“Killjoys” Gave Its Queer Characters the Happily Ever (and Ever) After We Deserve

I think I always took Killjoys for granted.

It was there when SyFy Fridays first began — that glorious trifecta of Killjoys, Dark Matter and Defiance. It stayed when Defiance left and was replaced by Wynonna Earp. It remained when Dark Matter left, too. Hell, it even persevered when Wynonna’s production got delayed and it was left all alone on Friday nights with only old monster movies to keep it company.

It didn’t really hit me until I was watching the series finale that it was really goodbye.

I didn’t even hate the men on this show! A high compliment, from me specifically.

Over the years, we’ve been through a lot with Team Awesome Force. Queens fell from grace only to rise again. Enemies were defeated. Allies were lost. Bartenders became warriors. Spaceships became friends. Strangers became family.

Killjoys imagined a futuristic world where sexuality isn’t really discussed, but there’s a wide range of sexualities nonetheless. In fact, by the time the curtains closed on our core crew, they were bare minimum half queer, though the numbers get a little fuzzier when you get to five. Because as I said, it was never really discussed. But when all was said in done, at the very least, we had Pree being promoted to governer and living happily ever after with his husband, Gared; queer nerd Zeph found her presumed-dead boyfriend was actually alive to get her happy ending, and, as my friend Bridget pointed out, the queer lady couple — Green Queens Aneela and Delle Seyah Kendry — not only survived the bury your gays trope, but turned it completely on its head by spending the finale becoming immortal.

I also feel like I didn’t give Killjoys enough credit back in Season Four when it did exactly what I praised Jane the Virgin for doing, but took it one step further. And maybe not as purposefully, maybe it was just a lovely coincidence. Where Jane the Virgin saw people shipping Petra and Jane but knew that wouldn’t work for their overall story so they gave us a Rosario-Dawson-shaped Jane, Killjoys flipped it a bit. Killjoys saw people shipping Dutch and Delle Seyah (and I mean, how could you not with an exchange like this: “I snap and you come.” “You must be one hell of a snapper.”) and so they gave Delle Seyah a new girl to crush on…who had Dutch’s exact face. Aneela slithered out of the Green and into our hearts, doing the double duty of showcasing the raw talent of Hannah John-Kamen and for giving us the Mayko Nguyen/HJK team-up we deserve.

The kissing didn’t hurt, either.

One of my favorite things about the Delle Seyah/Aneela pairing is that, on paper, those two were originally the villains of our story. But their queerness was never villainized, and their characters or motivations never fell flat. And by the end, they were fighting side by side with our heroes. They didn’t fully change who they were, they weren’t magically redeemed or transformed because they found love. They were still the “Be safe,” “Be brutal,” couple we grew to know and love. They just found a way to get what they wanted without hurting anyone more than they’d already hurt. So by the end, they’d more than earned their happily ever after. As Delle Seyah said, she will never be nice but she’s going to try to be Good.

While TV has come a long way over the last decade as far as queer representation, it’s still nice when a show seems to get us. When it gives us new stories and new characters. When it’s not a cookie cutter coming out story, or a story we’ve seen before in any way. I mean, an immortal goddess of the goo and a former leader who got impregnated by a magic baby who turned into a teenager hours after being born? And that’s just the half of it. They were going through the same kinds of sci-fi shenanigans, the same kind of emotional journeys that the rest of the characters were going through. And even though they were technically secondary characters, so their plots were often technically B-plots, they never felt like second string.

Sure, you could have gotten most of the picture with all the Dutch, Johnny and Dav pieces, but it wouldn’t be quite complete without Delle Seyah and Aneela. They’re complicated, sure, but as the opening to the finale called them, they’re part of “this strange, messy, impossible family.”

Because that’s what they are, family. All of the friends who were with us in the finale came from a difficult past. A family who rejected them for who they were, abuse, betrayal, loss. Some people are content to stay where they were born, some are lucky to feel fulfilled by the life they were brought into, some are fortunate enough to be loved by and love the people who raised them. But not all of us are so lucky. Some of us had to leave. Some of us had to escape. Some of us had to fight tooth and nail to become who were are. And some of us had to make our own family along the way. But as the finale also says, “It doesn’t matter how your story begins. It’s about who’s with you at the end.” And it was nice to see, in a show like this, plenty of people like us at the end.

They have a son, an empire, and eternity together.

One thing I loved about the end of this story is that it didn’t quite feel like The End. It was satisfying enough that by the time it was over, it felt like the right place to leave our friends, but it was exciting enough that I knew they would be out doing their thing and fighting the baddies and loving each other for years to come. It was like the end of Fleabag (spoilers!) when you’re following her and you know her story isn’t over but she lets you know… it’s time to say goodbye.

And on a show full of destruction, in a sci-fi world full of explosions, death, and terror… it was a blessing to have a happy ending. Even though I burst into tears when Dutch said, “I’m going to miss this,” before her and her boys lead us into the field one last time, I still felt a triumphant feeling. I was sad that it was over, but I felt… lighter somehow, not having to fear for anyone’s life. And while I wasn’t really worried that this show would bury any gays or truly torment me unnecessarily, I didn’t realize until it was over that I had been tensing a little bit. When I watched the finale for a second time, I was able to watch without even that little inkling of fear that other shows have conditioned me to go into finales with, and it made the ride that much more fun.

I’ll leave you with a quote from Killjoys creator and writer Michelle Lovretta in her interview with the TV Junkies, because I think it sums up the heart of the series and the way it went out very well:

“Happy endings are out of style, but these days, hope feels bold, man. Joy feels weaponized. We’re obviously not afraid to kill characters, we’ve done it in the past. But why can’t everybody live, for once? Why can’t the story be about all the good guys winning?”

And to take it a step further, in a time when we’re still recovering from the queer character massacre of 2016, and the number drop in queer characters in the years after, in a time when queer stories are still majority dark and tortured, and when the real world is still so hard on us — we deserve this happy ending, too.

Boobs on Your Tube: Okay, This “BH90210” Middle Age Bisexual Storyline Is Actually Really Great

If you’ve been reading Boobs on Your Tube regularly this summer, you’ve probably started wondering if this was some kind of record-breaking season for queer women of color relationships, and yes, actually! Our TV Team ran down all nine of them! Also, Valerie Anne reviewed your new favorite Canadian bingo show: Workin’ Moms. And Riese and Carly brought you an all-new To L and Back.

Some notes from the TV Team: 

+ Mica Burton’s stint on Critical Role continued to be a delight to the very end. Reanie is a gift to us all, and also her ship name with Marisha’s character is “ReanBeau” and she already making a playlist for them because she’s my kind of dedicated queer nerd. — Valerie Anne

Bachelor in Paradise 607 & 608

Written by Meg Jones Wall

After spending so much of last week on Demi and Kristian’s rekindled romance, it’s no surprise that the pair barely appeared on this week’s episodes of Bachelor in Paradise – but the title sequence now features the two of them holding hands while everyone else continues to be introduced alone, which is…cute? Between both episodes we see some brief moments of them snuggling and kissing by the beach, a short conversation where Kristian expresses concerns about fitting in and hoping Demi is being sincere, and a rose ceremony where awkward wedding officiant Chris Harrison “changes the rules” so that Demi can give a rose to Kristian before the guys proceed, but that’s it. This week was dominated with tears, fights, and yelling by some very dramatic straight men, who managed to make a lot of women cry, disrupt a wedding, and scare off some tiny island creatures. A few particularly mediocre “fan favorites” proved they lack even the most basic listening comprehension, and at various points it seemed like the cast was competing over who could sob in the most hysterical fashion.

Frankly, if you’re watching Paradise for queer content, you can completely skip this week. The most entertaining bit is the last few moments of episode 8, where Demi offers some bad lip readings (complete with impersonations) of Conner, Caelynn, and Kristina, who are not very interesting on their own but seem to come alive under Demi’s deft vocal stylings – but alas, this is also not strictly queer content. Fingers crossed that we get more of Demi and Kristian next week, and that we get to see them doing more than just offering their thoughts on other relationships.

Why Women Kill 103: “I Killed Everyone He Did, But Backwards and in High Heels”

Written by Natalie

Green (leopard print) with envy…

Watching a show like Why Women Kill, where the threat of death looms so large, can be a challenge. Through the show’s first two episodes, I was comforted by the belief that if either Taylor or Jade were driven to kill, they’d target a man and, at least, we wouldn’t end up with another buried gay. But this week, tables turned and it became easier to imagine a scenario where one queer woman dies at the hands of the other…and now I’m watching this show with a whole new level of anxiety.

Taylor returns home from a long day at work to find her husband strumming his newly acquired bass guitar. Jade offers her a respite — a night out dancing — and Taylor relishes the opportunity to spend some time together, alone. But before Jade and Taylor can cement their plans, Eli strolls in and invites himself along…and, surprisingly, he turns out to not be the most annoying interloper of the night.

Just as Taylor and Jade are about to make their way to the dance floor, two friends of Jade’s, Willow and Mischa, call out to her. They greet her warmly…too warmly for Taylor’s tastes and warmly enough to assure Eli that they definitely weren’t Jade’s first threesome. With every flirtatious touch, Taylor’s ire grows and when Wischa — who are every bit as ridiculous as their portmanteau suggests — invite Jade on their next Instagram Influencer adventure, Taylor can barely contain her emotions. She finally steals a moment alone with Jade and her hurt, jealousy and desperation comes out sounding like anger, fueled by alcohol, and Jade urges her to go home.

It’s not until she’s sobered up the next morning that Taylor realizes that she needs to find Jade and apologize. She tracks Jade using the Find My Friends app — no, that’s not creepy at all — and rushes to talk to her. Eli chases his wife down the stairs, encouraging her to just wait until Jade returns, but Taylor is desperate. Without Jade, she says, everything falls apart. Eli’s flummoxed by his wife’s admission and climbs atop her car to force a confrontation.

“This is too hard…my life is so hard,” an exasperated Taylor shrieks. For two years, she’s had to shoulder the burden of being the lone breadwinner and she can’t complain about it because, if she does, she’ll be considered a bitch. She admits, “Jade is the only thing in my life that is easy, ’cause she doesn’t take, she only gives. If she leaves, I don’t know what I’m gonna do.”

When Jade returns to the house, she announces her intention to go abroad with the “low-rent Kardashians.” Eli and Taylor’s house is starting to feel like home and Jade’s worried about being the one hurt in the end. Eli interjects and asks Jade to consider this her home, permanently. She accepts, taking Taylor’s outstretched hand, and our throuple becomes OFFICIAL….and my Bury your Gays PTSD has started to kick-in.

Killjoys 506: Three Mutineers

Written by Valerie Anne

Much to everyone’s delight (especially mine), Delle Seyah and Aneela are back together, traipsing through the woods together with their son, on an adventure, and all feels right in the world..

Sometimes I genuinely forget that Aneela is also played by Hannah John-Kamen because she’s got that Tatiana quality about her.

But as soon as they kiss Aneela can taste that Kendry isn’t hullen anymore. She’s human. She pulls back, and Kendry is just as surprised that Aneela is still hullen, since they destroyed all the green (I guess being in the cube spared her?), and they decide to just get back to their mission instead of getting it on after this new revelation.

PS. During her plot over on the prison ship, Dutch puts on the warden’s vest and tie and uses a boss butch voice and it almost killed me swifter than her fighting in the last episode did.

Anyway, Aneela is acting a little dodgy and only asks for two tickets of passage and her and Dellle Seyah start to argue until Jaq interrupts them by saying, “Mom?” and then they both respond, “Which one?” and it’s such a cute Jaq-has-two-mommies moment. They get attacked briefly but the moms shut that shit down right quick and Aneela says if they touch her family again she’ll feed them their own skin so obviously she still loves them fiercely, so what’s all this weirdness about? Kendry asks her, and assumes it’s because she looks down on her because she’s human, but she’s still a queen gods-dammit.

But then Aneela explains that it’s quite the opposite. She was afraid that now that Kendry was human, she would see her hullen girlfriend as a monster. Kendry physically relaxes, relieved, and assures Aneela that she’s still a terrible person and they can still be lean mean Green Queens together. Aneela is ready to rip Kendry’s clothes off right there in the woods, infant teenage son be damned, and frankly with that leather sleeveless archer outfit, I don’t blame her. But they have to tuck their kid into his safe little cube so they can go off and save the world together.

Ambitions 111: “A Change is Gonna Come”

Written by Natalie

This kiss is what got them in trouble…

When Ambitions picks up this week, things appear picturesque: the Lancaster family’s gathered around the table to enjoy breakfast together. Evan tells his daughter that he ran into Tony Award winning director Kenny Leon who’s spearheading a theatrical exchange program with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Though Stephanie’s quick to assume that the only reason Carly’s on Leon’s radar is because of who her father is, Evan clarifies: Leon saw Carly’s performance in For Colored Girls and was impressed. Still irritated by her mother’s involvement in her break-up, Carly snaps back at her mother. But before Evan can gain any clarity on the tension between mother and daughter, Stephanie’s father storms in, irate that a TMZ-esque site has posted a picture of his granddaughter kissing Lori Purifoy.

