Hey, there’s that theme song again. I’m not sure I’ll miss it. But I’ll miss the mood it puts me in: the feeling that something pretty fascinating is right around the corner. Don’t go, Lip Service!
This time the fascinating thing is Sam, washing her face and wetting her hair and staring into the mirror as if she doesn’t quite recognize herself.
THE MIRROR HAS TWO BOOBIES
My girlfriend yells, “Pull yourself together!” — and that will turn out to be the first of many such utterances. I second that; there is no part of me that prefers off-the-rails Sam to on-the-ball Sam. But I don’t have a lot of hope for her speedy reassembly, partly because while I was writing this paragraph, I paused the playback in a spot that made this scene look like something out of Black Swan.
Also, for a minute there I thought this was the mirror against which Sam banged that hapless victim last week, but it’s not. So maybe there’s some hope after all.
At the TriSexA flat, Sadie and Lexy are having breakfast. There’s coffee and yogurt (sorry, yoghurt) and milk and … well, way more smiles than we’re used to seeing around this particular gateleg table.
SOMEDAY WE'LL HAVE BE HAVING BREAKFAST ON THE LANAI
Lexy looks very Archie comics in that screenshot. She’s the female Reggie!
Tess emerges from her room, in a typical Tess-y tizzy.
Lexy: Here she is, the actress.
Tess: Don’t. I think I’m going to be sick. How could it be opening night already?
Oh, I know this one: it’s because there are only six episodes in the season and everything’s at warp speed and you go faster and faster until all the faces stretch in that weird plasticky creepy way and you slip through a wormhole into a different universe.
Tess: Last night, I actually had the dream. I was on stage naked —
Sadie: Cheeky Chekhov.
Tess: — and I just … I froze. 450 people staring at my lady garden, waiting for the show to start.
AND LOU WAS THERE! AND MEG! AND THE TIN MAN!
Lexy chuckles and tells Tess she’ll be “fine.” I don’t know, Lexy: I like your steady, laid-back aura, but I think you could have done better than “fine.”
Ed shows up with a good-luck card for Tess. Lexy has a gift for Tess too: a “first-night survival kit.” Tess is very, very pleased with this. Too pleased. Lexy tells her not to open it until she gets to the theater, and Tess makes another goofy face. Just when you think you’ve seen every one of Tess’s thirty-six expressions, another one pops up.
I WOULD ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING YOU TOLD ME TO RIGHT NOW
Tess distributes tickets for the show: one for Ed, one for Sadie, one for Lexy, one for… she pauses as if she’s thinking, “Wait, wasn’t there someone else here once? Maybe even more than one someone?”
Ed asks whether anyone has spoken to Sam (no one has), and asks Lexy whether she’s been running with Sam. After Lexy says no to this question, Tess goes off to take a shower. And then Lexy seems to go into a sort of fugue.
Ed: Anyone you want to bring? It’s not like I’ve got much chance of meeting someone by tonight.
Lexy: (distantly and dreamily) Yeah. Yeah, maybe.
Ed: So there is someone?
Lexy: (still murmuring distantly) Yeah. (suddenly waking up) I mean, no. Er… they won’t want a ticket.
Uh, that was weird. And hey, Lexy, you don’t need to use the gender-neutral “they” with your friends. Much like Bea’s husband, THEY KNOW.
Yeah, I realize the point is that Lexy is considering her options and trying to decide whether to pursue Tess. But who would just mumble that stuff at the breakfast table? Ah, exposition. It’s a tricky beast.
Sadie takes the extra ticket because, as she puts it, she’s “the only one likely to be gettin’ any later.” I don’t know why, but when Sadie says such wonderfully Sadie-rific things, I feel safe and warm and happy. Sadie snark is a hug!
I guess I haven’t said much about the interstitial shots of Glasgow. They’re lovely and they make me want to go to there. The light and water are breathtaking sometimes, and the city streets seem to have just the right amount of bustle.
IF YOU SQUINT YOU CAN SEE HARRIET BRAUN ON THAT BUS
But we’re actually still pretty much in the same scene, though perhaps half an hour later. Tess is showing Lexy her potential dress for the after-show party.
Tess: I don’t know if I’ve got the legs.
