Then we return to the innermost ring of hell, otherwise known as a hotel room where This Man is spending private time with our daughter, Angie, and I do not approve! Angie fingers the condoms in her $4,256 Takashi Murakami x Louis Vuttion duffel bag, thinking about boning Hendrix Fitz, who’s distracted with reading-induced nerves. Angie takes this opportunity to deliver her handmade chapbook.
Did you know both of my Moms took a very rigorous self-defense class in 2008 and my Uncle Shane does MMA?
In fact I did not but now that I know I am alarmed
I was hiding underneath a weighted blanket for the rest of this scene but I believe what occurred is that Angie led this man to bed, and he asked if she was ready and she said she was ready. I’m sorry but …..
come get ur girl
Back at Fletcher Field Day, Micah’s making an instant connection at the bar with Michael, who orders the same drink and says the same sentences at the same time as Micah! It’s clear that what Micah is seeing when he looks at Michael is a little cartoon of dancing sperm, radiating with the infinite promise of reproduction just like we learned about in health class.
Wait, are you the “Michael” ahead of me in line on Libby for The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo???
And then Sophie arrives, dressed resplendently for the 1933 premiere of Christopher Strong starring Katharine Hepburn! Unfortunately she took a wrong turn in her time machine and landed at Fletcher Field Day instead but it works because this is a stunning revenge gown even if there’s nobody she needs to take out revenge on.
Oh this old thing? It’s an Elsa Schiaparelli original, darling, thank you for asking
After receiving a drive-by compliment from Dharma, a hottie in a red pantsuit with a bisexual bob, she spots Dre. Dre says Sophie never told them that she worked at The Aloce Show, in fact she identified as a documentary filmmaker. Dre and Sophie’s magical weekend grows more intriguing by the minute!
Elswhere in this fine establishment, Dani’s located the queen of the night (Fletcher), who requests a big-ass margarita at the conclusion of her set.
Oh, the biggest fish I ever caught? Probably pacific blue marlin, came in around 20 pounds
Elsewhere, Micah’s convincing Maribel to give his big idea a shot: convincing a stranger he just met to give them his sperm!
You know in the first season of the original series Bette and Tina just seduced a guy for what he thought was a threesome but was actually a sperm-acquisition mission and nobody thought that was weird
No Micah definitely everybody did think that was weird
Sophie and Dre have relocated to a party couch, where they’re catching up about Sophie’s transformational musical drug trip, which transitions into a convo about one of my favorite movie-musicals of all time, Newsies. It’s possible Dre is referring to the Broadway musical Newsies and not the unfortunately underrated 1992 movie Newsies, but I’ll take my Newsies references where I can get them.
Dre: “So did you learn the truth of the universe or what?”
Sophie: “No…. no, nothing like that, but I did break up with my girlfriend afterwards… so.”
Dre: “Oh man, I’m sorry.”
Sophie: “No, it’s okay, it needed to happen. I should have texted you back.”
Sophie — no you should not have texted Dre back while you were lying in bed next to your girlfriend Finley on the day she returned from rehab!
So that “🌈” after the “u up”… what was that about?
Sophie leans in to kiss Dre, who rejects the advance, sending Sophie into an immediate shame spiral as Dre explains that they’re kinda into someone else right now. Sophie beelines for the bar and asks for a double tequila in a spirit that reminds me of (checks watch) my reaction to every single bad breakup I have ever endured! Luckily I’ve grown and changed. While Sophie awaits her liquid release from life’s slings and arrows, she can see Dani and Dre laughing and flirting across the room.
Mmmm this tastes like arsenic and old lace
We then return to the Hollywood Bowl(ing Alley), where Finley is coping quite differently than Sophie in a way I find quite interesting! Anyhow Finley’s unloading her relationship issues onto Misty who quickly cuts her off, indicating she’s already intimately familiar with Finley’s entire life and problems via her close but not romantic conversations with Carrie.
Between me and you I know a guy who’ll let us take these shoes home for free in exchange for a Benihana gift card
And then Finley decides to make one small step for man, one giant overstep for mankind and advocate for Carrie, telling Misty that Carrie’s the best and can kill it on the dance floor and oh by the way, she’s totally into Misty. But while Misty agrees about Carrie’s greatness, she says Carrie’s just… not her type. I’m not sure what this means exactly — does she only date femmes? If so, Carrie would probably know that by now because people with very specific types tend to talk about their very specific types all the time — but before we can puzzle it out, we see that Carrie overheard the whole thing and is very embarrassed and also mad.
Back at The Aloce Show Office Headquarters, Tom’s located the source of the vent-centered noises: a small animal, specifically a little kitten, who has been living in the walls of this office like Grey Gardens. But before he can grab the innocent animal, she runs back into her vent home that she somehow entered in the first place.
Be careful, the last time I opened one of these vents in a lesbian’s office I found a kilo of patchouli, two indica pre-rolls, a healing crystal and an expired carton of oat milk
Speaking of things running away before you can grab them, Alice asks if she and Tom missed their chance at love. She wonders if perhaps they ought to give it another whirl? So Tom has to tell her that he’s seeing someone else now, and she’s pregnant, so it’s serious. My Alice/Helena 2022 campaign headquarters will be opening next week in West Hollywood and yes we are looking for interns.