Carly sits quietly, stunned at being forced out of the closet in this way, as her grandfather foments one conspiracy theory after another about how the picture came to be. Finally, with tears streaking down her cheek, Carly speaks up, “Lori didn’t ambush me, we were together, we were in love. I’m gay.”

Her admission does little to placate her grandfather’s anger, if anything, it only inflames it more. But when her grandfather crosses the line — calling Carly’s actions “ungodly” and chastising Stephanie for letting it happen — Evan intercedes, kicking his father-in-law out of the house. Later, when Stephanie’s father shows up at her office to continue his homophobic, anti-Purifoy rant, she’s puts him in his place: she won’t allow anyone to make Carly feel bad about her sexuality, including him. It’s one of the few maternal moments we’ve gotten from Stephanie Carlisle Lancaster.

Meanwhile, over at Purifoy Pharmaceuticals, Carly alerts Lori that the photo of them has leaked and Lori rushes to tell her father about the photo before someone else can. To say he takes it well is a profound understatement; he’s positively giddy. But lest Hunter Purifoy be mistaken for a caring dad, he quickly reveals the reason behind his interest: a relationship between a Carlilse and a Purifoy undermines the negative publicity that the Carlisle family has drummed up with their lawsuit. He encourages his daughter to rekindle her relationship with Carly.

But will she have that chance? A spot’s opened up in the theatrical exchange program and she’s decided to take it. While her father begs his daughter to stay, Stephanie’s delighted that Carly will be able to follow her passion and that the exchange will put an ocean between her and Lori. But given that Ambitions‘ mid-season finale ends with Carly’s grandfather dead and her half-brother kidnapped, maybe she shouldn’t start packing those bags yet.

BN90210 104: “The Table Read”

Written by Carmen

Kiss the women you want to kiss.

BH90210 opens up this week with Gabrielle Cateris’ nightmare. We’re back in the ‘90s at the Peach Pit, and she’s back wearing all of her ’90s costume. Donna, Kelly, and Brenda are all having a milkshake in the corner and Emily (that’s Christine Elise’s character from the OG series, shout out to the readers who took time to let me know last week!) is behind the counter. She and Emily awkwardly exchange hellos and then the other girls start to bully Gabrielle! Then there’s some nightmare smoke and suddenly Gabrielle is in a Carrie style prom dress, wielding a weedwacker and screaming at the top of her lungs, “What do you people want from me???”

So yeah, that’s not great.

In real life, Gabrielle is nervously sucking down a martini at a fancy restaurant when Christine saunters in, upset about ongoing production troubles for the Beverly Hills reboot. Gabrielle tries to switch subjects, this is a first date after all, and ends up spilling Martini all over the table. Christine can’t help but laugh – Gab thought this was a date?? Oh no, she meant pinging her on fake!Tinder as a gesture of friendship. (People, don’t do this! It’s mean!)

Later, during a cast and crew get together, Gabrielle spots Christine alone swirling a shot glass in her hand. Once Christine sees her, she tries to cover it by looking “busy at work” on her phone – but it’s already too late. Gabrielle sits down with her and the tension between them is THIIIICK. They look at each other, then they look at each other’s lips, and it’s quiet, there’s a breath. I was giddy with anticipation! And then… it’s over. Gabrielle doesn’t want to do this until the time is right, and she’s certainly too tipsy for the time to be right now.

That same night after everyone has gone home, Gabrielle visits Christine at her office. (BTW real life Gabrielle Cateris looks HOT in this all white suit, and dear reader, you deserve to know that.) She barely says a word, sitting down and gathering Christine’s face in her hands. They start to make out, but Christine stops her. Didn’t Gabrielle want to wait until the time was right before she had sex with a woman for the first time?

Well, you know what? Life is short. And the time is right because she is with a person that she’s developing feelings for. It’s sweet and romantic and dammit, if you would have told me that BH90210 was going to end the summer by gifting us the sexiest queer couple over 45 I’ve ever seen (well, until The L Word comes back in December) – I never would have believed you! And yet, here we are.

A Record-Breaking 9 Women of Color TV Couples Fell in Love This Summer

As the TV Team closes out our summer coverage and starts preparing for the new fall television season, we realized a trend that we absolutely couldn’t wait to tell you about!

This summer, for the first time in television history (!!), there were a record breaking nine women of color couples on TV!!!  That’s just counting between May and August! It’s been a summer of love for women of color (if you include interracial relationships with white women, there have been 15 relationships total), which is already a rarity – but women of color are almost never allowed to love one another on television. This is groundbreaking. Women of color finally being given space to find beauty and strength and comfort in each other for once… well, those are the kind of love stories we can’t wait to hear more of.

😍 😍 😍

Kat Edison and Tia Clayton, The Bold Type

Where to Watch: Freeform

When The Bold Type returned for its third season, I was really worried about Kat Edison. She was going through a very rough break up with her first-ever girlfriend, Adena, and it was taking a toll on her. She was also having to figure out what it meant to be queer for the first time on her own two feet and without a partner beside her. In that process Kat discovered parts of herself that she never knew before (including political aspirations!), but most importantly she discovered new confidence in the parts of life that are messy and not Social Media perfect. That confidence became infectious for Tia, her campaign manager, who’d previously had a hard and isolating time dealing with her own queerness.

Tia looks at Kat like she is a ray of sun brought to earth. In Tia, Kat finds a grounding and patient presence instead of her go-to impulsiveness. They are in many ways opposites, but that makes them an even stronger team, together. Kat and Tia have conversations about negotiating the one-two punch of systematic racism and homophobia that I never would’ve believed The Bold Type could pull off – and they do it with relatability and grace. Also, excuse me but I just have to say this, when they have sex, it’s really hot.    – Carmen

Kat Edison and Adena El-Amin, The Bold Type

Where to Watch: Freeform

I have to tell the truth, when Kat and Adena broke up last summer – I was mad at Adena El-Amin. In fact, I was so mad that when Adena returned to New York at the end of The Bold Type’s third season, I was not ready to forgive her. I was happy for Kat’s new relationship with Tia, I enjoyed the woman Kat was growing up to become, and as far as I was concerned Adena had missed the boat. It was her loss. Oh man, how wrong I was.

One minute in the hallway at Scarlet in front of the elevators, and Kat knows it right away. She tries to hold it together. She wills herself not to cry. But the second she’s alone with her friends, she can’t hold it in any longer. She still loves Adena and it hasn’t gone away. Adena’s learned more about herself in their time apart as well. She realizes now that she was blaming Kat for her own insecurities. Ultimately they don’t quite stay together this time either, but The Bold Type has sold me on this: Kadena is in it for the long haul, and that is one slow burn I cannot wait to watch unfold.   – Carmen

Arlene Branch and Annalisa “Quiet Ann” Zayas, Claws

Where to Watch: TNT

During the first season of Claws, Arlene Branch steps out of her unmarked police cruiser and spots Ann Zayas setting up her perch outside the nail salon. She saunters over, in her leather jacket and aviators, and flirts by way of historic trivia. It’s a rarity for Ann to be seen — everyone around her is so ostentatious, it’s easy for them to eclipse her light — but Arlene really sees her and, I think, Ann starts to fall in love with her right at that moment.

Somewhere between having her baby snatched from her teenage arms and her time in prison, Ann had stopped believing that love was possible but when Arlene offers it, she holds on for dear life, even when she shouldn’t. Dating a cop when you and your friends are laundering money for a pill mill is probably not the best idea but the heart wants what the heart wants. They plan a life together, they plan a family together and then it all falls apart. They betray each other — Ann first, then Arlene — but their attraction is undeniable and they find their way back to each other.

This season on Claws, Arlene and Ann built the family that they always wanted. They marry quietly, in a small courthouse ceremony, they listen to the heartbeat of their unborn child and then, perhaps in the greatest display of love there is, Arlene sacrifices her career life to keep their family safe. – Natalie

Delle Seyah Kendry and Aneela, Killjoys

Where to Watch: SyFy

Delle Seyah Kendry, played by Mayko Nguyen, made her mark the moment she appeared on screen, with her snarky attitude and sultry glares, and of course our love for her was only helped by her tendency to relentlessly flirt with Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen). Of course, this set shipper hearts ablaze, even though Dutch had eyes for someone else. But, in a move not unlike Jane the Virgin’s, it seemed the Powers that Be heard the pleas for a Delle Seyah/Dutch team-up and gave Kendry the next best thing: Aneela. Also played by Hannah John-Kamen, Aneela is identical in looks to Dutch, though she’s different in just about every other way.

Race isn’t really discussed in this life-or-death space race of a universe (well, alien races are I guess…), so it doesn’t really matter to them, but it’s pretty cool for us that this dream team is comprised of two women of color. Both complex and ruthless, Aneela and Kendry were dubbed the Green Queens and could be seen as villains if you weren’t paying enough attention, but upon a closer look, you can tell their love for each other is true and their intentions are good, even when their methods leave something to be desired, or when their past comes back to haunt them. In this final season, Aneela and Delle Seyah have a child (a child that is a few weeks old but also a teenager, because sci-fi) and have a few more adventures to go on together before this final season comes to a close in a few weeks. – Valerie

Nova Bordelon and Chantal Williams, Queen Sugar

Where to Watch: OWN

When Queen Sugar announced that they were finally going to give Nova Bordelon another woman love interest, I was fully prepared for Octavia Laurent (more on her below). Not in a million years did I think we would see the return of Chantal, her girlfriend from the beginning of the series.

Anytime Chantal and Nova kiss, my heart lights on fire like clockwork. I will always love them. The thing about Chantal Williams is that she is one of the few people in Nova’s life who does not fall for her bullshit. She knows her worth, and whether it’s about community politics or matters of the heart – she is always willing to point out the ways Nova can grow to get on her level. I want Nova to be the best possible version of herself, and Chantal wants that too. She wants a relationship she can grow in, which I think is the whole point of relationships at all. But until Nova is ready to make those choices on her own, I fear they will continue to be ships passing in the night. As long as that means we still get to drop in on Chantal every once and a while… well, I’m learning to be OK with that.   – Carmen

Nova Bordelon and Octavia Laurent, Queen Sugar

Where to Watch: OWN

There’s everything wrong with Octavia Laurent’s past affair with her then-student, Nova Bordelon, or her current affair with the graduate student who looks like Nova’s doppelganger. Professors who sleep with students are unfairly taking advantage of uneven power dynamics. It’s wrong, it’s wrong, it’s wrong. But, still…there’s something tantalizing about how easily Nova and Octavia slide back into the romance that they once shared.

It begins, as I imagine it used to when Nova was a student, with an intellectual sparing match, but once they’re alone, emotions come to the fore. Like her family, Octavia’s hurt by her portrayal — or lack thereof — in Nova’s book, but unlike Nova’s family, Octavia offers her former student a way to make amends… on her lips, in her arms, between her sheets. This will end badly, we know it from the moment they debate who made the other scream louder, but for the moment, it gives Nova hope: someone who loved her once, hurt by her writing, could love her again. – Natalie

Yolanda (Yoli) Renna and Marisa, Grand Hotel

Where to Watch: ABC

I started Grand Hotel on a lark. I don’t know why, but I love cheesy soapy television in the summer. I think it’s all the rosé. Anyway, I fell for this show right away, but there was something about Yoli. The ugly duckling to her twin sister’s supposedly more “beautiful” swan, my heart broke for her. She was the afterthought in her own family! That’s no way to live!

Then came Marisa, who saw Yoli in a way no one else in her life could. To Marisa, Yoli was the most beautiful woman in the room every time, even when she was mopping the floors. When her family lets her down, it’s Marisa who is there to pick her up. It’s Marisa who strokes her thumb against her cheek and reminds her that she’s gorgeous, brave, and not deserving of life’s scraps. It’s Marisa who gives her the strength to come out to her family and finally forge a new relationship – as equals – with her sister.

And when Marisa needs Yoli most, because she’s terrified of what it means to be undocumented in our country right now, Yoli doesn’t think twice of being there for her, too. “We’re family now,” Yoli tells Marisa while she wipes away her tears. Sometimes there is romance (and trust me, this has a lot of romance), but sometimes there is an intimacy of shared community that can’t be found anywhere else. Yoli and Marisa have found both.   – Carmen

Arthie Premkumar and Yolanda Rivas, GLOW

Where to Watch: Netflix

In Season Three, Arthie and Yolanda on Netflix’s GLOW are in a full-on relationship, which has its ups and downs as the wrestling team settles into their new home in Vegas. Arthie is still figuring out her sexuality, and there are lots of adorable baby gay moments (some that will maybe make you cry a little bit!). But they also get some hot sex scenes, including one where they literally turn wrestling moves into foreplay!!!!!!! FINALLY this implicitly VERY gay show is explicitly gay. Sometimes these characters are a little too boxed-in, but their relationship and the drama within it is one of the season’s ongoing subplots, and things end on a promising note for the lovebirds. – Kayla

Kelsey Phillips and Brooke Morgan, Dear White People

Where to Watch: Netflix

Ahh, the joy of young awkward nerds in love. Brooke and Kelsey have one thing in common – they both annoy everyone else in their friend group. Brooke, a journalism major at Dear White People’s fictional Ivy League setting, chases career ambitions above everything else. It makes her kind of hard to get along with. Kelsey, also a student at the school, has been sheltered by her class privilege, so much so that people find it difficult to relate to her. Both of them are the kind of black girls you don’t often get to see on TV – outsiders who have friends in their black peer group, but more often than not feel alone. That is, until they find each other.