Lexy: Are you kidding? You have great legs!
Tess somehow manages not to squee at this. Lexy tries to take her leave, but Tess stops her to thank her for being such a supportive friend (and also to ask for a little more support).
Tess: God, I hope I don’t make a tit of myself.
Lexy: (fondly) You’re always making a tit of yourself.
And then Lexy leans in to kiss Tess on the cheek, but Tess turns ever so slightly to the side and it becomes a squirmy awkward not-lip not-cheek not-meaningless kiss.
Tess saves the moment with her typical adorkableness:
Tess: OK, uh, OK. (thinking, scrambling for something to say) That’s a… a really nice lip balm you’re wearing. What is it?
Lexy: It’s a medicated Chapstick.
Tess: Right. Sexy!
Aww, Tess. Must you have such extreme puppy-dog eyes as you watch Lexy go out the door? Don’t break your own heart!
CHAPSTICK IS ACTUALLY QUITE YUMMY
Outside, Lexy stops. She stands in the middle of the pavement, not going left, not going right. It feels like a continuation of that earlier fugue — maybe she’s being remote-controlled by someone. It’s The Manchurian Candidate, but without all the playing cards and Communists.
I KNOW A SECRET TAPPING LANGUAGE
Ed and Tess are killing time. Tess worries about the fact that Lexy “actually knows” Vanya. Does anybody really know Vanya? Even though I’ve read it a few times and seen it a couple of times, I still can’t say I “know” it. That’s how I feel about all Chekhov plays: they’re beautiful, and they move me, but if I try to summarize them, I end up saying vague things about the country vs. the city, the inevitable march of progress, the anguish of unrequited love, the curative power of hard work, and something about forests and farms and orchards. Also, there’s always a doctor, a samovar, and that infamous gun.
Ed tries to reassure Tess:
Tess: What if I’m rubbish?
Ed: I’m sure she won’t tell you if you are.
Tess: Thanks, Ed.
Heh. I’m sure she wouldn’t, though! I speak from experience, because I was in that position last year: we went to a preview of a new off-Broadway show and had to pretend not to hate it because my partner’s former co-worker had a fairly sizable role in it. When he asked whether we liked it, we said sideways things, such as “You were the best part!” — which wasn’t actually a lie. And anyway, he didn’t need us to tell him how abysmal the thing was: it closed after only 7 performances. I’m sure your Sonya won’t be that bad, Tess!
Ed’s not sure why Tess is so worried. And then it dawns on him.
Ed: Ohhhh. You fancy her!
Tess: No, I don’t!
Ed: Yes, you do!
Tess: OK… I just don’t know if she likes me or not. I mean, I think she might, but you know what I’m like. I’m just crap at picking up on these things.
Ed: She did mention someone.
Tess: Really? Who?
Ed: Just someone, but they didn’t need a ticket to the show.
Tess: Oh, great. So it’s someone who’s going to the show.
Ed: Or…
Tess: Or someone who’s IN the show. I am someone who’s in the show! I mean, do you think she meant me?
Ed: (teasing) Or Nora. (sincerely) Why didn’t you tell me that you liked her?
Tess: I just felt weird, carrying on like normal without Cat around.
We all did. Wait, “did”? Are we using past tense already?
Tess decides she can’t wait to open her first-night survival kit from Lexy. It’s “a little something for before and after the show.” The “after” is champagne, and the “before” is Immodium. They giggle. The whole thing is sort of dorky but mostly sweet — just like Ed and Tess themselves.
Sam is on her way to work. And look, now we know which way Lexy decided to go, after her moment of indecision on the pavement: right toward Sam.
THIS IS ME KILLING YOU WITH KINDNESS
Sam: What do you want?
Lexy: Not the warmest welcome I’ve ever had.
Sam: Well, I’m late.
Lexy: Um, I won’t hold you up. Look… I just need you to know that you were wrong.
Sam: (scoffing) There’s nothing new there.
Lexy: I really, um… I really didn’t know about Cat and Frankie.
Sam: You want an apology? Is that why you’re here? (with mock sincerity) I’m very sorry. OK?
Lexy: Might want to work on the whole apology thing. That level of sincerity, it’s a bit overpowering. Look, I get it. You want to deal with this on your own. I understand. I’ll leave you alone. But if you ever need someone, you’ve got my number.
