of just being told about it! It would have been a good storyline and could have gone over a whole season! And I would love to see something about Finley and her family! All of this would deepen the characters’ storylines and be more interesting than “X cheats with Y and Y cheats with Z”
Riese, I’m glad you don’t have Covid any more and hope you don’t have lasting side effects. And may your girlfriend become healthy soon, too!
Everyone keeps referencing how Shane and Quiara had an open marriage but I don’t remember how/where we learn that. Can anyone enlighten me? How does it play out?
they’re still together when season one started and shane was hooking up with other people in a way that made it seem like that was okay, although i can’t remember the specifics as they were described to us. but she hooked up with the flight attendant and with lena and neither were labeled as cheating.
I think they were not divorced yet, but it definitely felt like (perhaps part of thr move back to LA) was a separation.
yeah it was a separation but they weren’t divorced yet, like when she came to town the relationship was treated like it might actually still be fixable, even though she’d already sent divorce papers?
I think Quiara said that they were never traditional in their marriage which gave the impression of an open relationship to me… But they didn’t go into it more
All of this would deepen the characters’ storylines and be more interesting than “X cheats with Y and Y cheats with Z” – TOTALLY AGREE!
What a fun episode, and a solid first holiday episode at that! I’m really enjoying seeing Alice and Shane basically co-leading this show. Shane’s drama and nice arms are still highly compelling to me even though I wasn’t a big fan of her relationship with Tess nor of the way that relationship fell apart. Alice is also such a joy to watch, she probably would have had a better costume than the rest of the cast combined if she had been at the party at Dana’s, but her lil’ screams of terror during movie night had me cracking up.
Ultimately I will probably look back on this episode as the Max Atonement Episode and I think the show managed to put together a pretty good mea culpa. I would have preferred to see Alice and/or Jenny’s ghost apologize to Max rather than Shane, but overall, I think it worked well and it struck a poignant chord in a way that this show doesn’t often achieve. The writers have taken a lot of really big swings at topics like alcohol use disorders, racism, death, etc. and in my opinion none of those attempts have packed an emotional punch even remotely as sucessfully as this episode did with Max. Ideally a fraction of this care and consideration would be injected into Angie’s storyline – I completely agree that it would be much more interesting to see her involved with the original characters or the new Gen Q main characters. Anything but this Pretty Little Liars 2.0 mess, please!
I agree I love seeing Shane and Alice co-leading the show!! And also absolutely, this was a big swing that actually worked, and i appreciated that.
I think Shane was a good choice for the apology. She comes off more genuine than the other characters.
Tess and The Mom have become this season’s Dani and Daddy—I couldn’t care less, I’m fast forwarding through those scenes.
Honestly, Shane is justified in this.Tess has been the worst, nearly from the jump. And I don’t know why she’s surprised to find Shane growing away from her. I for one hope Shane takes this opportunity to run out of this relationship, and Jaime Clayton takes this opportunity to leave the cast.
U should take the opportunity to delete this comment.
Your William Adama comment sent me over the edge, lol!
thank u for seeing me
It hit me unexpected as well – thanks for the flashback to about the most iconic image of Adama I have in my head.
I go to therapy, but these recaps are very therapeutic in their own way. Thank you, Riese!!! I also thought that it would be great if Micah could be Angie’s teacher but ALAAAAs. I can’t stand this storyline. Max made me tear up. I appreciate Daniel coming back and I’m also looking forward to the interview! Overall I thought this was a very ok episode!
you’re welcome!! <3
Just got to the point where you said Jac and Rosanny deserve Emmys and I AGREE!! I watched this at a bar so was reminded this show is mainly fun soapy stuff, but then there’s parts that just hit you in the gut, and for me that scene was one of them – kind of because of the writing, but mostly because of their performances!! I was like good on you show, bagging these two incredible actors
I agree that Finley is pushing the wrong things though – Sophie cheating on Dani and the person before her may be a pattern, but her sleeping with Dre is not because they were on a break!! Finley can still be hurt of course, feelings aren’t rational, but that’s not part of the pattern
Also yes Finley’s freak out at Shane was wild, and so out of character? I feel like one of her defining traits is being forgiving of everyone but herself. I get she was projecting the Sophie stuff, but as you illustrated Riese I think that could’ve been handled in a much more interesting way!