Kelsey’s slow courtship of Brooke is hands down the most swoon-worthy story I watched this summer. Wait! “Swoon-worthy” is wrong. These girls are far too awkward for that. What is the word for “made me shove my face into a pillow and scream out of delight and then draw little imaginary hearts around their cute little faces with my finger tips”? Dear White People may have a checkered past when it comes to black lesbian and queer representation, but finally in Season Three – they got something right.  – Carmen

Boobs on Your Tube: You Need to Watch “Why Women Kill,” Don’t Make Us Tell You Again

Hello, Boobs Tubers, and welcome to the week The L Word: Generation Q trailer finally dropped and was annotated in obsessive detail by our very own TV Team. Also, speaking of Bette Porter: a new episode of To L and Back. What else? Well, Carmen raved about the nerdy black girls we deserve finally showing up on Dear White People. Meg Jones Wall marveled at how well Bachelor in Paradise is handling the sexually fluid queer relationship. Kayla loved and also had a few questions about season three of GLOW. Nel recapped Pose‘s emotional season finale. And the TV Team shared all their gay feelings about Jane the Virgin, which is now all on Netflix.

Notes and Reminders from the TV Team: 

+ This isn’t necessarily gay, but if you love watching actresses at the peak of their craft – I couldn’t recommend the last two weeks of Queen Sugar any higher. These last two episodes have been a masterclass from everyone. In particular, Bianca Lawson is giving one of the finest performances I’ve seen all year. Seriously, it’s phenomenal. And Nova is finally coming back around!  — Carmen

+ Queer barbarian Yasha has been MIA on Critical Role lately (thanks for nothing Blindspot) but Beau continues to be a perfect lesbian disaster, and recently bisexual actress Mica Burton (daughter of beloved storyteller LaVar Burton) played a queer druid for a guest stint and I’m not totally caught up but SHE’S SO CUTE AND I LOVE HER and I just needed you to know it. — Valerie Anne

This Way Up Season One

Written by Drew

This Way Up, a new series on Hulu written by and starring Aisling Bea, joins what is quickly becoming my new favorite genre: six-episode British shows written by their female leads. Yes, television is a beautiful landscape with lots of different types of work, but if you put me on a desert island with only The Bisexual, Fleabag, Crashing, Catastrophe, Chewing Gum, and now This Way Up, I’d be like cool a desert island with a TV I love my life.

Before you get too excited, Aine, the protagonist of This Way Up is not gay. In fact, none of the main characters are. The only out queer character is Aine’s sister’s business partner, Charlotte. But, if you’re patient, I promise the show ends with a queer surprise! And if you read gayness into everyone like I do you’ll totally see it coming and the whole season will feel pretty gay.

It’s also very easy to be patient, because the show is just really good. The premise may not seem primed for comedy, as it begins with Aine returning from a mental health facility after a suicide attempt, but Bea has a talent for finding the moments of joy and absurdity within the difficulty of life. Aine is almost too good for the world as she cracks jokes and goes out of her way helping strangers and acquaintances… while letting down her sister, her friends, and herself.

The supporting cast is filled with talent such as Sharon Horgan, Kadiff Kirwan, Indira Varma, Chris Geere, and Aasif Mandvi. Good is such a simple word, but this show is just good, and I mean that in a deeper sense than quality. Its heart is so pure and its characters are always trying so hard. There isn’t even an antagonist. Just a lot of messy people trying their best to take care of themselves and be kind to one another. Sometimes they fail, sometimes they succeed, and it’s always a pleasure to watch.

Killjoys 505: A Bout, A Girl

Written by Valerie Anne

Let me tell you what, covering a show that airs on Friday nights for Boob Tube, a column that goes up Friday day, is extremely frustrating when an episode is amazing and you have to wait A FULL WEEK to shout about it. Episode 505 was my favorite episode of the season so far. It opens with Delle Seyah WITH A BOW AND ARROW. AND A SLEEVELESS LEATHER OUTFIT. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any gayer, Jaq starts asking about his other mother and Kendry says it hurts too much to talk about her. (And tries to explain to Jaq how she’s related to him by saying, and I quote, “Sometimes when a woman loves another woman very much, she keeps the human hybrid baby an evil man put inside her and promises to protect that boy forever.”

And after that we spend most of our time in the prison, so I thought the only futher gayness I was going to be able to report was how I had an entire gay panic attack when Dutch got herself entered into a prison fight and KICKED SO MUCH ASS. And of course you KNOW Dutch is strong and you KNOW Dutch is hot but it’s never been showcased quite as explicitly and lovingly and not in a kick-and-go kind of way and WHEW was it perfection.

But then! As the episode comes to a close and Archer!Kendry gives Jaq a beautiful speech about how much she loves him and gets him to the magic cube safely…a wild Aneela appears.

It’s weird to say “a sight for sore eyes” since TECHNICALLY her face has been everywhere BUT I STILL MISSED HER.

The pure, unadulterated joy and shock on Kendry’s face here is so new it’s almost alarming but wow does it make my heart do flips.

Delle Seyah falls to her knees in a literal sense, and I do the same in a metaphorical sense, relieved to the all hells that my Green Queens are back together again.

Why Women Kill 102: “I’d Like to Kill Ya, But I Just Washed my Hair”

Written by Natalie

Eli: So what can I do to help?
Taylor and Jade: Absolutely nothing.

So, first things first: if you’re intrigued by the prospect of stepping into the simultaneous lives of a 1960s Pasadena housewife, a 1980s socialite and a modern-day polyamorous bisexual lawyer, CBS All Access has made the first episode of Why Women Kill available for free. Or if you just want to relive Kirby Howell-Baptiste telling her contractor that her dick is bigger than his over and over again, you can do that now too.

But onto this week: Taylor, Eli and Jade are enjoying some takeout and wine when Eli asks about how the pair met. Taylor explains she was shopping for bras — lingerie that he assumes was for his benefit but wasn’t — when her zipper got stuck and she asked Jade for help. One thing led to another and they hooked up, for the first time, in the dressing room. Eli savors the story until he discovers that their relationship is months old, not weeks, as Taylor had said. At first, he seems upset, hastily excusing himself to get pie, but when he slides his white, pasty bare ass into the Jacuzzi with them later, it’s clear what Eli’s motives are. Thankfully, Taylor’s more than willing to call him on his bullshit.

“You thought if you left Jade and I alone to get comfortable, we’d get a little loose, a little frisky, and then you could just slide right in and the three of us would fuck the night away,” she says. Eli admits that she’s right and begs her for a threesome. Taylor’s reluctant, at first, but when Jade says she’s game, they follow her up to the bedroom.

I groan audibly as it starts, I know how this is gonna go. Eli, with his self-satisfied smirk, knows how this is gonna go. But, as it turns out, both Eli and I are wrong…sure, he gets to have his fantasy fulfilled, but it feels like a formality…like it was a chore that Taylor and Jade needed to do in order to do what they really wanted to do: have sex with each other. Eli tries to help but the women push him out of bed and take care of themselves. When he returns to the room later — tired of waiting for them to come downstairs for pie à la mode — Eli spots his wife gently caressing her lover and he realizes the mess that he’s made.

Later, Taylor finds Eli sulking and asks what’s wrong. He responds by asking if she’s in love with Jade and when Taylor doesn’t answer right away, he takes her silence as a yes. She obfuscates by appealing to his insecurity about his career and assures him that, while Jade’s more than a hook-up, he’s the only love in her life. Eli accepts her defense and rushes off to the kitchen to get the pie, leaving a guilty looking Taylor staring out the window of her Pasadena home.

BN90210 103: “The Photo Shoot”

Written by Carmen

This is literally how I look at my phone when I’m trying to figure out what Tik Tok is. Welcome to Club Olds.

Well, let me tell you one thing: Gabrielle Carteris’ husband did NOT take her big coming out the way any of us had hoped, that’s for sure. And yes, for sure, finding out your wife of at least 20 years is queer would surprise most cis straight middle aged men, but c’mon! His outrage ranges from the biphobic (“You’re into women? I’m not a woman!” – way to make assumptions there, my guy) to the incredulous. Honestly, if Gabrielle divorced him at this point, I’d be fine with it. But she says he is her best friend and I do want whatever is best for, so I hope they work it out. I guess.

MEANWHILE there’s a couple of fun cameos this week! The cast’s group therapist was also the mom of one of the characters (please don’t ask me who) in the original series. Also, last week we met a producer who used to be in the cast, but I didn’t pay attention. Now I’m fully invested because it turns out this person is here and queer and proud of it! Her name is Christine Elise and she’s hot. If you’re the kind of gay who is into P!nk or that one Dixie Chick, you are going to find your needs very satisfied here. Anyone wants to tell me who hot producer Christine Elise played in the original series, I would super appreciate it.

Hot producer Christine Elise is very interested in Gabrielle’s (ahem, excuse me, Andrea’s) coming out arc in the reboot. She tells Gabrielle to cut the shit – she knows a IRL gay when she sees one. And then this is super cute! Gabrielle pulls out a notebook to interview Christine about what it’s like to be gay for “research” for her “character”! Christine recommends putting down the notebook and hitting the club – or at least getting on some apps! – because some experiences can only happen for yourself.

The episode ends with Christine visiting Gabrielle on set. Gabrielle hasn’t had much luck on the apps yet, but Christine boosts her confidence. Lots of babes are going to want to date her, and sure enough Christine is one of those babes. Let’s do this.

(Also, drumroll please! SHANNEN DOHERTY IS OFFICIAL BACK! I know this – wherever Shannen is, diva drama surely follows, and I for one cannot wait!)

Grand Hotel 110: “Suite Little Lies”

Written by Carmen

❤️❤️❤️

It’s been a while since we caught up with Yoli, and here’s what she has been up to: Her father is some kind of Bernie Madoff who made a lot of money conning rich people in pyramid schemes. For most of Yoli’s life, he’s been on the run from the Feds. Now he’s back and Yoli (along with Carolina) have been hiding him in the hotel. It’s over the top and messy, but whatever, we all knew what we signed up for when we started this show.

Yoli wants Marisa to meet her felon dad, but her girlfriend is very resistant to the entire ordeal. When Yoli ponders leaving the country with her dad for while so he can find safety, Marisa fully freaks out. She can’t handle this. She didn’t fall in love with Yoli to become some part of a criminal enterprise!

It turns out that the reason Marisa is weary of Yoli’s rich people legal troubles is because she’s undocumented. Her family left Colombia when she was four. Yoli might be “playing” lawbreaker to help her dad, but she has the resources to be safe. Marisa most certainly does not. She begs Yoli not to spread her secret; she’s never told anyone before who wasn’t her family.

Yoli looks her in her eyes and gently strokes the side of her face, “I guess that makes me your family now.”

Keeping it real, I can’t imagine that Grand Hotel is getting renewed by ABC (but wow do I hope I’m wrong). That said, it’s soapy and deliciously good. If you live at an intersection where you loved Desperate Housewives or Mistresses AND Jane the Virgin, I PROMISE you will find a delightfully mindless way to spend a few late summer hours. Give yourself this treat before its too late.

Boobs on Your Tube: 4 Gay Smooches and a Funeral

We’ve been fundraising like a bunch of bananas this week, but TV still marched on! Heather had some serious questions about the new Westworld trailer. Natalie snagged you an exclusive sneak peak of OWN’s Ambitions. Generation Q cast some more people and then some more people. Nel recapped this week’s Pose and Natalie recapped this week’s very fun Good Trouble. And our whole TV Team weighed in on the legacy of Orange Is the New Black.

Reminders from the TV Team: 

+ Harlots is dead to me. I imagine Riese will be writing about this eventually which is why I’m just up here in the reminders and not doing a full write-up but I just wanted you to know I’m MAD and SAD. kthanksbye. — Valerie Anne

+ I know I haven’t written about Critical Role in a long time but it’s because I’m two or three eps behind because of my Vampire Diaries/Originals binge but I just wanted to let you know that Beau continues to be a disaster lesbian, Yasha is also canon queer, and I’m still head-over-heels in love with both of them. — Valerie Anne

Here’s what else!

Burden of Truth 208: “The Right Road”

Written by Natalie

If you stand for nothing…

After weeks of struggling in prison, Luna’s forced to put on a brave face when her trial begins.

