This week, Supergirl was full of wall-to-wall feelings and Valerie Anne was there to capture every one of them for you in a drinking glass. Kayla came to a pretty sad (and true to life) realization about the emotional labor that’s underpinning Cheryl and Toni’s relationship on Riverdale.

Then came all things The L Word!! Riese and Carly dropped the newest episode of To L and Back and Riese broke down the newest The L Word: Generation Q trailer, in which Alice Pieszecki preps for seven minutes of sex.

Speaking of The L Word: Generation Q, wait until you get a hold of this: There’s going to be a live tapping of To L and Back AND IT’S GOING TO HAVE THE “NEW GENERATION” CAST OF GEN Q!! AND IF YOU’LL BE IN LOS ANGELES ON DECEMBER 4TH, YOU ARE WELCOME TO COME FOR FREE!! That’s right! Unfortunately general admission is already sold out, but are you an A+ Member? First of all, thank you for supporting this website and queer indie media! Second of all, we have a special block of tickets reserved just for you! 

It’s amazing. RSVP Here.

If you live in Los Angeles, and aren’t an A+ Member, well now is an excellent time to join! We have a lot of exciting perks coming, including this taping which you can still attend! Become a member, we need you, thanks.

Notes from the TV Team: 

+ After how last week’s S.W.A.T. ended, what happened this week seemed inevitable: Chris breaks up with Ty and Kira, moving out of their shared apartment while they’re at work. And because this show clearly doesn’t have any queer people in the writers’ room, Chris ends up nursing her broken heart at the home of the person who called her relationship immoral. Yay! — Natalie

+ Last night on Grey’s Anatomy, Dr. Carina DeLuca made an appearance to help Dr. Bailey with her miscarriage. In other lesbian news, Intern Resident Hellmouth got caught in Joe’s Bar as an entire car drove through the window! Now she may die (ironic, another potentially dead lesbian on television) but we won’t find out until January. — Carmen

+ We don’t have anyone who covers Mr. Robot on our team, but you should know that Young M.A has been making guest appearances during the show’s final season, which is airing right now! In case that’s your thing. — Carmen

This is Carmen: I’ve been going through a pretty intense Young M.A crush recently. You’ve been warned.

+ We know you’re looking for updates on Batwoman and Stumptown and we promise, they are coming! Be on the lookout!

All American 206: “Hard Knock Life”

Written by Natalie

Look, Patience, they remembered to give me a storyline this week.

Coop stops by Spencer’s house to ask her best friend for a favor: She wants to connect with Layla’s father, JP, to boost the production values on her new track. He’s hardpressed to believe that JP would be receptive to his calls as the last time they crossed paths, Spencer was trying to get JP’s daughter committed to a mental health facility. It’s a fair point, I suppose, if you ignore the fact that at the time JP was also trying to get JP’s daughter committed to a mental health facility, but, you know, facts schmacts. Spencer encourages Coop to reach out to Layla directly because despite their break-up, the relationship between the two girls is still cool. Spencer chastises Coop for not believing in herself and reminds her that “closed mouths don’t get fed.”

Coop takes Spencer’s advice and the next time we see her, she and Patience are playing Coop’s song for Layla at her home studio. Layla loves the song but thinks it could be even better if they switched up the hook. Layla digs into one of her mother’s boxes and pulls out some lyrics that could serve as an alternate hook. Patience — who, you’ll recall, we first met as a part of the church choir — riffs on the lyrics and Layla offers to help Coop re-record the demo.

Turns out, Layla’s got good instincts when it comes to music: Her father loves the new version of Coop’s song. But the thing he really loves about the song? Patience’s singing. He’s already got a lot of rappers like Coop on his label but Patience represents something new. When Coops comes over to discuss their song, he asks if they’re a duo and Coop, dejected but proud, answers that she’s strictly a solo artist. JP wishes Coop luck with her music but invites Patience to reach out to him if she’s interested in pursuing something. However, when Coop meets up with Patience later, she omits JP’s interest in Patience from her story about the meeting.

Oh, Coop… this is going to end badly.

How to Get Away With Murder 609: “Are You the Mole?”

Written by Natalie

After imparting some final wisdom to her soon-to-be graduates, Annalise heads back to her apartment to get ready for the Dean’s graduation party. Frank asks if she’s taking the new guy but she’s not: She’s taking Tegan! It’s a date! Tegan and Annalise are on a date! Sure, neither of them call it that and sure, after a joke about them being married (!!) and considering buying a camper, Annalise introduces Tegan as her boss, but still, it’s a date. The rest of this episode is hella bleak, let me have this bit of joy.