But my issues aside, MAX!!!! My fave character from the original, God it was so good to see them again. Also this was one of the few times I felt invested in Dani, maybe bc her friend we’ve never seem before who is apparently her soulmate was extremely hot!!
I can’t even get into the Angie stuff, but I will say she and Shane need to be better about their secret affairs!
Also one more thing, rewatching the scene, I do maybe think Finley saying “is that how it felt with me” meant when Sophie cheated with her, on Dani. Or at least I’m going to believe that, bc otherwise it makes no sense she wouldn’t talk about how they also started from cheating
i do prefer your explanation but sadly i’m p sure from what came next that she definitely did mean that that’s how it felt with her hooking up with dre
also yes i felt super invested in dani this episode too! i really do enjoy chaos dani, she’s so naive and bold all at once
re: bold dani – i was kinda surprised but also not that she just flat-out asked Roxy if she’s up to to having sex with her.
Literally, almost involuntarily, vaulted up out of my seat in excited disbelief at this very special guest star that I have thought of for weeks but figured the show wouldn’t bother to bring back. Is it time for a take Max seriously era???? Holy shit, never thought I’d see the day!
Also v good timing for Bette to be in Toronto bc NOBODY loved to deadname Max like Bette did back in the day, and I know in my bones it wouldn’t happen in 2022, but I would still flinch a little if she heard he was in town, ya know?
I had the same feeling re Bette!! I know she ran on a platform of trans rights but I’m not convinced
oh yeah if there’s one person on this planet who conveniently forgot how she used to treat max it would unfortunately be bette
Not a reference to William Adama, who would surely be drinking his bourbon with Colonel Tigh a.k.a. Dana’s father!
Max was a delightful surprise. He was so accommodating of their bullshit last time that I kind of wish he could have named it when Shane apologized, like ‘yeah, you guys were shitty, and I’m so glad I found people who value me’.
No no no to the instructor who wants the student he’s dating to stay in his class and flirts during office hours. And how much time has passed between episodes? They’re acting like they’ve been involved for a while. I wouldn’t pull out ‘how do you always smell so good?’ until at least 5 dates had taken place.
this is the l word / battlestar crossover episode i’m still waiting for all my life, starring the ten thousand actors who appeared in both!
OK I SCREAMED when Max came down those stairs! I really loved what they did here and appreciated Daniel Sea coming back to do it.
Thank u Riese these recaps are a highlight of my week/s. xxx
you’re so very welcome i love to be a highlight
Finley has quite literally never looked so hot.
That is all.
yes that costume was INCREDIBLY HOT two thumbs up no notes
-MAX 💙💙 I could’ve cried during these scenes!! (but didn’t, not because I’m on T, just because I’m repressed ✨)
-extremely on-brand for this show that the Halloween episode is airing 6 weeks after the actual holiday lol
-I’m so upset we didn’t get to see Alice and Taylor’s first date?? Like what we got was v cute but there was so much build-up last episode for the date itself? This whole season has been SO chaste, Shane and Ivy can’t bear the burden of our collective thirst alone
-Finley was hot this episode. This is new for me. I’m not mad
-Just generally some great masc representation this season: Shane, Finley, Carrie, Carrie’s new boo, and now Roxie
-On that note, I’m torn between being happy for Dani to have such a hot and supportive friend while also feeling like it’s a little too ~convenient~ that this friend, who we’ve never met, shows up just in time for her breakup and ready to marry her. Like I don’t want to see Dani jumping back into another serious relationship, let her have a healing ho phase first
-I sincerely hope the Shess Mess results in Shane going back to Quiara, which was such a refreshingly mature relationship for her, and with such refreshingly mature conflicts. This weird business partnership with Tess has been a huge step backwards and I want both Jaime Clayton and I to be free of this character lol
-Angie’s on a different show right now and it’s not one I enjoy!! Bi rep but at what cost
-Micah and Maribel: bizarre, fascinating even. Why do they even like each other? Why do they want kids? Maribel thinks resolving generational trauma is cringe. Micah needs a private audience to ask how to change a diaper. Who’s gonna tell them
A healing ho phase feels like it could be the center of a new edition of Chicken Soup for the Soul. I desperately want it for Dani.