Owen is among the prosecution’s first witnesses and he explains how the crime scene was handled, trying not to implicate Luna directly. Chief Mercer isn’t nearly as kind: Luna had means, motive and opportunity to murder David Hanley and he’s certain that the Millwood PD found their killer. Armed with information from Owen, Joanna destroys Mercer on cross examination. While Mercer has a history of kindness towards the town’s white residents, he reserves cruelty for Millwood’s Indigenous community. Joanna accuses Mercer of taking Neil Bellegarde on a “starlight tour,” abandoning him outside of town, in -30° weather, in a t-shirt with no shoes. Bellegarde died of hypothermia and the revelation discredits Mercer.

With the prosecutor’s case on the ropes, he calls Taylor Matheson to testify and, rather than say anything to implicate Luna, Taylor claims to have forgotten the details of what happened. She blames her brain injury for her forgetfulness and Luna flashes her a knowing smile. With Taylor’s testimony thrown out, the prosecutor reaches for the last bit of evidence to prove pre-meditation: the incriminating voicemail that Luna left for Joanna which Joanna subsequently deleted. Called as a witness against her sister, Joanna lies and blames the deletion on her phone being hacked.

Joanna calls Mara Tran, a technology and hacking expert with whom she’d worked previously, to the stand to corroborate her lie. Mara does but, as she goes to step down, Joanna blindsides her (and everyone else) with questions tying her to hack on Hanley’s laptop. Turns out, the laptop had a security feature that took the photo of whomever tried to access the files and, on the night David Hanley was murdered, it snapped a picture of Mara. She admits that she killed him, accidentally, and the prosecutor is left with no choice but to drop the charges. Outside, Luna is greeted by a band of supporters and the fullness of the Canadian sky.

Ambitions 106: “What About Your Friends”

Written by Natalie

Wherever they go, the bisexual mood lighting follows.

Earlier this week, I posed a question about Ambitions, the soapy new melodrama on OWN: “can love between two children of warring families bring peace?” This week’s episode of Ambitions seemed to answer that question with a resounding “hell no.”

This week, Carly joins her mother, Stephanie, at a Women’s Empowerment Summit. After the day’s workshops and panels have concluded, Atlanta’s most influential women gather for a gala and Carly has to grin and bear it as her mother moves from one hostile conversation to the next. When the pair crosses paths with the Purifoys — Lori and her mother, Juniper — the mothers are too busy trading barbs with each other to notice their daughters’ wordless flirting.

Carly and Lori get a moment to themselves as they order drinks at the bar but their game of “who would you rather” is interrupted by Lori’s mother who applauds them for their civility. But once Carly steps away, Lori’s actual game is exposed: she’s been charged with getting close to “Stephanie Lancaster’s brat” and delivering intel to her family. But, from the pensive look on Lori’s face as her mother walks away, everything hasn’t gone according to plan. Has the Pulfroy heir caught real feelings for “Stephanie Lancaster’s brat?”

Later, Carly’s trying to achieve a baby gay rite of passage — having sex in a bathroom stall — but Lori pulls away. They stumble out of the stall together only to find Stephanie, attempting to clean a wine stain off her dress, at the sink. Stunned, Stephanie asks Lori to leave so she can talk to her daughter. Carly’s understandably freaked out — this wasn’t how she imagined coming out to her mother — but, surprisingly, Stephanie’s fine with it.

“Darling, I don’t care if you like girls, you just can’t like that girl,” Stephanie says, forcefully, her voice dripping with fear that she’ll lose another Carlilse woman to the Purifoys.

Though she encourages Carly to keep up appearances, when Stephanie spots Lori in the ballroom, she can’t resist a confrontation. Stephanie warns Lori to stay away from her daughter but Lori won’t back down. She responds, Stephanie’s just mad that she’s “given Carly more orgasms in a few weeks than Mayor Lancaster has given her during their entire marriage.” The insult earns her a slap and Lori feigns hurt for Carly’s benefit. Lori’s mother threatens to report Stephanie’s assault but Lori calms the waters by accepting her apology and sharing a drink.

At home, Stephanie again urges her daughter to stay away from the Purifoys. When Carly refuses, her mother puts her foot down: as long as Carly lives in her house, she must obey her rules…a problem Carly remedies by deciding that she’ll no longer live in her parents’ house. Unbeknownst to Carly, though, as soon as she walks out, her mother collapses on the floor, poisoned by a drink from the gala.

Claws 307: “Chicken Pussy”

Written by Natalie

Memories, of the way we were…

Eliot Laurence, the creator, executive producer and head writer of Claws, has a new show coming to Freeform this year called Motherland: Fort Salem. It’s a show about these young witches who, in exchange for freedom from persecution, defend the country from all threats, foreign and domestic. We don’t know much about the characters yet but, based on the series’ trailer, we do know at least two of the witches are queer. A female-driven show about witches featuring queer characters? That’s like Autostraddle catnip. But, after I watched Claws this week and watched the show do such an incredible disservice to its lesbian characters and its queer audience, I wondered how I could feel good about recommending an Eliot Laurence penned queer character.

The episode starts with the newly engaged Arlene and Quiet Ann at the OB/GYN getting their first ultrasound. When they can’t hear the baby’s heartbeat right away, Ann starts to assume the worst but Arlene tries to calm her down. Soon enough, the baby’s heartbeat echos through the exam room and the couple beams at the sight of their baby. Later, Ann and Arlene share the news with Ann’s brother, Henry, who’s running for governor. He’s excited to become an uncle but is distracted by the likelihood that the sitting governor will out him at an upcoming townhall. Ann lets it slip that she knows about where Gov. Patel gets his money which piques Henry’s interest. He pressures her into telling him what she knows and later, when the governor tries to out him at the televised townhall, Henry spills all the tea about Patel’s bribes and money laundering scheme.

The revelation immediately puts Ann’s life in danger so Desna rushes to find her. She finds Ann hiding out at the salon, heartbroken over having betrayed Desna. Determined to keep Ann safe, Desna drives her out to a rundown motel to hide. Arlene shows up later and once she realizes the stakes, decides to make an agreement with Mac and Melba to keep them safe. M&M seem amenable to Arlene’s terms and, just when it looks like everything’s settled, the leader of the Chinese mob sneaks up behind Arlene and slashes her throat.

So, in case you’re keeping count, over the span of four episodes, Claws has managed to hit not one, not two but three lesbian tropes. THREE! A trifecta of awful, overused and uninspired tropes. What a disappointment from a creator/producer/writer that should definitely know better (Laurence was also a writer on “The Big Gay Sketch Show”).

Grand Hotel 106: “Love Thy Neighbor”

Written by Carmen

Didn’t you know? Dancing is how lesbians have sex standing up.

Things you should remember about Grand Hotel: 1. Yoli, the gay hotel heiress who lives in the shadow of her supposedly more “beautiful” sister, isn’t out yet to her mother. 2. She’s dating Marisa, a masseuse in the hotel’s spa. 3. Yoli’s previous girlfriend? Yeah, she’s the dead girl that this entire TV show is about. Good, now you’re all caught up!

This week the hotel is hosting a very fancy schmancy fundraiser and the entire family has to attend. Yoli’s less than excited about being paraded around in public, but she makes a good show out of trying on dresses for Marisa anyway. Marisa obviously can’t come as Yoli’s date (thanks a lot, closet!) but she tries to boost her girlfriends confidence during the ‘lil fashion show. That is until Carolina, Yoli’s sister, shows up at her door. Yoli forces Marisa to hide under the bed – YIKES! Not a good luck! – and within minutes of Carolina entering the room, she’s shattered any little bit of confidence Yoli has left.

While under the bed Marisa just so happens to discover Yoli’s secret box filled with all her love letters and photos of Sky. Now everyone knows that Sky mysteriously “disappeared” last year, so it’s not long before Marisa puts two and two together. She confides to one of her work colleagues that her secret girlfriend has a secret ex and some bad shit went down. That colleague (Jason), who’s been secretly working on solving Sky’s murder, puts it all together too. Yoli’s secret is spreading – FAST.

The night of the fundraiser gala, Jason and Danny (another hotel worker/Sky’s brother) pull Yoli aside. They know that she was dating Sky before she died and they want answers. She gives them the same sad sob story that she told her step-sister Alicia last week: That she can’t come out because she doesn’t believe her mother, who already prefers Carolina, will continue to love her if she does. To be honest with you, I’m starting to think that Yoli is making the whole thing up to cover her tracks.

BUT! Then Yoli invites Marisa, work uniform and all, to dance with her on the gala floor. It’s her big coming out moment, staged for the entire family to see. Carolina surprisingly is overjoyed at the news. But their mother? She watches along and then walks out of the hotel lobby without saying a word. Yoli’s face shatters.

Maybe she was right all along.

Queen Sugar 406: “By The Spit”

Written by Carmen

One Last Kiss.

UGH. I feel like sometimes Queen Sugar giveth, and then sometimes Queen Sugar taketh away. Last time we spoke, I was so delighted by Nova’s reunion with her old undergraduate professor and ex-lover Professor Octavia Laurent Freddie Brooks. They were wrong for each other, but despite myself – I had to admit, they were hot. It was obvious their tornado was heading for disaster. I was just hoping we would get a few more deliciously fun and tension filled episodes before it did! Instead Queen Sugar ran through their entire plot and sent Freddie Brooks packing just as soon as she got here.

Octavia and Nova are enjoying their own secret little lovers world, secluded away in Nova’s book tour hotel room, when Nova receives word that her book has been nominated for a national award. Octavia hugs her and says congratulations, but her face says jealousy as soon as Nova’s back is turned. Later at at VIP academic reception that Octavia scammed an invite to on Nova’s behalf, Nova overhears her former professor throw her under the bus so that she can score a book deal instead. (It doesn’t work by the way, the publisher tells Octavia that they are looking for “new” voices. Which sucks for ageism, but Octavia is evil, soooo – eh.)

Nova’s figured out Octavia’s game by now – she’s going to ride her former protégé’s coattails to stage a comeback for her own career. Nova skips the next “Octavia arranged lunch” and the two have it out later in their hotel room.

It’s ugly and painful. Octavia knows exactly what to say to hurt Nova most. She’s also desperate and facing an unfair clock of age; it’s bringing out the worst of her in the fight. And still, through it all, it’s clear that Nova still loves her. A single tear falls across Rutina Wesley’s cheek, “You were my first in so many significant ways. I’ll always remember that.”

Then Nova closes her eyes to blink back whatever hurt is left as Octavia gathers her bags and walks out the door.

Ah Professor Freddie Brooks, we barely knew thee.

Killjoys 501: Run, Yala, Run

Written by Valerie Anne

KILLJOYS IS BACK, BITCHES!!! The first episode of the final season had us back in topsy turvy world, with smarty-pants Zeph and sharp-as-a-tack Dutch starting to figure out what’s what. Still in the clear from the memory zap is our girl Kendry, who can’t resist giving Dutch a big ol’ kiss because Aneela didn’t make it back from the Green, but Dutch looks enough like her girlfriend for Delle Seyah to pretend, just for a moment, that her love has returned.

A different shade of Green Queens.

It almost feels like this episode was one where the writers were like, “Fine you always wanted Dutch to kiss Johnny and Delle Seyah, but that never made sense, so here’s an upside down world where it’ll make sense for a minute, enjoy.” Which is the kind of fan service I enjoy.

Also of note, Zeph knows that their memories have been tampered with, but doesn’t remember her real self at all (unike Dutch, who is starting to remember), so she asks Dutch if they dated because she has a vibe and is hyperaware of how attractive Dutch is. I always appreciate friendly and casual reminders of a character’s queerness and it was a super cute and very Zeph way for them to do it.

Overall this season is set up to be extremely stressful and action-heavy and I, for one, am very excited about it. While final seasons are always bittersweet, the fact that they knew well in advance makes me excited to see how this story wraps up.

PS. The titles of this season’s episodes are AMAZING. They always are but I felt extra love for them, maybe because they’re the last.

Boobs on Your Tube: “Grey’s Anatomy” Returns With Three Entire Queer Women

We don’t know about you, but we’ve hardly ever been more relieved to have regular season teevee back than we were these last few days. This week Riese worked up a Bi TV quiz, Carmen wrote about a beautiful fan-created Calzona comic book (which Shonda Rhimes then tweeted out!!!!), Heather published a Bad Behavior issue personal essay about the ’90s UK soap Bad Girls, Valerie recapped the Wynonna Earp (which closes out its third season next week!), and we updated our list of best bisexual characters for Bi Week! Here’s what else!

The Purge 104: “Release the Beast”

Written by Carmen

If one of your favorite TV aesthetics is babes in ball gowns huddled in together and touching arms while speaking softly, then this is the episode for you! Jenna and Lila spend a lot of time alone and though they don’t kiss this week (don’t worry! you get to see them post-coitus in a flashback, so all is not lost!), their energy nevertheless crackles off each other. Lila can tell that Jenna still has a good heart, she’s not like Rick – who is more than willing to bow to the NFFA if it means a big paycheck. She encourages her love to leave him, really laying it all on the line. She promises that no one will love her like she can. Jenna won’t budge, she’s pregnant with Rick’s baby. Lila counters that families come in all shapes and sizes. It’s sincere and heartfelt. The “grand declaration” of great romances. You can see the flicker in Jenna’s eyes. She’s wavering, if only a little. Something tells me that small crack is all Lila needs.

