Welcome back to 'Off the Chart.'
We're here and ready to process
episode three of 'Gen Q'
season two.
This season, we are once again watching
"The L Word: Generation Q" with you,
bringing you our unfiltered take on
the new series reboot every Tuesday,
because, of course, we can't get
enough of those L.A.
lesbians.
I'm Chelle Turingan, managing
producer of video at Xtra, and I'm
pretty sure that Bette is a Scorpio,
but I still want her to explain art
to me.
No way, I'm also a Scorpio.
I'm Erica Lenti, senior
editor at Xtra and I
want a prospective lover to buy me a
pony.
Buy you a pony?
What about just a horseback ride?
No, no, they have to buy the whole
pony.
Let's jump right into themes.
Erica, what did you notice in
episode three?
Yeah, it's kind of cliché because
so much of the episode is around
this poker game.
But I think that the theme is like,
taking risks.
You know, we see obviously Shane
and Tess taking a big risk with
their game, which we'll talk about
later.
But even in folks' personal lives,
we see Micah taking
a risk at his new job.
We see Angie taking
a risk when she goes to meet her
half-sister, alice is willing
to take a risk and try this
polyamorous thing with Nat.
So I think there's a lot of gambling
going on. Is it all going to work
out? I don't know.
We'll have to see.
Lots of risky business this episode.
So let's recap.
Okay, so let's get started with
Finley and Danny and Sophie.
Finley's eager to talk about what
happened, but Sophie is not ready
yet.
Danny gets movers and empties out
Sophie and Finley's entire
apartment.
She took everything.
This is my life.
Empty except for you.
Eventually, Sophie admits that
Finley saved her from marrying
Danny. Meanwhile, Gigi gets cozy
with Danny when Gigi helps her find
a new place. But Danny's dad might
not be doing so well.
So, Erica, what
do we think's going to happen with
Sophie and Finley next?
Is it bad if I say, like, who
cares?
You know, like we were excited
to see it when it was like fresh
and new, and now it's just like,
a marriage almost got
broken up. I mean, well, it was
about to be a marriage.
Yeah. I'm just not feeling it.
It might be a slow burn for them as
they explore what might be possible.
But, yeah, like you said, let's
forget about them. Let's talk about
this new love triangle that may be
forming. What do you think about
Bette and Gigi and Danny?
It's weird. It's like a wild card.
I wasn't really expecting
Danny and Bette and
especially not Danny and Gigi to end
up in one another's orbit,
just because I felt like
the whole Danny/Bette crush,
work crush thing was like
a bit of a red herring.
Like, I think we all expected
Danny to cheat on Sophie
instead of the other way around.
So now that it's happening, I'm a
bit like, I'm not too
sure. And I just I really love Bette
and Gigi together.
I think they're such a great
pairing.
I did like Danny and Gigi's
chemistry, but I almost
feel like, you know, Danny just
got out of what was about to be
a marriage.
You know, she was ready to spend her
life with Sophie.
She was ready to have kids.
You know, she can have some fun.
Let's not, you know, shove her back
into a relationship so quickly.
I like that the Danny's
dad seems to like Gigi
a lot more off the bat simply
because she's Persian.
If any of our watchers are listeners
out there can translate what
happened in that scene, we would
love to know what they said.
But, yeah, it's nice that they can
have this connection based
around their cultural
similarities.
So it's maybe not a relationship,
but it'll be interesting to see
what develops there.
And then, of course, we end the
episode with one of your favorites,
Erica, another cliffhanger, where
Gigi is dropping off Danny at
Danny's father's house and there
seems to be ambulances everywhere.
So what do we think is up with
Danny's dad?
I don't know, for some reason, I'm
like, oh, yeah, Danny's dad is
definitely dead, which sounds
really horrible.
Maybe they're setting up Danny to
have a storyline where like,
everything she knows crumbles,
like she doesn't have the support of
her dad anymore, she doesn't have
the support of Sophie anymore.
And she has to completely rebuild
herself and find herself again,
like I do think she needs some
character development.
And what we're seeing with Gigi has
been great so far.
I think.
So it'll be interesting to see.
I don't know. Am I too morbid
in thinking he's dead?
No, because it is "The L Word" and
they like to throw in twists and
turns, so it could be possible.
I do like this take that you have
that like, maybe they're building up
Danny to have like, this crumbling
storyline so she can redeem herself
from it.
That would be very interesting to
see. And perhaps Gigi isn't like
a romantic endeavor,
but maybe like, maybe Gigi
will just turn out to be like a like
a touchstone for Danny in a way,
like someone that she can rely on
in place of her father, maybe
something happening to him.
So we'll just have to wait and see.
Okay, Erica, let's talk about Bette
and Angie.
First off, Angie learns that she has
a half-sister named Kayla Allenwood.