Cut to Hendrix Fitz’s literary reading, in which he is reading words so insufferable I have no choice but to scream until I can no longer hear them.
“About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him — and I didn’t know how potent that part might be — that thirsted for my blood.”
This is so romantic
When this situation mercifully comes to an end, an agent from CAA approaches Hendrix and Hendrix introduces Angie as his student, which Angie, his student, finds very upsetting. I do too but for other reasons!
Back at Fletcher Field Day, Micah and Maribel are hitting it off like gangbusters with Michael, so much so that when they ask if he’d be interested in donating sperm to their pregnancy project, he says totally, he’d be honored! He’s just gotta check with the wife first.
How’s this for a funny coincidence: I LOVE to wear button-up shirts
Omg Micah loves button-up shirts too!
Elsewhere in this fine establishment, Sophie’s absolutely trashed and after a winning solo session at the photobooth, she runs back into Dharma, the girl who’d complimented her dress earlier. Dharma re-iterates her compliment which Sophie says is nice but Dharma leans in, tickling Sophie’s hand with her own, and says she wasn’t just being nice.
I do have a green velvet couch actually why do you ask
We cut back to the Hollywood Bowl(ing Alley), where Finley’s trying to apologize for blowing up Carrie’s spot.
Lesbian Squabble #11: Strike Out
In the Ring: Finley vs Carrie
Content:
Finley fucked up the lasanga but she wanted to do something good and she got carried away. (Get it??)
“You don’t listen, Finley,” Carrie tells her. “I know I’m a particular kind of person. I’m a little quirky. I get it, I like what I like it. And you know what? I really liked coming here. It was enough for me. To be close to Misty for a couple hours, playing bowling which I suck at. But now forget it, it’s over, it’s done.”
Finley insists she can go fix it, and Carrie says she can’t, she just needs to stop it right now. Finley says okay, she gets it. Her face wilts into familiar resignation: she’s fucked up and Carrie’s gonna leave her now, too.
But then Carrie tells Finley to get her shoes, ’cause there’s needles and human feces in the parking lot, she can’t just run out there in her socks! And she’ll meet Finley in the car, okay? She turns to go, leaving Finley there stunned and warmed by Carrie’s unconditional kindness.
Who Wins? Finley, because finally she’s got someone in her life who’s in it for the long haul.
We then return to Hotel Impossible, where Angie’s trying to engage in a dialogue with her professor about being labeled as his student instead of his student/lover but he’s too distracted by this promising email from the CAA agent to give her the focus she requires until she gets a little cheeky with him. He says he’s sorry — he was just caught up in the moment and lost his head which brings us to…
Squabble #12: Got a Secret Can You Keep It
In the Ring: Angie vs. Hendrix
Content:
Hendrix: “But Angie…. you are my student,”
Angie: “We’ve been over that!”
Hendrix: “I know, and I keep trying to convince myself that it’s okay, but I think I’m lying to myself.”
Hendrix Fitz says Angie inspires him! He’s falling in love with her! Unfortunately he’s also her teacher, and he can’t really “see where this goes” as long as he remains her teacher. This is maybe the most sensible thing this man has ever said, but we’re eyeing a low bar here. He doesn’t say why he can’t do this while he’s her teacher — like, for example, that it’s unethical and could get him fired — instead they dance around it, focused on the garnishes and foregoing the meat. But honestly I’d eat parsley forever if it meant getting rid of this man.
Who Wins? Angie, ’cause she’s not dating this man anymore.
Things are heating up at Fletcher Field Day: Dre and Fletcher are hitting it off and doing shots together and Dre decides to up the homosexual ante and offer Fletcher an actual crystal.
Omg is this a smoky quartz raw cluster
How did you know???
Dani pulls Fletcher away — it’s performance time! Fletcher takes the stage, declares her first song’s going out to all of our exes and then breaks into, of course, “Becky’s So Hot,” the song Fletcher wrote about the new girlfriend of her ex-girlfriend, Shannon Beveridge.
🎵 When I think about her I touch myself 🎵
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Thank you, Riese! Your recaps make the show a lot more enjoyable. I’m glad Bette Porter made an appearance here. I hate this Angie storyline so much that it makes me accept the other things I wouldn’t like if I had space in my heart to hate them too. I would buy all of Alice’s book and I volunteer as an intern for the Alice/Helena campaign.
But Alice and Tasha would also make me happy.
The second Alice said Tasha’s name I screamed. Bring Rose Rollins back please!