It’s ok, sometimes we all make that noise in bed. Carolyn tells me its normal.

In flashback we get final confirmation of what has so far been implied about the triad: Rick and Jenna found Lila when going through a slump in their marriage. All three clicked immediately, so knowing this was more than a “one night thing” Jenna and Rick quickly moved to establish the boundaries of their relationship, chief among them that neither of the married couple should have sex with Lila alone. I hated that the rules scene was done without Lila in the room. I know that polyamory works different for every couple, but without showing on screen that Lila had a say in creating their parameters it felt as if she was ultimately silenced in an uneven relationship. OBVIOUSLY Jenna and Lila hook up alone, because why would you be with a Sack of Potatoes when you could be with a hot girl instead? Exactly. Also, Lila supports Jenna. She believes in her career ambitions to make a difference for the poor. Rick seems mostly interested in dimming Jenna’s light to better shine his own.

Rick finds them together in bed one day, and that’s when it all falls apart. In the present, he becomes enraged anew at the realization that Lila and Jenna are once again spending time without him. Awww, poor man baby! I don’t care.

Here’s live dispatch from our very own Valerie on Lila and Jenna: “I’m obsessed with them even though they’re probably both going to die (probably at the hand of their father and husband somehow).” I wholeheartedly agree, even though I naively continue to believe that they won’t die! I think they’re going to band together and kill all the evil rich white men instead. And then drink from their cold, dead bodies like it’s a crossover episode with True Blood.

BANG. BANG. DOWN GOES THE MISOGYNY. BANG. BANG.

Speaking of misandry and murder, Jane has ridiculously left the safety of her armored work building and into the night IN THE MIDDLE OF PURGE NIGHT (side note: in real life black women are not this stupid, we have excellent self-preservation skills. Why do horror movies always get that wrong? I know why. It’s so we can die first. ANYWAY). She makes it less than two blocks and she almost gets raped. Thankfully, before the assault can go any further, the most awesome group of radical feminist Avengers show up in a off-white passenger van like it’s a white knight on a horse! They call themselves the Matron Saints. They’re strapped for business. Apparently three women are killed for every man each Purge, and that’s not including the dramatic uptick for sexual assault and rape. These bad bitches are here to “protect the females of this fair nation for the gendercide of Purge.”

FUCK. YES. (This week, especially.)

Grey’s Anatomy 1501 – 1502: “With a Wonder and a Wild Desire” and “Broken”

Written by Carmen

I have good news, and I have bad news. The good news is that the two hour Grey’s Anatomy premiere last night featured THREE queer women! That’s right. Three. Which is quite a way to begin your apology tour to queer fans still licking our wounds over the lost of our beloved Dr. Arizona Robbins.

Now the bad news, not a single one of those queer women kiss anyone, touch anyone, or do anything explicitly “gay” (Well except for Intern Hellmouth Helm, because pining over an older straight woman who will never love you back is the gayest, just ask any lesbian or bisexual teen girl in America. Or half of our Autostraddle staff. Ahem.)

In case you were wondering, it’s a can of hairspray. Carina lost the bet.

Let’s start with Carina DeLuca. First of all, congratulations on not getting shipped off to the Parking Lot of No Return! Way to go, hot stuff! I thought for sure that with Arizona busy rekindling her sweet, sweet love with Callie Torres underneath New York City street lights, Carina was going to be on the first thing smoking out of Seattle. I’ve never been happier to be proven wrong. She doesn’t get to do a lot, just poke fun at her little brother’s growing God complex (blerg) and make a quick gay joke! Dr. Webber calls her in to do her Dr. Orgasm song-and-dance after a male patient shoved an “unknown object” up the butt, presumably to pleasure himself. Carina correctly diagnoses the problem as straight male stupidity, because – and I quote – “gay men know how to use proper sex toys, so that they don’t get lost up there.”

Sing it, sister. Queer sex is better sex, pass it on.

True Story: last season Helm said she wanted to literally drown in Meredith’s hair.

Intern Hellmouth (Dammit! I mean Intern Helm. This year will be the year we call Taryn Helm by her proper name, in Lesbian Jesus we pray. Amen.) continues to openly swoon over Meredith. It’s a full on puppy dog, heart eyes meltdown. Meredith gripes or barks or says whatever snarky comment she feels like spewing that day, and poor Helm just drools over her. I want to wrap her in a blanket, warm her up some soy milk with a cinnamon stick, and warn her about the ways of our people. Sadly, Intern Helm is a fictional character and therefore I cannot.

But, do you know who can? Cece, a professional matchmaker and patient of the week at Grey Sloan Memorial. She takes one look at Helm falling over herself in Meredith’s presence and tells her the hard truth that every baby gay has to hear at some point, “I spent 35 years of my life falling for straight women.” Helm stammers that she doesn’t know what Cece’s talking about, but our sage doesn’t let up. “Hook me up to that thing and sit down, let me save you from a whole life of misery.”

Not here to service your white plots. Not today. Not ever.

Here’s the thing; I want to like Cece. She’s funny and her blonde pixie cut is gorgeous. I like her attitude. I’m always and forever going to be on team queer black women. Y’all know that about me. Plus, with Meredith hiring Cece at the end of the episode to be her match maker, I think we will be seeing more of her in the future. That’s my worry. So far, everything about how her character is deployed in the premiere gives off Magical Negro trope vibes. That, I cannot abide. I’m not ringing the alarm bells yet, but let’s just say that my Spidey senses are very much tingling. Tread lightly, Grey’s.

Post-Op Thoughts:

We don’t talk about straight romances much around these parts, but UGH WHY DID THEY BRING TEDDY ALTMAN BACK FOR THIS?? She had a happy ending already. In Germany. I wanted that for her. She deserves better than yet another re-warmed love triangle involving Owen fucking Hunt.

For my Everything Sucks! fans, I can confirm that there’s a small Peyton Kennedy sighting in the first hour of the premiere. It looks like she’s gotten taller over the summer! Cute.

Glasses and Dr. Kim – I’m very much here for this.

How to Get Away With Murder 501: “Your Funeral”

Written by Natalie

LEATHER. PANTS.

Apparently, since the crown for the best-dressed character on television is up for grabs now that Olivia Pope has retired to the woods of Vermont, the HTGAWM wardrobe department has stepped up their game. The styling in this episode is flawless: Annalise in those leather pants. Tegan in that pencil skirt. Annalise in the bold colors (Viola Davis wears color better than anyone else in Hollywood. This is a fact). But I digress… [Editor’s note: That is not a digression!]

Annalise has her swagger back. Fresh off her big win at the Supreme Court, AK’s career prospects are looking up: she’s back in the classroom, teaching Advanced Trial Skills at Middleton, and being recruited by every law firm in Pennsylvania, both large and small. She’s unflinching in asking for what she’s worth, salary-wise, and is looking for a place to reunite her team — her, Bonnie and maybe Frank — to continue defending the plaintiffs from her class action suit. Of course, things can never be easy for AK and she’s dealt two roadblocks: first, Bonnie’s not particularly interested in leaving the DA’s office and second, as retribution for her class action suit, the governor is threatening any firm that brings Annalise onboard. All her offers are pulled and Annalise is left to wallow in a pint of Ben & Jerry’s.

After a pep talk from Frank — because that’s what he’s been reduced to now, pep talks and daddy duty — Annalise marches back into Caplan & Gold and reasserts herself. Knowing that she’s up against it, the partners at C&G pushback. Annalise won’t take less than what she’s worth, and they eventually offer her a job.

Know who’s not thrilled about Annalise joining the ranks of Caplan & Gold? Tegan Price. She wants a clean break from the Jorge Castillo mess — and, of course, she doesn’t want to be outed as the whistleblower. She can’t do that with Annalise around. As AK finalizes her deal, Tegan looks on with a mix of fear and thirst flashing on her face.

Tegan “The Thirst Is Real” Price, at your service

Back in the classroom, Annalise offers a year’s worth of law school tuition for the student with the highest ranking at the end of the semester, bringing back the competition between students that we saw in the first season. Another hallmark of season one that re-emerges? Asher Millstone being on the outside looking in. Annalise nixes his involvement in the class for being inauthentic and his classmates and Baby Christopher move into a house without him. After having spent most of Thursday listening to an overly privileged straight white man snarl over not having things go his way, seeing Asher’s react to everything felt not a little too on the nose for me.

Three months from now, someone on HTGAWM will die. They’ll be walking wounded, outside the space hosting Connor and Oliver’s wedding, before collapsing to the ground, staining the pure white snow with their crimson blood. The murder is shown entirely from the victim’s perspective this time — their view becomes ours — and, as we gasp for breath, we spot Baby Christopher sitting on the snow nearby as Bonnie comes to snuff out what’s left of our life.

As is their wont, HTGAWM will spend the next seven weeks slowly revealing clues to exactly who was or wasn’t murdered during the wedding. However, as Bonnie suffocated the wounded victim — as she suffocated us — I wondered if this is how the show ends. Is this just a new camera technique the show wanted to try out? Or should we take the audience’s apparent death as a sign that the end is nigh.

Quick Hits

Killjoys 410: “Sporemageddon”

The Season Four finale was intense and fun and great. Aneela was fantastic and The Lady saw her love for Delle Seyah as a weakness so tried to use her face to break her. And at first it seemed like it worked; Aneela said she wanted her family back (meaning Delle Seyah and Jaq) but then it looked like maybe she WASN’T really betraying Dutch, but THEN it looked like The Lady knocked her out and switched places with her. All I know for sure is that the last five minutes were fucking BONKERS and it set up next season (aka the last season) to be off to a pretty wild start. Also I don’t remember if I mentioned this but at one point this season, Zeph said, while in bed with Pip, “This is why I don’t date men,” which implies to me that she is bisexual/queer so I’m hoping that maybe Zeph can find a girlfriend to end the series with now that Pip’s gone. We’ll see! If you’re not watching this show, you now have a few months to catch up, and you should. I’ll wait. — Valerie Anne

9-1-1 201 – 202: “Under Pressure” and “7.1”

Lest you believe that the restrained version of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk that we were treated to on Pose this summer represented a real sea change for these two: FEAR NOT, 9-1-1 is back! Murphy and Falchuk are still concocting outlandish scenarios and writing with all the subtlety of a grenade or cement truck (both of which found their way into season two’s opening episodes). We didn’t get to see nearly enough of Aisha Hinds’ Hen this week, but given that episode 202 ended with an aftershock that sent Hen falling through the ruins of a structurally compromised hotel, I suspect next week will be a heavy episode for our favorite lesbian firefighter/paramedic. — Natalie

Mayans M.C.

This week, Alexandra Barreto, who you might remember as Jesús and Mariana’s biological mom from The Fosters, made her debut as Antonia Pena on Mayans M.C.. Pena is the mayor of Santo Padre, a small town near the California and Mexico border. She shows up at a crime scene where an immigrant’s been shot and killed by vigilantes while attempting to cross the border. At first, everyone suspects it’s the MAGA-crowd playing target practice, but when some oxycodone turns up, Pena suspects the immigrant was killed for the drugs he was muling. She asks the Mayans to investigate. Pena’s established a detente with the MC and the cartel, but if there’s a new drug pusher in town, all bets are off. She had a brief appearance, but the show was surprisingly explicit about defining her sexuality.

“Jesus, am I the only one not getting laid at [the brothel]?” she asks, at one point.

“You’ve already got a hot wife,” Bishop, the head of the MC, snarks back.

That’s all this week from the mayor, but if the mayor’s role on Sons of Anarchy foretells what we’ll see on Mayans M.C., we’re about to see a lot more of Antonia Pena. — Natalie

General Hospital

The last time Kristina’s mother, Alexis, interfered in her daughter’s life, she fled all the way to Oregon to escape the meddling. In the time since, it doesn’t appear that Alexis has learned her lesson because she needles Kristina for her job choice at her first opportunity. Kristina’s exhausted of her mother’s complaints and busies herself while Sam tries to talk Alexis out of interfering. Kristina understands that she’s given her mother cause for concern in the past but nothing she’s done lately — including her relationship with Parker — warrants her mother’s intrusion.

Just after Kristina’s done lamenting the lack of relationships in her life — American soaps are very subtle — she meets Daisy at the pub where she works. Daisy’s passing out flyers for a concert in the park. It’s too early to tell what’ll happen between the two — though, the last time Kristina went to a concert in the park, it was the beginning of her relationship with Parker — but they’re both adorable. As grateful as I am that there’s the prospect of romance on the horizon for Kristina, I do wonder how GH can leave the chemistry between Valerie and Kristina unexplored. — Natalie

The First 5 – 8

I’m super sad to report that nothing much came from LisaGay Hamilton’s Kayla Price in the Season One of The First! Well, she does get to go to space, and is part of the first manned mission to Mars, so that’s something. Still, I wanted so much more from her, you know? Particularly given the immense talent of the actress playing her.