I wish we could’ve seen Shane and Quiara’s marriage and gotten some sense of how long it lasted. I don’t love what’s happening with Shess, but I also just didn’t quite buy that Shane could build a successful marriage for years without ever learning to communicate what she needed or couldn’t offer.
Micah and Maribel briefly made sense when they were just horseback riding and feeling out the vibes, but lately I haven’t the slightest idea of how they even make each other laugh without other people around to either be buffers or to team up against.
it’s true, this season has been particularly chaste. it does feel like sex scenes are most often shown when the couple is having sex for the first time, or for the first time after a long break or after some other monumental occurrence — some circumstance in which the sex scene is moving plot forward. and this season a few opportunities we’ve had for that haven’t ultimately happened, bc finley + sophie are apparently in a drought and dani was too sad about gigi to hook up with roxy (which you know; fair) and taylor and alice… i’m not sure!
this so much —> “Angie’s on a different show right now and it’s not one I enjoy!! Bi rep but at what cost”
Liked this episode. Dani and hot girl from Hacks, have a lot of chemistry and I hope she comes back.
One gripe- this is why a lot of people don’t like Finley’s character- she doesn’t know when to shut the fuck up and/or mind her own business. That’s why Maribel was so mean to her in the game night episode. And that moment with Shane was totally uncalled for because, frankly, it isn’t her business who her boss is sleeping with. She always centers herself into situations that have nothing to do with her.
And I was disappointed that Finley’s habit of just leaving her work shift because she wasn’t enjoying it seems to be holding on even in sobriety.
It was so cute how Sophie even named the sewed on kittens. Not Seth! Her costume was much more creative than whatever Dani and Roxy’s were supposed to be. Finley looked great… didn’t have a clue who she was supposed to be, but she looked good doing it.
The whole Tess/Shane thing… ugh. They’re making Tess the nag and Shane the most insensitive girlfriend. As someone who is currently going through taking care of a parent suffering from dementia, I get the struggles Tess has and her reasoning for wanting to stay home when an unfamiliar nurse arrives unexpectedly. But framing her as the nagging, inattentive girlfriend is not doing her character justice. Neither is Shane reverting back to her promiscuous ways as soon as her relationship gets past the honeymoon phase and into the real life phase. This feels like Carmen 2.0. Why is this still a story line so many years later? Is it the new Tibette merry-go-round thing?
I don’t know what Finley’s deal was with her reaction to Shane. Girl, you’re in that glass house of yours and you got a self righteous-looking rock in your hand.
Finley and Sophie… I do feel for Finley in that obviously the Dre thing hurt her more deeply than she expected. However, they obviously laid out the boundaries of their break, so it’s hard to say that this is part of some pattern on Sophie’s part. Dani could possibly say that as someone who was actually cheated on by Sophie, but Finley not so much (at the moment, at least). The Ross and Rachel break comparisons don’t hold as strong for me because I’ve always been more on Rachel’s side than Ross. Because a) it’s Ross and b) Ross practically walked out of their argument and into the bed of the copy girl without consideration of Rachel needing time to think and both needing a night to calm down and not react irrationally. However, it sounds like Finley and Sophie had discussed that it was a clear break with permissions given to sleep with others. Now, the fact she apparently had an on going relationship with a particular person stings more, but it’s hard for me to think of it as part of a cheating pattern. Shane on the other hand…
Alice and the killer pumpkin door hanger… they made it seem like someone was creeping in the windows Scream style, so Taylor pulling out the pumpkin head was a little eye-roll worthy, but seeing Taylor take charge so she could just deal with dried up contacts already and save the girl in the process was really sweet.
Angie… why? Why do we have to have this storyline?? It may be the most disappointing one of them all.
I’m just so curious as to if the writers want us to be pulling for this hot mess Angie storyline? Did they rly think that a bunch of dykes want to watch a character we’ve known since she was a fetus be exploited by an older man in a power position over her? I swear to G-d this better end in a satisfactory manner where the inappropriateness is clearly defined. I want Angie to discuss this with her Uncle Shane or something (but recognise she’s spreading her adult wings and thus it’s unlikely). She could however, get super into feminist organising now she’s at college and meet a bunch of queers who could gently tell her she needs to end things and heap scorn upon the teacher. Who! I must add! Is not even cute!! I hate looking at his face. Why don’t we see what Angie is loving about college besides this Man? Why isn’t she rocking her Sisterhood is Powerful T-shirt at a variety of queer/feminist meetings/clubs/protests?!