Yes I’m so here for Tasha or Helena! I am also a little hopeful bc there aren’t any pics of Alice on the showtime press site for episode 308, which means she’s either not in the episode at all (which feels possible since Shane wasn’t in this one?) or whatever she’s doing in the ep involves major spoilers. But… that could also mean like the return of Nat or something??? Or nat and Gigi maybe the one is the two
– I absolutely adore Finley and Carrie. Their dynamic is awesome. I want to see more of them and I would happily watch if this series was about them alone (and gladly Misty). And I loved that Carrie is adopting Finley and that her being angry at Finley did not mean that Finley was not welcome to her house any more
– Wow, I am shipping Carrie and Misty so, so much. They are both awesome and hot, and I want them to be regulars on the show and their relationship to be more central. Butch on butch love <3! Also: the line “She has a name!” was good when Finley said “the plumber,” because Candace also has a name and is pretty much always referred to as The Carpenter
– I really liked that Tom moved on from Alice and I hope he is happy with the person who is pregnant. I am fond of Tom, he is funny and sympathetic and their friendship comedic dynamic is great
– Alice did much more than just kissing Lara after Dana’s death. They had an affair for three weeks before Lara moved away. By the way, it wasn’t just you and Kayla who didn’t hate it, it was also me, so three people in total :-)
– “We don’t like Tasha” – who is “we” here? And THAT is how Alice and Tasha broke up off-screen? After all their actual problems we witnessed in in season six, it was Tasha ghosting Alice for becoming more famous?! Oh please. This doesn’t fit to Tasha’s personality at all. In addition to them living together (so true Riese). But I guess it had to fit to the whole new “I’m famous now and what about regular people”-storyline, also after Taylor…
– If the show can reference Mr. Piddles, why not Jenny…?
– I couldn’t help but feel schadenfreude when Sophie tried to kiss Dre and Dre was like “Actually I like someone else.” Loved Sophie’s face in that moment. The world does not revolve around her and she cannot push people back and think they will welcome her with open arms the moment she changes her mind. I want her to be single for a while, just to be with herself and work on her shit instead of jumping right into the next relationship where she will be codependent once again (though I did not see evidence of that with Finley). This doesn’t go away if she just has a different partner, this is something she brings to the table and I want her to address this for herself, as well as her drinking behavior. I like Sophie and I am rooting for her, but I don’t like some (recently lots) of her behavior and I want her to take more responsibility for herself instead of jumping into something new and hope that this time, things will work out because it’s new and exciting and someone is paying attention to her
– Micah trying to convince Mirabel into going to the party: dude, you can also go by yourself!
– Micah and Michael – in their first encounter, I was shipping them so hard. But I like Micah’s and Maribel’s communication in this and the previous episode
– I am excited for some Finley family stuff (her mom) next week. Yes, character depth through family background (hopefully)!
– Sophie’s green dress and falling into the pool cannot have been good for her newly pierced nipples!
– I so don’t care about Fletcher in this episode and also generally. A song about stalking and wanting to hit the woman her ex is with while also objectifying her? That’s some toxic bullshit and not less problematic coming from a person within the LGBTQ spectrum. Moreover, I wish the show would take the time they spend on guest appearances for main character’s personality and deeper storylines
I know a lot of people feel the song is problematic anyway and that’s totally valid! However, it seems like your issues with it might be due to not understanding some of the slang she uses- she “stalks” her ex’a new girlfriend by looking at their public Instagram posts together and wants to “hit her” as in wants to hit her up and flirt with her.
Just wanted to comment as someone who likes the sound of the song but also finds it problematic/hates the line about hitting. I totally get what you’re saying, liz, that those lines can mean hit her up (or hit on her or hit that ie have sex) and stalk her on social media. But imo the multiple meanings are part of the point of the song. Sure she probably means she wants to hit Becky up, but if the line is “makes me want to hit her” it’s very reasonable to interpret that as a violent desire. Also frankly I don’t think “hit her” is terribly common slang for hit her up…I’m not saying the artist would actually want to hit the person irl, but I think that meaning is very much there. If the artist didn’t want that ambiguity, they could have easily said “makes me want to hit her up” instead. And tbh I would have preferred that. Just my two cents!
I am aware of the two interpretations in regards to hitting. One is that she wants to hit her, which sounds to me like punching her in the face; this is my association with “want to hit her.” And the other is, sure, hitting on her, which is – also in regards to the rest of this song – in line with sexist men who don’t display any boundaries and who believe it is fine to make any woman a sex object. Both options are super toxic to me. And as SK pointed out, multiple meanings are part of that song and Fletcher could have chosen to avoid ambiguity here with using another word in that line.
Riese!!! You destroy me. These are so great.
I like that Finley is fighting for her sobriety and reaching out to those that have experience…in life…Rosie is sooo fab as Carrie and I like her stability to talk, directly, truthfully TO Finley. AND…remain mature enough to keep their budding friendship.
Carrie is very aware of how people view her quirkiness and OCDness. But at least she’s honest. She isn’t trying to be someone other than herself.
I feel most sorry for Angie. Seems like she didn’t have the benefit of seeing her Moms as “lovers” submitted to that ship. Her little “ho-bitch” roomy has a whole mega-size bx of condoms but was freaking out about pulling a condom OUT of her own vagina?
Ang & the Prof used a condom but who knows? God I hope she doesn’t end up preg at this point in her life. The Prof wants his future, does Angie value hers?
From the second this whole stupid storyline with That Guy, I was fearing pregnant Angie would be the reason Tina & Bette come back to LA. Ugh, no, I hope I’m wrong.
Really love the whole Carrie/Finley relationship, and it’s so nice to see Carrie being pursued. I just love this for all of them, too, and as others have said, the LWord has a history of messing up nice things, so who knows?
