Welcome to the final recap of the first season of The L Word: Generation Q, brought to you by the same network that brought you The L Word, a show about a tender young boy named Shay whose father leaves him on the back porch of his estranged daughter’s West Hollywood home sans explanation after stealing $10k from her generous benefactor friend leading Shay to a life of skateboarding, milkshake-drinking and Gay-Mommi-bullying before eventually breaking his arm, requiring his sister to become an underwear model to pay his medical bills, only to be re-snatched-up by his very own father mere episodes later and then to disappear from everybody’s consciousness forever and ever, amen.
Well, it’s the finale and what a ride this has been. It seems like just yesterday that my hair looked great at the Los Angeles LGBT Center and now here we are, running through the airport on the journey of a lifetime. I have SO enjoyed discussing this program with all of you over the past eight weeks! You can look forward to a solid amount of follow-up content this week.
Also, Carly and I pop in at the end of Monday’s episode of “To L and Back: Generation Q” and will be returning to our regularly scheduled podcast recapping of the original series on February 3rd! We’ll be kicking off with 306, which is, I’m sorry to say, REAL BAD.
Also in other big news: those Wildfang coveralls Sophie was wearing earlier in the season are back in stock.
We open at the raucous election night celebration for our one and only Bette Porter for Mayor 2020, where a local news anchor informs us that unlike all of us here reading this recap, the people of Los Angeles have “really connected” with Bette’s “commitment to tackle the opioid crisis head-on.” Inside, Dani’s topping all the scrawny gays and softest butches with her interests and desires — specifically, she needs poll numbers and she needs EVERYBODY to be on the registrar’s website.
The crowd goes wild for Bette Porter as she makes her way through the throngs of admirers! She’s so pretty! Bette’s yanked aside by Maya, a hot reporter who wants Bette’s hot take on the latest polls, but Bette remains tight-lipped outside of being “cautiously optimistic.” Meanwhile, Alice’s flipping through potential dates on the exclusive dating app Raya, lamenting how she went from having “the greatest girlfriend” to two girlfriends to a dating app that shows you the same 15 people over and over again. Alice is going to get kicked off the app for letting Showtime film her using it, that’s against the rules! Shane favors a girl who’s taken 40 pictures of herself with a parakeet, but Alice isn’t ready for birds.
Shane gets an ambiguous emergency call requiring her immediate attention, so obviously Quiara is having a miscarriage. Meanwhile, Bette’s won a district they weren’t expecting to win!!!!
Dani: “We could actually win this thing.”
Bette: “Well, that’s the goal.”
Dani, overwhelmed by either intense thirst or admiration, watches Bette recede into the crowd with a fully captivated stare. Alice shows Dani her bird girl.
Alice: What do you think of her?
Dani: I dated her. The birds were a whole thing.
I want and need to know EVERYTHING about Dani’s dating life before Sophie!
Deep in the annals of Kit + Denny’s, Finley’s suddenly a bartender and is immediately distracted by Sophie’s arrival. The pain! The intensity! The deep queer yearning! A thing you’ll have to accept this episode is that there is no such thing as “time.” How much time has passed since the hospital hallway kiss? What happened just afterwards? What happened to Nana? Did Finley come back to the hospital the next morning? Is there a world in which Finley and Sophie, who live together now, have not already encountered each other post-kiss and been forced to discuss what happened? There is: it’s this world.
Finley looks at Sophie with hesitant warmth, Sophie returns that emotion but with a little extra weight and remorse before pivoting to the RADIANT Micah and Jose, who definitely look like they’ve been fucking all day, and then, to the arrival of her fiancee Dani, who dares to defy expectations by telling Sophie she looks beautiful and that she’s so glad Sophie’s here.
Dani’s NEVER been this nervous IN HER WHOLE LIFE and she could PUKE at any second! Sophie says she’s so proud of her no matter what happens. Finley watches from across the room with a tinge of sadness. Bette Porter loses the 13th District which means the campaign attack ads I saw around town must’ve really done some damage! Here, I saved one for posterity:
Alarmed by this devastating loss in District 13, Dani darts off. “That was nice while it lasted,” Sophie laments, although it’s entirely fair for Dani to be too busy for her on this night of all nights. In other news, Jose’s done a painting of Micah and he is JONESING to see it.
Meanwhile at this social mixer, Alice sits at the bar with Angie, who’s deep in thought over that classic, eternal question: What Is Lesbian Sex?
Alice wants to talk election numbers but Angie’s got a divergent line of inquiry:
Angie: “When did you lose your virginity?”
Alice: “Mmm. Okay. I haven’t yet.”
Angie: “I know you’re lying!”
Alice: “Okay okay, I was um… I was like 37.”
Angie: “You know what? I’ll just ask Shane. I think that’s perfect!”
Alice: “Okay okay okay! I’ll talk I’ll talk! I was 17. And it was with this guy who played my Mom’s son in a movie of the week.”
Angie: “What’s a movie of the week?”
Alice: “That was your takeaway from what I just said?”
Before we can get more details on this Important Sex Talk, there’s another Important “Sex” Talk happening just outside, where a seemingly sober Finley’s brought Sophie for a little relationship climate change denial. Finley would like to acknowledge her historical relevance as a “shitstorm for people” and her desire not to fuck up Sophie’s relationship with Dani. Finley nervously and clumsily suggests “select-all-deleting” everything that happened in that hallway, instead of what she should be suggesting, which is scrolling back, pressing play, and watching it again!!!
Sophie’s not sure how to react — it’s all an act, after all, for both of them, trying to do the right thing instead of the thing they want to do. So they repeat how “good” they are, how “good” things are, even though they’re clearly “not good.” Finley heads inside. Sophie remains on the curb, looking despondent.
Shane arrives at the hospital to find Quiara waiting to see a doctor about some bleeding. Shane immediately recognizes her wife as the hospital’s Most Important Patient and determines her wisest course of action would be to yell at the kind receptionist just trying to do her job until she agrees that rushing Quiara in is very important. I hated this!
Back at Kit + Denny’s Wild Election Night party, Dani and Vaguely Masc Extra #45 are playing with their little map game, ruminating over the slimness of the chance of Bette winning. This particular human is played by Lex Ryan, who’s non-binary!
But! Good news: they won the 5th District! Beverly Hills and showed up for their one + only!
Dani rushes over to her love, Bette Porter, to celebrate the great news while her other love, Sophie Suarez, looks on.
Deep in a Kit + Denny’s backroom, Bette and Dani hibernate to engage in the soothing, productive process of compulsively refreshing the computer screen.
Outside in the bar, the crowd has gathered to wonder why Jeff Milner looks like a creepy homicidal ex-husband from an episode of America’s Most Wanted in his campaign headshot.
And then, finally, we reach the climax of this somewhat meandering storyline: Bette Porter loses. She will not be mayor of Los Angeles. Milner’s gonna run this city right into the ground! Dani sits down, crushed. Bette tries not to cry. Dani apologizes. “I did everything that I could. I’m so sorry.” Bette rubs Dani’s back and says that she did a great job.
Bette’s stressed, compulsively re-arranging her strange outfit while repeating “it’s okay, it’s okay,” as Dani sits there with her fingers intertwined, overcome by despair and, perhaps, unconscious sexual desire for Bette Porter. Now it’s time for Bette to address the crowd.
At Shane’s Hollywood Mansion Palace, Shane is participating in Ye Olde Classic L Word Emotional Turmoil Practice I mentioned in last week’s recap: offering to make Quiara some tea. Quiara has had a miscarriage, and is understandably quite broken up about it!
Quiara’s non-reposnsive re: the tea. Shane’s gonna go ahead and make tea anyhow.
We cut to what appears to be the next morning in beautiful Los Angeles, California — land of the Golden Dream, land of beautiful birds and endless splendor and DaSoMi’s East Side Hideaway, where Sophie’s feeling like her whole body is closing in on itself — she’s sighing, trying not to cry, looking in the mirror like she wishes it was a portal to somebody else’s life — and Dani’s serving up some SERIOUS sideboob.
Sophie enters the boudoir in her t-shirt and boxer-briefs to find, surprisingly, that her fiancee is still at home. Now that she’s unemployed, Dani’s not sure what to do with herself. Here are some things I just thought of:
+ Take a boxing class to get Strong Arms like Shane
+ Follow 10+ interior design instagrams, move all your furniture around, buy 6+ houseplants and then empty your savings account at West Elm
+ Make an earring out of feathers, just like Romi
+ Get a cactus costume and then eat at In-n-Out dressed like a cactus
+ Go to Target
+ Blow glass
+ Build a tiny shed in the yard and then go adopt a little dog and put it in the shed, but not permanently, it should really be in the house with you, the shed is just for special occassions
+ Listen to a domestic thriller on audiotape while walking in circles around your neighborhood
+ Stare despondently at the ceiling fan
But don’t worry, Dani’s got an equally great idea of her own:
Dani: “Let’s get married.”
Sophie acknowledges that getting married is, indeed, the plan, but Dani would like to speed up their timeline a bit.
Sophie: “What, ’cause you suddenly have time for me?”
Dani: “No. Because why not?”
Sophie: “Oh you know, I can think of a few reasons…”
Dani’s got no further inquiries regarding those few reasons, only an offer to fly them both to Hawaii tomorrow after Sophie’s show to get married. Sophie’s concerned about their families who’d like to witness this catastrophic union of souls and secrets. Dani suggests a party when they return with very strong tans that’ll look great in photos. Dani insists this is the best way to “start our life together on our own terms.” She bends down in front of Sophie and says “I just wanna be your wife.” I’d say from personal experience and also from watching a LOT of television that generally one partner pushing for an unexpected quickie wedding is NEVER a good idea! Just ask Jenny (RIP) or Carmen!
Sophie reluctantly agrees with a, “My Mom is gonna kill me.” Yeah! She is! Your family will be heartbroken! They kiss. Dani bounds off excited. Sophie remains pensive. Ladies…. w h a t a r e y o u d o i n g.
Why does Dani want to get married like this, instead of surrounded by friends and family who’ve been eagerly anticipating this event? Why must they do it now? There’s lots of other things to do in Hawaii! For example, on my trip to Hawaii ten million lifetimes ago with my then-girlfriend, I planned an entire day where we just went to all the places on the island where Lost had been filmed! We didn’t get married at all! In fact, we broke up like a year later and now she is engaged to somebody else. Let that be a lesson to everybody.
[ETA: My friend who’s worked on political campaigns says that campaign workers often do impulsive things like getting engaged or married after a campaign loss as a response the emotional drop-off that happens when the candidate you’ve been working with doesn’t win.]
We zoom over to somebody’s apartment — Shane’s? It appears furnished? — where Bette muses, “I remember when Tina miscarried.” [Throwback #22: Tina’s miscarriage in Season One] Yes, we all remember when Tina miscarried. Especially Candace, she probably remembers it the most. It was a very sad time!
“It was so painful,” Bette says, remembering making out with Candace while she still had her overalls on.
Don’t worry though, Shane’s doing okay!
Bette: “We’re here for you now.”
Alice: “Yeah! And if my show gets cancelled, I’ll be here a a lot more. And! Since I’m homeless, I’ll actually be here more than I realized a second ago?”
Shane: “Wow, we’re doing great.”
Ah yes, tfw when you and your other grown-up friends realize that despite being grown-ups, your lives are still hot messes. Bette’s optimistic about Milner’s opioid crisis task force, which he’s asked her to head up, and Alice is awed by Bette’s supernatural calm.
Bette: “We went out swinging, I gave everything I had to the campaign, and I found a way to be myself. What more could anyone ask for?”
Bette’s assertion gets Alice’s gears turning and so we….
…cut to the well-furnished offices of everybody’s favorite Bubble, The Aloce Show, where Alice is in the building and ready to address her minions with an inspirational speech! She discloses that two of her best friends suffered horrible losses last night and it got her thinking about relationships, and how maybe, just maybe, the best thing to do is to just “stay true to who we are,” even if “who we are” is not afraid to sleep with your ex-wife.