It certainly does seem like Sam has Lexy’s number. If you catch my drift. But I can’t take much more of mean Sam: she’s very cold and almost hateful. I guess that could be fully realistic for a cop — they see so much of the worst of human nature all the time — but it still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for the Sam we knew before Cat’s death. Even when she was angry, she was honest and careful and tried to make the best of things. Now she’s more like Son of Sam than Sam.
I HATE PUPPIES
At the hospital, Lexy gets a text. She seems sort of irritated when she hears the beep, but then she smiles when she sees it’s from Tess: “Bring valium! I’m going in!!!!” Lexy texts back: “You don’t need drugs. You’ll nail it.”
Lexy’s smile suggests some real fondness for Tess, and maybe even an awareness that Tess is clearly the better choice in terms of niceness and sweetness and happiness and fun — which may not be the better choice for Lexy at all. And which makes me want to say, “Poop.”
At the police station, Sam is late — I guess she wasn’t kidding about that part. Ryder asks her to present the details of an imminent raid, the culmination of “Operation Beehive.” Surely a raid with that name should be presented by John Waters.
Sam can barely get through the briefing; she’s twitchy and her voice is shaking. At one point she seems to freeze, so Ryder takes over.
I SHOULD'VE DONE A POWERPOINT
Ryder finds Sam afterward and wonders whether she’s all right. She shrugs and insists she’s fine.
Meanwhile, at The Space, Sadie pretends to work while Jo and Lauren argue. It seems Lauren has forgotten about something Jo told her about weeks ago. Sadie, you’re far too delighted by this marital discord.
As Lauren leaves, she squeezes Sadie’s hand and delivers a message.
I WISH 3-ISH MEANT 3-SOME-ISH
Lauren: I’ll be there about 3-ish.
Sadie: The eagle has landed?
This phrase can be used in lots of ways; I think Sadie is mocking Lauren’s cloak-and-dagger manner. Let’s think up some fun code phrases based on Lip Service! “The begonias have been delivered”; “The bracelet has been inscribed”; “The daughter has been disowned”; “The ketamine has been snorted”; “The cheese has been pilfered”; “The mortuary greeter has been Frankied”; “The lady-mound has been rubbed.”
Jo is right on Lauren’s heels, and she takes the hand that so recently held Sadie’s. This is a mess, and I’m starting to worry about Sadie’s not-so-hardened heart.
At the theater, the Vanya cast is making final preparations for the big night. Tess is startled to see Nora sitting smugly in the front row, as if she’s Simon Cowell — or, better yet, Zach or Mr. Granziger.
YOU'RE GOING TO VEGAS
I wonder which theater that is? The candyfloss color scheme is very striking.
Nora goes up to the stage to have a heart-to-heart with Tess: she wants to “clear the air” about Ed. You’d expect her to say something about the “self-centered bitch” comment from last week, but no, she’s not even going to acknowledge that. Instead, Nora explains to Tess that Ed is so caught up in his geekery, he doesn’t understand “real women.” Tess gives her the most hilarious fake sympathy look.
I WAS SAYING THE SAME THING TO MUFFY AND BUFFY AND MITZY THE OTHER DAY
The geekery thing is why Nora “just had to finish it with him.” Yes, Nora is saying that she broke up with Ed, when it was very clearly the other way around. Tess, who is drinking water as Nora says this, almost does a spit take in response to the poppycock. Actually, why didn’t she? More physical comedy from Tess next season! (I am pretending it’s going to happen. Don’t take that away from me just yet.)
Tess goes right to Hugh’s dressing room to tell him about Nora’s delusions, and of course to get some support for her Lexy lust. But Hugh is drowning his own sorrows: his wife wants a divorce. Tess tries to shore him up (and take away his flask), but he’s despondent. Hugh’s storyline hasn’t been much fun. Remember when he was the sadder-but-wiser aging actor, rather than the desperate, drunken cuckold? Sigh.
At the hospital, Lexy tells Declan she went to see Sam.
Lexy: Why do I always do it? Why do I let myself get sucked in?
Declan: ‘Cause you’re too nice.
Lexy: What was I thinking? I was imagining there was some kind of connection between us — when her girlfriend just died.
