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maribel and micah

Maribel (Jillian Mercado) and Micah (Leo Sheng) in The L Word: Gen Q (Credit: Showtime)

SPOILER ALERT!!!

It may be December, but Generation Q brought us a Halloween-themed episode this week because why not? While the episode wasn’t super spooky, it was certainly full of sapphic surprises and solid character development.

Fresh off her breakup with Gigi, Dani believes she is totally fine and ready to get back in the game so she invites her “fun friend” Roxy to be her wingman at Dana’s. But before long, it’s actually Sophie who gets Dani to go home with Roxy, who is obviously into Dani. Dani and Roxy have a cute make-out session in Dani’s apartment, but when Roxy finds Gigi’s earring in the couch, Dani breaks down and tells her she’s still in love with her ex.

Meanwhile, we find Taylor (Joey Lauren Adams) waking up in Alice’s bed, and learn that she has been in Alice’s house for not one, but two whole days! Alice and Taylor stay home on Halloween to watch a horror movie, and when they hear a noise outside, Taylor risks herself to save Alice. Afterwards, Taylor tells Alice she feels intimidated by Alice and how put together she is, and Alice gets real with Taylor by showing her who she really is, retainers and all.

With Micah and Maribel, we get our fair share of drama as well as the return of some familiar faces. Micah and Maribel meet up with Maribel’s co-worker and partner, who are the only trans non-binary parents they know. Turns out that one of them is Max (Daniel Sea) from the original series, who looks mighty fine in this surprise return! Micah asks Max some questions about parenting, but Maribel doesn’t stay for long when Max suggests that Maribel needs therapy to deal with her “daddy issues.”

Later on, we find out that Maribel and Sophie’s father cheated on their mom and left the girls when they were younger. Maribel struggles with this and worries that Micah will leave her. And Sophie fears that she is a serial cheater just like her dad, and Finley will never see her any other way. Both couples end up temporarily resolving these conflicts, but Finley asks to hear more about the person Sophie slept with while Finley was in rehab, and I’m not sure I see that going well for either of them.

Speaking of infidelity, Shane sleeps with Ivy (Kehlani) yet again, and even though it’s a great sex scene, I’m so mad that she is being unfaithful to Tess. Later in the episode, Shane and Max run into each other at Dana’s, and Shane apologizes for how terrible the group was to Max back in the day. Max asks if Shane has settled down or if she’s still the same Shane, and Shane says she has a partner and she has changed. But we certainly know that’s not the case.

And it turns out that Tess knows it too – when Shane tries to break things off with Ivy, Tess overhears the whole thing and yells “fuck you, Shane” before throwing a drink at her. Ouch!

Becca’s Rankings

Sexiest Scene: A tie between Shane and Ivy hooking up in the car and Dani and Roxy’s make-out session.

Most OMG-Moment: Micah and Maribel meet up with the only trans non-binary parents they know, and one of them is Max (Daniel Sea) from the original series!

Funniest Moment: Micah and Maribel making out while Micah is still wearing his avocado costume. But also Taylor telling Alice that she woke up looking like she’s in a tampon commercial.

Best Musical Moment: Dani and her “fun friend” Roxy dancing together to “Hey Mami” by Fannypack.

How We Know We’re in 2022: Finley makes a comment about Harry Styles, and Angie has a poster of Olivia Rodrigo in her dorm room.

Who will sleep together next? Given that Roxy tells Dani she’ll come back when Dani’s heart heals, I don’t think we have seen the last of them. I could also see Angie and her creative writing teacher doing it next since they go out on a date during this episode. Not my favorite pairing, tbh.

 

 

Becca Damante
Becca Damante
Becca is a Smith college graduate with a B.A. in Women and Gender Studies and an Archives concentration. She has worked and written for non-profits organizations such as Media Matters for America, The Century Foundation, and GLAAD, and loves to write about the intersections between pop culture, politics, and social justice. You can find her at @beccadamante on Twitter.