I really love everything for and about Max in this episode. I’m grateful to know they’re happy and thriving, and glad they could hold up the most personal sort of mirror to Shane, even if Shane is the funniest choice to offer them an apology for all the transphobia and mockery and also classism Max suffered through.
It would’ve been great if Micah could’ve actually asked a real question instead of suggesting he can’t comprehend the concept of not leaving infants in their own filth, esp since he isn’t close with his own parent, but seeing him light up at the possibility that Max represents, and Max’s excitement at telling him how good things can be was really wonderful.
Max and Reese immediately telling Maribel to consider therapy felt good and right to me, even if she bristled at how personal it was, but I also do that irl, and someone needed to put it on her radar that her childhood trauma is not funny in every context, especially if she’s routinely hurting Micah’s feelings while also asking him to go halfsies on a whole human with her and also also refusing to even imagine how they and their partnership would need to change to accommodate said human for life.
Sophie’s costume was so cute when it had sleeves and stuff, and I hope that she and Finley work through their Ross and Rachel moment because I think they’re the only couple other than maybe Alice and Taylor that are currently together and that I want to see stay together.
Dani is so brave/emotionally stunted to have not cried over Gigi in the 2-30 days since their break-up. I don’t cry often, but would’ve been inconsolable within the hour I think. Roxy is very hot and I love every character who brings out fun Dani, even if this soulmate business feels very quick.
Hate how far we’re falling from S2 Tess, and also the Hendrix Fitz of it all, but mostly there is so much real estate for the characters in the last couple eps that it feels like every story can advance, and it was very fun to have a little Halloween on this chilly December day.
your comments always make me laugh!! i too would’ve been crying over gigi for the next 2-30 days, probably would’ve also asked if she wanted to get back together on day 3
and god i hope maribel would be open to couples therapy at least prior to having a kid! i feel like if she’s dating a therapist she has to be open to the concept of therapy as a useful process or else it’s gonna be a rocky relationship on a few levels.
“the hendrix fitz of it all” really hit hard
I’m barely into this episode yet but seriously why is having babies the only thing trans people are all allowed to do this show?
Also was anyone else distracted by the uplifting Muzak that started playing when max appeared
I couldn’t agree more. I wish we saw trans stories and trans representation beyond storylines around children.
What the hell is this season’s writing? I’m so lost. This must be what ADHD feels like.
Agreed. Just way too many story lines to follow. They should focus more on quality over quantity. And perhaps spend more time developing some of these characters more instead of skipping over plot points for the sake of getting everyone into an episode.
I’m not saying these kinds of illicit romances don’t happen but of all the choices they could make for Angie, this is so tired, weird in the context of the rest of the show, and just, why ? The most absurd moment so far was when he asked “is this awkward.” I’m pretty sure I’m these scenarios there is a lot less bizarre naïveté and a lot more rationalization or psychological justification (“she’s so sophisticated!” “This is different” “it’s not a power dynamic” etc). Even if he were a grad student TA not the actual professor it would be 100% disallowed (grounds for dismissal) and also feels so out of touch for 2022, but also seems like it’s being presented as this fun illicit romance by the show.
Very much agreed — neither Angie nor her professor are turnip truck folks from another era, they would not wonder if this dynamic was “awkward” but indeed would come up with much more sophisticated justifications than “our first kiss was before we were professor/teenaged student,” based on the fact that they live in the world.
It’s feasible that they’re realistically depicting Angie’s enthusiasm and excitement (and that of her roomie) deliberately to demonstrate how people in her situation do not see the situation clearly, and EVERYONE thinks theirs is the one that’s different, and we will eventually see it all explode. But it certainly doesn’t read that way for now. For now it just feels infuriating.
I did not expect but loved that they brought Max back! (Especially hearing that it was Leo’s suggestion to the writers room.) Even though Shane’s apology felt a little heavy-handed and more a mea culpa for the original/from the current showrunners/writers/producers/OG actors, I understand why they did it and am ultimately glad. The naturalism that Daniel and Micah brought to the story made it land. It also tracks for me that Shane would give a kind of general apology. Max’s return does make it even stranger that Jenny is never mentioned.