I’m sure I wasn’t supposed to giggle at that, but Lexy’s sarcasm and self-mockery made me do it.
UH DOI
Declan tells her not to waste any more energy on Sam.
Declan: Go for Tess. She’s funny, she’s hot, and the two of you get on great.
Lexy: Maybe I will. I’m sick of falling into the same old patterns. I find someone who’s a bit damaged, I put them back together, and when they’re all mended…
Declan: They fuck off.
Lexy: How about someone actually wanting me, for a change?
Arrrggh. Now we know it’s not going to happen: it seems that on Lip Service, a character must never choose a happy, healthy partner when a dark, dramatic one is available.
Pages: 1 2 3See entire article on one page
Hum…… I’m kind of worried now, I did like this season a whole lot more…. but I fear that in the end Harriet made a mistake by killing Cat.
I was not a fan of Frankie or the whole triangle thing and was glad that it was over then but now, after seeing the last episode, I wonder why they had to kill Cat since they also got rid of Frankie.
It won’t had changed any storyline, except for Sam, and they did lose the opportunity to explore character development with Tess, Ed, Frankie or even Sadie.
Why not make them both leave? Together? Explain that you didn’t have any other option…. it would’ve been a cheap storyline, sure….. But it won’t matter if your show gets better or not if half your audience is pissed at you.
I don’t have any statistical data, but watching Tumblr gives you the distinct impression that a lot of people dropped the show after it.
I fear that Harriet Braun shot herself on the foot with this stunt. It was unfair that people were comparing her to Chaiken since she was kind of forced to make an decision but now, it does seem she pulled one on us. And it may have been her biggest mistake, she is not in LA and she doesn’t have the political power of Chaiken.
I really hope I’m wrong and we get another season, because ending the show with Tess’ sad face is too much for me.
Goddess, almost forgot.
I’m SO glad that I can read scribegrrrl’s recaps again….I missed all the awesomeness of your encyclopedic knowledge in all things cultural…… for this reason alone I hope we have another season.
(Discovered the site a few weeks ago)
she has to film another series :( but good for her !!!!
Although I’m glad that Lexy and Sam finally got together, I can’t help but feel some sort of foreboding with that relationship. I just see Sam the morning after being cold and aloof. I just think Lexy might read too much from the sex.
& blah for Tess. I just can’t be bothered…
Also Sadie looks like V from V for Vendetta in that screenshot of her. It would be so great if she could find someone for her, who appreciates and accepts her. Really this show needs at least one stable, fairly lighthearted romance. Please!
Oh, V for Vendetta! You are so right, I missed a fun combo image opportunity there. :)
Tess, you don’t go into your flatmate’s room and sniff her pillow, c’mon. Major violation, friend.
Can’t wait for season 3 in 2017
“Can’t wait for season 3 in 2017”
LMAO!
after watching the last 10 minutes of the finale, i found the development of the tess/lexy/sam triangle is almost idential to the sam/frankie/cat triangle (the outing, the walk in the street, the talk in the apartment, the hot sex scene). it suddenly hit me that the only thing the writers care about was creating as many love triangles as possible, so that they could make the fans fight over it, no matter how cruel and unnecessary it was. you want lexy and sam together, fine, (i’m all for it before the almost sexual assault in epsisode 4(?)), but why drag tess into these?
if we want season 3 because we want tess to have some good times, i don’t think it’s going to happen, because the writers don’t care about the characters or the fans.
if lip service does not have series 3, the writers only have themselves to blame.
Metrics spotted on Digital Spy reported that the ratings for the final episode of Season 2 were a third of the number of viewers of the first season, less than 240k people.
Lip Service’s official twitter asked for fan support to get season three! Tweet BBC3 at @BBCthree and ask politely for season 3. And here is a link to BBC3’s message board http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbpointsofview
All I have to say about this episode is that Sadie is a bad bitch, Lexy is ridiculously sexy, and if they do come back for a third season, Tess needs a real girlfriend and not to be caught in some contrived “love” triangle that wasn’t that interesting to watch.
I loved these recaps throughout the whole season Scribegrrrl! So hilarious!