Alice set out to change a few people’s minds about a couple of things and if she can’t use this platform to do that, then she doesn’t want this job after all!
Alice: “…sometimes we have to take a risk, and let’s make the show we wanna make. well, make the show i wanna make. We have to make the show I wanna make.”
Finley laughs. Sophie looks at her, Sophie looks down, Sophie looks back, Finley looks back. The air is heavy. That thing that happens where you’re so obsessed with somebody that you can feel every movement their body makes even if they’re on the other side of the room.
Alice: Fuck the viral videos, fuck the network mandate. Sophie, I want Roxane Gay.
Sophie: You got it, boss.
Drew attempts to interject with the suggestion of a “middle ground” and is roundly rejected by Alice, who informs him that if he can’t get on board, he can get the fuck out of here. That’s right Drew! Go home and sit in your mayonnaise bathtub.
Drew: “So you’re gonna get… Roxane uh… Roxanne uh…”
Sophie: ‘Roxane Gay? Yeah.”
Drew: “Am I allowed to say that?”
Sophie: “Oh my god. OH MY GOD.”
Drew: “I wasn’t sure if that was like uh—”
Sophie: “OH MY GOD.”
Finley laughs at Sophie, their eyes meet, Finley opens her mouth to say nothing because there’s nothing she can say. Sophie looks down, exits stage left.
Meanwhile at DaSoMi’s, Dani’s invited her Dad over for a wine lunch to tell him she’s planning to elope in Hawaii with her girlfriend who she has had maybe two (2) conversations with that were not either fighting or sex since getting engaged in the pilot! She’s not sure why Dad thinks Sophie’s not good enough for her so he lays it on her: Dani’s taking a step backwards because Sophie’s family is “broken” and “doesn’t know stability.” Okay dude, good luck finding a lesbian without a traumatic family history for your daughter to date! Besides, I can’t think of a better family for Dani to marry into — Sophie’s relatives are generous and kind and loving and politically progressive in ways that her father doesn’t know how to be.
Dad’s afraid that when things get hard, Sophie’s gonna leave her. “She’s so much better than that,” Dani says about her fiancee who is probably going to leave her. “She’s not gonna leave me. We love each other, and we’re good together. I need you to be okay with that.” I yearn, here, for Dani to explain how, exactly, they’re good for each other! I will say this: they’re both very attractive and look nice together. But I’m curious what else binds ’em. What do they do together for fun? Where’s their favorite place to order take-out? What song do they dance to every time it comes on?
Dad asks Dani to come back and work for his Evil Empire, where that Building Project Situation he negotiated with Milner “months ago” is moving forward full steam ahead. This is when Dani realizes that her Dad threw his money and might behind Milner in the election, despite his dear daughter’s devotion to Bette Porter. This is bad.
Dani: “As I adjust to the idea that I can’t change you, I invite you to do the same for me.”
Nice one!
Apparently learning NOTHING from Tina’s Terrible Miscarriage, Shane and Quiara have somehow already amassed baby anticipation gifts from Shane’s alleged friends for the tiniest little miniature pickle to ever have a heartbeat, which Shane’s attempting to box up until the full weight of emotional trauma has eclipsed the home and Quiara is ready to interact with a small stuffed tiger again. However, Quiara needs no such treatment!
Lesbian Squabble #26: Don’t Throw Your Fucking Ring at me That’s Such a Fucking Cliche I’ll Fucking Barf
In the Ring: Shane vs. Quiara
Content: Quiara suspects Shane was relieved by the miscarriage and she feels Shane’s responses to this accusation are transparent expressions of disinterest in parenthood, which Shane reiterates not wanting to do, which Quiara reiterates Shane saying she would do, which Shane explains as wanting to stay with Quiara, and Quiara says then Shane’ll be also eager to try again and Quiara declares, “You’re never gonna change Shane. No one is ever gonna love you ’cause you’re incapable of loving anyone but your fucking self,” and like, Shane has a lot of problems but loving herself over everybody else is… absolutely not one of them. In fact, the most consistent way she lets people down is by agreeing to do things she doesn’t actually want to do! Then Quiara lightly tosses her wedding ring in Shane’s general direction.
Who Wins? On the surface, it’d appear that Quiara wins. However, for somebody who allegedly knows/understands Shane deeply, that final line was… confusing? I’m calling this one for Shane.
Back at Bette’s sumptuous home, Dani’s helping Bette cart in some leftover paper goods from the campaign, much to the dismay of The Lorax. Dani reveals her terrible plan to marry Sophie in Hawaii, and Bette reveals her terrible plan to work for the Milner administration.
Dani tells Bette it’s a set-up — her Dad’s been supporting Milner all along and his ties to Big Pharma run deep. Milner just wants to look like he gives a shit, which I imagine is because in his headshot, he looks like he just took a shit on somebody’s lawn. Bette wonders if any of it was worth it and Dani says it sure was! She’s gotten at least three sex dreams out of this.
We return to the offices of The Aloce Show, where everybody’s heading home and Sophie offers Finley a ride and Finley’s just gotta drop these things off in the green room if that’s okay and yes, it’s totally okay!
Sophie follows her in, stands squarely in her confusion and announces that she’s going to Hawaii, tomorrow, to get married to Dani.
“That’s awesome,” Finley lies, smiling generously, keeping her distance from Sophie and also herself. She doubles down: “You can have one of your little coconut drinky drinks.”
Without pause, Sophie shuts the door, faces her friend: “Alright. How do you really feel?”
“I don’t…” Finley doesn’t want to feel anything, “I don’t know how to feel!”
Sophie tries a different approach — one she’s used before with Finley when Finley didn’t know how to articulate her emotions. “Well does it feel… calm? Inside your body right now? Like everything’s exactly how it’s supposed to be?”
She barely finishes her question before Finley, laughing, interrupts: “You are like… the world’s worst Catholic!”
“What?” Sophie cracks up. “How?”
“Don’t you know how to shove it down?” Finley’s bewildered, physically demonstrating the benefits of shoving it down. “Just like, way down? And never talk about it?”
“Oh my God. Is that what you’re doing?”
“Of course it is!” Finley gesticulates wildly. “That’s what everybody does! That’s how you survive! In the world!” It’s true, but then what happens when you wanna do more then just survive? “Just shove it down!” Finley demonstrates shoving it down again, really putting her whole body into it.
“You know what? I cannot fucking stand you,” Sophie teases.
“I know, I know,” Finley transitions quickly from her real self to the parody of herself she’s gotten so good at substituting for authentic communication — being the Court Jester, leading into type. “Cause I’m ridiculous.”
Sophie laughs but then snaps out of it because she’s not here for Finley The Puppy in a Human Body she’s for the real shit underneath all that. “No, no, you’re. You’re not,” Sophie steps closer.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Finley weakens. “You’re getting married. In Hawaii. And you leave tomorrow.”
Sophie nods, she knows. Boy does she know! Finley advises, once again, shove it down. It’s her Hail Mary. Shove it way down. Sophie doesn’t want to shove it down. What do you want?
Lesbian Sexy Moment #16: I’ll Tell You What I Want What I Really Really Want
The Pick-Up: “Your heart. It’s racing.”
Hot or Not? Yes.
Sophie puts her hand on Finley’s racing heart, presses into it. It’s a good racing. Sophie starts unbuttoning Finley’s shirt, carefully, telling her she smells so good. She smashes all her confusion and yearning and fear, into Finley’s neck, keeps unbuttoning, slides her shirt off. They smile, they kiss again, they hold hands, Sophie takes her own shirt off.
Finley breathes. She’s scared. She doesn’t want to fuck everything up. She’s sober. Everything is right there on the surface, nothing blurring it. She’ll remember every minute of this, how good it felt and how wrong it was but how good it felt.
It’s just me, Sophie says.
And then we cut to the sofa, and everything is fun and silly except when it’s overwhelming and beautiful. Finley laughs at Sophie taking her pants off and Sophie laughs at her laughing and says oh ok you’re laughing at me. Finley protests, I’m not! Sophie edges, I’m taking my clothes off and you’re laughing at me!
Finley collapses backwards with something like pure, full, absolute joy. Have we ever seen her this happy? I’m just having a great time! I swear! She reaches out for Sophie and brings her closer, brings her face right up to her face.
Sophie yanks Finley’s pants off and then teases Finley’s ashy legs, Fuck off! / No!
…then for a second everything floods up inside Sophie — how much she wants this, how long it’s been since she’s been with anybody but Dani, how fucked up she feels about all of it — and she says, Come here, it’s a lot. Finley gets it, sits up softly, draws her in. Sophie gets on top of her so they’re all wrapped up in each other and they hold each other like maybe this might be where it ends.
It’s okay.
This is where they could stop but they can’t stop.This feels too good, Sophie mutters, almost, already fingering the edges of Finley’s bra, then getting her nails underneath it, shoving it up and off. Then they just swallow each other right up, grinding like starving, panting, feeling everything, all of it.
Now what? What happens after the tension becomes action and now you’ve done it and now you can’t get married, in Hawaii? You can’t have the coconut drinky drinks, they will be sweet but everything else will be bitter. Sophie maybe doesn’t want love to be so much work anymore. She wants it to feel more like riding home on the back of a girl’s bicycle — not dragging a girl uphill, or waiting at the bottom for her to come pick you up. But Dani has been loyal. She’s also been cold and ignorant of Sophie’s real feelings and they’re not well-matched emotionally — but she has consistently loved Sophie and consistently been loyal. They can’t get married. They can’t keep dating!
Hot or Not? Yes! But honestly? “Hot” isn’t really the point here, it’s not hot so much as it’s intense and resonant and complicated and beautiful. That being said, “grinding with your underwear on” is a primary lesbian sex act and I’m grateful for this representation. It’s my favorite scene of the show so far!
If this scene happened the original L Word though, Finley would somehow have had an enormous fully erect dildo hiding inside her pants all day.
This incredible cinematic moment is interrupted by Jose’s art show, which is similarly lit and filled with fashionable, hip art people. Micah seems more comfortable with Jose now, more confident in their connection. Therefore, Micah can’t wait to see the wonderful picture Jose has painted of him!!
Well… you know what? This is art. Every artist has their own approach, a unique vision that only they can truly understand. Objectively, Jose is clearly a talented artist. Furthermore, this painting has a few things going for it: Leo Sheng is hot so any remote likeness of him will, in turn, also be hot. This painting appears to have really used paint — different colors of paint and — again, I’m no art expert but — perhaps also several different paintbrushes. It’s very clear that this is a painting of a person, and that the person is Micah, who as aforementioned is a very good-looking young man. Another thing about this painting is that you can tell it was painted by a human being, not by a computer or an animal or aliens trying to send us a message from the afterlife. There’s nothing about this painting that suggests it was painted by a ghost, for example. We see here two types of life: we see a human mammal, and we also see tiny fish, like you might see in a fish tank. It’s the circle of life.
“It’s how I see you,” Jose admits. Underwater with six-pack abs, surrounded by fish, his hand over his genitals? Okayl! Now that Micah has seen what Jose can do with a can of paint and a few hours of free time, he’s ready to give ’em the ‘ol L Word: “I love you.” Just like all those Free City shirts told us in the original series: art is love. I’m happy for these cuties, even if Jose’s art is weird.
Then we zip on back to DaSoMi’s house of pain, where Sophie’s lying in bed awake, crying. “Hey baby,” Dani rolls over. “Hey.” She pulls Sophie closer to spoon her. “Are you scared about tomorrow?” She doesn’t wait for a response from Sophie. No confirmation, no denial, no explanation. But that’s okay, Dani’s just gonna assume she knows why Sophie is crying and continue her previous train of thought!
“It’s gonna be incredible. I’m gonna treat you so good, and you deserve all of it,” Dani says. “I’m still learning but I’ll always be here for you. No matter what.” It’s a sweet series of promises. Sophie kisses her hand over and over, and then burrows right into her.
Holy shit! If my girlfriend was crying in bed the night before I was flying her to Hawaii to get married, I think I’d wanna hear a little bit more about that, you know? It’s hard to tell if Dani loves Sophie, or just loves the idea of Sophie. If she wants to marry Sophie, or if she just wants to be married?
