Welcome back to Off the Chart,
Season 2: Gen Q edition.
This season, we're watching The L
Word: Generation Q with you,
bringing you our unfiltered take on
the new series reboot every
Monday—because we still can't get
over those L.A.
lesbians.
I'm Michelle Turingan, managing
producer, video at Xtra, and I would
truly consider going back to church
if Olivia Thirlby was my pastor.
I'm Erica Lenti, senior editor at
Xtra, and if this reboot is any
indication, I might be one of the
very few women able to resist Shane
McCutcheon.
So, Erica, what's the big theme for
you from Episode 3?
So finally, we have some
tension—much-needed tension this
episode. There seems to be a lot of
contrast.
Some of our beloved characters are
going their own way this episode.
So we've got Bette thinking that
private school is better for Angie;
Angie thinks otherwise.
We've got Alice, who literally makes
a career out of talking to people,
lamenting that her partner Natalie
has no friends.
Finley is supremely anti-religion
, so she obviously freaks out
when she learns the woman she just
slept with is a pastor.
Dani's very small, well-off family
contrasts quite a bit
to Sophie's large and loud family.
I welcome this theme.
I'm so glad that we finally have
tension. It felt like this season
thus far was really lacking some
conflict or tension, you know.
Which is fair for a new
show in Season 1.
Like you need to set up everyone
before you get into conflict.
Right? So but now we're getting into
the juice, which is great.
Yeah, I think that one of the
criticisms we've all had is that all
these characters feel a little too
virtuous. So it's nice to see people
kind of having some issues or having
a bit of conflict like.
It just makes things so much more
interesting.
Let's see how bad it's gonna get.
OK, lez recap.
Erica, why don't you tell us what's
going on with Dani and Sophie.
More red flags, apparently.
Dani's father books this walkthrough
of a really expensive wedding venue
for Dani and Sophie and Sophie's
family as well.
It's really bougie.
I think that Sophie kind of mirrored
my feelings here, where she was like
super uncomfortable just walking
through. But it's too bad that she
feels uncomfortable because Dani's
dad already booked it.
No choice in that.
Yeah. These two are on a pretty
rocky road.
I thought it's pretty interesting
that there was a lot of sort of
discussion of class and position
between these two.
Obviously, Dani's family
is a bit more well-off.
Her dad owns this huge
pharmaceutical company.
And Sophie's family seems a bit more
working class or middle class.
What did you make of these
depictions?
The scene where they're going
through the hotel reception
area and Sophie's family is
like, "Where will we put our table
to put down the food that we make?"
Like that to me is
extremely relatable.
I'm Filipino.
I come from a huge family where
celebrations like this are very
much grounded in family.
It's not just these two people
joining. When you marry, you
marry into a family as well.
So I really clicked with that.
And I have to echo what you said: I
felt the uncomfortableness that
Sophie's family felt while they were
looking at this space that just
didn't feel like them or
like what their family values are.
So I think they portrayed that scene
accurately.
Yeah, I would agree.
Okay. Chelle, what's going on with
Finley?
So Finlay and Rebecca are enjoying
morning-after post-coital bliss.
And while Finley would like to stay
in bed, Rebecca has to leave to go
to MCC, a.k.a.
the Metropolitan Community Church.
Finley is weirded out by this
information, but also a little
curious.
What, you don't think that's fucked up?
Well, not
really.
Dude, we've been fudging all night!
Yeah, I get that.
And then she went to church and
prayed to, like,
Jesus.
So her pal Sophie comes with her to
MCC for moral support, and then they
discover that Rebecca is actually
the pastor.
Wild.
So Finley and Rebecca start having
these heart-to-heart conversations
about religion and faith and queer
identity. And we learn that Finley
was actually raised Catholic and
it's implied that there may be some
trauma around her religious
upbringing. The episode ends with
Finley sitting in an empty church,
crying while Rebecca confronts her.
So in one of these conversations
that they have, Rebecca says
something to Finley that that really
stood out to me where she says, "I'm
actually more closeted about being
Christian than I am about being
queer." So religion, faith,
spirituality and queer identity:
do we have feelings about this
intersectionality?
So we were both raised Catholic.
We both went to Catholic
school.
I think it's fair to say that we
both have religious families.
That would be fair to say.
So for me, my religion
and my experience of religion has
always been tied to a lot of
homophobia.
Just given that the Catholic
Church obviously isn't super
accepting of...
Like institutionally accepting of
queer people, and a lot of that was
translated down into
the folks around me and that kind of
pushed me away from it.
But now I think we're seeing a lot
more acceptance and
I don't think that it is as
surprising anymore in this day and
age to be a person of faith
and queer.
And I think that there like this
nice movement of folks who are
creating spaces where they can
experience their faith and their
identities as queer and trans
people. Which is really great.
It's just not for me.
That's totally fair.
How about you?
I like that you bring up that point,
that like as we come into this newer
age, that like there are other
options. So like when I was growing
up, Catholicism seemed to be the
only option if I wanted
to have faith or spirituality.