I miss Tasha. Tasha called Alice out on her shit. They just worked well together. I hope Rose returns.
I would also just love to see what Tasha is up to and where she is at now, what, nearly 15 years later?
I feel like Rose Rollins as Tasha brought to the OG some of the grounding energy that characters on Gen Q like Carrie, Misty, Finley offer.
yeah i agree about tasha’s grounding energy, a strong contrast to the upper-middle-class power lesbians around her. i’d love to see what she’s up to and i just really truly hope it is not “being a cop”
so pleased to have another member of the shipping alice and lara club
I know Angie is 18 but the entire set of scenes with her and the teacher felt super icky. Funny how he didn’t have a problem with things until after he got her into bed. 🤢 I am glad Angie didn’t just let the student comment go, saw a little Bette pop out in that moment.
I hope that relationship is actually over.
Loving the Carrie storyline! I admit I wasn’t her biggest fan last year (reminded me too much of an ex) but she has grown on me this season.
I finally have something in common with Alice! We are both resigned to our fates of being cat ladies! Lol It would be awesome if Tasha showed up again or Helena for that matter.
I liked this week’s episode more than the others this season. Not sure that’s saying much but it was a pleasant surprise.
I feel like Angie was pushing the ship w/the Proff. She too young to understand that all “attraction” isn’t worth the pursuit. TIMING is the biggest ingredient in realizing one’s PURPOSE. God I hope she isn’t impregnated.
Carrie is the most mature, humorous one of all of them!. She understands Finely’s miss-steps but respects her for reaching out. I like that Carrie has a fab pad worthy of her career achievements.
Riese! Your recaps give me LIFE! And shout-out to Gretchen for the amazing book cover graphics. :)
The “Michael” “No, MicAH…oh, YOUR name is Michael” had me lolsobbing because I have had similar exchanges (my name is pretty common but people get it wrong a lot for some reason?). Leo Sheng is so freaking cute.
Also freaking cute: Misty. Cannot look away when she’s onscreen. I want her and Carrie and Finley to live happily ever after.
Tom is a delight, and so is Alice with her new kitten.
All of these good parts plus Fletcher distracted me from Angie and Hendrix/Fitz, which is a big ole ICK that had me wanting to throw my laptop across the room.
Anyway, can’t wait for the next To L and Back!
I think that the Finley, Carrie and Misty’s story line is the best thing that could happen this season, so far… not getting my hopes up too high because it is of course still the L word. But Jacqueline, Rosie and Heidi are killing it! Their chemistry is amazing.
Also I love to look for details like the bowling team name and as a non-American I had to look it up, but this is a gem:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Can%27t_Believe_It%27s_Not_Butter!
oh wow i didn’t know I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter is just an american thing!!! but it makes sense because it’s terrible
Haha, yes it is. I’ve never had it, but if it is anything like the salted margarine (yuk!!) I had in the US I count us very lucky ;). Imagine that you made a product and the marketing department is only able to make it sellable by naming it exactly as what it is supposed to be.. :s
The domestic Carrie scenes this episode reminded me of Carrie’s extremely charming introduction on the show when she broke Bette’s mailbox and then regaled us with anecdotes about Groupons and jet skiing with her newfound cousins in Florida. Just very endearing stuff, and this time with the added bonus of moving Finley’s plot along in a way that makes sense. After last season’s messy alcohol use disorder plot, I would love to see more of this fun and maternal version of Carrie! Not sure why we needed to have her overhear something hurtful yet again, seeing her overhear Bette and Tina’s reconnection last season was rough enough, but that’s my only complaint.
With the preview for next week’s episode showing Finley’s mom dropping in, I’m hoping the show will forego homophobic parent angst and instead lean into this new Carrie/Finley dynamic to give us a nice, relevant-to-many-lesbians chosen family storyline or something similar. We get bits and pieces of this concept with Angie and Uncle Shane, but not a lot.
Tasha!!! And Carrie and misty!!! And Finely family drama. I’m loving these potential developments
I thought Micah and Michael were going to hook up. Same with Bella and Angie
Please consider this comment my job application for the role of intern on the Alice/Helena campaign. Halice? Aelena? Pieszbody?
PIESZBODY
Also what this show needs is more Roberta Colindrez
I don’t even watch this show and I know that to be true. More Roberta Colindrez in everything!
Hard agree yes
This should would be elevated by ANY Roberta Colindrez, no?
Yayyyyy a good episode! And I loved the book covers
This is the most unsexy show on television! As Drew pointed out, this is a gay hook up show and frankly we were all fine with that being the only thing holding it all together. Absent of that I’m gonna need a plot or character arc or something to cling to.
Also, if you’re Finley and all your alleged “friends” are joking it up in the house you technically live in and not one is reaching out, worried about how you’re feeling or where you’re going, or defending you while you’re not around, these people are not your friends!!! They suck. And you should ditch them all.
Same for Shane and Tess. So Tess screens the call and chooses not to answer her sponsee? Then Shane, presumably sitting next to her, accepts the call, hears an obviously upset Finley and doesn’t go hey, listen, let me have you talk to Tess real quick?! You’re on a 5 hour drive through the desert, you have time for this!! Insane.