Cut to Rebecca’s House of Emotional Wellness, where Finley, in full disaster mode, has arrived to get some advice from the only priest she knows in Los Angeles: her ex-almost-girlfriend. She’s so sorry to interrupt Rebecca at this undetermined hour but well, she slept with Sophie? And she remembers there was a time when Rebecca told Finley she was a good person but she’s “so clearly not that”? What if she hurt Sophie? Also, she’s so sorry for hurting Rebecca! Also! Also. Also. Now she’s “gonna fuck off and get the fuck out of LA.”
Rebecca, oh Holy Night, thanks Finley for her acknowledgement of harms caused, and reiterates that she’s a good person, but that good people make mistakes. As for Sophie:
Rebecca: “Was it … was it a mistake?”
[Finley pauses]
Finley: “It doesn’t matter. She’s getting married and I might’ve really fucked it up for her and she does not deserve that.”
Rebecca: “What about you? What do you deserve?”
Finley: “Not you! Not her! You guys are both like, way better than me.”
Rebecca: “See that? That’s shame. You have to address that.”
Finley: “How the fuck do you do that?”
Rebecca: “I don’t know. It’s not a cut and dry thing. It’s a life-long journey. Of cultivating self-worth, self-love.”
Finley: “Love? I don’t even like myself right now. Like at all. And I just need something. I need something concrete. I need some help here.”
Rebecca suggests taking responsibility for mistakes she’s made — she can start small, with little baby steps, like the one she just made by apologizing to Rebecca! Things are going great so far. Rebecca’s very compassionate. Finley takes it and also says she’s sorry for showing up like this and also:
Finley: “You are a real priest.”
Rebecca: “Thank you. You know I’m a minister right?
Finley: “And I TOTALLY know the difference between those two things.”
Before heading out into the bleak, timeless night, Finley needs one more thing — just a pen and some paper? “I know,” she says, self-deprecating, you know the way. The yep I’m still me, this kid who needs a pen.
Micah’s admiring Jose’s work when a white man with spiky hair — a man you may remember from his previous appearance on the series as “shirtless man smoking a joint by the pool on the day Jose cancelled his date with Micah” — introduces himself to Micah while admiring how much Jose’s work has “evolved.”
Then!!! The man introduces himself as Jose’s husband. YIKES!!! Jose turns, sees them talking, and knows immediately what’s up. Micah looks back at him, cold as ice.
It doesn’t feel to me like Jose was cheating on his husband with Micah — I’m guessing this is an open relationship. But, being married is a BIG FUCKING SECRET to keep from Micah, especially after Micah has been so vulnerable and open with Jose. He took Jose to meet his Mom! Also, didn’t Jose know his husband was gonna be at the art show?
A cover of Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek” begins playing, with its apt opening line Where are we? What the hell is going on?
Y’all! My friends and countrypeople! FINLEY IS RETURNING THE BIKE.
This is why she needed the pen and paper:
What a relief. Probably this girl has already bought a new bike, but still.
It’s a dark afternoon of the soul at Bette’s House of Paincakes, where Angie arrives home to find her mother crying on the couch with her clothes on, uninterested in nourishment or entertainment. Angie’s gonna be the Mom now: she tells Bette it’s okay to be sad and gets her out of “bed” and on location in one of the crests/hills/valleys of this fine city. (Seems to be Runyon Canyon.) It’s a place Angie goes sometimes with Jordi or when she wants to feel sad about Auntie Kit or Tina. That’s where I go to feel sad about Tina too.
Angie always wondered when her Mom would finally let herself feel sad about, you know, how literally everybody everybody she knows has died and/or left except Alice Piesecki. “If I truly let myself grieve, then that would mean saying a final goodbye and I wasn’t ready to do that,” Bette acknowledges. “I guess I just tried to outrun my feelings.” And how! Bette’s been visited by so much tragedy. She’s lost her mother, her father, her sister. Her wife left her. One of her best friends died suddenly of breast cancer, one of her frenemies committed suicide in her backyard. What else can any of us do but run.
That’s what everybody does! That’s how you survive in the world! Just shove it down!
We recorded episode 310 today for the podcast, and there’s a part where Bette tells strangers at the bus stop (listen, it’s a real mess of a season) that when she’s hurt or in pain, she buries herself in work or a task. “I was just running away,” she realizes, and tells them. Old habits die hard. But also…
That’s how you survive in the world. Just shove it down.
Angie admits she’s sad about Tina tying the big K-N-O-T with Carrie Bradshaw ’cause just like all ye TIbetters out there, “a tiny part of me always hoped that you two would get back together.”
Here’s a lil something Angie might not know about her Mama: once upon a time in a land far far away, Bette went to a silent retreat* and it* didn’t** go*** well****.
*Dana
**died
***Tina
****fucked henry
One thing Bette took away from the silent retreat [Throwback #23: Silent Retreat Bette attended in Episodes 307-309, which’s also where the bus stop scene I mentioned was] besides the raw, unfettered access to her despair over Tina’s desire to explore sexual intimacy with men, was how to scream really loud in nature! Somebody’s going to call the police.
It’s time for one last Aloce Show and Cousin Heather’s warming up the crowd. Finley tells Alice she’s gonna kill it and they hug.
Then, there she is, face-to-face with Sophie somehow for the first time since the sex scene. Sophie starts, “I’m sorry but—” and then Finley does that thing people do in television programs where they interrupt you as if they have no desire to know what you were planning to say!
Anyhow, Finley’s got plans of her own: she’s going home to Missouri.
Is it because of us?
LOL no of course not hahahah why would it be about how we are super into each other and had really fun vulnerable sober sex and lolololol now you’re gonna marry Dani at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach resort lololol!!! It’s not about your wedding it’s about my sister’s wedding wow!
Are you coming back?
Yeah! Yeah sure. I mean, Gen Q was renewed for Season 2, of course she’s coming back LOL! They exchange deep, meaningful glances.
“Catch you on the flipside, bud,” Finley says. It’s a real dagger of a line.
Then, Finley heads up the stairs to flee the set prior to their grand finale — but then she stops. She looks back.
Sophie looks back. Sophie decides to go get her. She steps forward — AND THEN DREW INTERRUPTS HER BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE CAN HAPPEN and says she’s needed on set.
Back in the splendorous daylight of Los Angeles’s gorgeous hills and canyons, Bette’s curious if Angie and Jordi are you know, having sex, which Angie does NOT want to discuss. Bette hopes that Angie knows sex is supposed to feel good for both of you and if she’s scared or feeling pressured, it’ll be bad sex. Angie cannot handle this conversation. “Can this be over now?”
Angie spots a cute dog and also… its cute owner! It’s Maya, the reporter, who admits she was really pulling for Bette, but since Bette lost, she’ll settle for grabbing dinner with Bette?
Angie is THRILLED. They’re so fucking cute! I know a daughter shouldn’t have to mother her mother, but the way she does it is so compassionate and perceptive, and the way Bette mothers is normally so air-tight that I think she’s allowed to lose her shit sometimes. Angie’s a great kid. I love her.
YOOOOO GUESS WHO’S ON THE ALOCE SHOW Y’ALL???? IT’S ROXANE GAY!!!! They’re talking about Bad Feminist and Alice would like to talk about making space in feminism for women to be flawed, but also to care. Furthermore, Alice has a question: “Can you be a bad queer?”
“These days to be a bad queer is probably to want to want a wife and two kids and a picket fence,” Roxane sagely replies.
Alice says she might be a “bad queer” because she failed at throupledom. Roxane has probably talked about Bad Feminist on 400 different talk shows already and seems entertained by this tangent. Alice tells her about the thruple and how she wanted to be this “cool evolved queer woman,” which Roxane affirms is pretty high on the scale of “1 to What the Fuck” but — it turns out that Alice just wants to be with Nat! Just Nat! It’s like…. everybody … has forgotten… about me? I feel like Roxane Gay needs to meet Gigi.
Good news: Nat’s here! “I’m here,” she says. She was waiting in Alice’s office but then heard Alice talking about her so she’s here.
Alice asks the camera to cut and Drew confirms and Sophie stops him — “keep rolling, we need this.” You guys I have bad news: Drew is bad at viral videos! This scenario is one flashmob, a 5-year old with exceptional singing talent and a naked Gigi away from getting mentioned on The Ellen Show. Nat asks if she can come up and everybody says no except Sophie who again, says yes, rushing Nat onstage. Roxane Is like YES GIRLS LET’S DO THIS.
“I lost a marriage because I was afraid to fight for what I wanted.” Nat confesses to Alice, “and I’m not going to make the same mistake twice. I love you, I am in love with you. And I feel like my complete and total self when i’m with you. And you make me laugh even when I’m mad, which is so fucking annoying.”
Every now and then we flash back to Sophie, who’s either thinking about how Finley makes her laugh even when she’s mad or about how Dani makes her laugh even when she’s mad.
Nat says Alice is the best (we know), like so great that she tried to make it work with Nat’s ex-wife to make Nat happy (but the thruple was Alice’s idea? I’m confused) and Nat loves her and would fight for her!
Then they tongue kiss and the crowd goes wild! I love this viral video twist for them
Which brings us to our concluding montage. Friends, my heart was RACING! We begin with Sophie in the back of a Lyft, thinking about times gone by. Then we find Dani, already settled in at the JetBlue terminal in a very expensive outfit. Then we travel back to DaSoMi’s, where Jose’s pounding on the door and Micah is NOT having it. Then we are back in the car, with Sophie, who is pensive, crying, thinking about aforementioned times gone by.
Meanwhile on the mean streets of Los Angeles, Shane spots a dog eating garbage. We all know where this is going: Shane is going to convince this dog to adopt Babe the pig as her own and teach Babe how to herd sheep as a way to prove himself to farmer Arthur Hoggett.
Meanwhile on the shiny fancy streets of Los Angeles, Bette Porter is showing up for a dinner date with certified hot reporter Maya while her daughter Angelica shares headphones with Jordi, probably to watch the Palex storyline on Degrassi.
The diverse array of humans employed by The Aloce Show have vacated the premises, leaving Alice alone to have a deep makeout with her one + only, Nat. Back at the living hellscape of the Los Angeles Airport, Sophie arrives, terrified; while Finley, already inside, heads up the escalator.
Sophie looks at the departures board — finding her flight to Honolulu, leaving at 9:05 PM. Then, she looks up a little higher — and finds the flight to Kansas City, Missouri. Leaving at 9:05 PM.
Shane starts talking to her dog, which I unfortunately absolutely cannot address at this time. Sophie goes up the escalator. Finley, in true Airport Tomboy tradition, plops down on the floor with her headphones in.
Dani’s growing concerned about her betrothed’s lack of arrival and, seemingly, her non-responsiveness on mobile telephone.
Sophie, infused with a solid sense of anxious purpose, starts mall-walking and then running. Where’s she going?
Finley is waiting. Boarding begins for the flight to Missouri.
Sophie is running.
Dani is waiting. Boarding is in progress for the flight to Honolulu.
It’s the final boarding call for Kansas City.
It’s the final boarding call for Honolulu.
Sophie stops running. She sees someone. She starts to smile.
The end!!!!!!!
The Round Up:
Sexy Moments: 1 this episode, 16 total
Squabbles: 1 this episode, 26 total
Throwbacks: 2 this episode, 23 total
Quote of the Week: “You are like… the world’s worst Catholic! Don’t you know how to shove it down? Just like, way down? And never talk about it?… That’s what everybody does! It’s how you survive in the world! Just shove it down!” – Finley
Well, friends that’s it! This week we’re running THREE entire roundtables about The L Word; Generation Q so you can continue to process it all, and perhaps other adjacent content as well. If you’ve enjoyed these recaps, we highly encourage you to help us keep the lights on by joining A+ or making a donation. Also, you can continue to enjoy my L Word commentary on the hit podcast “To L and Back,” Carly and I will be returning February 3rd with new episodes about old episodes!
Comments
Kudos to Marja, she pulled it off. The show was much better than I expected.