If you recall, the plot for Kayla in the first half of the season was that she was removed from her leadership position on the team to make room for Sean Penn. Well, they eventually learn how to work together. Also, she also gets to have a deeply moving scene with her wife (Heeeey Tracie Thoms!) about her final decision to go to Mars. It’s short, but a real tear jerker, and both women nail it like the acting vets that they are.

If you hate Sean Penn and decide to never watch this show, I wouldn’t blame you one bit. If you can stand looking at his smug face without losing your lunch, and are looking for the kind of sleepy show you can binge from underneath a blanket on a hazy fall afternoon – you know, a cozy tv show where the plot moves slow enough, and the music is comforting enough, that the naps you inevitably take won’t mean you miss anything, then The First will give you that. It also has bonus lesbians who love each other and support each other and no one dies or cheats on the other! So! Yay? I guess. — Carmen

Emmerdale

This week, Charity went to confront her ailing father. Every awful thing that’s happened to her has been rooted in his decision to toss our out onto the streets and she wants to make him own his role in it all. The encounter is wholly unsatisfying; her father rewrites the history of one of Charity’s fondest childhood memories — daily trips to the beach — and replaces it with the horrible truth: they were searching for her mother’s body. Her father couldn’t take the daily reminders of his wife’s suicide so he’d thrown Charity out of the house. Knowing how abusive her father could be, Charity understands why her mother did it and forgives her for it.

Charity arrives back in Emmerdale, determined to make sure her kids don’t look at her the same way she looks at her father, but it’s a struggle. When things don’t come together right away, she takes her frustrations out on Vanessa. But once her kids all arrive and the view of her family starts to take shape, Charity apologizes and thanks Vanessa for sticking by her.

“I love you,” Charity admits for the first time. “I really, really, stupidly and completely love you.”

“Of course you do, because I wouldn’t go and fall in love with someone who didn’t love me back,” Vanessa jokes before assuring her girlfriend. “Charity Dingle, I really, really, stupidly and completely love you too.”

And my poor, poor cynical heart grew three sizes. — Natalie

The Good Place 301: “Everything Is Bonzer”

Get this: Eleanor and Chidi aren’t soul mates anymore in this iteration of The Good Place and Eleanor already asked Tahani to move in with her. MAKE IT GAY YOU COWARDS. — Heather

Boob(s on Your) Tube: “The Purge” TV Show Is VERY VERY Gay

Well, this year’s straight white Emmys were boring as all heck, huh? We live-blogged it, but only our rage was keeping us awake. It wasn’t all sleep-inducing teevee this week, though! Valerie Anne recapped Wynonna Earp. Heather wrote about Wanda Sykes and Issa Rae’s lesbian couple on this season of BoJack Horseman. She also ranked the outfits Carol Danvers wore in the new Captain Marvel trailer by lesbianism. Kayla reviewed the year’s top Mommi murder mystery, A Simple Favor. And our TV team published something we’ve been fantasizing about for a long time: a list of shows that need to MAKE IT GAY, YOU COWARDS.

Here’s what else!

The Purge: Episodes 1 – 3

Written by Carmen

Darling it’s better, Down where it’s wetter.

Ah, The Purge. A horror blockbuster franchise that’s creeped into our pop culture landscape over the last five years and become so ubiquitous that even without seeing a single movie, you already know the general premise. One night a year, on Purge night, all crime is legal for a 12 hour period. Yes, all crime.

Over the course of three movies, the bloody thrillers have gradually proven to be a not-so-subtle political commentary about race and class disparities in the United States. In the near future, a political party known as the New Founding Fathers of America have assumed control of our government (in the movies, they wear a lot of Trump MAGA styled paraphernalia, in case you miss the point – wink wink). The NFFA proudly spout patriotic catchphrases and cheer about a thriving economy as proof that they’ve saved America from itself. One of the cornerstones of their political philosophy is an annual Purge. The dominant rhetoric is that allowing free crime for one night releases a “pressure valve,” bringing down crime rates the rest of the year. Underneath this thin rhetoric, the NFFA are using the Purge to genocide people of color and the American working class, slowly leaving the country free of “undesirables” for the rich white people remaining.

Now that we’re caught up on the mythos, we can talk about why we are really gathered here today: THE. GAY.

The television series takes place after the Purge has been around for roughly a decade. We’re following three storylines of people as they “make it through” their Purge night. For the sake of time, I’m going to rank these storylines as follows:

1. Miguel, a veteran, is looking for his sister Penelope, who’s joined a cult that believes sacrificing yourself on Purge night is a holy honor: NOT AT ALL GAY (still, it provides crucial racial commentary that I think you should be aware of)

2. Jane’s a black stockbroker. She’s hired Bracka for the Purge (played by AzMarie Livingston, most famous for her time on America’s Next Top Model and most famous in my mind for being Raven Symoné’s ex-girlfriend – I’m sorry) to assassinate her racist, sexist, asshole Trump-like bro of a boss: MEDIUM GAY (AzMarie hasn’t had much to do yet. She looks cute and does pull ups. That’s fine by me. I’ve watched the pull up scene at least a dozen times in the last two weeks alone.)

I mean, I’m only human.

3. Jenna and Rick are well meaning white liberals attending an NFFA fundraiser on Purge night. They’re hoping to persuade an old, conservative, incredibly rich, NFFA donor to fund their mixed use/ low-income housing project. The couple runs into Lila, who definitely used to be their third in a poly relationship gone wrong! Did I mention that Lila is that old rich white guy’s daughter? And she’s still in love with Jenna? D-R-A-M-A: HIGH KEY GAY

OK. Let’s talk about the love triangle.

Just three humans, getting along…

First of all, if Rick dies in the Purge so Jenna and Lila can finally live out their love, I wouldn’t miss him. He’s… bland. Sack of Potatoes Rick. That’s what I shall call him! Lila definitely left their triad because she loved Jenna and Jenna still loved Rick. She has some kind of revenge plot planned for dear old Sack of Potatoes, and it definitely involves her rich father, but the details remain blurred. Lila and Jenna talk to each other in whispered hush tones, in shadowed hallways, and it’s all very hot. Also… they like to make out a lot? Too bad Jenna’s pregnant (presumably with Rick’s baby), but we can work with it.

Here’s some parting notes that I, as a hardcore scaredy cat, would want to know before jumping in: It’s not as bloody as the movies (much to the whining complaints of fanboys online), but there is still medium bloodshed. I watch it in the daytime hours with no problems, but couldn’t watch it night. For context, I love the Scream movies – as long as I watch them while the sun’s out – and I hate all the Saws. I’ve seen (and loved!) American Horror Story: Coven, but that was almost too much for me to handle. You absolutely can watch this without having seen any of the movies! The social commentary isn’t subtle, but still leaves you enough to chew on if you’re into that sort of thing. AND GIRLS HAVE KISSED EVERY EPISODE!!

Ok, my loves! Go forth and… maybe don’t murder each other? XOXO.

You 102: “The Last Nice Guy in New York”

Written by Heather Hogan

Hanna knows what Hanna means, bitch.

When I reviewed You‘s pilot episode, I explicitly told you not to watch it and I stand by that; there’s nothing but heartbreak here. However, if you are the kind of person who can keep yourself from becoming emotionally invested in fictional lesbians and are hanging around to get to that one scene from the show trailer where Shay Mitchell comes creeping out of her house in some lingerie holding a gun, may the goddesses bless your ministry.

This week on You, Dan Humphrey continued to torture the artisanal soda shop guy/Beck’s activity partner who is locked in a cage in his basement. Surely you know I hate Dan Humphrey and but also I hate artisanal soda shop guy, so it did bring me a small amount of pleasure every time Dan tweeted from Soda Shop’s Twitter, purposefully misspelling things and using the wrong version of “you’re.” But that’s not all this motherfucker is up to. He stalks Beck to a dinner she’s having with her professor, and when he gets handsy with her, he swoops in and saves the day. She, in turn, invites him to Peach’s party. What kind of party? The one she throws for herself on the anniversary of her parents’ divorce, obviously.

Beck ditches Dan at the party, so he wanders into Peach’s library. It’s like the one from Beauty and the Beast, only downsized for a Manhattan apartment, full of all these old books that probably came from JD Salinger himself (look, she doesn’t want to talk about the Salinger thing!). She calls him Joseph, he calls her Peaches, and then, in 30 seconds, she proceeds to interrogate him with more intellectual curiosity and suspicion than Emily Fields managed in 27 seasons of Pretty Little Liars. She’s also finally does the thing no NYC TV show ever does, which is, like, “So you met at this bookstore in the village and then you saved her on the train tracks in Greenpoint and then you just happened to be in the UWS when her professor started groping her? That’s, like, a lot of traveling in a city where most people only leave their block to go to work.” He knows she knows. She doesn’t know he knows she knows; nor does she know about the glass cage where he keeps his foes.

Peach? Longer for this world than most of Emily’s girlfriends, but not by much.

Atypical Season Two

Written by Heather Hogan

Thank you to everyone who suggested Atypical to us! I watched both seasons this week and really enjoyed it! For the uninitiated, Atypical is about a teenage boy named Sam who’s on the autistic spectrum, and his family. One of those family members is his younger sister, Casey, who plays mostly a supporting role in season one. However, in season two she moves to a new school and starts getting her own storylines, one of which is queer!

Casey is played by real life queer person Brigette Lundy-Paine, and in season two she starts attending a private school where she engages in a tale as old as time. That tale is: Izzie, the girl she tries to befriend bullies her — but only because she likes her (likes her, likes her), which becomes fully apparent when they almost press their mouthes against each others mouths but are interrupted. GAY! It sounds kind of trite, but it’s not. There’s actually something really deep and authentic about their connection and the way their story unfolds. It gets you in your guts. In the very last episode, they don’t kiss. But they do hold hands. (It’s more powerful than it sounds.)

Lundy-Paine told Vulture:

I think Casey’s incredibly confused. She’s just turned 16. She’s very focused on school — she didn’t even want a boyfriend. But I think that her friendship with Izzie has awoken something in her. She’s been put so much out of her comfort zone that she’s able to feel these new feelings without judgment. I think it’s terrifying her, but she does feel something so intense for Izzie. I hope that it goes on in season three. She’s been awoken, as we might say, to her young queer youth. I don’t even think she’s thinking like, Oh my God, I’m gay. I think she’s like, This is really different and something about this makes me feel whole.

She thinks Casey’s sexuality will be really explored if the show gets a third season!

Quick Hits

The Young & the Restless

Mariah returned from a work trip this week only to have her girlfriend recoil when Mariah greeted her with a hug. When asked about her reaction, Tessa makes up some excuses — she was startled, she injured herself at work — before finally admitting that she was attacked by the people to whom she owes money. Mariah’s ready to empty her savings account to eliminate this threat but Tessa won’t hear of it. Instead, she asks Mariah to help her find a better job so she repay the debt and, of course, Mariah being the best girlfriend ever, she does just that. By that evening, Mariah’s hooked Tessa up with gig at her future step-father’s new venture and even shows up on her first night at work, to keep an understandably anxious Tessa company.

I still don’t understand what Y&R‘s doing with Tessa but I thought this week’s scenes really underscored why Mariah’s so willing to believe her. The girl’s blinded by love.

“You give me so much,” Mariah assures Tessa. “You make me happy, you make me laugh and you make me feel loved which means more to me than anything.”

Also? I need for Camryn Grimes to wear that shade of lipstick forever and always. — Natalie

Killjoys 309: “The Kids are Alright”

Our darling Delle Seyah Kendry was back in this episode, if only for a moment. And the episode ended with the triumphant return of our other Green Queen, Aneela. And this was some Tatiana Maslany shit: Dutch downed some green so Aneela could come through it and into her body and Hannah John-Kamen was LYING ON THE FLOOR and you could see the shift between the two identical-only-in-looks characters. It was truly astounding, and I have a feeling we’re in for quite the ride in the finale. (Just kidding I’ve already seen the screener I KNOW we’re in for quite the ride in the finale.) — Valerie Anne

The First 1 – 4

Last Friday Hulu dropped the entire 10 episode season of Sean Penn’s new show The First, which is about a crew of astronauts attempting to become the first humans on Mars. When I heard Sean Penn’s name, I pretty much opted out immediately! Then I found out that LisaGay Hamilton — who I’ve loved since The Practice way back in the ‘90s! – was playing a black queer astronaut, so I agreed to give it a shot. I’m only about halfway through now, and sadly so far she doesn’t have much going on! Her character, Kayla Price, really picks up around episode three, but she’s a bit in stasis. She was removed from her leadership position to be replaced by Sean Penn’s veteran astronaut Tom Hagerty. So, rightfully, she thus far spends a lot of time complaining to her wife how powerful white men are The Worst^TM.

