L Word Episode Review: Little Boy Blue

Ah, another week, another hour of exciting drama from the ladies of the L Word!

Kit, upset by Angus’ cheating, falls off the wagon and, in doing so, highlights the less flattering features of Bette’s type-A personality. Jodi not only experiences Bette’s attempts to control everything around her first-hand, but also straight-up calls her out on it. This confrontation turns into an argument that seems to have the potential to rock the foundations of Jodi’s new found ability to sexually commit to a relationship. Tina brings the director of Jenny’s unborn film to Bette’s dinner party; Jenny, as usual, seems less than pleased to have the attention shifted away from her. Not to worry, though, she manages to return to the spotlight by declaring that little straight girls want horses, whereas the deepest desire of a wee lesbian is… a monkey? Although it is tempting to dwell on the random inner workings of Jenny’s oh-so-entertaining twisted little mind, it is within this episode that the audience gets a taste of the troubles that our heroine, Tasha, may face.

The gang takes a trip to the race track (mostly, I suspect, to watch Helena’s gambling addiction in action with a sense of appalled fascination) which is where Tasha runs into a follow service member. Moments before the interaction, she gently reminds Alice that she can’t engage in PDA to which Alice responds by jokingly, dismissing Tasha’s concern. This attitude carries over when Tasha introduces her to the soldier; Alice is very flirtatious in her communications with and about her girlfriend, obviously not grasping the gravity of the situation. The two women come away with very different takes on the chance meeting- Alice is confident that the whole thing is “nothing to worry about,” whereas Tasha identifies the guy as a homophobe and does not share Alice’s assessment of the situation.

- Charlotte D'Ooge

The Plot Thickens as the Toasters Fly

Here's Elizabeth Bolles', SLDN's development assistant, take on the last "L Word" episode. Check out Emily's review from last week here.

Like me, you may have become concerned The L Word was suffering from LBD, but the series is back on track. This was certainly one of the better episodes of the fourth season for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was the dearth of Jenny (though of course we see her just enough to remember why we can’t stand her, lest we idealize her in absentia).

Tina and Bette’s relationship is revealed to be more complex than a lot of screaming, kidnapping, and generally bad vibes when they acknowledge at the top of the episode that their love lives on. But before they can kiss and make up, Jodi appears with all of her “open-relationship” and “I hate children” baggage. After foisting the ever-cute Angelica off on Tina, Bette and Jodi have an emotional conversation whilst sunning themselves, in which they (and we) wonder if their relationship can survive Jodi’s player lifestyle. Indeed, it is hard out there for a pimp.

Meanwhile, next door, Shane is settling into domestic bliss with Paige, as Shay and Justin frolic about. The only possible obstacle to their happiness is Paige’s heterosexuality, but it doesn’t seem to be holding them back. Besides, as Paige pushes for a relationship and encourages Shane to change her living situation, she convincingly passes as a U-Haul lesbian. (Is it the second date already?) Later in the evening, Shane and Paige hire a sitter and make like monkeys in a parked car instead of going to Kit’s CD release party. This is clearly real romance.

Back at The Planet, Kit is preparing for her party and being hostile towards Angus all at once. Papi joins in on the Angus hating. This makes me like Papi more, though I still suspect her to be a carrier for every STI known to science (and then some).

Six scenes in, and we finally see Max’s soul patch… I mean, Max. My heart filled with anticipation, but unfortunately Max did not perform any computer searches. Still, he did make a new friend in fellow computer geek Grace. They seem to have real chemistry, but Max is a man and Grace is a lesbian. We can only hope they are as loose about these things as Paige and Shane. Max deserves better than that judgmental Mount Holyoke student from previous episodes (it wouldn’t have played out like that with a Wellesley woman, no ma’am).

Now we shift over to the Helena selling herself/developing a high-stakes gambling addiction plot, which I find strange and have decided not to get into. The best part about this scene is that Alice is still wearing normal clothes – the next time we see her, she will be greeting Tasha at her apartment in clothes she likely stole from an Amish woman (whose fate hopefully differed from Sounder’s).