It was either that or nothing.
And I've certainly had conflicting
feelings holding those two parts of
my identity together.
But as I get older, like you said,
it's not it's not such a weird thing
for people to be religious and
queer. And churches like MCC,
for example, give an option
where, you know, if they still want
to tap into their faith and
not deny their queer identities,
they have a space for that.
So I'm really interested in
this storyline. I really want to
know what happens here.
I really want to know what Finley's
trauma is.
I have some ideas of what it could
be. In the last couple of years,
there's been a lot of conversation
around conversion therapy and
so I'm wondering, is that where the
story's gonna go?
Who knows? We'll see.
Yeah, I think that this is probably
the most interesting that Finley has
been to me. So, yes, this storyline
actually has me excited, which
is not how I felt about Finley on
first watch. So that's exciting.
What about Micah?
So the episode starts with Micah and
Jose dancing with Dani and Sophie in
their apartment. And they're really
excited because they're gonna go on
a date later that night to go to an
art show, which Micah says
he needs to prepare and research for
so that he can fit in with the
pretentious art crowd,
which I absolutely love.
I feel like that was the writer's
calling themselves out here.
But much to Micah's disappointment,
Jose calls and has to cancel their
date. So, Micah turns to Grinder to
cope with his insecurities.
Now, this may be one of the most
explicit depictions of sex with
trans people that we've ever seen on
television, which is invigorating.
But the scene is a result of Micah
acting from a place of feeling
rejected. So, like, can Micah
just be like a slutty boy
without all of this sadness and
regret? What are our feelings around
this?
Yeah. I've said this before about
sort of the Max Sweeney storyline
from the original run, which is that
Max couldn't have a successful
relationship, couldn't hook up with
people.
We just had to watch Max's trauma
play out constantly.
Yeah. I wish that Micah could just
embrace... It's like he's feeling
bad that like this guy he liked,
you know, blew him off or whatever.
Like he can turn to Grindr.
He can be promiscuous if he wants.
He can sleep around.
He can hook up.
I think that's totally fine.
Yeah. And I think that we should be
depicting that on television
these days. I don't know why Micah
has to kind of be like the sad boy
who turns to Grindr just because
he's sad.
Or feel like regret about
it.
Or feel regret. Yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
I don't think we need that in this
series. And so I think that's kind
of a spot where the writers had
a missed opportunity with Micah's
character, in my opinion.
Right. So tell me about
Bette Porter.
Yeah. So my favourite scene in the
series thus far happened in this
episode: Angie punches
a girl in the face because she
judged her mom's choices, which is
just so great.
I love Angie!
Angie's the best.
Yeah.
It all leads this incredible
heart-to-heart between Bette and
Angie about race and the ways
in which Angie has to work harder
because of her Blackness.
There's this one line that stood out
to me: it's when Bette says, "It's
not fair, but the only way to
survive the system is to understand
how it works and then you stay ahead
of it." We just don't often get to
hear this kind of honest and raw
conversation about race and racism
that way very often.
Angie wants to go to public school,
and Bette's campaign team actually
agrees because of what's going on in
the election around public and
private schooling.
But Bette is struggling to like let
go of this idea of her kid,
you know, who is like...
who they've started out in
this education system and
in private schools and whatever.
So eventually, she concedes.
She destroys her mayoral opponent in
the debate because of this.
And she manages to get an
endorsement from the teachers'
union, which leads once again to
being teased with this personal
reason that's running.
Can you just tell us already?
Just tell us!
It's like getting really annoying.
I thought what that out a lot in
this episode was this great
continuation of Bette's character
and her thoughtfulness around race
and her daughter. We saw this in the
original series around when
Tina and Bette are split up, and
Bette talks about how important it
is for her daughter to see someone
who looks like her as she gets
older.
What did you make of that?
I think the conversation that
the two of them have after Angie
punches the girl in the face and
Bette has to come and get her.
That conversation was so beautiful
to see on a TV show.
I think these are conversations that
are happening every single day, but
that maybe a lot of people haven't
seen or heard.
So I I applaud
the writers and the showrunners for
really tackling this topic
in a really authentic way.
I agree.
How about Alice?
So our fun-loving extrovert, Alice
is a little concerned when she
thinks that her partner Nat has no
friends and no social life of her
own.
Me.
So Alice insists that Nat spend more
time with her former BFF, who
just happens to also be her ex-wife,
Gigi. But when Nat and Gigi rekindle
their friendship—you know, like
whispering during Bette's town hall
debate and giggling at inside
jokes—Alice begins to wonder if
she's made a huge mistake.
In fact, Alice tells Shane:
I brought two best friends back
together.
Two ex-wives.
So, Erica, I know you have a lot
of feelings about this topic. Friends
with your exes: yay or nay?
I'm friends with a lot of my exes.
I think that there's, in Toronto and
probably rings true for plenty of
places around the world, like the
lesbian circle is just too small to
not ever see your ex again
or not like end up in the same
social circle in some capacity.
That's a fair point.
So that helps.