Their good times are interrupted by breaking news: The FBI is investigating Annalise for her role in Sam Keating’s death. Tegan quickly morphs into defense attorney mode, blaming the reports on leaked gossip from the Governor and Xavier Castillo. She suspects that the FBI’s informant is a rouse because otherwise Annalise would’ve been arrested by now and she promises to be there when/if they do. Unbeknownst to her, Annalise has stopped to look at the charred remains of her old house.

“I should’ve left a long time ago,” Annalise muses before walking off. Tegan scurries behind wondering if she’s planning on leaving now.

Soon after Annalise returns home, Nate stops by, both to prove that he’s not the FBI informant — he hands over DA Denver’s old files as proof — and to castigate Annalise for every bad thing that’s happened to him, including his father’s death. Annalise, rightly, throws the blame right back in his face, noting that she’s the only one that doesn’t have blood on her hands. Things grow tense between them and, for a second, it looks like a physical fight might break out. Instead, Nate disarms Annalise, looks at her with disgust and prays he gets to witness her downfall.

Meanwhile the Keating 4 — Asher, Michaela, Connor and Oliver — are getting high on ‘shrooms, celebrating their impending graduation, and freaking out over the news reports and their likely arrests. They get a Facetime call from Laurel (!!), assuring them that she’s not the mole. She’s not in witness protection with the FBI, she escaped her brother’s reach with Tegan’s help. Michaela tries to reach Tegan but to no avail and the Keating 4 play a guessing game about who the FBI informant is. Is it Laurel? Is it Tegan? Is it Annalise? Is it Gabriel? Then, in a moment of absolute clarity during her psychedelic high, Michaela realizes who the mole is: It’s Asher (which, coincidentally, is a thing I predicted, in this very spot, two years ago). When Asher tries to defend his actions, Oliver wallops him with a fire poker.

When Asher regains consciousness, he tries to defend his actions and, predictably, blames everything on Annalise. His father’s suicide. His murder of Emily Sinclair. Everything is Annalise’s fault. In perhaps my favorite line ever uttered on this show, Michaela spits back: “You sound like every other horrible straight white man in this country.”

While Michaela and Connor try to resign themselves to their fate — that is, a deal with the FBI — Asher escapes out the back and heads straight to Bonnie’s house, where she promptly calls Frank. Why of all places, would Asher go to Bonnie’s? She’s killed two people, Frank has killed God knows how many… and they both are doggedly loyal to Annalise… Why would you go there? When Asher ends up dead at the season’s end, I can’t say I’m surprised. Sorry Judas, you had it coming.

Later, Annalise is getting out of town. She makes one last call to her Mama before she starts the process of erasing her identity. En route to her escape, she takes a brief detour before taking a puddle-jumper out of town. But even though we see Annalise escape, there’s still a future funeral, including a “special speaker” who knew Annalise well: Wes Gibbins.

Almost Family 105: “Risky AF”

Written by Valerie Anne

This week, Edie finds herself at a crossroads because she’s enjoying spending time with Amanda more and more, while Tim is asking her if she’s ready to have kids. She tells Amanda that it’s something she’s struggling with, and Amanda reminds Edie that her choice here isn’t about whether or not she wants to be married with children or not. Because two women can have all that, too. Her choice is between Amanda and Tim.

This becomes especially true when Edie makes friends with a kid studying for mock trial, only to learn he’s actually Amanda’s son. Edie realizes Amanda has an ex-wife and a son, and after spending the evening with the two of them, she realizes that maybe it’s not whether or not she wants kids that’s giving her hesitation with her husband.

They do so much gay hand touching I LOVE IT

When Tim calls and interrupts their night, Edie realizes she’s getting closer to the moment she’s going to have to make her choice. She stops by Amanda’s later to give her son a toy owl to congratulate him on a trial well mocked, and confesses that she thinks she’s falling in love. Edie proves that you don’t have to know what to label yourself to say gay the gayest shit, because she tells Amanda that she REARRANGED HER MOLECULES. She says she thinks they’re past the point of no return, and Amanda agrees as she goes in for the kiss.

Legacies 206: “That’s Nothing I Had To Remember”

Written by Valerie Anne

The day has finally arrived. A moment a lot of people have been waiting for a year, something I only even knew to wait for since I binged The Vampire Diaries/The Originals this summer, but something we all desperately needed: Aunt Freya is back.

Freya walked so Josie and Hope could run.

The episode opens with Josie, who somehow got herself to New Orleans without anyone knowing, at Rousseau’s seeking out Freya’s help. My heart did a somersault when I saw her face again, and hearing her refer to her wife and her son gave me new life. (Side note: Keelin and Freya named their son Nik. A detail they didn’t dwell on that absolutely obliterated my heart.) It struck me as a beautiful and unique kind of moment to have Josie, a young queer witch, seeking out advice from her queer witchy elder.