Lexy in that red dress and leather jacket? Yes, please. Also, her hair does fun things and defies gravity. Tess needs a big hug. I’m willing to take one for the team and be that person if needed.
I just want to thank everyone for the fun and kind words this season. It’s been grrrreat! (said the way Ed says grrrrreat)
I said it like Ed before I even made it to your parenthetical note.
No, thank YOU. The recaps were absolutely brilliant all season. Standing ovation to you, ma’am
i think the writers own the fans an explanation of why letting frankie go. i’m not a frankie’s fan, but ruta’s performance is undeniablely hot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLfkpbvaCHQ
well now what
I remember watching season 1 of LS and being completely transfixed by Heather Peace and her character. However, personally I believe that her acting was never as good in season 2. In fact, I find it to be rather poor. It feels as if she is over-dramatising most scenes, which makes me rather annoyed and perhaps embarrassed whenever she’s on.
On the contrary, I used not being able to stand Sadie. Now she is one of my favourite characters. How things change.
Fiona Button is priceless, and extremely talented. When she’s on, I forget that I’m actually watching a tv series, and that she is not a friend of mine. Her character is realistic and charming at the same time.
As for Lexy, I’m not sure whether I want her with Tess at all. I don’t want her to be with Sam (I’m a Cat fan), but being with Tess doesn’t seem like a good idea either. Being flatmates, and knowing Lip Service, it WOULD lead to a lot of unnecessary drama.
I’ve always thought of Anna Skellern as a decent actress, but the scene in Sam’s apartment (“you’re instincts are good”/”you can trust me”) was overly exaggerated. I found myself looking away from the tv at one point during that scene. Yet I thought the sex scene was well-acted by both. It was sad, but then again; sad was the only suitable mood given the situation.
Mixed feelings about the second season of Lip Service, but I will still watch a third season :) Bring it on!
The saddest thing about the end of the series is no more Scribegrrrl recaps. I wish we could make this a regular thing. You introduced me to the art of great recapping way, way back when L word was first airing and I was obsessed with it. I never missed a one of your recaps. Even when the show was pulling some kind of cheap shot, reading them made things better because I could laugh it off. Anyhow, this has been really great fun.
I have to say I disagree about the Sam/Lexy sexy times though. I don’t think I’ve ever seen TV so hot! It was like they were trying to outdo every scene they’d done before. Like it was the culmination of series 2 and boy did Anna and Heather blow me away. I thought it was very loving and emotional. And when Lexy came back to bed, the way she looked at Sam was really incredibly sweet.
I’m amazed that they could make me care so much about Sadie when she’s the kind of person I’d run away from in real Life, but they did a great job of it. I now keep seeing her as still a girl inside who’s been rejected again and again. Probably starting with her parents.
And I’ll say it again, I love Tess so much! Fiona Button is so beautiful, and she was so great in the play scenes. I just wish they would’ve given her someone of her own to love. I hate that the last image we see of her (maybe forever!) is so melancholy. Ed was also really excellent all series long.
We may just have to continue the stories for them all in our heads. I think Sam and Lexy will work out and Tess and Ed will both do great (maybe Tess will land a hit TV show). It’s Sadie I worry about. She really could end in prison. Cue Bad Girls Joke.
Geez, I’m a touch melancholy myself right now, maybe because I’ve got that Gotye song in my head.
Fantastic recap!
I agree about Ryder’s injuries. He looked like he’d crashed after getting a sugar high at a kid’s birthday party where there’d been a ketchup fight. But then again, they never did say what kind of bad guys they were chasing.
OK I’m not a Sam fan but that sex scene was HOT! I am disappointed in the way everything ended though. Poor Sadie got her heart broken by Lauren – who admittedly probably was wrong for her… Then you had Lexy abandon Tess in favour of Sam *sigh*
Sam has really annoyed me this season. I’ve never liked her but she’s got worse. The panic attacks I guess are fairly realistic but what was the whole point in the drug thing in episode 5? It didn’t go anywhere, she didn’t get found out, it just gave us that disturbing scene with the girl from the bar.
