The fourth episode of The L Word: Generation Q featured so much drama that while I was home for the holidays, my mom repeatedly called up to my room to ask why I was screaming. In classic L Word fashion, this week’s episode was an emotional roller coaster and featured rich character development, several intense love triangles, and more sexy moments than I could count.
This week’s installment, “L.A. Times,” picks up right where we left off last week, with Bette and Felicity getting cozy in a hotel room. Later in the episode, Dani confronts Bette about their relationship, and gives her an ultimatum: she can either date Felicity or she can run for mayor and fight for what she believes in. Bette tells Dani she is committed to the race, and reveals that she is running because her sister Kit died from a heroin overdose.
Several dramatic plotlines followed. We finally find out that Shane is getting a divorce because she doesn’t want kids, which is surprising given the excellent parenting skills she displayed when Alice was caring for Nat’s kids in episode 2. In addition, Alice gets challenged on her show by a white male producer for “do[ing] her feminism” and resisting incremental change. And Finley drunkenly tells Rebecca she’s in love with her after claiming it’s fine to date her because she’s “not a real priest.”
This episode, and perhaps the season as a whole, really hit its climax at Shane’s surprise 40th birthday party, where several love triangles came to fruition. Micah comes to the party with a man he met on a dating app, and when Jose the property manager shows up in a jealous state, Micah demands to know what he wants. Meanwhile, when Tess asks Lena if there is anything going on between her and Shane, Lena begrudgingly admits her infidelity, and Tess storms out of the bar.
The most captivating love triangle of them all is probably the one between Alice, Nat, and Nat’s ex-wife, Gigi, and it most certainly did not land where I expected it. One minute, Nat is making out with Alice, and the next she tells Alice that she wants her and Gigi. Before I could even take it in, the three of them go into a backroom where Alice kisses Gigi, Gigi kisses Nat, Nat kisses Alice, and a threesome ensues. The original series never shied away when it came to sex, and this episode really turned the heat back up.
While these sexy scenes made the episode feel familiar, it wasn’t long before I remembered that in this series, some things are different: namely, Shane has a wife. Though Shane signs her divorce papers earlier in the episode, her wife shows up at her surprise party, and the episode cuts to black. Until next time!
Sexiest Scene: Dani topping Sophie in a bathtub after Sophie gave Dani her great-grandmother’s ring.
Most OMG-Moment: Bette is running for mayor because her sister died of a heroin overdose.
Best Cultural Reference: Not referenced, but we had great music from Halsey and Billie Eilish.
Funniest Moment: When people turn forty, Alice says that “shit gets weird” and “things on your body start dropping and changing,” including her ass.
How We Know We’re (Almost) in 2020: Alice, Shane, and Bette take a selfie in front of Shane’s new bar, which is named Dana’s after the dearly beloved Dana Fairbanks who passed away in season three.
Who will sleep together next? Probably Bette and Felicity, even though Bette promises to end it.