But also, I think that there's just
like this sense of intimacy
and social connectedness that being
part of queer communities lends
to these friendships that happen
after breaking up.
But I don't know if I would like
rekindle a relationship with
like an ex-wife who like nailed
their ring to my door in the middle
of the night hooking up with someone
else. I don't know.
Go home, Gigi.
Are you kidding me?
That's a hammer.
She's returning her wedding ring.
I hope you're happy.
You were married to that person?
Yeah.
She's a really great mom.
I don't know if Alice made the best
decision. What do you think?
I mean, I see where Alice is coming
from. You know, she just loves Nat
and she wants her to have a full
life, right? And like Alice has a
social life. She has her friends.
She has other things that fulfill
her. And she just wants that for her
partner. So like, it comes from a
good place. But of course, as per
Alice, like she's not thinking of
the other implications of that.
So like, lol.
Like what's going to happen there?
Is a flame going to rekindle there?
Is Alice somehow going to get
involved? Is there going to be a
throuple situation? Who knows?
Let's wait and see.
I actually thought in the last episode that Gigi and Alice had better chemistry together than Nat and Alice. So, I mean, I'd be okay with a throuple.
I actually thought.
The last episode that G.G.
and Alice had better chemistry
together, Fat and
Alice, funnily enough.
Yes. So, I mean, I'd be OK with the
trouble.
So tell me what's happening with
Shane and Shane.
Just like up and bought a sports
bar.
So tell me what's happening with Shane.
Oh man, Shane just up and bought a sports bar. It's like,
of course she did.
And she wants Lena, the bartender,
to make it shine.
Bette thinks this is
ridiculous—because it is.
But she supports Shane
anyway—because she's Bette, and
she's a good friend.
We learn that Shane is still in love
with her wife—and gasp, Tina
left Bette.
Oh, my God. That's like exposed in
the whole thing, which is great.
Obviously, we can't go on three
episodes without Shane fucking
someone. So we're left with Lena
throwing herself at a drunk Shane in
her office in typical original
L Word style.
How do we think Shane is going to
grow from this?
I don't see how this is not just
regression for her character in
which she sits around
sad because the person she loved
is gone or whatever, and then
she just sleeps with a bunch of
random people.
Right. This is very stagnant.
I mean, I hope that soon
we start getting some more
information about the wife or
soon-to-be ex-wife, because
I think that will contextualize a
lot of things. But without that
piece, yeah.
This is just 10, 15 years
ago, Shane.
And I'm over that story.
Grow up, Shane.
C'mon.
You were married.
It's time for our Superlatives
Round. Each week we'll crown our
favourite moments from the episode.
It's like reading through your
high-school yearbook all over
again—but maybe just a little
queerer.
OK, I'm crowning Baddest Bitch
on The L Word—and I mean the entire
series.
It's Angie fucking Porter-Kennard,
dude. Don't mess with
her mom. She's gonna punch you in
the face.
She sure will.
I wish I had half the spunk this kid
does when I was 16.
I was a loser in high school.
I wasn't punching anybody in the
face if they were criticizing my
mom. So my prediction
for Angie: a political dynasty.
Are you seeing this?
I can see it.
...In which Angie follows in her
mom's footsteps—that's Mayor
Porter—and she's going to run for
Congress.
Oh, President Porter-Kennard.
I would live for it.
What's yours?
So honourable mention for Best Guest
Appearance will go to Megan Rapinoe,
who appears on Alice's show.
We all love Megan.
Yeah, I was swooning.
It was so good.
But the Biggest "What
the Fuck?!" Moment: We discover
that Tina left Bette.
Yes. What the fuck?
Like, huh?
First off all: Who
leaves Bette?
I mean, like she's running for
mayor. You know, she'd probably had
like the in-between years had
to have been great for Bette in
order for her to run for mayor and
do all this great stuff.
Why would Tina leave her?
She's so boring.
She sucks.
And like, you know, we talked to
death about like Tina and Bette's
relationship and how Tina was just
like so boring and that Bette was
just like way out of Tina's league.
So did discover that Tina left her
is just like... it doesn't...
I don't know. It doesn't add up to
me. And Bette, actually, when
she's explaining like her heartbreak
to Shane, she says this really
interesting line that stood out to
me where she tells Shane that like
her and Tina had a love
that made her feel alive.
And I was like, really?
Really?
Boring Tina made you feel alive?
Time
to get a better life.
Maybe.
Maybe if she's the mayor she'll feel
a little bit more alive again, if
we're lucky.
All right. That's it for this
episode. Next week, we pick up and
perhaps finally learn: Is Bette
in love with her married fling or
what? Stay tuned.
I'm Michelle Turingan.
And I'm Erica Lenti.
Off the chart. Generation Q is
produced by Michelle Turingan.
Our executive producer is Rachel
Giese. And our music is by Kid
Kulit. If you like what you're
hearing, please reviews on iTunes or
wherever you get your podcasts.
And feel free to get in touch with
us on Twitter @XtraMagazine.
Until next time:
You were married to that person?
Yeah, she's a really great mom.