Riese, I wish you had written the scene where Finley confronts Shane — what you suggest would have made so much more sense, character/plot-wise and just generally. (Also, so glad you are feeling better and hope Gretchen is on the mend soon!)
Here for Roxy and more hot butch/masc characters this season! Also appreciate the fleeting Rockford Peach rep of one of the extras in the Dana’s Halloween scene.
Yes also noted that Peaches extra although I would’ve loved to see Dani in a Greta costume! (which i said on the podcast of course)
Daniel and Leo did so well with all of it! And yeah it feels like literally every choice they’ve ever made makes it stranger that Jenny is never mentioned.
The “Computer Search” line sent me to the floor. My wife and I paused this episode every 10 minutes to make fun of it, read the corresponding section of this recap, laugh our assess off, then make fun of it some more. Only way to watch! Riese, you’re so good! Please report directly to the writers room.
tysm i am patiently awaiting my iNVITATION to the room where i am DESTINED to SHINE
I didn’t know so few people enjoyed Tess/Shane but, as one of the ones who really did, I’m so damn sad. And bored by the generic “look, Tess is mean and dismissive, so we somewhat understand Shane’s behavior even if it’s not great” plotting at work.
Quite appreciated the apology to Max, who rightly shut down any elaboration or further back-and-forth about it. He wasn’t going to offer any absolution and gave the perfect response of “I’m happy.”
Oh and Riese, you should definitely check out old All My Children clips if you get a wee rush from hearing your name uttered on a TV program, as Reese was the name of one Bianca Montgomery’s wife (making her the daughter-in-law of Thee Erica Kane)!
i was tess/shane’s biggest fan last season but this season tess is horribly annoying?? i don’t know how they wrecked her character so badly
Sounds like Tess is heading down the same road Jordi took last season. This show really needs to do better by its trans actresses.
i have NOT seen these All My Children clips! I wish more people had though bc for some reason nobody understands what my name is, I always have to be like “you know like reese witherspoon” so I think we need more reeses and rieses and rhyses out there in the discourse
if this series for some reason gets another season, they must have riese in the writer’s room where she should have been since 2005.
Amen!
thank u so much
MAX! I love this for him. A loving home. Kids. Nibby. As bad as the original series treated Max and Ivan, both actors still embodied the characters so well that they in a way became more than the show let them. Daniel Sea’s Max was a better person than the L word cast of characters, and that stuck with me even at the time. He deserved a better world. I hope one day we can all have the radical queer joy that Daniel Sea talks about so much.
Sorry to say I’m happy to see Tess hopefully off the show. She’s boring (sorry). I also agree that Angelica is in a whole different show that I don’t want to watch. LOVE Roxy and messy/fun Dani. More mess Dani! More leather parties in the Valley
Yes! I want to like Tess and Jamie Clayton does a great job with what she is given. Which is boring.
It was lovely to see Max again and looking gorgeous in spite of being in an episode with so many scenes that appeared way too dark to make out any details.
I am however not thrilled that both Max and Shane seem to use the same barber who enjoys cutting hair while blindfolded.
As great as it was to have Daniel Sea back this episode and for the show to acknowledge its past wrongs and show Max in a great place, I’m really not sure where they’re going with Micah. It feels a bit like his whole story line this season is the show trying to atone for its mistakes with Max, but in doing so it’s perpetuating that the main thing trans men apparently get to do on this show is wrapped up in having children/pregnancy. Which makes me pretty uncomfortable.
It’s also just disappointing that two of the very very very few trans man characters on tv both have these pregnancy storylines – on the same damn show! Even if they’re not going down to same route with Micah carrying like Max did, it’s still frustrating. Can’t the writers think of anything better to do with Micah’s character? When there is such little representation of trans men it feels so lazy to just repeat this story rather than explore the myriad of other aspects of being trans.
Yes! And I like Micah as a character, I just want the writers to give him more depth, more to do. This children-storyline feels like they have no idea what to do with Micah as a character, and potential pregnancy/children is a common TV trope as a source of conflict that this show seems to need. I wish the show explored so many other possible options of being trans and living a trans life.