Oh, and guess who’s playing her wife? Tracie Thoms!! In her third queer role this year! Take a bow! It’s heartbreakingly rare to see two black women in love on television, so I’m rooting for this pairing to work out. We’ll finish catching up next week! — Carmen

Coronation Street

Paula Martin came back to Coronation Street to defend her old classmate, Sally Metcalfe, against some spurious fraud charges, but instead she’s found herself enamored with Sally’s youngest daughter, Sophie. When she’s not hooking up with Sophie, she’s yawning and drinking copious amounts of coffee to get through legal strategy sessions with Sally…but this week she gets caught.

After a midday hook-up with Sophie, Paula’s straightening her clothes when Sally shows up unexpectedly. Paula tries to cover up her tryst with Sophie by suggesting that she’d been busy with Kevin but that lie unravels quickly when Kevin walks through the door. When Sophie emerges from upstairs, Sally starts to put the pieces together and chastises Paula for carrying on with her daughter, instead of focusing on her case. Sophie rightly points out that Sally was fine with Paula’s commitment to the case until she found it was Sophie she was carrying on with and not Kevin. Sally leaves in a huff.

Convinced that she can handle things better on her own, Sally fires Paula and then commits one self-defeating move after another, landing her in prison. There, she quickly draws the ire of her cellmate and gets beaten up when she won’t hand over her phone credits. She tearfully calls Sophie — who’s shouldering a lot of the blame for her mother’s circumstance — to ask for her to recruit Paula back to her side.

Of course, Paula agrees to come back to Sally’s legal team and she also assures Sophie that, despite what’s happened, she’s not ready to let go of the special thing they’ve found. I don’t know how long this will last but for now I’m kind of loving it…Sophie deserves someone who cares about her and won’t let her sacrifice her happiness for everyone else’s comfort. You go, Sophie Webster! — Natalie

Boob(s On Your) Tube: The Sinner’s Black Lesbian Detective Digs Up an Old First Love Story to Understand a New Murder

Rejoice! Fall TV is finally almost here! This week our TV team even made you a guide about when and where to find all the queers coming your way this autumn! Also, Valerie recapped a holigay episode of Wynonna Earp and Heather counted down some of her favorite TV fever dreams! Now, we are here to tell you all about The Sinner and then it’s just Quick Hits for the rest. Hang tight, we’re almost out of this summer’s television wasteland!

Also, Riese is really truly going to publish a thing about Harlots next week, she promises.

The Sinner Season Two

Written by Riese

I watched the entire first season of The Sinner last month with my friends Kristin and Gretchen while addressing envelopes for A+ members. By the time I’d finished all the A+ packages we had maybe three episodes left, and I gave it my full face and heart, which became gradually more hazardous to my general well-being as the twisty cuckoo clock mystery wound its way into a traumatizing and genuinely shocking finale.

The Sinner is produced by Jessica Biel, who was one of two girls I crushed on before knowing I was gay (the other was Britney Spears which unfortunately means I have the same taste in women as Justin Timberlake) and it’s an anthology series, which means the second season is an entirely new, Jessica Biel-free story. The only carryover from Season One is Bill Pullman’s Detective Harry Ambrose, who talks into his beard primarily and to the room secondarily. If you were born in the ’80s like me then Bill Pullman is basically your Dad, but also the President of the United States, a generous supporter of the Newsies strike and the co-star of the classic Ellen DeGeneres rom-com Mr. Wrong.

Anyhow! The Sinner is best described as not a “who done it” but rather a “why done it” — in both seasons, it’s clear who committed the murder, what’s unclear is why on earth they’d do such a thing. The other mystery is why Harry Ambrose cares to much, but okay fine.

Season One had what some conservative websites referred to as “lesbian incest” (this was my punishment for googling “The Sinner Lesbian Incest”) but if you’ve seen it you know that’s not really exactly what happened! Therefore it’s safe to say that Season One did not contain any genuine lesbian content or characters.

Season Two, however, has a lesbian character right there in the forefront! Her name is Heather Novak, she’s a Black detective-in-training who is investigating the double-murder of a couple who’d escaped this Mosswood commune, which is basically a cult with a megalomaniac white man at its ideological roots of course. The murderer is Julian, a kid born on the commune who the murdered couple took with them on what was allegedly a trip to Niagra Falls but it’s unclear where they were really going or who if anybody (for example Julian?) believed they were actually going to Niagra Falls.

But why did Julian, this innocent little child, murder this couple? It’s a mystery! Novak calls Ambrose, an old friend of her fathers who grew up in Keller, New York, where the story takes place, to come help her navigate it. Before long they begin to butt heads as she suspects his unorthodox methods could be compromising his loyalties and ability to help with the investigation.

The case is particularly affecting for Heather because she lost her best friend/first love, Marin, to Mosswood’s psychological clutches. For ten years there’s been no word of Marin, and Heather seems herself emotionally tethered to Keller until she gets the closure she needs on Marin. The pain of her first love never loving her back the way she wanted her to is compounded, then, by how Heather ended up losing not just their potential, but also Marin’s entirely actuality. Maybe forever. I mean, chances are good Marin isn’t alive anymore.

Heather keeps a lot inside, and how! She’s one of very few Black people in Keller — her father is white, her mother is dead — and she only came out to her Dad a few years prior to the series’ events. Years of editing herself and compromising her truths to construct a life that fits into Keller’s scripts are always right there beneath the surface. Her relationship to Marin ends up being an unexpected point of entry and even a central element to navigating the mystery of Mosswood, and as their high school relationship is gradually told through flashbacks, the present begins piecing itself together as well.

I won’t say too much more — I want you to watch it, and I don’t want to give it all way. But do watch it, if you, like me, are drawn to dark stories that genuinely keep you guessing. At times the narrative feels a bit derivative, especially if you’ve watched literally everything about cults that has ever been produced for television or if the last time you saw Carrie Coon in a show, it was The Leftovers. But that’s easy to overlook, ultimately, and there’s so many other things making it impossible to look away.

Quick Hits

Killjoys 406: “Baby, Face Killer”

Delle Seyah’s baby rapid-grew into a pre-teen and now he’s learning about how he kind of has four parents? He was born from Delle Seyah’s body and his DNA is made up of D’avin and Aneela, but Dutch is technically a sort of clone of Aneela, so probably shares just as much DNA with him? It’s all very confusing for everyone involved, but it was still nice to hear little Jacobis (Jack for short) ask about Delle Seyah and his “other mother” while learning how to be a Killjoy from auntie/sister/mama Dutch. I sure hope Aneela gets to meet him soon. And that she’s reunited with Delle Seyah, who got the hells out dodge last ep. — Valerie Anne

Coronation Street

Since her father’s funeral, Rana’s been keeping up the rouse of her and Kate’s break-up, much to Kate’s chagrin and to her mother’s delight. Feeling the warmth of her mother’s love again and hoping that they might be able to permanently mend their relationship, Rana accepts the invitation to accompany her on a six-week cruise. Her mother’s so pleased, she urges Imran to split his inheritance with Rana after all. Surely, Hassan wouldn’t have cut her out of his will if he’d known she was back on the “right path.” That revelation is enough to break Rana’s resolve to keep her relationship a secret and the truth spills out; unsurprisingly, Rana’s mother leaves, disgusted.

Later, mother and daughter cross paths again on the Cobbles and their argument resumes. Rana defends Kate and their relationship unequivocally and pushes her mother to accept their relationship.

Rana: Do you see how ridiculous you’re being?
Saira: My faith isn’t ridiculous.
Rana: It’s my faith too.
Saira: How can you say that? You’ve turned your back on your God, your family, your faith!
Rana: I haven’t, Mom. They turned their back on me and so have you.

I loved this conversation — it’s one that anyone who’s grappled with their faith and their sexuality can relate to — and it’s a beautiful piece of acting from Bhavna Limbachia, but it was diminished by the show’s awful pacing. Everything happens way too fast; in a heartbeat, Rana’s mother — who once tried to kidnap her daughter — goes from outright rejection to acceptance and it feels dishonest and unearned.

Kate finds the evolution as hard to believe as I do and, when she learns Rana still plans to leave with her mother for six weeks, Kate tells Rana in no uncertain terms that she won’t be waiting when Rana gets back. After some gentle cajoling from Daniel, Kate softens and when Saira comes to collect Rana’s passport, Kate promises that she’ll be waiting for Rana when they return from their cruise.

Thankfully, she gets the opportunity to deliver the message straight to Rana before she leaves Weatherfield. As Saira snidely looks on, Kate apologizes and urges Rana to make amends with her mother. They exchange I Love You‘s and hugs before Rana departs. — Natalie

General Hospital

After delaying her return to Oregon, Kristina ultimately decided to head back to Oregon this week to collect her belongings and end her relationship with Parker. They’re still in love, but Kristina admits that love might not be enough. She muses about how much she had to give up to follow Parker to Oregon which… I mean… when she left Port Charles last time, she had no real friends, aside from her sisters and her retconned friendship with Valerie, she’d dropped out of grad school and was working as a barista at her dad’s coffee shop. She didn’t really give up much.

If these are the hoops that GH is making fans jump through just to justify Kristina being back on the canvas, my hopes for this storyline just got even lower. — Natalie

The Young & the Restless

Tessa’s back. After getting her fugitive sister settled elsewhere, she returned to Genoa City to resume her life and rekindle her relationship with Mariah. Seconds after Tessa’s walked in the door, Mariah fears are all erased — she’s spent the last week worried and even went so far as to hire a private investigator — and she asks her mother to pledge her support to their relationship. But Mariah’s fears return when Tessa reveals that she needs to raise $20k to pay the people that helped get her sister settled. — Natalie

Younger 512: “Lizability”

Younger finally did what I’ve always wanted it to do, but never believed it’d get close to it — it put Hilary Duff in charge of everything and kicked Charles to the curb! It makes sense: Millennial is keeping the entire company afloat, and has been for a while, and that’s all thanks to her and Liza. Charles steps aside because — surprise! — news breaks that he’s dating an assistant in her 20s and it’s rightfully a scandal. On the queer front, Lauren tells Josh the best way to figure out if he wants to donate sperm to partake in a cacao ceremony. He does and decides he wants to father Liza’s baby. Apparently he read his vision wrong, though, because he’s already got a baby on the way and it’s in Clare’s uterus. This was hands down my favorite season of this silly summer show; maybe the love triangle can be the B-plot next season and the main story can be about these powerful publishing broads! — Heather

Boobs on Your Tube: Canada Out-Gays Itself Again With “Burden of Truth”

Fall TV is creeping closer so I hope you’re ready for our annual Queer Fall TV preview and also a post called MAKE IT GAY YOU COWARDS about all the shows that should be gay. This week Riese remembered when Madonna kissed Britney and Christina, Heather remembered Princess Bubblegum and Marceline’s best moments, Carmen and Natalie discussed season three of Queen Sugar and Nova’s silent bisexuality, Valerie Anne recapped Wynonna Earp, and we all banded together to give some of our favorite TV characters a little bit of advice.

Here’s what else!

Younger 511: “Fraudlein”

Written by Heather Hogan

Oh wow this storyline is so brand new and shocking.

WHY. WHY!!! WHY?!

Actually, hang on. Younger goes to Fuckfurt (TM Martha Plimpton) for the penultimate episode of season five and Diana shines brighter than the sun, performing Cabaret and looking sexy as all hell and is if that weren’t enough you have to read this interview with Miriam Shore who might actually be Diana Trout. She went to the head of TV Land to ask him to take the show to Italy this year because she speaks Italian and also hated not getting to go to Ireland last year! They went to Germany instead because of stupid Charles, though. Speaking of which: Charles has thrown a hail Mary bringing them all to Europe because there’s only three months of money left to cover Empirical’s operating costs and he needs some international investors. He gets some maybe, and then gets some definitely from Liza who decides to go to work for Martha Plimpton so she can bone Charles and get out from under her secret. But it breaks Kelsey’s heart when she tells her! She says they were supposed to be in this together! And yes the lying and Liza’s terrible relationship choices have been a real pain in her ass but they’re best friends! I guess in the finale we’re going to find out if it really is ovaries before brovaries for Liza.

Back to my flip out: Malkie and Maggie JUST GOT BACK TOGETHER and immediately Malkie reveals that she wants to have babies, and Josh of course volunteers to be the sperm donor. Maggie cannot believe she’s hearing this, and frankly neither can Lauren, who warns against lesbians having babies because they’re just going to be straight probably. “It’s like mice having a litter of kittens,” she explains. “Sure it’s cute at first, but they’re going to turn. They’re going to turn!” I don’t know if Maggie and Malkie will survive this baby reveal, but I do know I’m suddenly hardcore shipping Maggie and Lauren again!

Burden of Truth 101-105

Written by Natalie

This summer, Burden of Truth, the Canadian legal drama that aired earlier this year on the CBC, is getting a second life on the CW. The show itself feels very off-brand for the network — though it stars and is produced by CW alum, Kristin Kreuk — but given that it features an adorable pair of baby gays, it’s very on brand for Autostraddle, so let’s dig into this series.

