Summer TV is in full swing! Well, not full swing. Mid-swing, I guess. It won’t be in full swing until Wynonna Earp comes back in July and I finally understand what the deal is with that potato. I’m sorry I didn’t get Boobs Tube posted for you last week. I was traveling back across the country (again) from having traveled across the country (again) and I caught myself a case of whooping cough! (Okay that’s a lie but I’m on heckin antibiotics for a bad bacterial infection in my lungs.) But TV carries on! This week Erin watched season two of Queer Eye and thanked god she’s gay. Kayla recapped a strong episode of The Bold Type. Valerie recapped the Supergirl season three finale. And all our TV writers weighed in on a Bold Type roundtable.
Everything else that happened this week falls under our Quick Hits category and here it is!
Ackley Bridge: 201-203
This moment would be less sweet if Nas knew her mom was getting more action than her.
Channel 4’s great series, Ackley Bridge, returned earlier this month, with our lesbian protagonist, Nasreen. Gone is her science teacher and love interest from last season and, after the new season’s first episode, so are her plans for an arranged marriage. Nas has her heart set on real love this season — the kind that alluded her parents — but thus far, both her mother and her best friend have had more luck. — Natalie
Claws 201-202: “Shook” and “Cracker Casserole”
“What if it’s, like, the next Obama?
Girl, it’s not.”
The ladies of Nail Artisan of Manatee County are back for Season 2 of Claws! Last season ended with Quiet Ann sacrificing her relationship with Arlene to protect Desna and the crew and when the show picks back up, she’s still reeling from the break-up. Arlene, on the other hand, is back to playing the field already, as Ann discovers while stalking her Instagram.
Claws‘ showrunners have promised we’ll hear more from Quiet Ann this season, literally, and we get a taste of what we can expect in the second episode. During a really compelling, though quintessentially Claws, abortion storyline — wherein a clueless Virginia refers to MLK as “that guy that’s always dreaming” — Ann admits that when she was really young, she got pregnant and was forced to carry to term. Just as Ann started to get attached to her daughter, Sofia, her parents sent the child away and Ann never saw her again.
Of course, I’m interested to see what’s in store for Quiet Ann this season, but this talk of Ann wanting to settle down and have a kid has me very worried. — Natalie
Queen Sugar 304-305: “No Haven in My Shadow” and “A Little Lower Than Angels”
Hi there! I just want you to know that Nova kissed Remy this week and then I threw my laptop into a pit of fire! I can’t believe it!!! REMY!! F*CKING REMY!!! Remy, her sister’s ex-boyfriend!! Remy the righteous, judgemental, holier-than-thou, ass (excuse my French! I’m very angry here!) who Charley at least finally had the good sense to cut loose last season. Now he’s back and his lips are attached my beloved Nova’s lips! There are a lot of reasons why the continuing erasure of Nova’s sexuality is maddening and painful, but c’mon! This is just salt in the wound! My friends, I fear we have very dark days ahead.
A bright light in those dark days is Bianca Lawson. Our very own Natalie wanted to make sure you all know that she’s now walking around the show looking like this:
And that alone is a good reason to keep watching. — Carmen
Mi Familia Perfecta: Chapters 45 – 53
I woke up like this….and she woke up like that, right beside me…
As I’ve acknowledged before, Mi Familia Perfecta can be a frustrating show to watch — Megan and Génesis are secondary characters among a sprawling primary cast so their scenes are few and far between — but it’s also a show that unambiguously confronts and chastises homophobia and there’s still tremendous value in that.
The show gives space for Génesis’ mother to express her concerns about her daughter’s “confusion” but, ultimately, it only serves to tee up a forceful response from Génesis. She calls out her mother for being accepting of gays, generally, but not her specifically, and assures her that she doesn’t need therapy just because she likes women. When Megan is mysteriously dropped from the PR campaign, she calls out the Soccer Club’s President for continuing to do business with the firm, despite their obvious homophobia.