So it wasn’t perfect, it still had some pretty good moments. The throuple, the friendship between the originals, the Sinley friendship, actually having the show in LA and the very first scene of the pilot were some of the highlights of the season for me.
Now, Marja, if you’re reading this, can we please give Fortune Feimster a storyline? Or just some other butch character for next season? Please? I’ve been waiting for butches since 2004…
Your recap is great as always!! Thank you so much!! My friends haven’t watched the episode yet so it’s great to be able to read it and to read all of the comments on autostraddle.
Here are my thoughts:
1. I love TiBette too much and every single mention of Tina warms my heart, even if they were talking about the miscarriage. Jennifer Beals saying “Tina” is like music to my ears.
2. “Shane has a lot of problems but loving herself over everybody else is… absolutely not one of them.” – Thank you!
3. It’s true, but then what happens when you wanna do more then just survive?” Clexa taught me that what happens is that one of you dies, but The L Word has had enough deaths so I guess Sinley is safe!
4. Your comments on Jose’s painting made me happy.
5. I’m also glad Finley returned the bike but what about her car??? Is she never gonna get it back?
6. Bette and Angie and a reference to the silent retreat I just can’t
7. I screamed when Nat appeared at Aloce’s.
8. “White women are out here somehow making my interview about their relationship” hahaha
9. Sinley grew on me and now I can say I’m a Sinley shipper. But ughh I feel sorry for Dani.
10. I loved the ending with “what about us”.
I second the deficit of hot butches. I think maybe Carrie, Tina’s fiancée would be a possible opportunity too?
OMFG. Longtime fan of The L word. Of course I watched L word generation Q.
But I have to say I nearly died laughing at this recap of the season finale. I laughed out loud about 20 times. Can I just say I love you Riese? And I can’t wait for future episode recaps.
My ex had two bikes stolen in Silverlake – both while locked to metal posts! Lol @ Finley thinking that bike will still be there when the owner wakes up in the morning.
My bike was stolen on Monday and when I said this in our group channel, Drew’s only response was “Finley!”
I was thinking the same exact thing. I am sure we will see Season 2 she runs into the girl & she asks where is my bike? I had mines was stolen in my own garage, which is in the back of the house & am I near WeHo.
Observations about the episode
– We finally get dog representation! Looking forward to Shane’s Dog Cafe. But we still need #JusticeForMrPiddles. Mr Piddles was murdered, never forget
– Alice and Sophie telling off Drew was so satisfying
– Dani do you really think that Sophie is crying because you’re eloping? Seriously…
– Give a spin off to Father Rebecca and her therapist
– Shane, Dani and alice talking about Alice’s tinder matches was a really fun scene. Same for Shane telling Alide the difference between your twelve and your six.
– I don’t buy it when Sophie says Finely smells good. Sorry not sorry.
– Even though the Throuple is no more we still get to keep Gigi around, right
Re: #Sinley
Based on Nat’s speech to Alice, I suspect that Sophie ran to Finley. We’ve seen those moments (as described by Nat) play out between Sophie and Finley, no? Furthermore, I just don’t see her giving such a sigh of relief to see Dani! Especially with the infidelity and whatnot!
Re: Dani/Bette
So… the Dani/Bette combo will be an interesting betting game. If this were the old L Word, it would have already happened, right? The old show wouldn’t have cared about the age gap or the boss/employee dynamic… but Generation Q might?? Idk!!
However, the show has invested a lot of energy into showing Dani’s thirst for Bette and their many similarities. And with this uncharacteristic slow-burn, one could also wonder if this is their attempt at a sincere build-up of Dani/Bette? I personally would like to see it lol.
Agree 100%. #Sinley is happening. But where will Dani live now??? Maybe she will kick Sophie out since both her and Micah are besties who won’t want their lying partners around…
Dani/Bette, I’m so glad they took it slow with these two. They will probably work together again and this time it wont physically platonic. We all know it wasn’t mentally, at least for Dani…
“Give a spin off to Father Rebecca and her therapist” Yes please.
I’m a queer minister and honestly Rebecca is the best and most accurate portrayal of this I’ve ever seen (and maybe the only?). She’s a webseries waiting to happen.
YES! I screamed and immediately texted one of my queer clergy friends that there is representation on The L Word Gen Q! I want more Rebecca.
I was laughing hard at your point about Finley smells, thank you for that!
Thank you for your recaps this season, Riese! I looked forward to them as much as I looked forward to the episodes and your picture captions are on point.
That being said, OOF. I don’t see the sexual tension between Bette and Dani like everyone else seems to, but I admitted to myself while watching that it would have made me feel a lot better if they’d done something, anything so I could rejoice in the full on everything that is Sinley.
Either way, I love Sinley and that last scene was torture.
Also, does the P!ink song at the end count as a throwback to when Alice told Kit she could get her to perform at The Planet or nah?
I also don’t really see the sexual tension between Dani and Bette – or at least, I definitely don’t see it from Bette, and I feel like what I’m seeing from Dani is more “I admire the shit out of you/look up to you and want to be like you and might at first mistake that for sexual/romantic attraction.”
That said, I hope the show doesn’t actually have them hook up. I could see them exploring the aforementioned confusing feelings Dani might have, especially in the wake of what seems to be her inevitable heartbreak when shit goes down with Sophie. But Bette strikes me as pretty grounded in her phase of life, and also has a hot and age appropriate reporter knocking at her door I am just saying.
Thanks for the recaps this season! They made even the most boring episode really fun to rewatch.
That being said I really hate this Sophie and Finley thing. It’s just not it! Unfortunately, her dad was spot on in his observation that Sophie would run at any sign of instability. I wanted her to prove him wrong?Since running from things is her thing apparently, I guess it makes sense that she would want a child like Finley instead of talking about her problems with the adult she’s engaged to? Ugh.
Everything else though I’ve liked when I didn’t think I would. That last shot of Bette in that dress? Putting her with an age-appropriate woman that’s not Tina. (I mean I see the potential for her coming back with that whole I might move back here, but no I’m getting married thing.) Alice being Alice? Shane finally being honest with Quiara (I hope she comes back, she’s too fine.) I even loved the twist of José having a husband (I really hope we get more background for both of them.) I cannot wait for this to come back.(Don’t have an aside here, I just wanted the balance.)
Among MANY other things, this episode was really funny? I laughed very loudly when Drew asked if he was allowed to say “Roxane Gay.”
Riese, kudos to you for such great writing and recaps throughout the season; they’ve all been amazing. I am; however, a tiny bit disappointed that there was no “The Final Word with Perd” or “Ya Heard with Perd” reference during the election portion of this recap but I forgive you.
That Sinley scene felt like 2 people satiating a need for honest intimacy after being starved of it for far too long and it struck way too close to home. Still, no matter how distant and inattentive Dani is, she didn’t deserve that. If Sophie does choose Dani (god forbid), the writers owe us an explanation as to why they were ever together (and stayed together) in the first place.
How the HELL does JB at 56 look so damn good in everything from uptight boss bitch suits to tomboy slub to that dress all in one episode? Btw…I don’t think we’ve ever seen Bette on an actual date, have we? Seemed like a missed opportunity.
GIGI!!!! She better be back next season because…do I need to explain why? Also, bring back Quiara (sans the baby storyline) and Micah but give him an actual storyline as rich as his character (a trans, Asian, queer male in the LGBT+ community is no small feat).
I too enjoyed this season more than I thought I would. Here’s to hoping there are more than 8 episodes in S2.
Yeah! I need an explanation for why Dani and Sophie got together and stayed with each other up till the point of considering marriage. They are so not compatible. Like Riese notes, I’m pretty sure Dani doesn’t love Sophie and just likes the idea of her. Also as much as I want Sinley, Sophie really shouldn’t leave Dani hanging like that. And cheating twice in separate relationships is becoming a pattern.
The cliffhanger ending felt like a stab to the heart, but the real injustice in this episode was the complete absence of Gigi, tbh!
I wholeheartedly approve of this message.
WHERE IS TESS
I thought the same thing since she is the bartender. Unless Shane said she wants someone else to work there. Like we need more Tess!
Yes absolutely
More Gigi please
what a great way for nat’s kids to find out about their moms’ throuple! nat was right, they really did need to handle this carefully. i’m so glad those two are gonna work it out, they seem like they have a bright future ahead of ’em.
wow i did not even think about that element of this
the children of the l word generation q always finding out who their parents are fucking on television
Congrats on another season of L word recaps! Hilarious job as always. 👏👏👏
This finale was a good representation of the season for me, peppered with funny, heartfelt and dramatic moments. But unfortunately, these moments often don’t make sense unless we have to creep into fantasy land. Hopefully, they are aware of the many good critical pieces about the show.
In regards to the hospital scene, I thought it was another clumsy attempt to comment on a real word issue: pregnant black women and black women in general not taken seriously when they go to the hospital. There are a lot of studies on racial bias in health care.
Anyway, they did baby girl Quiara dirty. I understand her snapping at Shane but like that? I guess they still hope to bring Sarah Shahi back. 🤷
I’m surprised they went the safe route with the throuple. Both Gigi and Nat should have shown up at the taping.
So happy Bette Porter is not the mayor of L.A. Her and Angie have the best dynamic on the show. Jordan Hull is a superstar.
#Sinley is the truth.
In conclusion, I am incredibly relieved the show is not garbage TV. I will watch all of season 2 without fail.
P.S. Give that stray dog an Emmy!
Yes! That dog deserves an Emmy for the look it gave Shane from the back seat of the car alone!
Thank you so much for the recaps, Riese! I always look forward for them post and sometimes pre watching the show. Cannot wait for season 2.
thank youuuuu!!!
Ahhh, that was a crazy last episode! So many losses/breakups, and so many potential directions for next season! Also great music & fashion :D
I really hope that Sophie goes to Kansas City with Finley, but I have a feeling that she’s going to go to Hawaii with Dani instead and shit is going to go down.
I thought it would have been really good to see a functioning throuple on tv (and I think Nat & Gigi are both really hott), but I think Gigi is going to get dumped again :'(
Fortune Feimster def needs to get legit lines for next season- I just watched her standup special on netflix, and she was great!
We keep getting these attractive soft butches as extras…Please L Word Producer/Writer Goddesses, bring on more soft butches/tombois/butches/masc wlw to the show!!! And give them lines & kisses!
Thanks for the recaps Reise, looking forward to the additional write-ups ^_^
Don’t get me wrong… this whole recap is great. But I think it’s your art review that really shines. I think you may have a future there. I, too, think Jose probably used several different paint brushes and maybe even like, a paint palette? Idk, just what I got from the scene.
On another note, I can’t believe they didn’t even mention if Sophie’s nana is okay? After all that? Lol, ok.
Closing thoughts: Gigi better still be in this effing show next season. Quiara had such a cold take on Shane’s personality. After being so in tune with her emotions earlier in the season? I’m not buying it. Cool there’s a dog, but I hope we get some cat representation in season 2. Sinley 4ever.
Can the writers of this show please just let Shane be happy for once??
Ugh, I hate the Dani/Sophie/Finley and I feel so bad for Dani. I know she hasn’t been a good partner and should have asked Sophie several follow-up questions instead of just assuming why Sophie was crying. But like … I would have assumed Sophie was dead or grievously injured in those circumstances.
Having different emotional needs and ways of communicating them is a very real thing! Dani coming off of a high stress situation and saying she was still learning how to take care of Sophie was something I related to way too much! (But also like again they seem like a couple who has been together for like … six months at best). Now the major issue is Sophie cheating, which, like, how is that ALWAYS the default relationship conflict on this show? Do people really cheat that much?! Although I guess Dani and Sophie have had about fifty conflicts, none of which are resolved or mentioned again (like is Sophie’s grandmother okay…?)
And Micah and Jose dear lord. Jose LIVES THERE AND IS THE PROPERTY MANAGER. His husband has only been there one time in whatever warped time frame this show takes place in?? How did Jose have no idea his husband was going to be at his art show??