I’ve never understood why Sam is grieving so deeply anyway. She and Cat met through a dating site so they didn’t even get to know each other first really, they just jumped straight into dating moved in together within a few weeks I believe (way too fast in my opinion) then were together a year total, maybe a bit less, maybe a bit more (Lip Service aren’t clear on timelines) and sure Sam thought she wanted to marry Cat but with the Frankie thing I don’t get how she could be in such deep grief? Surely she should hate Cat for cheating?
Heck what do I know… I hope there is a season 3!
i just played with that sticky hand website for an embarrassingly long amount of time.
Lip Service. In the two years that have passed since we first set our eyes on the original cast Cat, Frankie, Sam, Tess, Ed, Jay and Sadie, the things that struck me most were:
– What’s love got to do with the triangle? Seriously, it was all fun until it got serious at the end of S1 and somewhat ruined S2 pre-that-accident.
– Mayhem never sounded/looked so good since Sadie strutted in on the scene. Glad that her character got more fleshed out.
– Cat. So sweet-annoying, so troubled, so tiny, so dead. Good to know you. On a sidenote: Wish Laura Fraser all the best.
– Frankie. Those piercing eyes. I think compared to Sadie, she’s not taken well to being rejected.all.the.time. Kinda depressing to watch her. I think, I would like her to come back, more sane, to find closure, then go on and have a good life elsewhere.
– Sam. Good cop, bad cop, sad cop, hot cop. I think, she needs to get some time off (not in a leave the show kind of way). Else the population of Glasgow will be severely threatened by her. I liked the character evolving and regressing, makes for good and bad TV.
– Jay. Yep, you and Frankie should conquer the world together, no benefits.
– Ed. Geek and good friend. Stay with us.
– And Tess. I dunno, mostly I’m annoyed with her, but she has become the heart and center of the group, while being outrageously funny. Please stand up to the Noras of this world more often in S3.
As for the most valuable newcomer, Lexy. I’m afraid, she’s in for some tough times, because she went for troubled Sam instead of jolly Tess. Drama ahead. Their sex scene was good, but was a bit overshadowed by too much emotional baggage.
S3. S3. S3. S3. BBC3!
Thank you for recapping and concluding S2 with and for us, Scribe.
really liked this season and it was indeed better than the first one. but i don’t like the whole Sexy thing even though their scene was hot. i just want tess and lexy to be together, way more likeable/realistic/fun. heather peace is great but i was a bit annoyed by sam in the end. but season 3, YES. PLEASE. RIGHT NOW!
Scribegrrrl!(or scriptgrrl as I typed in a previous post) You were brilliant and we will miss you! I laughed out loud (more deserving than an ‘lol’) at your comments and captions including the Cat as Amelia Earhert skeleton in Scooby Doo. How about doing recaps of other shows like Girls or The Real L Word? We need you! The 1970 sweater bothered me too. Not only have we seen it, but wardrobe needs to get that poor girl some decent clothes! The petite ‘boyfriend’ blazer didn’t fit and I felt for her. She couldn’t move her shoulders to chase her cheating wife…
Now, the Lexy and Sam scene was great and eased a lot of ‘tension’ that they had (and the rest of us who watched it). I’m glad Lexy followed her passion, which may not have been her heart. I know Tess was growing on her, but I never felt it between them. I gritted my teeth when she told that ass Declan that she should break her pattern and go with someone who wanted her for a change. Mistake #1. It’s one thing to stop falling for someone who treats you poorly, but it’s another thing to settle for someone you think you should be with. I said the same thing about 5 yrs ago. I told myself to stop going for the wrong girls and convinced myself that I could be with this nice, young, pretty girl who adored me. Christ, my friends even told me ‘when will you be in a relationship again?’ WELL, I listened to them and gave it a go. It lasted a little over 4 years and guess what? I was never in love with her and miserable for it. You can’t force yourself to be with someone because they are great on paper. Too much info? Sorry…that scene made so much sense.
I miss already your recaps !!!! why 6 episodes, you can’t work all that drama in just 6 episodes …
Hope season 3 is coming before 2 years, at least I hope there will be a season 3.
Sadie is my favorite now but c’mon falling for a married one = disaster, you should now that by now Sadie.
great recap, as always!
Scribegirl writes better than 99% of what’s out there. She needs to have her own site – she needs to be our Perez Hilton – only not him – too scuzzy and superficial – but we need someone to add some great insight to our media-focused world from a lesbo perspective.