Luckily, Tasha (our soldier!) enjoys the Amish thing (some people go for the Plimoth Plantation look), and after Kit’s party at The Planet, she and Alice stay up all night “raising a barn,” if you know what I mean. While both are women and neither is heterosexual, there is necessarily a hindrance to their romance, and it is all Jenny’s fault.

You see, Jenny’s book “Lez Girls” has movie studios clamoring for the rights – including Tina’s studio. When Jenny inexplicably brings her agents to Kit’s bash so that they can ambush Tina and humiliate her as publically as possible by making her grovel like all the other poor suckers in town, they anger Tasha by making naïve comments about wars and the military. (To be fair to Jenny, it is partly also Grace’s fault, because her “War is terrorism with a bigger budget” t-shirt starts it all. Still, I bet Grace has never confused a beluga for a manatee, and is therefore an improvement for Max. But I digress.) Back at her pad with Tasha, Alice can’t help but ramble nervously about the situation in Iraq, and expresses disbelief that service members aren’t murderous by nature. Tasha is annoyed, but decides to forge ahead with her dream of being with an Amish school mistress, as evinced by her clever use of our President’s last name in a not-for-prime-time pun.

Finally we are at the best/worst part: Kit goes nuts. At the party, on stage, she freaks out on Angus about his cheatin’ ways, then flees to her office where she barricades herself just long enough to get loaded on vodka. After pausing for a moment to chew out Bette, Kit leaves with Papi! Apparently, like Paige, Kit is more a woman of nuance than a woman of societal labels. Unfortunately/fortunately, Kit is so wasted by the time the moment comes, that she zonks out before she can experience Papi’s magic circles.

At episode’s end, Kit is despondent, Shane is looking for suburban real estate and promising a Go Kart birthday party for Shay, and Tasha has engaged in just the sort of behavior that can drive a soldier into the loving legal arms of SLDN. Just when you think there couldn’t be another major plot twist, Shane’s father appears, presumably bringing with him enough issues for a magazine rack.

- Elizabeth Bolles

The "Ask and Tell" Helicopter

Each week, after an L Word episode, a member of the SLDN staff will report her reactions and thoughts about that episode. Without further ado, here's SLDN's Emily Hecht with her thoughts on Episode 7, "Lesson Number One". For a more in-depth synopsis, check out the L Word fansite, The L Word Online. AfterEllen.com also has their recap up.

During this past Sunday’s episode, we got our first look at the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” storyline for which SLDN will be honoring the L Word with the Randy Shilts Visibility Award on March 24. Tasha (pictured; photo credit: Paul Michaud/Showtime Networks), a Captain in the Army National Guard, has just returned from Iraq and appears to be suffering from some form of PTSD. While we haven't seen much, we did get our first glimpse into Tasha's world when Alice, who shows up on base, uninvited and unannounced, (in her high heels and glitter belt no less), is treated to a tour of the southern California coastline by a crew of lesbian pilots in the "Ask and Tell" helicopter. While in its very early stages, the storyline has already made clear that, yes, gays and lesbians are currently serving in our armed forces and yes, they hold critical and highly skilled positions. Gay and lesbian soldiers not only put their lives on the line for the freedoms we all enjoy, but they must also make additional sacrifices not required of their heterosexual counterparts. It’s not until they’re airborne that the soldiers can let down their guard a bit, revealing to a completely clueless Alice that they are all, indeed, “family.” After the ride, Tasha sends Alice off with a kiss that could get her discharged and we're left wondering what will happen next.

Will Tasha be investigated and discharged for homosexual conduct? Perhaps Condoleezza Rice will offer her a job working at the State Department. Or, maybe the terrorists will recruit her to lead that platoon of lesbians into Baghdad. It looks like we’ll just have to wait and see.

- Emily Hecht