Bette is pretty peeved that Angie
went ahead and did the DNA tests.
But in the end, Bette supports
Angie, who meets Kayla at a coffee
shop. Meanwhile, Bette sees
the work of an old artist, Pippa
Pascal, who had stopped showing
decades ago, a blast from the
past that has her super stoked.
Do you think Bette's going to be
able to meet this artist, Pippa
Pascal?
This Pippa person is definitely
going to come in and shake things
up, like I am almost certain
about.
Maybe we will have another weird
carpenter, Bette,
jail sex
thing. I don't know why.
I'm like I don't know why I think
that's going to happen.
Maybe it'll be somewhere like, or
Jodi, Jodi/Bette
on the on the sculpture
sex scene.
Like I'm picturing some original
series Bette Porter sex
scenes with this mysterious
artist. I'm very excited.
And I think the show runners are
already kind of setting it up that
way, like Bette has
just called Gigi her girlfriend, but
is already like snapping at her
about, you know, toggling
between paying attention to her and
like parenting her daughter.
And, you know, she seems upset when
she's trying to explain art to her.
And then all Gigi wants to do is
have wine.
So maybe that relationship
isn't going to pan out the way that
we thought and that would
leave Bette open to explore
something with Pippa.
I did that DNA website thing.
And I specifically told you not to.
So, Erica, what do we think of
Angie's sister?
I'm so stoked for Angie, that
first scene, the opening scene of
the episode where she
runs to her computer because she got
the results and then she realizes
she has a sister. And it's like,
"hi, I'm Kayla." I was like dying
on the inside.
I'm so excited that she's going to
have this connection.
And I think it'll be really good
for her. Like, you know, she
clearly wants to know
where she's from, her ancestry.
And here's someone who can
give her some insight into that,
someone who's around her own age.
I thought it was wonderful.
And I thought the meeting at the
coffee shop was just like the cutest
thing ever.
When Bette asks Shane and
Alice if they think that
Angie and her sister look alike and
they're like, "yeah," like that was
just super cute.
So I am all for this storyline,
as per all Angie storylines.
Bette needs to like, calm down a bit
also.
Like I know she was upset about
Angie going behind her back to do
the DNA test, but like on
one hand, like, I totally get,
you know, where Bette's coming from.
I also totally get where Angie
is coming from.
It must be like, as a teenager,
it must be incredibly difficult to
want to do this thing and know it's
right at your fingertips and have
your parents say no.
And then Gigi was like just trying
to help. You know, she came
in with, like, some great
perspective as
a mom who didn't
biologically carry
her child.
So I thought
it was really unwarranted.
And then I'm like, Bette, I love
you, but you're really being a bit
of a bitch.
Like, try harder.
Gigi's the best.
Scorpio vibes, that's what I said!
Oh, God, you're right.
You're right.
Okay Erica, let's talk about Shane
and Tess for a moment, because they
are finally putting on their first
real poker game and it looks like
it's swinging in there.
But unfortunately, there's a creepy
dude who sexually harass Tess,
and in retaliation, Tess takes
a portion of the winnings, which is
illegal, but customary?
Hmmm.
Do we have any projections for how
this poker game is going to play out
through the season?
Oh, yeah.
It's like really sketchy, right?
Like, I'm kind of worried for
Shane and Tess's safety at
this point, which is like, not what
I expect when I'm watching "The L
Word." I kind of want to get away
from that.
But I feel like they're building
up to something.
Like either Lena Waithe's
character is going to come back,
which would be awesome because then
we could flesh out that character
some more, or this creepy
guy is going to realize that Tess
took some of the money, like
something weird is going to happen.
I'm just getting, like, ughh
feelings about it.
I don't know.
How do you feel about all of it?
I mean, I care less about the poker
game and I'm all about the flirting
game. I want to see these two
finally hook up! But
actually, that might be
a distraction.
You know, if they get hot and heavy
and are not paying proper attention
to the game, like that
might be what causes something
perhaps horrible to happen with
that. So it'll be
a bit of a juggling act.
OKkay, so let's talk about Nat and
Alice now.
Nat has gone on her first date with
somebody else, and it's pretty
awkward for Alice.
Alice ends up stalking Nat on her
date and realizes that she can't
really do this polyamorous thing.
She tells Nat that it's over and
then she leaves.
Is this the end of Alice and Nat?
I don't know, I mean, we talked
about this in the last episode.
Like, it's got to
be really difficult to reconcile
both sides here, like Alice
is obviously very monogamous.
And then we see Nat after
her whole declaration in the last
episode where she's like, this is
who I am, and like, if I could
change it, I would, but I can't.
She's now changing her tune
saying, "but I love you, Alice," and
"we're not going to do this," and
like, "I'll stop. I want to be with
you." And I think that Alice
realizes, like, she can't
change Nat and
it's not going to work.