I just want to say that I was in Glasgow over the weekend thanks to Lip Service. It was absolutely beautiful. Spotted the tiger mural near the bridge that Sam and Lexy ran past, went to “Rubies”(the bar/hangout) it doesn’t actually exist. Its another bar called Bunker but its quite cool. Food was cheap and great, cabs were dirt cheap. It had all the major retail outlets. Nice museums, amazing architecture. It has an underground! I didnt know that. By the time I was leaving I was ready to move there. Sadly, didn’t spot any of the Lip Service cast but it was lovely listening to Scottish ladies speak in their Glaswegian accents.
The end of this series felt so like the end of series one. You waited for Cat and Frankie to get together and then together they were so…I don’t know, dull, mismatched, there’s so much time wasted getting together you’re just like “just get it over with” when it happens. I feel disillusioned a lot more quickly in this than I ever did The L Word. Can’t say I see any point in a series 3.
i hope bad ass sadie will be on the show next season. along with frankie. i never bought sadie and lauren as a couple.
all season long i was on the sam and lexy team, but now i kind of want lexy and tess to get together. the last episode seemed like lexy and less had some chemistry, and i think lexi could just be a rebound for sam.
the most hilarious part of the episode was when tess threw that guy’s phone and pushed him onstage. i wish there were more episodes, and i want them to get rid of creepy declan and bring frankie back.
…there were no bad girls references this week.
I feel like the pacing of this show is really better suited to a soap or a network drama with like 24 episodes a season. Like the only thing that’s really wrong with it is that it doesn’t have the weight and artistry necessary to pull off a six episode season — in the way that a show like true blood, six feet under, mad men, etc could. It’s a very small show, you know? Like it’s just about these people. There’s no sense of them being part of any broader political or cultural climate, even the location and time period are arbitrary most of the time. There’s no larger social web these people are part of, even their connections to each other are largely incidential. It’s a really small cast. This gives it a much soapier feel than queer as folk or skins or whatever.
Agreed. I even think a 10 Ep season would have allowed a more believable arc than the Bea storyline, Sam’s one Ep drug problem and the doomed love triangle. In the end, the struggle to wrap it up so quickly killed the storyline. I mean, we all were shocked by the second and third eps and they failed to keep the momentum. I can’t blame the writers though. It must have been so difficult to lose the two main characters in the middle of developing the second season. With that said, I would still watch season 3 and embrace the soapiness of it all.
No no no, do not like Lexy with Sam. Not at all. Lexy should be with Tess! Tess is such a sweetheart, who wouldn’t want to be with her? She’s actually been saving series 2 IMO. Her and Sadie.
Speaking of Sadie, my heart broke for her when Lauren split up with her. She has such great snarky/comedic scenes but then when she has emotional scenes they always pluck at my heart strings. Like in series 1 when her and Frankie split, in series 2 when Frankie left and then again when Lauren broke it off with her. I really hope if there’s a 3rd series that she’ll be back.
Not sure if there will be a 3rd series though, the ratings weren’t very good for the last episode even though they were great at the beginning of the series. It’s also the most watched show on BBC iPlayer, don’t know if that means anything. But I really would love a 3rd series just because I like watching a TV show about lesbians and I really want to see Tess happy for a change. Fingers crossed :)
I was fine with the prospect of Sam/Lexy until that last scene before they hooked up. I was hoping Sam would be vulnerable and exposed, apologetic and remorseful, self-aware and having a realization. But maybe it was a combination of bad acting and bad writing, but Lexy was trying really hard and Sam seemed to be distraught in the same way I would be if I found out I need $1,000 in car repairs. It wasn’t the emotional “coming to a head” moment that I was looking for. And since the show ended before Sam woke up, for all we know, she’s gonna continue being an asshole and dealing with grief in bad ways. I don’t think Sam is a bad person, but she is grieving in a destructive way and I don’t see anything positive coming from this ostensibly one-night stand with Lexy.
“Office.” “Work.” This is like those clever names for bars: “The Office,” “Therapy,” “The Doctor’s Office,” “The Gym.”
There’s this cocktail bar in my hometown called “The Library”, and I love going there to, ah, “study”.
Great recap,and i try to read most of them,and yours are allways top.
