“To L and Back” L Word Podcast Episode 305: Lifeline with Gaby Dunn

This week on “To L and Back,” noted bisexual and prolific author Gaby Dunn of the “Bad With Money” podcast joins us for an analysis of “Lifeline,” Riese’s favorite episode of the season! It contains THREE entire sex scenes, a stunning confession from Tina about her extracurricular activities with Daddyof2, a classic “is she or isn’t she a vampire” escapade, tight trousers, a strap-on mystery, bisexual speed dating, a surprise haircut for Cherie Peroni in FULL MOMMI SPLENDOR, Jenny’s trip to the store for a six-pack and also some truly tragic events for Dana and Max. Plus: Tina didn’t know Buddhism could be so expensive!

Bette (with curly dark hair and a black deep-v blouse) is in her house. She just finished meditating. She hears a beep come from her email.

The screen of a chat room that Tina has been in, talking to DaddyOf2. It shows dark blue text on a light blue background. The message reads, "dyke with baby seeks real man for good fuck."

Tina, wearing a purple blouse and her hair in curls, looks up at a new client, who has just asked her what her husband does for work. Tina says, "He's a power forward for the L.A. Clippers."

Billie is wearing a black suit, white shirt, black tie, and a monocle, and is holding a microphone in one hand and a long cigarette in the other. He is hosting Bisexual Speed Dating in a crowded room of people. He announces to the crowd, "Now, as our lovely friend Tom Cruise once said, the bar is open!"

Alice (wearing a white satin blouse) is trying to convince Helena (wearing an olive deep-v dress) to stay and try out Bisexual Speed Dating. Alice tells Helena, "look at the world as your bisexual oyster."

Bette and Tina are laying in bed together. Bette asks Tina about the chat messages she saw earlier from Daddyof2, saying to Tina, "he said he has a big hard-on."

Helena and Dylan sit in front of a computer screen in a dark room. The sound of a gunshot comes from the computer.

Cherie has arrived at the skate shop for Shane to cut her hair. She asks Shane, "is this where you want me?"

Tina (with straight blonde hair and a white shirt buttoned up all the way) sits in her house. She says to Bette, "I didn't know that you needed special clothes to meditate."

Close-in shot of Bette meditating. Her eyes are closed and she is wearing a black shirt. Her face is glowing in the sunlight.

Jenny and Max are sitting on the floor at home while Max cleans the floors. Jenny has just asked Max how his job interview went that day. Max responds, "I'm not fish or fowl."

Jenny and Max sit on their bed. Jenny is sitting with her needs up against her chest, and Max has turned to look at her. Jenny says, "I want you to wear tight trousers."

Alice (and her new vampire girlfriend, Uta) are at a crowded dance party at Shane's skate shop. Alice is wearing a u-shaped black top and sees Jenny and Max dancing closely with each other. Alice says, "Wow, she's packing."

Tina is laying in bed, her arms behind her head, looking at Bette off screen. Tina says, "I love Vermont."

Billy and Shane stand next to each other at a crowded party. Billy is wearing a tank top that says "fuck yoga" and Shane is wearing her signature white button up under a black blazer. Billy says, "really working the big boys, huh?"

Alice is talking on the phone in a room surrounded with candles. Helena says through the phone, referring to her research about vampires, "they don't like to debate about religion."

Tina is wearing a black tank top and is a dimly lit bedroom. She says, "I fucked DaddyOf2..."

Tina is wearing a black tank top and is a dimly lit bedroom. She says, "on the Internet."

An aerial shot of Shane and Cherie having sex in Bette and Tina's pool. Cherie's back is up against the side of the pool and her hands are gripping the sides.

Podcast Episode Index:

+ Gaby Dunn on instagram and twitter and her book Bury the Lede
+ Kimberly Pierce’s Boys Don’t Cry
+ Mommi is the New Daddy
+ How to Bind
+ The Deleted Scene
+ Arts and Museums Salary Transparency

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Riese

Riese is the 41-year-old Co-Founder of Autostraddle.com as well as an award-winning writer, video-maker, LGBTQ+ Marketing consultant and aspiring cyber-performance artist who grew up in Michigan, lost her mind in New York and now lives in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in nine books, magazines including Marie Claire and Curve, and all over the web including Nylon, Queerty, Nerve, Bitch, Emily Books and Jezebel. She had a very popular personal blog once upon a time, and then she recapped The L Word, and then she had the idea to make this place, and now here we all are! In 2016, she was nominated for a GLAAD Award for Outstanding Digital Journalism. She's Jewish and has a cute dog named Carol. Follow her on twitter and instagram.

Riese has written 3238 articles for us.

8 Comments

    • The ending is amazing! The pool sex. Love the song too. I think I bought it when I first saw this in 2010 💙

  3. is it just me or is there a continuity error in this fight that Bette and Tina keep having? I swear in the first season we’re told that Tina just left a very good job so she could start preparing for motherhood. Or am I making that up? It’s been bothering me.

    • Yeah, Tina used to work as an executive before she quit to have a baby. She mentioned this to her lawyer and her therapist too. But Tina’s lawyer asked if Tina ever paid for anything since Bette owned the house before she met Tina and she paid the mortgage and all of the utilities were in Bette’s name, and Tina said that Bette always made more than her and she wasn’t made to pay for anything. She was free to take out any amount of money from their joint savings account.

      So TL;DR: Both Bette and Tina worked, but Bette always made more and had the role of the “breadwinner” until she got fired from her latest job.

  4. I had a real chance at being straight before watching the pool scene.

    …I assume…tbh I don’t really remember a time before the pool scene.

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