After so successfully and accurately ranking every sex scene from The L Word, we of course anticipated one day doing the same for Generation Q, which initially were truly some of the best we’d ever seen, until Season Three when suddenly the sex scene train seemed to have left the station. A blow to the community! Speaking of blows to the community, the show has since been cancelled, which means that the time to rank sex scenes has come for us all.

In our podcast episode for the second season premiere, on the occasion of Sophie and Dani having sex the night before what’d end up being a thwarted wedding, Drew noted, “…the intimacy coordinator of this show is the MVP. The sex scenes on the show, the only time I’ve ever seen sex scenes that are better than the Gen Q sex scenes is Vida. That is the only show I’ve ever seen, or even movie, the sex scenes on Gen Q are so well choreographed, so well done, so specific. I love them.”

So now, as we look back on the best moments of this short-lived series, sex scenes feels like a good place to start. The rankings here are the result of an intense voting process undergone by every Autostraddle TV Team member who’d seen the entire series. Quotes throughout are a mishmash of my own, quotes from the To L and Back podcast, other posts about sex scenes, and from other L Word fans on our team.

---

34. He Wants to Fuck Her On His Livestream (301: Last Year)

As a comedy scene, Alice’s romp with Gen Z TikToker Teddy hit all the marks, but as a sex scene it apparently was not our favorite!

33. Finley’s Too Drunk To Bang (102: Less Is More)

Finley and Rebecca: very hot together! Finley having to stop this sex scene almost immediately because her head is spinning and she’s gonna hurl? Not so much!

32. Tess Interrupts Hot Sex To Declare That They Should Fire Finley Or Else They Are Enabling Her (210: Last Call)

It’s mid-day. Shane is going down on Tess, then Tess’s legs are on her shoulders and Shane’s fucking her to some terrible house music and Tess is moaning and everybody’s having a nice time and then, for some absolutely inexplicable reason, Tess interrupts this delightful event with a “not to ruin the mood but, if we keep letting Finley work at the bar we’re just enabling her.”

31. Shane Bangs The Wedding Planner (310: Looking Ahead)

You can always rely on Shane to fuck someone she just met at the wedding, and Kimmy (Jen Tullock) was the lucky girl at Bette and Tina’s.

30. Micah Soothes His Ego With a Hookup (103: Lost Love)

Two hot men, one nice couch, and one very sad Micah!

29. Nat Wakes Alice Up For a Little Midnight Surprise (102: Less is More)

Nice to get it in right before the episode ended, but this sex scene sadly clocked in at a mere 15 seconds.

28. Lena Cheats on Tess With Her New Boss Shane (103: Lost Love)

Lena had her eye on Shane from the jump, and Shane just has eyes. Lena pulls Shane into the backroom and they bang — banging the girlfriend of the manager you just asked to run your lesbian bar is definitely a move. Dawn Denbo would like to salute everybody involved.

27. Shane and The Flight Attendant (101: Let’s Do It Again)

Shane finger-blasting a stranger: hello Season One! Perfect, no notes.

26. Finley’s Not Too Drunk To Bang (102: Less Is More)

Finley, slightly less drunk now, gives sex with Rebecca another whirl. Unfortunately, we only earned about ten seconds of this one.

25. Alice’s Afternoon Delight (207: Light)

Running into your ex at lunch: awkward. Running into your ex at lunch and then fucking in her car with your head popping out of the sunroof: priceless!

24. Cherie Jaffe Would Go Down on Tess in a Theater The Back Room of Dana’s (205: Lobsters, Too)

Tess had some questions for Mommi Cherie about the nature of their improbable four-day relationship, but Cherie squashed dissent by putting her face between Tess’s legs.

23. Alice and Tom’s First Time (206: Love Shack)

At last, this delightful comic duo did the right thing by having sex with each other.

22. Shane and Quiara Having Sex JK Talking About Divorce and Pregnancy (105: Labels)

Shane slips inside Quiara, who gasps, and then Shane goes “I missed you” by which she means “I missed being inside you” and then Shane goes, “I signed those divorce papers” and Quiara’s like “oh sorry about that” and then she’s like “btw I’m pregnant!” Why are Shane’s sex scenes always getting interrupted with admin??