I have alot of mixed feelings about this show,alot of which have been described here in various comments by others.
6 episodes is indeed by far not enough to have a good way to develop certain promising storylines,so they’re rushed to an unsatisfying end. ex : the stalker storyline,could have led in many directions,could have had Sam and Lexy bond over Sam helping her finding out. But Lexy starts the stalker diary,writes down 1 thing and the next episode,she is already confronted by the stalker. btw what’s the use of stalking somebody and putting notes in closets,and then just confront her and say : stay away from my wife. why bother with the stalking then?
And i have alot of those kind of things that bugged me.
Another negative was the excessive amount of drug use on the show. I am not naive,or blind,drugs will be used and in all layers of society,but here we had about 90 % of the cats doing them at one point or another,and allways without the slightest consequence.
girl od’s at work,barely any consequences.
And the most laughable was the fact they give a presentation for a contract stoned out of their minds and still get the deal.
on the other hand, this show made me discover Heather Peace,so i am eternally grateful for that (and that was one of the hottest sexscenes i saw in a long time with Lexy).
I am also grateful that there is a show that revolves around a group of friends who are lesbian,because usually they are only minor characters on a show.
In my country (Belgium),we only have now the last few weeks for the first time a lesbian couple and storyline in the major daily soap,and it has been on tv for more then 20 years.
Plus it also has given me and alot of friends both irl as on line the opportunity to debate and discuss which couple we were rooting for.
For all these reasons, i would love a season 3,but with more episodes,so there can be more substance in the storylines.
And i liked the outcome to the extent that Sam Lexy made the most sense to me,since that was the most realistic,because Lexy was into Sam from moment one,and maybe the head will say,take the safe road,choose Tess. Lust,desire and the heart will allways trump the head in my experience. (plus that scene made my friday evening lol)
ps : sorry for eventual spelling mistakes
Sam + Lexy equals very bad!
FAIL, Lexy! I don’t care how crushed-out you are on Sam; you don’t ditch your (probably closest) friend’s big opening night, let alone to pay a surprise visit to an unstable woman who treats you like crap. At the very least, Lexy could have waited until the end of the play. This episode ruined her character for me, which means Tess is the only present one I still like. I should probably stop watching, but given it’s the only lesbian show on TV… well, I stuck through The L Word through worse. Maybe I won’t have to decide; kind of doubt Lip Service will get another season anyway.
Poor Tess. She always gets crapped on. I would so go for her. What’s not to like, right?
Scribegrrrl, thanks for the caption for the 1970 vintage, much appreciated. :) Now, my real question after having watched just about everything lezbo there is to watch, and reading all your recaps (and Riese’s) is: when are YOU TWO gonna try your hand at writing a new show? You kidding me? You two ladies could kill it. Wouldn’t THAT be fun.
Bad Sexy Lexy, bad!
I love Frankie & Cat at first I thought they were mismatched, but as season 1 sent on I fell in love with them. They both wanted so much to be together, but stuff just kept getting in the way. Finally they did, and then Cat had to die, I was like this can’t be happening no way, I felt the death of the show when Cat died. I do not care for any of the other couples, I don’t get the intense feelings of passion & yearning with the rest. Too bad this was a great show until both my favorite characters left. No desire to watch it again unless they somehow bring Cat back as a twin & Frankie. Yet again disappointed just like when Carmen left the L word it wasn’t the same she and Shane were the hottest couple!
I found the author’s recap of the final epidsode absolutely hilarious – laugh out loud funny. I hope there’s a season 3 just so she can do another send up. Brilliant!
P.S. -What gives with Lexy’s hair??? What’s with the pancake bun sitting on top of her head?????
I love Frankie and Cat,please bring them back for next season 3!
I say MAKE SEASON THREE. And bring Frankie back! She was the reason why I started watching it in the first place, I’m sure they can find a reason for her to come back. And no one except Ruda Gedmintas can play her. About Lexy with Sam or Tess, whichever turns out is fine with me. Expand the group a little with a couple that moved and came back when they found out about Cat. I really think they should at least try. I’ll give you your.views, granted.I live in the US but makemakemake SEASON THREE. you should be thrilled it’s reaching other countries and WE WANT MORE.