Meanwhile, while I was initially taken aback by brunette Finley, my god she’s hot this season. They’ve done a good job of growing her look up a bit.
Totally agree about everything re: Finley! Sure, it makes sense from what we’ve seen on screen that everyone basically takes Sophie’s “side” over Finley’s but the narrative is in a way doing the same thing. Wouldn’t the person initiating the breakup usually have to move out, or at least offer to? The show is so genuine in the “Sophie is finally choosing herself, as she should” idea that we’re not supposed to doubt this post breakup behavior I guess. It also would have been easy for Sophie or Micah to have a quick line about feeling bad that Finley isn’t there when the gang is all having fun together…I want to like Sophie so badly as a character but I wish we saw a bit more complexity in her response to the breakup and some empathy for Finley, who is objectively in a very difficult position even if we as viewers agree the breakup was “justified”.
I’m similarly baffled by the Tess-Finley relationship. I thought it was very compelling in season 1 and we got a glimpse of that again when Finley stayed to comfort Tess after the breakup with Shane but the show repeatedly has Teas sort of let Finley down as a “sponsor”. Love the Finley-Carrie scenes but wish any of the other characters (besides Shane somewhat in this episode) showed some her some love as well!
I too want to love Sophie, and often do, but her not giving a second thought to Finley, who she was not only in a long term relationship with but was best friends with seemed just unbelievably cold to me. She tried harder with Dani last season! I understand break ups are tough and obviously they can’t live together, but like, this person you did just say you love even if you can the with is an alcoholic, maybe like check and make sure she’s alive? I don’t know
Yes! Good point, Em Drob. Sophie was SO worried about Dani who is literally fine, who had a network of people, money, lake houses to run to etc. Then treats Finley, her long time friend, like a bad ex?
It seems the writers value the episode’s storyline more than the established nature of the characters. They make edits to the characters core values and traits based on what serves whatever little narrative they are dead set on telling that week. This week it’s apparently “Sophie is finding herself, yay!” So poor Finley, as always, is just a casualty of the storyline.
Moreover! The drunken behavior exhibited by Sophie (falling in the pool, needing to be carried to a cab where she’s likely to yak, everyone pointing out she is a mess) was honestly SO much more egregious than like 90% of Finley’s “drunk” behavior. Yet it’s all a big funny haha thing for Sophie, while Finley is absolutely villainized. Baffling inconsistencies.
100% agree to all this.
Although I read the show’s perspective a bit different in this episode: the musical seemed to want us to be in in Sophie’s corner, but this episode seemed to be paralleling the markedly different ways that Sophie and Finley are coping (while also showing that they both have support/community around them, which I liked).
I still don’t know what the show “wants” us to think about these characters and their dynamic but it struck me that in some ways Sophie’s “it’s finally all about me” declaration masks the fact that it was … sort of… always about her?
In season 1 she was impatient with Dani’s inability to process in that way that she (Sophie) wanted/needed. When she was feeling like she wasn’t Dani’s focus of attention, she immediately turned to the person who WAS focused on her: Finley. At the end of season 1 Finley was the one who kept pulling back/pushing off an escalation of their romantic tension (from the “Closer” dancing scene to “What are you doing buddy” to the green room sex scene where Sophie really forced the issue).
Which makes the ongoing casting of Finley as in the wrong and immature all the more perplexing. She routinely seems to be one of the most empathic and engaged characters on this show? Is she hapless, yes. But beyond that?
And her handling of Finley’s alcoholism was tepid/nonexistent at best, and in this season, there’s this attitude of resigned exhaustion that Finley is “too much” to deal with. Which I get in the world in terms of loving someone with addiction/in recovery, but which it feels like this show has just TOLD us but has barely shown us (except in these insanely escalated scenarios that come out of the blue).
I still really want to like Sophie and do root for her, but am increasingly confused about her characterization. Clearly I care about these fictional characters way too much, but I adore Rosanny and JT and just want the writers to do right by their acting commitments.
Of course she was worried about Dani and tried harder with her: she didn’t want to break up with her and despite what the show continues to show, she isn’t supposed to be a sociopath.
Also, let’s not act like she hasn’t been acting in a very off-putting way with Dani since their breakup either, both in things she’s done and said behind her back and even in her face. But no one was offended when Dani was abandoned by all her friends and they all took the side of the ones that were undisputably in the wrong.
By comparison, this is a normal break-up and normal behavior from all the characters, honestly.
Yeah that was a thing I kept noticing throughout the episode – while Finley is definitely an alcoholic (Riese laid out all the signs in one of her recaps!) the show doesn’t seem to be able to delineate between what makes her drinking problematic, while for others it’s just funny. I guess it’s the issue you have when you want to tell sobriety storylines, but have also made a bad / drinking parties the centerpiece of all group scenes.
And to mn’s point, I remember everyone being very offended by that last season, it felt like all the fanbase could talk about, Dani’s friends abandoning her. I didn’t think it was totally accurate, as she had Bette, Gigi, Micah, and Sophie who she said she never wanted to see again, AND even Finley on occasion (though I agreed that was inappropriate of her) all going out of their way to help her all season, but I definitely remember everyone calling it out.
Honestly this was my favorite episode of the season!