I mean I am very happy the show came back and I loved watching this season – to go from watching on YouTube in the dead of night terrified of what it all meant to posting about watching it with my girlfriend on Instagram is really incredible. And would it really be the L Word if it didn’t also drive me a little crazy? Thank you so much for the amazing recaps Riese!
I had the same thought about Jose! How the fuck did he live NEXT DOOR to Micah and manage to hide the fact he had a husband?! I really hope Micah gets some better storylines in s2.
Is Sophie’s grandmother ok? What happened to Gigi? And that last scene…
I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS AHHHHH
I loved this show a lot more than I thought I was going to. I was worried that the storylines would not speak much to me as an older, wiser, more cynical lesbian who wants to know that love is not a lie, but isn’t sure that all of the evidence is in yet.
I was worried that the older lesbians would be depicted devoid of aging issues common to anyone who is aging: career instability, menopause, work/family balance, budgeting, dating, the reality of having children taking up most if not all of your time when that time would have been given previously to friends when you didn’t have children, chronic health issues.
And that the younger queers would be depicted as somehow vapid, innocuous and lacking depth, and that I would not care about the younger queers on The L Word Gen Q. I am relieved to report that I grew to care about the younger cast and their struggles, particularly Finley and Sophie, although I don’t quite like where they are going with the storyline as I suspect it will leave Finley with and Sophie facing challenges I don’t think they can match? Finley and Sophies character development and self esteem will be galvanised by being together and seeing how that goes… I will not be surprised at all if Finley is dumped by Sophie, but I hope for Sophie and Finley’s sake, that the two of them in whatever time frame that their relationship lasts, that we see both of them demonstrate integrity and honesty in their communication with each other, despite how hard it is to communicate and live that same honesty with each other. We will see.
I want Micah’s storyline to be developed further. I am more than happy with his storyline’s focusing on living as a gay man, I loved his Mum’s visit and the conversations that were had between him and his Mum. I all around love Micah’s very direct conviction, his self knowledge, the emotional risks he takes with Jose, although Jose has much less integrity in failing to tell Micah that he is 1) In an open relationship and 2) Married. What the fuck Jose? You want Micah to be honest and vulnerable but you cannot reciprocate and deepen a bond that you might have with Micah in being more open and honest? I was liking Jose until that moment. We need to have more Micah in the show, as a living demonstration of a young, switched on, assertive, transparent, secure, has sorted his own shit younger person, who is capable of having his own complicated storyline showing us his relationships with his Mum,his siblings, maybe Jose but I would prefer someone with integrity, attitude and backbone. Please more Micah.
Nat and Alice getting back together? Um why? They have no chemistry and their relationship is non existent. The actress who plays Nat has been given such a boring, Tina ish role to play. If she is a comedienne please write her some funny lines. Give her a personality, give her some challenge, something where you see her get fierce, and please make her grow a backbone, independent of whoever she is paired with. I feel sorry for Alice that the writers have deemed it worthwhile pairing Alice up with Nat again. Nat kills Alice’s spirit, yet she is good for Gigi.
Gigi remains very interesting and has spirit, ovaries, gumption, attitude and conviction. She is a complex character and I hope that she gets some more storylines that are independent of both Nat and Alice.
Alice remains excellent. No work required here except please find Alice someone sparkier and more robust than Nat. I am loving Alice’s honesty in the meeting with Nat and Gigi when the throuple bubble burst, I was waiting for it to burst as in what universe was Alice impervious to the jealousy that is possible when the two planets that orbit you, suddenly begin to orbit themselves without you in their orbit? Please, Alice is more self aware of her feelings than being surprised about Nat and Gigi sleeping together to provoke her to jealousy, as if that is news.
Angie: remains perfect. Please keep going with the excellent Angie as great person storyline, and I love her storyline with Jordy. I love them together.
Bette: remains fairly perfect, I am glad that Tina is not a contender for Bette’s girlfriend any longer. I am relieved about that. Also, please do not pair Bette with Dani, she can mentor Dani and show Dani how an assertive female leader behaves (lol most of the time, everyone is human and flawed obviously), but please – let the sexual tension if at all, be on Dani’s side.
I love the Bette and Angie Mother-Daughter relationship, and how we get to see a side of Bette who can care easily for someone without it somehow “ruining” her career or sidetracking her. I love this for Bette. I was saddened that Bette called it off with Felicity, given that Felicity was supportive of Bette. I am glad that Bette isn’t Mayor, maybe Bette can now explore what she really wants to do/to spend her time on, and maybe she will meet a good match in the reporter. I love how Bette is like an Elder Stateswoman and who is leading by example, she is quick to forgive, to make up with Alice, and quick to demonstrate (mainly) integrity.
Dani: Another great assertive character who is not afraid to take risks in her relationship with her Dad, but is less connected to her fiance. I like that Dani knows her mind and isn’t afraid to speak it, irrespective of the audience or of who is listening/who she feels compelled to impress. I like that Dani, although demonstrating a lot of responsibility and integrity, is depicted as human and flawed, in that, she is a person so married to her job that her main relationship with her fiance suffers. I hope that she regains some insight into this behaviour of hers, but, I suspect that she has to take this much further, (prioritising her needs and career over anything to do with Sophie, or outside of her career), before she realises what she is ultimately choosing for herself. I like Dani, and I would love to see a lot more weighing of her priorities, and some learning of what she chooses and what that means in terms of who continues to nurture her, who supports her, friends or otherwise.
Shane: remains excellent. I love how she has developed some awareness of her emotions. I love Shane’s perception of what is really going on with her friends, in their lives, I wish that this was aimed towards herself a bit more.
-Shane didn’t deserve to be accused of being selfish. Agreed. Quiara is grieving so I’m giving her a half pass. Also, Shane, don’t be a dick to the hospital receptionist. She didn’t make those decisions
– Bette and Maya YES. Bette dating is adorable.
-Sophie, you don’t end a relationship by never showing up for your wedding flight without an in person explanation. That’s heinous
– YES to Finley in Missouri storyline Season 2. I hope she meets some cool rural Southern queers that help her survive all those macro and micro aggressions
– get it Rebecca. I hope your “person” is giving you some emotionally healthy sexy time
– It sucks, but Dani’s dad isn’t totally wrong. Dani is a driven, ambitious workaholic. She needs a partner who gets this about her (ahm, why she’s into Bette). I don’t think that’s Sophie. Dani is a big wedding at luxury hotel networking event kind of girl. Also, dad was right. Sophie cheated with someone she found easier and who made time for her.
Last point. Well said.
Ahhh!!!! I’m so upset that they left us hanging!
I really identified with Finley peacing out before she could be rejected. (I may have done that a few times myself 🤔😋). I feel like Sophie will play it safe and stay with Dani but I wonder if she’ll ever own up to the cheating?
Quiara pissed me off from the beginning. It’s ok to not want kids. Shane shouldn’t be treated like she’s heartless and subhuman for not wanting them. It was so manipulative for Quiara to show up the way she did.
Poor Micah. That was so crushing 😢
carrie is my favorite character on this very good show
When Angie found Sad Bette moping on the couch, everything about the lead-up made me VERY WORRIED that they were going with a “Bette took some pills” plot moment. Two other people I’ve talked with thought this too, and none of us felt like it was a useful or productive worry at all! Red herring shenanigans! Why did the writers do that. sigh.
SAME. I was sitting there thinking, “Do not let this girl walk in on her mom effed up.” I did not like the set up for that scene, AT ALL. I feel like Bette, even depressed, would have at least acknowledged her child yelling for her multiple times. At least with a listless, “I’m in here, napping,” or something.
Oh god, I had that thought too. So glad that wasn’t it.
i have been identifying with bette so intensely this season and the fact that so many people thought this and i didn’t really cements that for me! as soon as angie walked in and couldn’t find her mom i was like “oh she is DEFINITELY crying on the couch and has not had any meals today” because that’s where i would be.
Thank goodness they resolved the stolen bike storyline. I’ve found myself at work randomly thinking about that dang bike and the poor girl who lost it and then I’d rightfully wonder what the heck this show has done to me.
I hope Sophie is running her little heart out for a Sinley ending. The green room scene with Sophie struggling with getting her pants off and the fun, bumbling-ness of the scene reminded me of Alice and Dana’s first time. That was one of my favorite scenes from the original, so in my mind I’m making this a throwback to one of my favorite couples.
I was happy to see Finley own up her to her mistakes with Rebecca and apologize for how it ended. I’m going to miss the level-headed calmness of Rebecca. She could start charging for her advice and then she could level up and live in the mansion palace next to Shane since clearly she’d make a killing with all these beautiful but flawed people.
My heart broke for Finley and how much shame she carries with her. Even if Sophie chose Dani, I feel like Finley may need a friend to go with her home because it seems like a place that won’t be great for her mental well-being.
I already miss Gigi.
Nat’s speech was sweet and I laughed when she clarified that she wasn’t proposing, just getting closer.
Dani should definitely learn how to read the signals. I feel like her character has real potential and Arienne Mandi does a fabulous job bringing this little mini-Bette power player to life. I hope next year we get to see more of what makes her tick because I felt like this season she just went from either fighting with Sophie to obsessively stressing over campaign issues and not a whole lot else.
I hope next year they figure out a way to tie Micah back to one of the OGs or his friends in a major way because he just fell off every ones radar and when it would cut away to one of his scenes, sometimes it felt jarring.
Was anyone else afraid that Angie was going to find Bette dead/unconscious? I was chanting in my head for them not to Shelby-From-Steel-Magnolias-her. Thankfully Bette was just really sad, but it was this moment when I realize I may have trust issues with shows and my gays. But what’s new?
Looking forward to season 2 and your recaps!
Yes there are so many shades of Alice/Dana in the Sophie/Finley thing! Especially how it didn’t come to the forefront until the very end of Season One, and that it did so while one of them was already engaged to someone we all know they shouldn’t matter. (although that being said, Tonya is a terrible person and Dani is not, she’s just not the right person for Sophie)
As a whole, I really enjoyed Gen Q. There is definitely work to be done and room to grow, but I’m happy for this to be the start. In S2, I hope to see more diverse representation w/r/t gender presentation, different sized bodies and trans women. I really hope they expand on Micah’s character, Leo Sheng is excellent and I don’t think they gave him enough screen time this season.
Riese, I wanted to say a big THANK YOU for doing these old school recaps. I can only imagine how time consuming they are to write, so thank you, thank you, THANK YOU. Know that your recaps are revered and loved and appreciated. The discussion, the love, the community in the comments section has been a joy to witness and participate in. Thank you for creating this magical place – these recaps and in the larger sense, AS.
I fully endorse this excellent comment. Thank you, Riese!
Thank you! and thank YOU for being an A+ Member!
I am hard NO on team Sinley and here is why: finley is a mess. why would you ever leave your fiancee for someone who says “catch ya later buddy” when what they really want to say is their FEELINGS??? and on the topic of healthy communication, I don’t understand why everyone is so mad at Dani for doing her really intense job when Sophie didn’t even communicate that she wanted more attention/affection!!! She should have initiated a conversation about it, not just expected her partner to mind read! she told everyone except Dani that she was upset. how would this marriage ever work????!!!
Dani deserves better. Honestly a single Dani might be more fun to watch anyway!
See, I feel like Sophie does deserve someone with more emotional maturity than Finley, but also Dani has basically emotionally abandoned her. Should she have expected Dani to read her mind? No. But when Sophie was crying in bed and Dani started telling her “I’ll always be there for you”… she hasn’t appeared to be there for her once thus far!
Ugh I just really like Sophie and I want better for her. I really didn’t want Sophie and Finley to happen but I have to say they’re better together than Sophie and Dani are….
it’s also bananas to me that she wouldn’t be more concerned about finding out what sophie was crying about? it feels like dani’s narrative marches on with or without sophie’s input. they could probably work this out in therapy lol
agree 100%
The silent retreat comment killed me as did the dog judging Shane for leaving Carmen.
Sinley forever. If Sophie chooses Dani, I feel like Season 2 will be a dramatic uncomfortable mess… like watching an Owen and Amelia storyline. I am not invested in these 2 as a couple and if I have to watch a long drawn out breakup/divorce I’m going to be annoyed.