21. Tess and Finley’s Drunken Romp (105: Labels)

Tess is relapsing, and Finley is trashed, and they’re both very sad about recent breakdowns — they’re also both very hot though, so :-/

20. Bette Soothes Pippa’s Rejection With Gigi’s Hot Beef Injection (204: Lake House)

Between a song that goes “you’re not the one, but you’re the one right now” and Bette’s somewhat unenthusiastic facial expression for about one second AND knowing Bette’s just using Gigi as a body even though the body she really wants is Pippa’s….

19. Eleven Seconds of Micah Fucking Maribel With a Strap-on (307: Little Boxes)

Drew: The previous sex scene with Micah and Maribel was very tender, which is very nice. We love tender sex. Love it, love it, love it! But this is the first time we’ve been like, oh cool, we’re watching them fuck.

18. Ivy Gets Shane Out of Her Dreams and Into Her Car (304: Last to Know)

Drew: Shane and Ivy fucking to a fun cover of “Psychokiller” by the Talking Heads… a real intense choice, but I’m into it. It’s hot, I’m going to say it.
Analyssa: So hot.
Drew: I’m going to be brave and say it’s hot. They’re making out, Shane puts her fingers in-
Analyssa: Fingers in the mouth while kissing.
Drew: That’s always going to get me!

17. Maribel and Micah Seal the Deal! (205: Lobsters, Too)

It was a much-anticipated and authentic consummation of a friends-to-lovers pipeline — but as Drew said on the podcast, “I wanted just a little bit more time with this one.”

16. Shane Dreaming of Quiara (104: L.A. Times)

One thing a lot of Generation Q sex scenes lack is great lighting but luckily Shane’s subconscious summoned this glowing gradient for dream sequence sex with Quiara.

15. Micah and Jose Do It In The Pool (102: Less is More)

Listen it wouldn’t be The L Word without a journey into the popular Los Angeles fantasy of fucking in your backyard swimming pool.

14. Reunion Sex for Bette and Tina (302: Los Angeles Traffic)

We’ve seen Bette and Tina reunite over stir-fry and in an elevator and in the backroom of a nightclub run by a tyrannical tank top enthusiast, but this time, it was different: They were both single, both grounded, and both ready to slip back into the place they’d always called home — each other’s bodies.

13. Sophie and Finley Get A Little Bit Closer (206: Love Shack)

After an unclear amount of time spent holding back and taking space, Finley and Sophie finally caved in to the chemistry after lesbian drama at Karaoke night. They whispered apologies and promises, and reader, we were so hopeful!

12. Shane and Tess’s First Time Doesn’t Stay in Vegas (208: Launch Party)

What’s important about this sex scene besides the screensaver of the Las Vegas Strip at Night and the absolutely inexcusable house band music is that it is incredibly hot and also incredibly long (the third-longest sex scene in the entire series). This sex scene has everything: Shane surprising Tess by showing up at her hotel room in Las Vegas, friends-to-lovers sexual tension explosion, several position switches, Shane’s signature swoop. RIP #Shess!

11. Sophie and Dani Have Sex With an Ex (Each Other) (204: Lake House)

Drew: “Sophie did not drive all the way to that lake house not to have sex with Dani. Like maybe in her head at the time, she didn’t know that that’s what she was doing, she thought she was doing something noble. But I think in a year, when Sophie looks back on this moment, she’s going to go, “Yeah, I knew what I was doing.”

10. Sophie and Dani’s Pre-Wedding Romp (201: Late to the Party)

Sophie and Dani weren’t the best at communicating with each other in words, but they were always very reliably absolutely good at having sex with each other.

9. Sophie and Finley’s Sexathon (207: Light)

Sophie and Finley spent an inconsistent amount of time wanting to fuck but not fucking, so now they are going to do the right thing and fuck as much as they possibly fucking can immediately all the time.

8. Gigi and Dani’s First Time (208: Launch Party)

Were I to make a list of all the reasons Dani should knock on Gigi’s door, take her clothes off, and stick her face between Gigi’s thighs, “she’s mad at Bette Porter” would not be anywhere on that list! But we’d waited all of our lives, I think, for this relationship to be consummated. The things Gigi can do with her mouth — the hunger, the biting and laughing and kissing? Very yes.