It felt like all of the storylines moved forward in meaningful ways, and they took their time more to let things unfold and the developments happened with more specificity and levity (with some sapphic case, as is fitting for this show).
I would watch a spin-off just about Finley, Carrie, and Misty, and maybe Tom and Alice (as a buddy dynamic rather than romantic). I loved all this stuff so much. Tom moving on was so fitting, and I was pleasantly surprised that Tasha was mentioned (she was who came to mind with the Dana-oracle “they knew me in a way” comment).
As much as I hold onto the vestiges of season one Sinley ship, in an interview JT did before the season premiered she mentioned wanting Finley to find friends and a partner who really care about her and support her, and I feel like I might be OK with that not looking like Dani/Sophie/Micah etc. (although I’m curious to see where 308 next week unfolds).
For a moment this episode I dared to hope we might see Sophie grapple with her own habits around alcohol, as all of us have been screaming about throughout Finley’s sobriety journey? It did bum me out a bit how everyone was so eye-rolling but supportive of Sophie and it felt like in the latter half of last season everyone punished Finley for “bad behavior” while drinking (how many times has the hallway incident been referenced??) Do others think the show is going to explore this in the remaining 3 episodes (how? already?), or was this a fluke?
I love the friendship that has grown between Dani and Sophie, and the exes-to-friends dynamic they both share with Micah, but the way that Finley was excised so swiftly felt a bit raw. JT’s face after Carrie tells Finley to meet her at the car––so good. You realize how conditional her relationships must have been.
Angie’s storyline continues to bum me out and it feels like there was so little (no) pay-off, narratively? Even in their breakup conversation they tiptoe around the problematic power dynamics etc, so what was the point here?
Riese, you remain the sun! burning so bright with these recaps! and the L Word universe orbits your brilliance! planetary belonging and all.
Totally agree with everything here!
Also, do you have the link to the JT article you reference? Would love to read and don’t think I have!
Hi Em, I had to dig as it was actually from fall 2021, but here are the pertinent quotes:
“I’d say Finley is the lead character in her own storyline. Previously, Sophie was the lead character in Finley and Sophie’s story,” she shares…. “With Sophie, she’s just broke off her marriage and is immediately jumping into something else, so I think she needs to figure out what she wants and what she needs from a partner.” … So the question becomes: “Do they go their separate ways and risk losing each other forever, or do they stick together and work through it even though it’s not right right now?” … “I would like her to start building positive healthy relationships outside of a romantic relationship. She can have a romantic relationship, that’s great, but I think she needs more support, without fucking those people up,” Toboni explains.
https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-l-word-generation-q-star-discusses-sophie-finley-relationship-season-3-hopes.html/
Thank you!! I agree with both you and Jac, though I’m a diehard Sinley shipper and hope they reunite, this episode crystallized to me that what I want most of all for Finley is a support system of any kind, whether romantic or not
yes i remain fascinated with sophie’s drinking behavior being categorized as a-ok in comparison to finley’s — it very well could be a-ok, but the way they’ve come down on finley (and as you say, the pissing in the hallway incident becoming everybody’s obsession) does raise questions about sophie… like although it was implied finley drank at inopportune moments, we honestly never saw her drunk at work, miss work bc of drinking or even a hangover, or even day-drink alone until her final pre-rehab episode! all the flashback clips in the car, to the best of my recollection, aside from that one day-drinking alone scene, were at events where everybody was overindulging, and she wasn’t the only one drinking out of that flask.
finley just partied hard, and binge drank and blacked out her emotional distress and…. so did sophie. i honestly really connect with sophie in that way, including what it’s like to be someone who’s not necessarily an “alcoholic” but definitely has an alcohol use disorder, and having to take a good long look at myself when my drinking buddies got sober and joined AA. so far though it does not seem like this show has any interest in sophie taking a look at herself or really parsing out what it was that made finley need 15 months of rehab + sober living compared to other characters on this program!
I sometimes wonder if I’m/we’re expecting too much from a TV show that is pitched in the particular fantasy-reality realm of TLW, because I too am not suggesting that Sophie is an alcoholic, but I do think her relationship to alcohol in relation to her work, her social life, her friendships, etc. might benefit from some reflection. At the very least in the context of your partner/friend spending over a year in intense sobriety! (which also is surprising to me; my family member was in and out of in-patient, out-patient, and sober living settings, sometimes for 7 days, sometimes a month, but you never really knew how long as you were at the mercy of insurance… I imagine the answer to this is “Alice,” but given some of the (light) inquiry into class that Gen Q led off with in s1 with Finley, Shane’s past on the OG, and between Sophie’s family/Dani, wouldn’t it be interesting to have that be a part of this?
I honestly sometimes wonder if we ponder the complexity of these narratives more than the writer’s room? On the other hand I understand that it’s hard to balance this many characters with their own disparate histories and storylines, and give them depth and specificity.
But it also feels like, then just don’t pick these plots. Don’t center the opioid crisis. Don’t delve into alcoholism/sobriety. Any time this show tries to “comment” it becomes frustratingly one dimensional, I think — and often betrays the characters it has established in the process.