I loved seeing Finley attempt to work through her issues. I would like to hear more wisdom from Rebecca, especially about overcoming shame! I want to be that evolved.
It was really nice to see a non-binary person on screen (Lex Ryan).
Roxanne Gay was fabulous.
This last episode was my favourite. Thank you for the hilarious recaps Riese!!
I was really hoping that Sophie bought her own ticket to somewhere else away from both Dani and Finley. All three of them need some time alone to sort their selves out.
Sophie needs to reassess what she needs from her partner and whether or not either Dani or Finley can realistically provide that for her. Also, we know that Sophie left her ex for Dani, and if she’s considering leaving Dani for Finley, she’d be better off considering why she has that pattern.
Finley needs to learn to be okay being Finley. I think going home to potentially make amends(?) with her family is a good start. I do not think she would benefit from entering a relationship with Sophie, because I just see Finley using her as a crutch. They both deserve better than that (Sophie especially).
[Note: I am also suuuuper looking forward to getting the backstory with Finley and her family, because that phone call she had with her dad after Father Rebecca broke up with her hurt my soul.]
Dani needs to learn to prioritize in her relationship. I understand having a stressful job, but Sophie tried repeatedly to talk to her and Dani cut her off every time. High pressure jobs suck, but at some point you gotta make A LITTLE TIME for your fiancee. I really get the impression that, at this point, Dani isn’t marrying Sophie because she loves Sophie, but because she wants to prove her dad wrong about their relationship.
BUT THIS IS THE L WORD AND NONE OF THAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN BECAUSE THEN THE CHARACTERS WOULDN’T BE COMPLETE MESSES! BRING ON THE EMOTIONAL CARNAGE, SEASON TWO. I’M READY FOR YOU.
“ at this point, Dani isn’t marrying Sophie because she loves Sophie, but because she wants to prove her dad wrong about their relationship.”
Oooh
I mean, just my completely not-a-professional-therapist-or-anything assessment, but that’s what I get from her. The times she was most passionate about Sophie after like episode two was when she was arguing with her dad about the wedding/their relationship. *shrugs*
What the F*CK I am such a Sinley shipper now! It feels like it came out of nowhere and now I want nothing else and I think their scenes are hotter than any other sex scenes this whole season. Sinley and Jordi-Angie are really the only ships I care about on this show somehow?!
On a v dif note, I was so happy to see Perd Hapley again!
Omg the I Dreamed A Dream lyrics were killing me. Thank you for another amazing recap; I can’t wait to do this all again in a year!
I did some sleuthing and from a few internet searches and the overhead direction signs we did see I think I figured out who Sophie goes to/chooses.
The flight information displays, the shot of the entrance(?) hall and the presence of a sign for an “escape lounge” identify the airport as Ontario International Airport/ONT which is also confirmed by the fact that it is the only LA Airport with both a gate 411, where Dani’s flight to Hawaii is, and a gate 21X – last digit obscured by Sophies head in the scene -, where Finley’s flight to Kansas is.
The last and only concrete overhead direction sign we see with Sophie is showing Sophie walking the opposite direction of what the sign says is gates 401-410. Schematics available of ONT online show that gate 411 is in that same Terminal 4 while the direction Sophie is walking leads to Terminal 2 where gates 210-213 and therefore Finley’s flight is.
TLDR: Sophie at least in the real world was on her way to Finley.
Wow Ava, that was some impressive sleuthing!
Comment award for the Excellent detective work
Great work gumshoe!
I love that you did this! I tried squinting and zooming and failed due to low res on my laptop!! 👍👍👍
omg i tried to do similar sleuthing and FAILED so you are my NEW HERO
@queergirl Seconding the comment award nom above for amazing research skills!
Wow! I don’t know you, but I kind of love you!
I actually think it is showing what gates she has just passed, meaning she is arriving at gate 411 where Dani is waiting.
If you pause the show at 56:05, you’ll see a sign above the gate where Dani is at that similarly displays the direction of 401-410 gates and also shows an arrow for gates 411-412.
The sign behind Sophie appears to be in a corridor not an intersection between two separate terminals (though this is not entirely clear). Corridors tend to have all of one terminal’s gates, not a mix.
Further, if the sign was indicating that she was headed away from all of the terminal 4 gates it would likely have read 401-414 to express that all of the terminal 4 gates are that direction. Instead, I think it implies the people who are viewing this sign are coming from the end of terminal 4 where gates 411-414 are located (which Sophie is facing) and thus don’t need to know the location of those gates/those gates aren’t that direction.
The ONT terminals seem to be entirely separate buildings so it seems unlikely that after she gets through security in one terminal, signs for some of the gates in the other terminal appear.
Finally it doesn’t make sense that Finley’s terminal 21x would be just opposite the 401-410 as gate numbers start at the lowest and progress to the highest number at the ends. If she is just beyond the sign for the beginning of the terminal 4 gates, she is likely also at the beginning of the terminal 2 gates (if they were in the same building on opposite ends of a long hallway), instead she would’ve needed to keep walking past at least some 20x gates, not immediately arrive at Finley’s gate just beyond the 400s gates.
Terminal Map: https://www.flyontario.com/maps#map-key–terminal-4
However, who knows how attached to airport signage the writers are and I think they’ve intentionally tried to maintain enough ambiguity to make it debatable. Also I might be influenced by my hope that Sophie is not standing Dani up at the airport. Personally, I’d like to see this couple work through some really tough stuff and come out on the other side better together (though knowing the L word this is obviously not a guarantee even if Sophie does go to Dani). I’d also love to see the writers show us a compelling case for Dani and Sophie’s relationship- what brought them together and kept them together this long? What are their strengths as a couple that they can draw on now in this difficult time? Can they grow into better partners for each other?
Also, I would just like to say that I already hate waiting for season two for the answer to this cliffhanger!
In Dani’s scenes and with maps of ONT we see that if Sophie were to have 401-410 behind her and be looking at Dani, we would be looking at that same time sign we saw with Dani and not the one we are getting. Also, behind her looks nothing like were Dani is.
Also, why would the sign say 401-410 are in one direction when from the footage we have seen we can say that the sign would be where gates 409-410 already would be so showing directions to gate 401-410 so generally would make no sense by your logic concerning the signs.
ONT seem indeed to be entirely separate buildings and no available maps show exactly how you get from one to the other.
I am suggesting she is coming from whatever corridor is connecting these two terminals and already in Terminal 2 when we see that sign that is showing people, who for example have a connecting flight, which way Terminal 4 is.
Yeah, I think they are two different signs. One is right above the gate where Dani is at and the other further down, I would think just in front of gate 410. Airports tend to have incremental signage to reassure unfamiliar passengers where to go. It could just be the camera angles but it looks like on both signs, 401-410 are in the same direction (in my view, behind both Dani and Sophie). I can see your point about wondering why the second sign is not exactly at 410 gate though.
When they are showing where Dani is, I don’t think we see enough of the hallway area to know if its the same as the one Sophie is running down or not. Its the same with Finley’s path- they don’t show enough specific details for us to be able to tell.
Again, I’m not sure how much stock the writers put into the specifics of how this airport functions but if they did, it looks like you have to take a shuttle from one terminal to the next and the shuttle is before people go through security (because it also goes to the rental car place and the economy parking lot) so I don’t think there is a walkable path from one terminal to the other. If the writers didn’t pay that much attention to this airport, then the shuttle issue is a moot point and they could be acting as though she’s coming down the hallway after the two terminals split off in opposite directions.
I also stand by my comment that if all of terminal four was behind Sophie as though she is running away from it completely, the sign would read either “terminal four” or “gates 401-414” to avoid any confusion about where all of the terminal 4 gates are located.
When I looked at pictures of the insides of the terminals on google images, as far as I can tell terminal two only has signs for terminal two gates. I couldn’t find any good pictures of the inside of terminal four though.
Anyway, its been fun to do an unnecessary deep dive into the design of ONT and airport wayfinding signage and strategy. I feel like this discussion is a lot like “The Dress” where we both have seen it in opposite ways and its really hard for us to see it the other way. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens next season!
As someone who lives in Honolulu, I was VERY excited about the distant prospect of some ~on location~ filming here for season 2, but alas it seems destined not to be.
“ Am I the Francesca Wolff of Generation Q? Maybe” cracked me up.
Thank you for your incredible talent with the recaps this season, Riese. I looked forward to them just as much as the episodes
thank you!!
Excellent recap! Excellent season of recaps!
Also, Sinley is still a big no for me, mostly because Finley deserves WAY better! Finley is adorable and lovable and also either causes chaos (bike hook-up, Rebecca) or ends up being part of someone else’s bad decisions (Tess, Sophie). This last episode has Finley FINALLY growing and recognizing that she can do better for herself and try to take baby steps, and she deserves the chance to do that. Sophie, who is so deep in her emotional pain and has no skills when it comes to relationship communication styles, will only drag her down. The actors have chemistry, but this is a disaster waiting to happen and I don’t want more disaster for Finley. I want her to be happy, like, FOR REAL happy. Sophie is not going to help her in that.
Also, poor Dani! Yeah, she wasn’t there for Sophie when she should’ve been, but she has also copped to her communication stye (one that Sophie constantly bulldozes through) and has learned to stand up to her dad (the only family she appears to have regardless of how big an asshole he is). Sophie has done NOTHING to try to meet Dani halfway or even a quarter of the way; it’s her emotional needs, right now, or else you don’t love her. AND THEN she can’t even communicate to Dani “this isn’t working” or “we need therapy” or “I don’t want to marry you.” AND THEN she cheats? Dani deserves way better, too. Oh, and let’s not act like current Finley wouldn’t let the guilt of breaking up her engaged friends eat her alive.
Sophie is bad for Dani. Sophie is bad for Finley. Even if Sophie ran to Finley in the airport, I hope Finley turns her down. All these people need to be single.
I really enjoyed this season! Here’s what I’m hoping for season 2
SINLEY!!
Micah gets a richer storyline
Gigi (I know the throuple is over but i really want Gigi on my screen)
Trans lesbians
More Angie and Jordi cuteness
Hopefully my prayers are answered. But also I don’t know how I’m going to wait till december for more :(
Yes to all of this!
yep this just about sums up what i want too!
I think my favorite part of the episode was Shane softly saying “hi” to the dog in the backseat.
I wonder what the future holds in store for Bette besides going on dinner dates with the sexy reporter.
I loved the Degrassi/Palex reference in this recap, btw. 100% hoping Angie and Jordi would be watching my favorite 2000s Canadian teen TV show!!!!
Finley is still my favorite character, but I’m not looking forward to Sinley in season two oddly enough? Like, I was hoping Sophie was running towards her at the airport, but at the same time I’m not entirely sure if their relationship is born out of the healthiest situation. Obligatory “everyone needs time to work on themselves” etc but it’s the L Word, lol.
I was kind of hoping the Aloce Coffee Night Talk Show (Regional/National) would be canceled but whatever. Alice also seemed like, REALLY ill at ease with motherhood the entire season, so it’ll be interesting to see her jump back into that one. Maybe Nat will have a personality other than Mom/Therapist next season.
Another excellent, thoughtful, hilarious recap!
1. Did anyone else notice in the background after Maya (Tamara Taylor from ‘Bones’) walked away with the dog it seemed to stop to take a shit?
2. The thruple ending still makes no sense to me. I am left wondering if the show thought the audience wouldn’t be into it.
3. Sophie, Finley, and Dani are breaking my heart.
4. Relieved nothing happened with Bette and Dani because even though I was sure show was pushing things that way, I never saw the chemistry.
5. Where was Tess? Bring back Tess!
6. I wish the show had explored Finley’s choice to be sober just a little bit. But maybe she doesn’t know why.
7. If Finley isn’t Sophie’s destination, I wonder if we’ll open season two in Kansas City with Finley fucking Max in her childhood bedroom.