Then, when Génesis’ brother, Eddie, accuses Megan of taking advantage of his little sister, Megan blithely asks if he thinks she spends all her time walking around converting straight women. Missing her sarcasm, an increasingly agitated Eddie demands Megan leave his sister alone and begs Génesis to realize that she’s been brainwashed. Eddie’s erratic, while Megan is calm and poised, as she tells him not to take his frustrations about what’s happened to him on them.
The catch-22 of Mi Familia Perfecta handling this storyline so well (and the girls having great chemistry) is that you it leaves you wanting so much more…alas. — Natalie
Is there a place to watch Mi Familia Perfecta with English subtitles? I’ve been looking but it seems that only the first episode and the first 10-15 minutes of their episodes are subtitled in English on their youtube page and website.
the user “cosimaus” has all their episodes on youtube (Megan and Génesis, and sometimes only Génesis) – https://www.youtube.com/user/brittanaluver13
Thank you! I’ve been looking for a while.
I really need to learn Spanish and Portuguese, this keeps happening to me.
Thought I mention this; S2E2 of Detroiters last night had a lesbian sub-plot with one of regular characters Lea(played by Lailani Ledesma) gives a quick kiss to her gf. Another character Sheila tries to prove she’s not one of those elderly homophobic women, by having a pride flag on her desk and giving Lea a poster of woman. I thought it did a solid job while still being funny. Would have prefered if they used the word lesbian instead of gay, but no lgbtq characer has died. I think it’s the first time we see Lea is a lesbian on the show, but I could be wrong?
Yes! As a Detroiter I’m watching Detroiters TONIGHT (sorry I didn’t get to it yesterday! They sprung that plot on us by surprise!) — so expect more on this new development next week!
DAMN! does Bianca Lawson age?!
@Cyclone No, no, she doesn’t. *swoon emoji*
I literally screamed at my computer while watching all of episode 305 of Queen Sugar [I’m sure my neighbors were tired of me]. I am in shock.
FUCKING REMY!!!!
I’ll raise my glass to The Fosters, a groundbreaking show that was always surrounded by love and wanted in my household.
What in gosh darn hell is UP with Remy and Nova?!?!?
Who even knows???? Why would anyone think this is a good idea?? My god! I am so mad at this turn of events. So, so mad.
I knew it was coming and I still don’t like it one bit.
So, I wasn’t able to watch Queen Sugar live this week…but I read the episode description and that was enough…I was like, “nope, not today Satan.” I gave in and finally watched it last night and still found myself yelling at my screen like @heyitssam.
AVA, STOP DOING THIS!
I don’t care that she’s with a man. I’m a bisexual and I appreciate the representation that Nova provides (though, at some point, you do wonder if they’ve just forgotten that Nova’s bisexual).
But I care that she’s with that man. Not Remy, girl. Not your sister’s ex. GROSS. It’s sisters before misters, Ava, sisters before misters.
That line, “In the past, whoever I was with, they wanted something, a piece of me I didn’t have, wanted to change me into something that I wasn’t.”
GIRL, HAVE YOU MET REMY?
That’s exactly what he tried to do with your sister. EXACTLY WHAT HE TIRED TO DO.
But also…from a storytelling perspective…this is absurd. For TWO SEASONS NOW Nova’s entire identity has been her grappling with her daddy issues. First, she went with the man she knows her daddy would’ve loved to see her with (Robert) and now, she’s literally making out with an incarnation of her father (Remy). Why is Nova still in this exact same place?
I am so, so tired of this…get this girl into therapy and away from these trash men.
Girl, you said it all. And now we are going to have to deal with the fallout of what I’m sure will be Charley loosing her shit over this. As she should.
“Mi Familia Perfecta” has introduced me to the wonders (and frustrations) of watching a telenovela. But I have to admit the homophobia issue is being handled quite well, as you’ve said Natalie.
That, and I love me some baby gays (Genesis), so I’m all in. Can’t wait to find out how her relationship develops with Megan.
Ackley Bridge is a favourite of mine. Thanks for the reminder.
And why are you still updating us about Queen Sugar? Their Nova is supposedly bi, but has a brief, don’t care sexual relationship with a woman and has had multiple relationships (brief and longstanding) only with men. Urrgh!