So
I don't know how they reconcile
that.
It feels like if
they try to, they're forcing
two people who have
different needs together.
I don't know how you feel, but I
don't know that I would kind of love
to see that happen.
Unless, like, Nat realizes
that actually the whole polyamory
thing wasn't for her after all.
But that would kind of feel a little
contrived.
Mm hmm. I mean, I think it's
important to remember the
other storyline going on
with Alice, in that she's writing
this memoir and she seems to be
getting closer to her book editor,
Tom, played by the amazing Donald
Faison, he's so cute.
My editor, hi!
I like to think of myself as
your guru of texture.
Because they seem to have chemistry.
So maybe they've introduced this
book editor character as a way
to transition Alice away from
that.
And, you know, we did get a
reminder that Alice is indeed
a bisexual.
And so like, to see her engage in a
relationship with a man again
might be interesting.
I wanted to ask you, Erica, as an
editor yourself, what do you think
of Donald Faison's character
as this book editor?
I like him.
Like he's really, he's doing the
hard job of, like, trying to
get someone to dig deep
into their life when,
you know, Alice is obviously trying
to be very surface level.
So I love it. And he's so funny.
And their comedy, like,
it really complements one
another. I really enjoy seeing them
on screen together.
I loved him blathering on
about how he could never do
polyamory and it would kill him on
the inside.
He kind of reminds me of me
oversharing to writers
or something, like I think that I
probably blather on and say the
wrong thing all the time.
So I like him.
But we were talking about this
before the recording.
I think if Alice is going to be
single and she's not going to be
with Nat, I think what I would like
to see is her go out to the forest
and do some like, ayahuasca
or something, and have like a
weird like, like hallucinate,
Dana, and for us to have a
Dana/Alice reunion and then maybe
she can get with Tom.
But I want to see Dana
again.
Yeah, isn't it so L.A.
to do ayahuasca anyway?
Let's see it happen!
Let's do it!
OK, let's talk
about Micah and Maribel, because
some good things are finally
happening to Micah.
He's got a new job with Nat
as a counselor, but
he feels a little pigeonholed when
he's only getting trans clients.
Maribel teases him and encourages
him to stand up for himself, which
he does. And as a thank you,
he takes her out on a horse riding
date.
What do you think's in the future
for these two?
I love them.
I hope they end up together.
This is like the Micah dream
that I had, you know, like
happiness, someone who
can be like fun, and kind
of mocking and teasing,
but also gets it, right?
Like, I think Maribel is
so good. I love Jillian Mercado
in this role. She is so funny.
The part where she was like, "Once I
wanted a pony and my mom said, no,
and life is not fair." I was
dying, like she is so good,
and I think she's such a perfect
match to Micah's like, weird sad
boy thing going on right now.
Like she just, she brings
levity to the situation
and I love it.
I'm all for the ship.
Okay, it's our favorite part of the
episode, our superlatives round,
where we each pick our favorite
moment from the episode.
Erica, what was your pick?
I'm sorry, I'm so predictable, but
Angie running to meet Jordi
and be like. "I have a half-sister!"
was like the cutest thing I have
ever seen.
I have a sister.
I have a half-sister! Oh my god, what?
Yes, I got I know I got my results
back today.
I am just so obsessed with them,
and Jordi being like, "I'll come
with you to keep you safe." I was
like, oh, my god, you're perfect.
Once again, Showtime if you ruin
this ship, I will quit the
podcast.
It's just how it's going to be,
right?
Chelle, what was your favorite
moment from the episode?
Well, I will continue on this
cute ride and say that Micah
and Maribel this episode were just
adorable.
She comes with Micah when
he starts his first day and her line
is like, "I just always love an
excuse to start work late." She is
so funny.
Micah is wearing a very nice
crewneck, which Maribel reminds
him just as he's about to start his
day. And then, of course, as the
thank you, he takes Maribel on that
horse riding date. So, they're so
cute.
I love their
flirting vibes and whatever's
happening there, I would love to see
that ship take off the
dock.
I'm obsessed with Maribel.
She is so funny and
is the embodiment of, like,
everything I want to be.
So please, let's
get more Maribel.
Well, that's it for this episode.
Tune in next week when we talked
episode four of " Gen Q" and we'll
see who else hooks up.
I'm Chelle Turingan.
And I'm Erica Lenti.
"Off the Chart" is produced by
Chelle Turingan. Our technical
producer is Lito Howse.
Our executive producer is Rachel
Giese and our music is by KidKulit.
If you like 'Off the Chart', please
like and subscribe and leave a
review wherever you get your podcast
and feel free to follow us on
Twitter @XtraMagazine.
Until next time. Bye!
So you never got the moon shoes?
No, I never got moon shoes.
But I'm sure, like, maybe my fiance
will buy them for me if I tell her.
There's a wedding present that just
screams love.