8. This show needed 2-3 more episodes.
yes i wondered that too about the throuple, if they didn’t know how much fans would be into it!
i also didn’t want bette and dani to hook up, it felt like a weird match and also i don’t think at this point bette would take the risk of hooking up with a much-younger engaged employee or even former employee. but, i would’ve been very surprised if it had happened, and i do love when shows surprise me!
re: 8 YES.
i read a very hot take about the l word gen q being bad and one of many thoughts i had while reading it was that it’s not really fair to compare a 14-episode first season (like the original had) to an 8-episode first season (like this one had). They had to accomplish a LOT in a short period of time! By episode 108 of the original, we hadn’t even met Cherie Jaffe yet! Tina was still pregnant! Candace hadn’t been hired! Jenny didn’t know about Francesca! Dana hadn’t met Tonya!
I would be interested in reading this hot take…
Your recap is great as always!! Thank you so much!! My friends haven’t watched the episode yet so it’s great to be able to read it and to read all of the comments on autostraddle.
Here are my thoughts:
1. I love TiBette too much and every single mention of Tina warms my heart, even if they were talking about the miscarriage. Jennifer Beals saying “Tina” is like music to my ears.
2. “Shane has a lot of problems but loving herself over everybody else is… absolutely not one of them.” – Thank you!
3. It’s true, but then what happens when you wanna do more then just survive?” Clexa taught me that what happens is that one of you dies, but The L Word has had enough deaths so I guess Sinley is safe!
4. Your comments on Jose’s painting made me happy.
5. I’m also glad Finley returned the bike but what about her car??? Is she never gonna get it back?
6. Bette and Angie and a reference to the silent retreat I just can’t
7. I screamed when Nat appeared at Aloce’s.
8. “White women are out here somehow making my interview about their relationship” hahaha
10. Sinley grew on me and now I can say I’m a Sinley shipper. But ughh I feel sorry for Dani.
11. I loved the ending with “what about us”
Thank you for the recaps, Riese. I enjoy your humour and insights. It adds to the experience of watching this show.
With that said, the final episode annoyed me and highlighted what didn’t work for the duration of the whole season. Generation Q tried to be inclusive, progressive, scandalous and pleasing all at the same time, for as wide of an audience of the LGBTQ+ community as possible, including storylines spanning three different generations and a wide array of identities, some more represented than others. I appreciate the ambition, but it was too much. I see the tightness of the screenplay and planning. The elements aren’t randomly thrown in for shock, but the final product is lacking. It’s like when you have the perfect idea, but once you start working, the materiality of what’s being created takes it in its own direction and you can as an author either listen to it and follow, compromise on try and beat it into going where you originally planned it to go. Generation Q seems to have stuck to its original plan, hoping everything will come together well enough. But as far as I’m concerned, it didn’t.
I don’t understand the scene where Dani suggests to Sophie they elope. The acting direction and choices. Sophie is dropping poisonous comments left and right and Dani simply… doesn’t hear them? Has no insight into body language? No gut feeling about Sophie’s angry, mopey, passive-aggressive attitude? Nowhere was it suggested Dani has trouble picking up on cues. Which makes the suggestion they elope flat, their relationship flat, Sophie’s cheating flat. Finley gains some depth in the later episodes, the acting is good and the chemistry with Sophie is good, but the setup hasn’t sold it for me. Also, where is Tess? They tickle the alcoholism storyline and then drop it, without at least giving a mini conclusion for this season.
Micah’s storyline… It gave me Marina vibes when it was revealed Jose has a husband. That amused me. I cannot plug into Micah’s feelings, because there wasn’t enough of him on his own, it wasn’t elaborated enough why was he so hurt with Jose suddenly canceling a date, why is it a problem to hook up with someone else, it’s not like they were dating at that point, and even what is the issue of Jose having a husband, because Jose clearly has enough feelings and time for Micah to suggest the husband is some type of chill, open deal.
Quiara’s sudden turn on Shane… I understand how a loss of a pregnancy will be a tough blow and will make you say and feel many things, but I didn’t get the sense the show meant it as such, but instead tried to sell it as a “Quiara gets Shane and is generously giving her a lot of space to be herself, but Shane was selfishly being too much of herself and fucked it up again”, which, uh… no. At least she gets a dog, but it feels like a rehash. Shane literally took care of her younger brother in the original. Granted, it was a responsibility she didn’t choose, as opposed to the dog she chose to take in, but… It doesn’t feel like enough. Shane took care of a chain of hair salons, she has SOME amount of responsibility and a typical dog will basically unconditionally love you and require two-three walks a day and food, which isn’t a tall order for Shane who has enough money to not have to be overworked or something. She can even pay someone if she can’t do it herself. So meh as a storyline, but yay because, dog!
Alice, uh… Well. I would argue that doesn’t make sense even as something on the drawing board. Alice makes a passionate speech of doing things her way, breaking the mold, etc. etc. regarding her show, but the parallel of that in her personal life is that she wants a monogamous, typical relationship? After basically cheering for the throuple option? You know what’s cliche? Passionate, public declarations of love and promises to fight for a one and only relationship and partner. And what isn’t? A three-person relationship where everyone’s talking and working on their individual problems, relations with each person… A dynamic in which you’re just meeting a person (Alice Gigi) whilst simultaneously learning a new dynamic with someone you already know (Alice Gigi, Nat Gigi and Gigi Nat), all the while needing to live with the responses of the world. Why did they do the “Alice and her family” article in the show as a plot point? They didn’t need it to set up the threesome scene. A drunk scenario would have sufficed. The show was setting up for a throuple and then just said nevermind, like they changed their mind before shooting the last episode. I feel completely cheated out of it.
And so on. I’m glad the show is back on, I’m glad they’re trying to do better on the transgender, bisexual and race front than the original did. It’s a shame everyone is so conventionally thin. But yeah. Here’s hoping to a good 2nd season.
that pink song came on in the cafe i ate lunch in today and it was a PERSONAL ATTACK
also riese i want to say thank you for your service, going through this journey with you as our guide has been the most throwback-style tv/internet fun i have had since Heather brought us Boo Radley Van Cullen, these recaps have been incandescent, can’t wait for season 2 :-*
Also want to add, if Marja or anyone in charge is reading this:
PLEASE CAST MORE FAT ACTORS IN SEASON 2. PLEASE MAKE FAT CHARACTERS CENTRAL IN THIS SHOW.
PLEASE CAST MORE DISABLED ACTORS AND HAVE MORE DISABLED CHARACTERS, IN ADDITION TO MARIBEL. AND ALSO MAKE MARIBEL A MORE CENTRAL CHARACTER.
Thank you.
As Drew wrote about elsewhere on this site:
YOU ALREADY HAVE TWO TRANS WOMAN & GIRL ACTRESSES; MAKE THEIR CHARACTERS TRANS.
Now that the first season is done, I think I can say for sure that this show is somehow weirder than the original. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but something just feels…off. It’s been entertaining and I’ll still watch it, but I feel like I’m watching completely different characters in a way that can’t just be about age. Say what you will about Ilene Chaiken’s penchant for bizarre plots, but I can see now that she steered the show well as far as the tone of the characters.
Favorite Screenshots/Captions: 13, 19, 22, 24 & 25, 44, 51, 58 LOL!
– “Inside, Dani’s topping all the scrawny gays and softest butches” – Thanks for that Riese
– “I want and need to know EVERYTHING about Dani’s dating life before Sophie!” – SAME!
– I hated the hospital Shane scene too.
– Here for Dani’s Ariana Grande look.
– “Dani rushes over to her love, Bette Porter, to celebrate the great news while her other love, Sophie Suarez, looks on.” – LOL
– All you Dani haters can say what you want. But Dani did not CHEAT.
– That side boob was perfectly proportioned & symmetrical. Like someone carefully placed it there for that scene. I’d like to send this person their favorite treat.
– Dani & Bette… I know I’ve said the previous times that I wanted to see them together at least once but I’m glad it didn’t happen. I like the slow progress of it brewing from a Mentor/Mentee relationship into Dani having cougar fever.
– I’m starting to think Arienne Mandi just has a resting lust face.
– Also, Sepideh Moafi is Persian. Arienne Mandi is half Persian. I mean, Dani can speak Persian to the kids… Ilene/Marja?
– Does anyone know how old Arienne is?
Hilariously fantastic recap as usual Riese. Thanks for taking the time to do this all season and spark the conversation within the community. You have my support from London with anything you need for the site. I’m in tech so Ill be happy to contribute in anyway I can. Maybe revamp it for you :D
I don’t know if this was on purpose or not, but the 14th District that Bette loses includes Boyle Heights, which is the area that Dani’s Dad is getting his new land from Jeff Milner. Which was possibly trying to imply that he used his weight in the area to pull for Jeff.
They hired the lady from Bones to be Bette’s new love interest. Noooo! I need to see Bettani. They are doing a great job with this slow build between Bette/Dani but there sure better be a payoff. Bette deserves a long term relationship with someone who has chemistry to at least match Tina. Random reporter lady, no. Someone’s wife, no. So much potential here. I see a Bette/Dani love story. Please.
– So, I’m on the Dani is boring train. Sorry folks. Next season, given her Machiavellian father, I think her storyline should involve her father engineering a meet cute for her with a more “acceptable” girl who proves to be anything but.
– Shane’s new business – Dog Uber! Or, Duber if you will.
– Sophie choses neither Hawaii nor Missouri – she winds up in Budapest (nobody gets this joke but me, I’ll show myself out).
– Sophie and Finley are kind of the only characters I care about?
All in all, I hate this iteration of TLW less than the last one. I always felt like Ilene Chaiken was trying to punish us for some obscure reason. This season didn’t feel that way. But it still had that same sloppiness in the writing where I couldn’t understand the motivation of more than half the characters. We know what good, well written TV looks like these days. Can we try harder in the future? This felt rushed.
Long time lurker, bla bla bla…
First, thanks Riese for the recaps! Truly a highlight of my week…
It was…okay? Glad it exists…
Next season:
Please be gone Psycho Hose Beast Quiara… a cute face does not excuse manipulation…
Better for Leo, obvs
Hope Tess is back…
Confused about Gigi, Sepideh was a principal, but Stephanie was only end credits-worthy? Gigi better be back…
They could still totes make Jordi trans…I get the desire to play cis, but, c’mon…or give us someone new…
All the OGs were great, still miss Jenny (well, Mia…) goddamn JB, you fucking renaissance painting!
No more breedy nonsense…
Sophie grew on me, as did Finley, didn’t really care for Toboni prior, but she’s adorable.
Dani is pointless as is. I agree with [someone] make her single, otherwise, Sooh and Dani=snooze…
Oh yeah, and that cliffhanger was so, so silly…oh, you silly, silly soap.
I was really excited about Shane having a dog, and Shane teaching her dog some tricks and Shane and her dog riding (well, driving) into the sunset…
But then I remembered Mr. Piddles and how this is The L Word and how Shane can never have nice things!
I’m scared.
I’m going to go ahead and give my honest minority opinion: the show is poorly written, bordering on unwatchable. There are too many characters and so no build up for anything, no tension to be found, hardly any plot.
I like all the old characters as much as ever, and some of these new characters are good (Angie, jordie, Rebecca, quiara, tess) and I’d like the show to actually explore them. Finley, however, is insufferable. She is the lesbian analog of an annoying frat boy. Sophie and Micah both seem boring? I mean, I got to know so little about them, I guess even calling them boring is presumptuous?
This season felt like soft porn for the queer community. That’s it. I get we’re starved, or maybe some just like that escape valve, but omg come on.
Lesbian analog of an annoying frat boy is the exact description I was looking for when it comes to Finley, thank you!
well if i wasn’t already #sinleyforever i am now with that cover of innerbloom during the sex scene, FUCK.
YEAH YOU ARE
Thank you Riese for these excellent recaps of the L Perd Generation Hapley.
I was very disappointed at the demise of the thruple, the absence of Tess, Shane pulling a Karen at the hospital, and Quiara’s out of character nastiness.
On a brighter note, the bird lady was too real (I’ve heard tell of a ferret lady near me), Angie is delightful, and Finley doesn’t annoy me anymore. Sinley is an absolute disaster but their scenes together are very sweet.