7. Nat and Gigi Break the Rules, Maybe (107: Lose it All)

Analyssa: Look, I’m not happy about this sex scene eventually leading to the demise of the throuple. Let’s just get that out of the way now. But! The way these two look at each other between kisses. The way everything they do feels urgent without being frantic or sloppy. The fingers in mouths and the hands around necks and the gripped thighs! These are two very hot people who have missed each other for a very long time and would like to have very hot sex about it. I love that for them, and for me! Sorry Alice.

6. Shane Cannot Resist Ivy and Honestly Who Could It’s Kehlani (303: Quiz Show)

Normally we’d not forgive the show for writing a scene so inconsistent with who we know Shane to be or for refusing to let Shane change or even flesh out her impetus to cheat besides that she is “Shane” but also… Kehlani?

Drew: Shane does not seem even a little bit concerned about the fact that she’s in a committed relationship. I feel like in the original, when she would do this, there would be a lot more tortured whatever. She’s like, “I know who I am and who I am is bending Ivy over and fingering her from behind.”
Riese: And God bless it. Bless them.
Analyssa: Bless them.
Riese: I thought this was a fantastic sex scene.
Drew: I enjoyed it.
Riese: Two thumbs up to everyone involved. Congrats to everyone. Sorry, Tess.
Analyssa: Sorry to Tess!

5. Sophie and Dani Get The Show Started With Period Sex (101: Let’s Do it Again)

This was the very first scene of The L Word: Generation Q, and it broadcast a certain type of sex we’d be seeing and who would be having it, and from this alone we felt pretty fucking hopeful about what Generation Q would be giving.

4. Art Museum Sex with Bette and Pippa (207: Light)

Carmen: When I look back on Generation Q, there will be a lot a remember. There will always be the Aloce show! Finley and Sophie riding their bicycle together in season one! But more than anything, there will always be Bette and Pippa! Hot! Black! Having Sex in the Middle of an Art Instillation! You Will Always Be Famous!

3. Bette and Gigi Meet Their Match (202: Lean on Me)

Drew: This was the best sex scene ever.
Riese: Tell us more.
Drew: I can just read my notes on this scene — so basically I just have in all caps, “GIGI LICKING BETTE’S BOOBS.” Then, new note, all caps, “GIGI SAYING, ‘WAIT.’ New note, all caps, “TOP OFF.”
Riese: Top off!
Drew: New note, “Bette biting her tongue.” I say in all caps “OGM” but I think I meant to write “OMG.”
Riese: You were just all mixed up inside?
Drew: Yeah. New note, “I literally screamed in this hotel room,” which is true. I was in the hotel in Ohio and…

2. Finley and Sophie’s First Time (108: Lapse in Judgment)

This is my personal favorite sex scene from the entire L Word franchise. So much happens in this scene — so much character work, even! — which is messy and intense and resonant and complicated and beautiful and even hot. Finley is sober and vulnerable in a way we rarely saw with her. Sophie is being reckless and grasping for an escape route and somebody who she feels like she can be her full self around. This scene captures the joy of having sex for the first time with someone you’re already friends with, someone you’ve already been metaphorically naked with, and now you’re unwrapping a whole new layer of that. The music of this scene reminded me of how adept the original series was at matching songs to sex scenes — so much was lost when Gen Q shifted to its house band. But anyhow: this scene was Generation Q at its best.

1. The Throuple (104: L.A. Times)

Kayla: The best thing about this threesome is that it’s absolutely a bad idea. These three are not in a communicative or stable enough place to really think of how this might impact their dynamics and relationships with each other, but they’re acting on horny impulse, and you know what? That’s just how sex is sometimes. It’s of-the-moment and messy and not the best idea! It’s about to change shit for them! There’s nothing necessarily special about it, but it’s still chaos, and that makes it immersive and fun. This threesome is hot because of its flourishes (the cinematography and the music) but it’s also just hot because it’s real — a real bad idea!