Tess as Finley’s sponsor remains baffling to me, but I am grateful that Finley can hang out with Carrie and experience someone keeping her around because they see something good and special in her, even when she’s in need or being annoying. I like to think that Sophie really sees something there too, but if the writers won’t articulate it and if Sophie instead lists ways that Finley has become her albatross, then I’m glad Carrie can be among the people in town who don’t treat Finley like a Christmas puppy surprise that keeps cutely peeing on expensive rugs.
I would love for any or all of the folks that Finley loves to be capable of loving her and allowing her to grow at her own pace and holding her reasonably accountable all at the same time, but if they can’t or won’t, I’m so glad she at least has Carrie. Their connection has been the best part of the eps its appeared in for me.
so disappointed with this show. i feel like it’s all just pandering.
To whom?
The only part that felt pandering to me was the Fletcher piece, which sort of felt like product placement?
Especially when compared to the more low-key/organic inclusion of, say, Sleater-Kinney in the OG and that devastating scene where Shane gets the call about Dana.
I also felt like Fletcher’s guest appearance/song was somewhat product placement
This episode was so good! It was coherent almost the whole time, I was proud of them.
Riese, I always love your recaps but this one really got me, especially the way you talk about the Carrie/Finley dynamic. They made me emotional many times and reading about them again made me tear up some more. Such joy I have not felt watching this show since the karaoke ep!!
can we talk about how fletcher only had like four lines but is a better actor than most of the (new) cast members
I disagree, I thought Fletcher was doing a terrible job at acting. Not sure who you mean with “new” cast members – Dre? Misty? Carrie? Some people count Sophie, Finley, Dani and Micah as new despite this being their third year – I guess “new” in comparison to the OG characters. So obviously I don’t know who you refer to, I don’t mean to project and people’s tastes/opinions are different. Just here to say that unlike some other folks on the internet, I think the actors who portray Finley, Sophie, Dani, Micah, Carrie and Misty are outstanding in their acting skills and I just wish the storylines they are given were better.
100% all this. I mostly felt bad for Leo this episode, having to go “Fletcher!” “There’s Fletcher!” “I want to meet Fletcher!” like he was in an ad.
same! the carrie/finley dynamic warmed my heart in a way that felt so real and not artificial or manipulative, just genuine. it doesn’t hurt that rosie and JT are such great actors and really shine together
angie is finally free from The Man, amen!
It’s getting to the point where I literally only watch so I can enjoy these recaps, and this might be the funniest one yet. Thank you for your service fr!! 🫡
I’ve started approaching each episode as its own isolated thing, one that should not be expected to follow any narrative continuity or character development from previous episodes, let alone the original series. I also simply don’t accept any of this as canon lol? Angie losing her virginity to a grown-ass man who only finds a conscience after the fact? Fake news! “We don’t like Tasha.” Must’ve been the wind!
Looking at it that way this was another v fun episode. Finley continues to be the standout of the GQs this season, and her scenes with Carrie and Misty were fantastic. The “I can’t do basic shit!” after burning the lasagna was so DEEPLY relatable. Also golden retriever mascs are extremely not my type but she really gets hotter and hotter every week?? Idk if it’s the new hair or the emotional maturity or what.
Sophie is way more destructive when she’s drunk than Finley ever was, but again each episode is a pocket universe and in this one there’s no sobriety plot. 💃
Tom is my favorite of Alice’s partners in either series, so I’m happy he’s happy, even if they didn’t necessarily work together. And Piddles 2 was cute but did we not pull this exact same emotional string when Shane got the dog after Quiara left her in season 1? If we can’t figure out what to do with these two can we please just let them be queer-platonic partners running an animal rescue?
Dani/Dre and Micah/Maribel were hot but this season has still been SO tame and I will speak up about it every week!! GQ keeps trying to be prestige television as if its heritage isn’t soft-core porn. Also it has not escaped my attention that the only times we DO get to see an ass it’s usually a man’s? Like Micah’s is great, you’ll get no complaints from me there, but it’s still such a bizarre choice for this particular show.
Anyway I guess I just need to be grateful we didn’t have to see Angie’s hookup with the teacher lol 🥴 (not because I don’t ever want to see m/f pairings on TLW, good bi rep is desperately needed, I just don’t want to see THIS man).
Love this way of looking at it. This entire episode had me asking “what in the personality transplant!?” every time sophie was on screen. But thinking back, many of the episodes after season 1 had me asking the same thing.
lol this is how i started looking at glee eventually when i was recapping that show!! –> “I’ve started approaching each episode as its own isolated thing, one that should not be expected to follow any narrative continuity or character development from previous episodes, let alone the original series.”
I was like, “this is just a variety show with some fun musical numbers and little skits in between!”
and as always A PLEASURE TO BE OF SERVICE
Helena needs to come back and sweep Alice away and that’s the only thing that will save this season. that or Rosie opens a club and Greta and Shaw walk in and make out whilst wearing their nifty 40s style dresses. I just wish they were better at ‘show don’t tell’ in the whole chemistry/love department. and why don’t some past relationships matter w these writers? Tasha? Shane’s actual ex-wife? whatever, Helena/Alice, 2023, I will volunteer at the headquarters!