When girls start to fall ill in the sleepy Canadian town of Millwood, townfolk begin looking for a culprit. Initially, they target one common link between the victims — the HPV vaccine — and the smalltown lawyer, Billy Crawford, sets his sights on the pharmaceutical company behind the vaccine. The company sends their high-powered lawyer and former Millwood resident, Joanna Hanley (Kreuk), to squash the lawsuit and to get the girls’ families to sign indemnity agreements. But before the ink can dry on the contracts, another girl falls ill… this time, right in front of Joanna.

The newest victim of this unknown illness? Molly Ross (Sara Thompson), Billy’s niece. When Joanna worries that that this might revive the case against her clients, Molly’s girlfriend, Luna (Star Slade), steps in to tell her that they never got the vaccine — because they’re lesbians which is an actual thing — and they’d lied about it to keep their sexuality a secret. While the revelation absolves Joanna’s client of wrongdoing, she decides to stick around and work with Billy to find the true culprit.

Though Molly’s quickly released from the hospital, this illness — whatever it is and whatever it’s caused by — has changed her whole life. She was once a star athlete, already garnering attention from universities for her prowess on the soccer field, but how she’s suffering neurological deficits: twitching, the inability to control her hands and the occasional seizure. Luna’s there to comfort Molly but she doesn’t crowd her; instead, Molly leans on this unwitting sorority — the twitching girls of Millwood — to grapple with her new reality. Meanwhile, Luna gets herself hired as Joanna’s assistant and works to help Molly that way. Luna and Joanna build a great rapport and, the exposure to environmental law has Luna thinking about a new career path.

There’s something beautifully simple about the relationship between Molly and Luna. Even as they deal with the fallout from Molly’s illness, their relationship imbues this show with joy and life. They hold hands, they kiss by their lockers, they hang out and drink with their friends, they plan for their future… they are typical teens as everything else around them is surreal. What makes this relationship particularly noteworthy, though, is that it features a First Nation lesbian character which is a rarity on television (only The Killing and the forthcoming season of American Gods have featured First Nation lesbian characters). Luna’s lineage becomes its own storyline in the show, as she heads to Long Grass First Nation with Joanna, against her mother’s wishes, to celebrate her kookum’s birthday.

There’s a thin veneer of homophobia in Millwood — in the most recent episode, when the town pastor links the girls’ illness to sinning, it’s hard to believe he’s not talking about Molly and Luna — but the more blatant discrimination that Burden of Truth showcases is about these girls and their illness. Families in Millwood are afraid of what’s affecting these girls…worried that it might be communicable…so the girls are bullied, ostracized and threatened with suspension and expulsion at school. And when the danger to those families becomes not just about health but also about their livelihoods — the town’s largest employer is likely responsible for poisoning the girls — threats turn to outright violence.

When the principal bans the sick girls from attending the prom, they show up anyway, dressed to nines and ready to enjoy a rite of passage. When some classmates try to block their entry, a fight breaks out and Luna is detained by the the police. Molly works quickly with her uncle to set up an alternative prom for all the “good peeps [and] none of the haters” at the local watering hole and the girls get to enjoy one last carefree night.

Five more episodes of Burden of Truth are left to air on the CW this summer, so it’s a nice way to fill your television watching schedule between now and the start of fall TV.

Quick Hits

Killjoys Episode 405: “Greening Pains”

Delle Seyah and Aneela have been separated this season, but our girl Kendry has been at the heart of these first few episodes, sassing it up and, well, having a baby. In order to get the rapidly-growing Hullen baby, created from Aneela and D’avin’s DNA, out of her, Zeph had to turn Delle Seyah human again, which should be interesting when Aneela returns from The Green and finds her murder-girlfriend quite different from when she left. — Valerie Anne

Ackley Bridge 212

There wasn’t much storyline for Nasreen Paracha in Ackley Bridge‘s season finale, as much of the episode’s focus fell to the Grade 11s taking their final exams. Nas’ sister, Razia, returns to school to take her GCSEs and, during a break, she and Nas settle their fight. Turns out, Raz isn’t bothered by her sister’s sexuality; she’s just hurt that her sister didn’t trust her enough to tell her. After exams, the Grade 11s pile into a pink stretch limo and go to the prom, while Nas and Sam take advantage of the empty house. The season ends, as it began, with Nas and Missy sitting on the neighborhood’s abandoned couch, having a drink and a laugh.

As the credits rolled on the finale, Channel 4 announced that Ackley Bridge will return next year with a new series and I’m thrilled. While this show’s not without its shortcomings, they’ve been able to navigate through some complex issues this season with a deft hand and I’m looking forward to seeing what stories they’ll tell in a new season. Plus, few English-language shows have offered this broad representation of Muslim youth — kids just being kids — and that’s been refreshing to see.

If you haven’t been able to catch Ackley Bridge on Channel 4, the second series is coming to Acorn TV on September 24. — Natalie

Coronation Street

After suffering a stroke at his 60th birthday party, Rana’s father died last Friday on Coronation Street. Rana was only permitted to see him after she convinced her mum that she and Kate had split up and that she’d finally seen the error of her ways. The plan had been Kate’s originally — Rana baulked at the idea — but it’s the only thing that gets her in the door. Rana’s gutted to know that the last words she spoke to her father were lies.

As the Habeebs prepare to lay their father to rest, Rana keeps the ruse up and Kate is completely understanding. But once the funeral is over, Rana still wants to keep the lie going — including moving into her brother’s place temporarily — and Kate’s patience is wearing thin. The moment echos of when Kate and Rana first got together and Rana wouldn’t tell her then-husband about their affair…and just like then, the lying proves untenable for Kate.

In happier news: Sophie Webster’s getting a girlfriend! The most long-suffering lesbian on the Cobbles is finally getting a girlfriend, though, from the sound of things, love won’t come easy. The show’s just introduced us to Paula, an old classmate of Sophie’s mum, Sally, who comes to town to aid in Sally’s legal defense. Sally’s thrilled to discover that Paula has a lesbian daughter too and makes plans to set Sophie and Paula’s daughter up when they return from their respective travels. But, if spoilers are too be believed, it’s not Paula’s daughter that Sophie will end up with, it’s Paula. That is not going to go over well with Sally Webster, that’s for sure. — Natalie

Boob(s On Your) Tube: “The Fosters” (Kind Of) Goes There With Mariana and Emma

Goodness gracious, that The Bold Type finale. Also, did you see The Carmilla Movie trailer is here? Riese is recapping American Horror Story: Cult for you; her review of the first episode is right here. Our writers weighed in on their favorite queer shows this summer in a quick roundtable. And here’s what else is happening as summer TV winds down.

The Fosters

The MVP of The Fosters is consistently Cierra Ramirez. She can do anything. But my favorite thing is when she does comedy. For example, shouting, “MY OWN DAMN BROTHER?! THIS IS THE WORST PROM EVER!” when she sees Jesus kissing Emma who, only moments before, had been pretending to be Mariana’s girlfriend to put Logan’s girlfriend at ease because she (rightly) thinks Mariana is into him. I know I should be over girls kissing for fake reasons on TV, but unlike shows in the past that have used it to satisfy the male gaze and drum up publicity, this kiss came out of nowhere and was played for laughs, but not at the expense of queer women. Emma was just trying to be a good friend, and also she was drunk, and Mariana doesn’t think anything’s weird at all about being queer because her moms are lesbians. Also, you know I’ve been shipping Mariana and Emma since day one.

Also, honestly, Mariana deserves a good time at her own prom! She saved it from being cancelled by their supervillain principal by planning it from the ground up and executing it in the roller derby warehouse. Like in a day she throws a whole beautiful prom.

That wasn’t even the gayest thing that happened in The Fosters finale. The gayest thing that happened was Stef’s high school best friend and now-neighbor Tess admitting she was into Stef in high school, in a gay way, and wondering if maybe he marriage sucks because she’s gay. It was an inevitable confession and Stef handles it like a champ, especially considering the fact that the coming out is sandwiched between seeing her straight kid make out with her son’s ex-girlfriend and another one of her kids telling her that ICE has shown up at prom to Ximena.

The episode opens with Ximena giving an impassioned speech at an immigration rally talking about how Trump’s America is not the America she believes in, but outing herself as undocumented in the process. Stef’s idea is to arrest Ximena for something minor because she has jurisdiction over ICE, but Callie and AJ don’t wait for that to happen. While Stef is pushing back against ICE, she and AJ get in the car and go on the run with Ximena. She does let Stef know what’s happening as it happens, though, which means she’s learned something since last season’s finale. Stef tells them to go to a church and get Noah’s pastor mom to meet them there, so Ximena can declare sanctuary. It’s harrowing and heartbreaking and it aired the very same night Trump announced he was ending DACA.

Sometimes (a lot of times) The Fosters tries to do too much, but some of that too much is some of the best storytelling about current issues we have on TV. The episode ends with the ICE agents chasing Ximena, Callie, and AJ into a church, and then the three of them standing in the sanctuary with police lights flashing outside and turning the whole place red.

Killjoys

Written by Valerie Anne

I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to finally get to write about Killjoys. For three seasons, I’ve been enjoying this fierce, funny, feminist show about a badass bounty hunter in space (Dutch) and her team (John and D’avin). The show has been shades of queer before — the bartender, Pree, is a staple in the bar that serves as a hub for the team; Delle Seyah Kendry was not shy about her affections for Dutch and Dutch hate-flirted right back. (My favorite exchange of those was when Delle Seyah said, “I snap and you come,” and Dutch quipped back, “You must be one hell of a snapper.”) but there wasn’t any real queer lady storyline to write home about…UNTIL NOW.

Okay, fast forward to Season 3, Dutch has learned that there’s a woman named Aneela who looks exactly like her running around, and she’s trying to figure out who exactly she is. She’s basically a meaner, slightly creepier version of Dutch, so when Delle Seyah finds herself face-to-face with this familiar but unfamiliar face, and that face wants to kiss her the way Delle Seyah always wanted Dutch to, she finds it hard to resist.

Maybe for Delle Seyah Kendry, it’s one part attraction, one part survival instinct, but all parts sexy and you can’t gal pal this relationship because they woke up together and very specifically talked about how great the sex was.

And even if it’s partly a power move on Kendry’s part, Aneela’s feelings are as real as her feelings get, because when she can’t find Kendry, she collapses in sadness. Gander, the grouchiest of the Hullen, shows Kendry that Aneela isn’t really as in charge as they let her thin and sends her off to get a “treatment,” he thinks he’s won. But he underestimated two things: How powerful Aneela is and how much she values the few she does care about.

So even though Aneela is taking a goo bath, Kendry’s screams cut through to the land of memories the goo transported her to, and Aneela’s connection to Delle Seyah ground her in reality. With the help of her handmaid, Brynn, and her feelings for Kendry, Aneela fully emerges from Gooville and she. is. PISSED.

Realizing her girl is in danger, she goes on a damn murder spree to find her. It’s beautiful. The women end up rescuing each other and they ask each other on the classic second date of torture and ice cream.

Aneela calls Kendry her tether, and the two start formulating a plot to end all plots.

Okay so while she was kidnapped, Kendry had been impregnated by a baby made from Aneela and D’avin’s DNA, which wasn’t what Aneela had intended (she was the one who developed the science to make it possible for Hullen to reproduce) but it doesn’t change the hungry way she looks at Delle Seyah, so it’s fine.

In the finale, Delle Seyah infiltrates Dutch’s ship, speaking of parlay, and telling Dutch something I thought was interesting: “Every proper villain is someone else’s hero. I guess she’s mine.” Delle Seyah had been almost murdered and left for dead, stripped of her power and her humanity, but Aneela gave her all of that back. Plus with bonus kisses. So Delle Seyah and Aneela work together to bring their plans to fruition and I won’t give too many details away in case you haven’t seen it yet but it’s a really great finale.

I will tell you my favorite exchange, because I think it encapsulates why my favorite Twitter nickname for them is Murder Girlfriends. At one point, amidst the chaos, Kendry sees Aneela, and before they part ways they share a mid-war/this-could-be-the-last kiss and Kendry says, “Be careful,” and Aneela responds simply: “Be brutal.”

Killjoys is set in that fun type of space world where sexuality seems fluid across the board, but it was nice have a canon queer relationship build and be pivotal to the main plot of the back half of the season, especially with a regular character who had been the most obviously into women to date (or at least into Dutch/Dutch-faced humanoids). The show overall has been just a delight every summer, with little things I love in it, like a sassy spaceship, really killer fight scenes, quips galore, a totally always-platonic friendship between a man who likes women and a woman who likes men, and of course, my favorite always, themes of found family.

Odd Mom Out

Written by Valerie Anne

Hey, Odd Mom Out had a queer storyline last night! The main character, Jill, finds out one of her fellow moms had a lesbians-until-Labor-Day affair with another mom and that one left her husband but the other didn’t, and after Jill encourages the one mom to follow her heart, she uses a boom box app to play their spin class workout song and they get together, living happily ever after (for the rest of the night) in the beaver exhibit at the Natural History Museum