Though Josie DID throw her across the room with magic. But we’ll forgive her, she was feeling a little angsty.

While Josie was off galavanting in the Big Easy, Lizzie and Hope were being unlikely chums, fighting the Croatoan that Malavore set loose on the Salvatore School to eat anyone with something to hide. To try to stave it off, Hope decides to start spilling secrets, one of which is that she had a crush on Josie when they were 14. Lizzie says that Josie and Hope will never happen, and Hope has a pattern of doing the opposite of what people tell her to, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for my #Hosie.

The episode ends with Josie restoring everyone’s memories of Hope, so of course the first thing Aunt Freya does is make her way to Mystic Falls. Hope is sitting alone fighting off tears when she hears Freya say her name in that familiar way. Hope melts into her aunt’s arms, being held in a way she’s needed to be held for a good, long time.

Black Lightning 306: “The Book of Resistance: Chapter One”

Written by Carmen

Sweet, sweet superhero kisses.

All the times I’ve rejoiced about having a bullet-proof black lesbian on television, and it never quite occurred that there were other ways she could get hurt. Case in point, last episode Anissa was shot with one of Painkiller’s arrows, and now she has a deathly venom coursing through her veins. I cannot wait for the Pierces to find out what Jennifer’s supposedly dead ex-boyfriend has been up to, and it’s coming soon, but for now there are more immediate concerns — namely, Anissa only has a few days to live.

Of course of course Anissa turns out to be the exact kind of gay who’s all “I’m fine, I’m fine” when everything is patently NOT FINE because she doesn’t want to burden those around her. There’s at least three of those gays in every friend group, and if you don’t know her, it probably is because you are her. Anyway! Grace finds Anissa passed out on the floor of their apartment and calls Uncle Gambi in a panic. That’s the true story of how she finds out that her girlfriend is hopped up full of poisonous venom.

Gambi tends to Anissa before leaving her in Grace’s care, so that he can track down this Khalil mystery. Once they’re alone, Grace scolds Anissa. They can’t build a life together if she’s going to keep secrets or treat Grace like fragile glass, always about to break! Anissa does that charming Thunder thing she does and when Grace jokes about forever, Anissa smiles and says “I do!” and I simply cannot help it — my shipper heart fluttered like crazy. These two!

However, Anissa technically only has 24 hours left to live, and she still hasn’t told the rest of her family, so Gambi better get right on it!

In other lesbian news, Anissa’s former hook up, journalist Jamilah Olsen, has joined as the voice of The Freeland Resistance, which I’m incredibly excited about! That means there are three queer women of color at least making a semi-regular appearance on Black Lightning. Despite any other shortcomings the show throws our way, that is no small deal!

This Is Us 409: “So Long, Marianne”

Written by Carmen

#ThatGreenDress

Yes, that’s a photo of Zendaya from this year’s Emmys up above, and not an actual photo from this week’s This Is Us, but bear with me:

1. My computer had a fit at the last minute, so I couldn’t grab a proper screenshot from this week’s episode.

2. Zendaya, and that dress, end up being very important to the story at hand.

It’s Thanksgiving once again in the Pearson household, which marks exactly one year since Tess Pearson first quietly came out to her Aunt Kate. A lot has changed since then; Tess moved cities and came out to her entire family and she got the dopest of gay haircuts. Still, she hasn’t come out to her classmates — a fact that, just a few episodes ago, caused her a full on panic attack.

The big thing during Thanksgiving break at Tess’ school is this meme going around Instagram, “Who’s Your Celebrity Crush,” and she’s thoroughly freaked out. If she says nothing, then she feels left out, if she picks a male celebrity she’d be lying, and if she joins in by telling the truth then everyone will know. There is no such thing as coming out once. Tess Pearson came out exactly one year ago, and here she is — still coming out. Any of us know that coming out is a lifelong, tiring process. There’s also a specific anxiety about having to come out across social media, and therefore essentially in public, that’s unique to Gen Z. Despite the fact that it’s a big reach that a bunch of Middle Schoolers are on (gasp!) Instagram when they could be Tik Tok’ing the night away, the message still hits home.

Uncle Kevin comes up with the genius solution of taking Tess to a local fast food joint so that she can practice “coming out” to a stranger in the faceless drive thru speaker. It’s touching, a bit silly, and ultimately perfect. Thanks to the confidence of her trial run, Tess takes the leap of posting a photograph of Zendaya in that infamous green dress on her Instagram (hashtag: #ThatGreenDress — my girl has taste!). Everyone at school is super supportive and Tess actually  ends up going viral! Which is way more exciting than having to spend Thanksgiving a bunch of boring adults! Win-Win!



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