I would love to see Helena back on the show. I’d also like to see Shane hook up with Carmen again. She was very loving and patient with Shane.
I decided the other day I was going to watch the award from the very beginning, and there’s just nothing better than Bette and Tina.
Boring episode!
These recaps are really superlative. Those book covers ! Chef’s kiss
I actually loved Lara and Alice… I didn’t realize I was in the minority!
– If they do a pregnant Angie line I’m going to scream. What were the writer’s thinking?
– Would love if they brought Tasha back!!
– Where was Shane this episode!!??
As someone who also plays in a queer sports league in LA, this was the most accurate representation. Britney SPARES as the other team?! Too real. Loved it. More plot lines like this please.
yes the punny team names! so accurate chef’s kiss to all!!!
I’m still missing Bette and Tina. I would love to see how their new found love for each other is evolving in Toronto. The other stories are ok. I am enjoining Finley and Carrie. I think they are funny together. We’ll see if Sophie and Dani at some point hook up. Whatever happened to Gigi??
I’m here to say that
a) Having just returned from spending the holidays at my parents’ house in Landen, Ohio (home of the one and only Kings Island), I really enjoyed the shout-out to the only Eiffel Tower that I knew excited until I was approximately 10-years-old and
b) I liked this episode so much that I didn’t even roll my eyes at it once! This is a first for season 3
I really don’t understand how you’re shipping Alice and Tasha. My memories are blurry but i’m pretty sure they were not compatible. They even did a list together to figure out that they should break up and then they got a crush on the same girl, right ?
Carrie warmed my heart soooo much. I wanted to be Finley for a sec and get in on that hug. Love the parental/queer family vibes. LOVED the butch on butch love!!!! More Carrie & Misty.
The mock ups of Alice’s books, omg! I laughed so hard at each one. Please submit to Tom immediately!
Except for the Angie parts, which I hated deeply, I loved this episode, I thought it was so fun and had the silliness and chaos that the best of the original had, including attending a lesbian music event at the Planet! I was really glad to see Finley and Carrie, and have Finley mess up and get called out on it but not immediately cut off for it. It seems like grounds for actual character development to happen. I really dig Dani and Sophie as friends now too, I had forgotten what great chemistry they had in fun scenes. And I honestly found the cat storyline more emotionally resonant than the appearance of actual Dana in the previous episode.
Tasha “thinking is cheating” Williams ghosting Alice for finding success in her video recorded podcast after giving up her whole career just to kiss Alice in public is kinda wild, but I hope it opens the door to a Tasha appearance. At some point I have to consciously uncouple from my desire for continuity, and I think Tasha rolling in on a motorcycle with retrograde amnesia only to see Alice and immediately experience a cascade of emotion for the woman she’d tragically forgotten about after a big segway accident 5 years ago would help me.
In a completely unshocking turn of events, I continue to love the normies that grace us with their presence for 1-2 eps at a time. I love both Tom and Carrie, and it’s really really great to have the two of them around without either of them being personally victimized by a cheating (or just hugely miscommunicating the terms of a relationship) storyline.
I love their chemistry with Finley and Alice, and I’m not sure what was up with Misty but i choose not to care if it means Carrie’s happy. I like Tom and Alice being funny together, and I hope their friendship endures even when we probably never see Tom again. Very funny to me how much I buy that Alice and Tom would keep in touch even if he moved across the world with his family, but know in my heart that Alice has not texted Bette and/or Tina in the 1-4 months since they left for Canada.
In actual shocking new, the abrupt and weird Sinley breakup has inspired me to hold more compassion for Finley, who is annoying but kind-hearted and probably very confused after her every attempt to be more conscientious has been rebuffed by people who like to enable her exactly until the second she needs them for something, at which point they clam up or bail.
I love Carrie keeping an eye on Finley. I love that it doesn’t cross her mind, even when she’s annoyed, to bail. I hate how novel it feels for someone to get mad at Finley, but to articulate it in the moment, and to give her the chance to apologize fully with a very appropriate boundary intact.
Best wishes to Micah, Maribel, and young Angie. I don’t like their storylines and they all feel weirdly anachronistic, and I cannot understand why this is how they had to spend their brief chances at screentime in a Bette and Tina-free stretch. The Angie stuff esp is a real head scratcher, like why did she have to experience that stuff? Hate that for her, hope it paves the way to date Bella or at least someone in her own cohort.
Hendrix Fitz’s shirt was very very ugly and I’m shocked and saddened to know Angie offered to iron it and then took it off of him and also saw him put it back on again.
Love Dani, love Dre, love Dani and Dre. Dani Nuñez continues to hold it down as the resident dater on this queer hookup show and I am grateful that someone’s having fun out here.
I only came here to crowd source the harness that Micah was wearing. For reasons. Please can someone help.
Also fantastic recap as always.
Literally I came here to do the same thing. Do we know yet???
re: ghosting your girlfriend of several years who you also line with, has anyone else ever read this ask a manager post about the guy who moved all his stuff out and ghosted his girlfriend while she was away visiting family?? https://www.askamanager.org/2017/08/i-ghosted-my-ex-and-shes-about-to-be-my-new-boss.html
so unrelated to anything actually happening on this show i’m just haunted by this story