Finley’s emotion towards Shane as a role model worked for me at first because as someone who only knows 1 gay couple that’s older + been together longer than my girlfriend and I, I look up to them regardless of what they do wrong, but in the L Word universe where everyone is gay it makes a lot less sense
I feel like Sophie + Finley’s fight exploded out of nowhere and all of the confrontations in this ep were poorly written, but the Alice + Dani scenes were good enough that I still liked the episode
I loved that Max was able to come back happy & receive an apology ❤️
I was very sad to learn Roxy would be leaving after this episode. She is SO hot. Ngl I was disappointed when the sexy times ended, but also very happy to see such sweetness between Dani & Roxy. I hope the show continues to include butch/masc characters!!
Omg Battlestar reference was perfect. I liked Jodi Lerner’s translator sorry to hear he turned out to be an asshole…
I absolutely love that so many of your recaps involve references to “Battlestar Galactica.” Cracks me up every time.
Happy tears for Max’s return. I’m so into Max’s chill, even speaking cadence. Would be down to listen to them speaking on the calm app for bedtime.
So the “reigning cats and dogs” costume is a direct rip off story line from “new girl “ when Shelby does the same costume and isn’t sexy, despite the plan being to be in sexy costumes with Winston. I get costumes repeat, clichés repeat, story lines repeat but whoa that felt like straight up reorganizing your friend’s paragraphs on a homework assignment in middle school similar.
Finley still has my heart-hot, kind, sloppy af with good intentions.
Tess looked lovely this episode—especially last scene. I want her to have more fun soon. She’s all serious—perfect energy for Shane to be avoidant and hurtful. Tess deserves better.
Wasn’t there another line or reference that was copied from new girl in the last episode or two? I can’t remember where I read it, but that’s weird. Ugh I keep hoping for better writing- this episode had a bit better writing than the last, but still has a long ways to go. Appreciated the question in the pod ep about it they just don’t have the funds for writers to have time to flush stuff out? I’m so confused.
99% of this show seems to be focused on Trans characters. Don’t get me wrong I absolutely loved the series Pose, but I thought Lword was about and for lesbians, I just don’t understand why there are so, so many Trans story lines and characters on this show. Like why did the camera spend so much time on a topless Micah in the beginning of this episode ( Who cares). If they want a spin off series that focuses on Trans men/ women that would be ok (at least I wouold know what to expect, and I could choose to tune in or not), but why oh why does the L word spend so much time on Trans story lines. I think this series should be called the T Word Generation Q.
In many ways this series suffers from the same problem that the original series did. At times it doesn’t really seem to like lesbians all that much, and doesn’t really seem to want to show how lesbians really walk and interact in the world. There are so many stories that could be told, and all we get is surface and for the most part crappy storylines.
Every week I ask myself is anyone in the writer’s room a lesbian? if so are they happy with their life?
Sorry but to me this was the worse episode to date.
You and I must be watching different shows. To me, 99% of the L-Word focuses on cis lesbians. Micah is the only trans character of the main characters. Currently, I see precisely one (1) trans story line, which is Micah’s, and in the last episode, part of that was that he met Max. If we cut down all scenes in which Generation Q deals with showing or mentioning trans people, we would have a rather short and underwhelming video with a very limited representation of how trans lives can look like.
One could also ask: why does the camera spend so much time on women wearing bras and who cares? In the end, not every scene is for everyone.
If anything, I would like to see the writer’s room and how many people are not cis lesbians there and why they choose not to explore numerous other ways in which they could represent trans storylines, give Micah’s character more to do, etc.
I am also realizing that I am the only person who apparently really misses Rebecca and wants to see what she’s up to. Which has made me accept that I’m very into Rebecca. Like hey girl- you live in LA, I live in LA. Let me buy you a drink 🥃
OMG Rebecca! Yes, ugh I loved her and her refreshing maturity so much. I would love to ever see her again but don’t have much hope.
No one at all on this show has any sexual chemistry except Shane and Kehlani. Why. Whywhywhy.
Tbh with writing this bad, morale has to be low behind the scenes. Not surprised that there isn’t any chemistry between the existing cast members anymore.
Riese you are an angel, I live for your recaps!!
So I have been listening to Pants on and off. Heard the shout out to Riese which I loved and agreed with 1000%. And in the most recent ep (14 Dec) some pretty salty comments about the current season. They commented everyone seems v disconnected, I agree!
Riese why would you make me read the phrase “ take the train to tuna town “ with my own two eyes.