I’m so very glad you recap the episodes, Crave (where I watch in Canada) did a stupid and cut the show off probably a minute before it was over! Hate when shows do that. Note to self: Record the show after it next season!!
I’ve generally been pretty happy with the changes/improvements/things the show has done this go ’round. But I have some FEELINGS about how they ended the throuple storyline, so here goes:
What a crock. Setting up the “bad queer” angle very much felt like they were saying all the cool, hip queers are in polyam situations and so Alice suddenly wanting monogamy was almost like the radical, unexpected choice. HELLO THE WHOLE SHOW HAS BEEN MONOGAMY-FOCUSED.
It felt like a slap in the face to those of us who are polyamorous and basically never ever see that reflected in media, let alone in an at all positive/this-can-work way. It also felt like it came out of absolute left field, given how Alice was written and acted to be super game for and into the throuple situation up until basically the very end. They could and should have absolutely explored the discomfort of Nat and Gigi hooking up without her, and how to work through those internal jealousies (being polyam does not mean you’re never jealous!), and the complicating factors of Gigi being Nat’s ex/co-mom.
But damn, way to throw the relationship AND Gigi totally under the bus there. What happened to make Nat suddenly pull the about face? How does Gigi feel about getting absolutely jerked around here? Presumably she’d developed feelings for Alice, too, not to mention getting a second chance with her ex-wife/mother of her children, etc. and then this? Yiiiikes.
But yeah, mostly mad at the implied “haha jk jk monogamy is what’s radical and unexpected and isn’t this heartwarming to see them fuck over another human without comment to have this romantic moment on public media?”
Booo, I say, boooo!
Still holding out a sliver of hope they come back and deal with this next season in a more thoughtful manner. I KNOW this is ultimately a soap opera, but you can absolutely still deliver meaningful representation to those of us who so desperately need/crave it without getting our hopes up and then taking what amounts to a massive narrative dump on our heads.
/end feelings rant
yeah i agree 100%. i also got the feeling that shane and quiara have an open relationship, but it wasn’t made explicit and i would really like it to be! now that i’m older and wiser and know a lot more about being poly than i used to, re-watching the original series i want to scream all the time SHANE IS CLEARLY POLY, PLZ STOP BEING IN MONOG RELATIONSHIPS SHANE!!
also alice has been in a love triangle before (with tasha and jamie) and i feel like that would DEFINITELY come up, especially because nat is a therapist, when they attempt to explore the feelings that could arise from this situation. it was never really clear what the “rules” were when alice walked in on nat and gigi, and it wasn’t really processed in the aftermath.
generally speaking poly relationships in the media have usually just been girl-girl-guy and I think there was a real opportunity here!
at the same time, they only had an 8-episode season (the original had 14 for its first season) and i think that really shortchanged the show as well. they had a lot of story to get through.
Yeah I agree, a lot got short-changed in the season. And admittedly I have stronger feelings about this storyline because I am in a polyam relationship, and basically never see it depicted anywhere (or well). I deeply appreciate how much you were cheerleading the storyline and its potential, though, and your work generally on these (always delightful) recaps!
Hard agree with this entire comment
So let’s see, we finish out the season with 0 trans women, 0 nonbinary people, 0 bi/pan people, hardly any butch (other than andro/soft butch) main characters, and an absolute trainwreck of a throuple storyline, making it very clear this show is once again for monogamous cis femme lesbians only, playing out the same tired cheat-then-recouple-then cheat-again tropes ad infinitum? Yawn. I’m out.
I can understand why this website needs to continue covering the show, but I personally am not interested in investing any more of my limited free time in watching media that almost completely fails to represent me, my relationships and most of my social circle.
Remember the episode where Dani says to Sophie in the bathtub that she’s scared Sophie will leave her just like she left her ex for Dani? She was in a relationship when she met Dani. And look at it now, it is happening. And Dani’s dad was also very right.
Sophie is just the kind of person who will move to the next available person once things aren’t going as she wants. Total crap behaviour. I was team Sophie before. But now, she has no moral highground on that matter again.
Anyone else’s circle of lady friends all talk about crying during the Shinley sex scene?
Dani’s dad : am I the only one thinking that he is homophobic and classist? It is only in the last episode that he says Sophie is not right because her family is broken. And I don’t believe that he doesn’t like Sophie just because there was a divorce.
Also : I don’t want Bette and Dani to date. They are two alpha femmes working together knowing what they want with there life. They have to become friends and talk about their perspective, it’s a femmeship.
I’m praying they don’t hook Bette and Dani up. It is guaranteed not to end well and it really makes Bette look like a workplace predator, which I am super not cool with the “predatory lesbian” angle. She hooked up with the carpenter at her CAC job, she had a brief affair with one of her grad students, Jodi was a colleague I think (who Bette tried to force into resignation after they split-up), and then we started this series off with the revelation that she slept with Felicity when they worked together.
Hooking up with Dani would certainly play to Bette’s MO, but I’m personally not interested in another “Bette dips her pen in the company ink” story line.
I would much rather the sexual tension between them remain unrequited, which seems like the more relatable and realistic story line. I think most people have had experiences where they’ve been attracted to a coworker/boss/employee/teacher/student and still managed to NOT jump into bed with them. It would be more interesting to see that navigated in a way where the attraction has to be reconciled with (not prioritized over) maintaining a professional relationship.
I’m disproportionately worried about the sitch with Tina’s fiancé, people.
First of all, her name is Claire, which to be totally objective, sounds blonde. Call me completely unfounded, but a blonde bitch named Claire does NOT sound like the hero we are gonna need to check Tina going forward.
I once saw a 6-month-old baby have her ears pierced at a Claire’s, and she DIDN’T EVEN CRY. Tina is WAY older than that, y’all.
What the fuck are we gonna do if Tina tries to revisit the infamy of the poncho-por-la-paunch wardrobe era?Hmm? Just let Claire handle it? Ha.
Remember that Willy-Wonka-sipppin’ lean-purple-striped burlap sack that, as best I can tell, was pulled directly off of a Grand Canyon guide-donkey’s back mere seconds before “Action!” that Tina wore like a tree skirt in the old seasons? Yeah. And she managed that aesthetic flash-bang during the Bette “Fuckin’ Bet” Porter Administration, too.
This is not a drill. I think we should consider bringing Tasha back for this. Or even Laci and her fliers? Fuck idk but we need to get ready.
I mean, Carrie, but same difference.
Thank you, Riese. Every one of these recaps is pure joy. I’m so happy to have the L word back. The best part of the articles is the Aloce Show. Too funny! Also your picture captioning game is on point. Thanks again, and I can’t wait for the second season to hurry up and get into my eyeballs!
Love these recaps so much! Such an awesome combo of belly laughs, callbacks, and truly thought-provoking insights :)
Please forgive the essay, lol! Ton of thoughts to share. Gen Q isn’t perfect but there’s a lot I like about it. All the OG characters, of course, and the callbacks. But also liked the more diverse (and more realistically representative) casting choices. Favorite characters among the newbies: Finley, Sophie (and her entire family!), Tess, Angie, GiGi, Rebecca. Pierce had some great scenes – wish we would’ve seen more of him!
I didn’t really expect to see some meaningful takes on, like, shame and recovery from emotional trauma, personal growth, self-forgiveness, struggles w/ alcohol use, and faith/religion/spirituality. On The L Word. Is this real? What is happening??? IDK but it’s a nice surprise & sending some healthier messages than the original show imho.
The Angie & Jordi kiss, and Shane’s/Quiara’s reaction, stirred up some interesting feelings for me. Obviously it’s an adorable moment. But it just struck me what a different world they’re growing up in, for better and worse, but on the better side. Angie doesn’t have to hide her crush (/being queer) from her mom, or Uncle Shane, or any of the adults closest to her. She’ll have access to info on relationships and communication and boundaries and sex that I absolutely didn’t at her age. Ya’ll get what I’m saying, right? It made me intensely happy (if also kinda bittersweet?) to imagine a queer youth first-crush-date kinda story free of all the crap people in my generation generally went through. I so want this for real-life queer kids :).
I’ve loved every single scene between Sophie and Finley! So much! I don’t have a strong preference either way on whether they end up dating, or being friends who don’t have sex, or being friends who do have sex, or any other shape of a connection two queer people can build together in the 2020’s. All I care about, is I don’t want to see their connection broken (neither friends nor lovers / not talking), and I want endgame happiness for each of them – no matter who they’re dating. No tragic endings for these two or I. Will. Riot!
About Micah. I see a deeper betrayal going on than “he didn’t tell me he had a husband (and maybe an open relationship?)” – though that’s already a pretty big deal, especially for a sex partner. But José is also a cis artist who painted Micah, a (nude) trans subject and lover, and displayed that painting publicly. Benefited from it, careerwise. That already holds a lot of potential for exploitation or consent issues, objectifying or fetishizing, cis queer lens on trans queer experience, etc etc (which is also interesting at a meta level for the show…but I digress).
Think about how Micah reacted to his stoned momma whipping out that baby photo at the restaurant (none too pleased). And what Micah told José back in the pool – that he *wanted* to tell him everything, but because of how the cis world often reacts to him speaking his own truth, he doesn’t talk about pre-transition years. Micah slowly chose to trust José more and more as the season went on, and I get the impression that when he agreed for José to do the painting, he assumed this was within a monamorous relationship with long-term potential. He assumed José viewed him as a romantic partner, not “just” an artistic muse or stepping stone. And I believe this is why it hurt so much to learn he had a husband – I think that made Micah immediately feel shitty about seeing his naked image hung in the gallery.
On a totally different note. The original TLW gave more screentime to queer friendship and had more of a sense of queer community & queer space. It was often a very narrow slice of queer community (e.g. wealthy, majority-white, abled cis lesbians), and required us to suspend disbelief on How Do They Have Time/$$$ For All This, but even so. Sometimes the main characters (collectively, not just in twos or threes) would hang out at The Planet, or step onto a cruise ship, or ride with Dykes on Bikes at Pride, or pontificate Deep Thoughts about interconnectivity and The Chart, or drunkenly shout their coming out story to an unfamiliar group of lesbians, or belt “Closer to Fine” off-key in a packed mini-van, or casually mention their “dyke community back in Wilmette” or compare/contrast wlw scenes in L.A. versus the Bay Area, or or or. There was a sense of belonging to a community, a sense of relief and kinship and history/legacy in entering/creating queer spaces.
Flipping the sports bar into Dana’s is a nice touch, and there’s one (1) scene in an MCC church, but overall I barely feel that “community” aspect with Gen Q. And I miss it. I truly like the new characters but I’m a little sad to see how much more their lives (or at least, their screentime) revolve around work and relationships.
As for what I hope for in Season 2…
-trans women characters, non-binary characters (amab & afab), fat characters
—p.s. assuming Alice still has a show, maybe some trans guests yea?
-give Micah, and any/all trans characters, closer connection to other characters & major plot threads
-bring back the throuple! (or other realistic, healthy polyam representation)
-let us know that other, offscreen OG characters are happy and well. I NEED to know that Shay is OK, and whether Shane stayed in touch? I’d also like to see *at least* a throwaway line for other characters like Tasha, Helena, Carmen, even Max (and his kid, plz).
-IS SOPHIE’S GRANDMA OK??? (a.k.a. less loose ends plz?)
-make it OK for older generation characters to not have or want kids, yeah? there are other legit life goals, other meaningful relationships (than parent/child), other ways to give love and make an impact and leave a legacy, etc etc. kids are great; heteronormative pressure to procreate-or-else-your-life-has-no-meaning is not so great!
-Finley’s path to self-love and shame-free sexuality and finding peace w/r/t religious upbringing, with lots of support. but also lots of Finley in general- sweet, goofy, hype-man, brotastic, messy Finley!
-intergenerational friendships, mentor/mentee-ness, and banter. this show has a huge opportunity to reflect on gen x vs. millennial vs. gen z queer culture and I think these writers could make that real & funny as hell!
I recognize this is years after this was published, but I often return to this recap when current eps of this program frustrate me, and I god I just gotta say Riese the way you write about this show and especially #Sinley is always so beautiful!!