Boobs on Your Tube: Raising Kanan’s Third Season Begs Us To Reconsider What We Mean by “Bury Your Gays”

This week, Drew noticed that somehow “Total Eclipse of the Heart” played during pivotal moments in four completely different queer tv shows or films this year. Random, but true! She’s also here to argue that Anne Hathaway’s newest film Eileen doesn’t deserve to be called Carol for psychos (can you tell Drew had some fun this week?). Also, a follow up to a classic in Black queer cinema, Beyond the Aggressives has arrived just on time for black trans masc representation. In an exciting little diddy, Kayla wonders what each of the adult Yellowjackets would want for Christmas? She also watched the new queer Christmas thriller It’s a Wonderful Knife, and said it’s fun but falls short of a fully slay.

Speaking of the holigays, here are 37 Christmas movies with lesbian, bisexual, queer or trans characters — and also, if you can manage to get 18/30 on this quiz, you’re a certified Christmas Movie Expert and also probably gay!

It’s the most wonderful time of the yeeeaaaaaar and by that we mean it’s time for our annual End of Year Culture Lists! This week we have for you:

• Autostraddle’s Favorite Lesbian, Bisexual, and Trans TV Characters of 2023
• Autostraddle’s Favorite Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer TV Couples of 2023

And now, here’s what else!

Notes from the TV Team: 

+ Not much info yet but Wynonna Earp star Melanie Scrofano and Kat Barrell aka THE Nicole Haught have written and are co-directing a movie together! No word yet on if the story itself will be queer, but here’s hoping. — Valerie Anne

Raising Kanan Episode 301: “Home Sweet Home”

Written by Carmen

Raising Kanan is back for its third season and in addition to once again proving that its by far the best acted entry of the Power Universe (if you’re interested in getting involved, I often describe it as The Wonder Years by way of 90s New York drug empire), with a cast that is constantly pushing above its weight class — it also wins by putting its lesbian characters at the core of its story.

I’ll star with Jukebox, Kanan’s cousin and the show’s heartbeat. Juke’s mother died at the end of last season in a shootout between her Aunt Raq (Patina Miller, the reason to watch) and a rival mafia family. Everyone seems preoccupied with letting Jukebox know that it’s ok to grieve her mother, but I spent most of the time yelling at the TV that her mother tortured Jukebox last year in some failed Christian conversion therapy and she’s better off without her. Alas, family is complicated and though it seemed that Jukebox’s stoicism matched my own, we eventually do see her finally break down in her father’s arms in grief. It’s gorgeously acted and Hailey Kilgore deserves so much more praise for this role than she’s getting. Even if I am personally just fine with Juke’s mother being dead. Ahem.

Speaking of being dead, however, we are unfortunately adding another lesbian to the Dead Lesbian Database because Detective Burke (Shanley Casewell) had a terrible, no good, very bad day. First, when Raq teams up with Detective Howard (Omar Epps, Raq’s ex and Kanan’s father) to cover up the aforementioned mafia shootout, Detective Burke rolls up to out Howard as a liar in front of the entire police department. She is correct, he’s a dirty ass cop in the middle of a massive cover up, but unfortunately the Captain sides with Howard and puts Burke on administrative leave due to becoming an obsessive.

Second, Internal Affairs is looking into Burke, again because of all the boundary crossing, and that spooks her girlfriend, who is also a cop. So, her girlfriend breaks up with her.

Third, Burke gets a call from Howard. He asks to meet her and promises to come clean about everything. Now personally, I don’t know why she took the bait? I guess she was overzealous to get Howard on tape confessing to his crimes? But also if the guy whose family I’m trying to put away mysteriously calls me in the middle of the night to meet him in a undisclosed location, I’m not showing up. That sounds like a death certificate.

And death certificate it was, because as soon as Howard finishes “confessing” he shoots Detective Burke clean in the head. He takes the tape, her gun, and puts his gun in her hand to fake it as if she did this to herself. Two years of pursuit, and this is how her story ends.

If I sound flippant about another lesbian character dying on tv, I apologize. That’s not my intention! But I do think at this point in our TV-watching lives, we should interrogate exactly what we mean by “bury your gays” and when or how its used. In this case, for a series like Power, the deaths are often the whole point. Characters get big showy deaths, especially fan favorites or fan favorite villains. For Burke, however, her death felt kinda mid? After multiple seasons, it’s hard not to notice that her end doesn’t come with the same gravitas that is often granted main characters in the franchise. That was also tue of Juke’s first girlfriend, Nicole, who died in Raising Kanan’s first season. Instead of bemoaning another dead queer character on TV, I am interested in exploring why these two lesbian characters had such lackluster deaths compared to their peers. That’s a much more fascinating analysis… how we use “dying on screen” and when. But alas, perhaps a story for a different day.

Rap Sh!t 206: “U-Turn”

Written by Natalie

A week ago, the girls were riding high: Chastity putting them up in a lux LA hotel, Francois inviting them to brunch and promising a writing session with Pardi, meeting Def Jam execs at a Billboard party…. and then, all of a sudden, it was over… and over in spectacular and tragic fashion, no less. It’s a jarring turn of events for Shawna, Mia, and Chastity, who are forced to go back to the lives they left behind with nothing to show for their efforts.

Chastity returns to chaos: one of her girls has been arrested — thanks to Deja’s refusal to follow the directions she left behind — and another pimp has forced her girls off Biscayne Boulevard. Chastity promises she’ll handle it and, given how she handled the girls’ money woes on the road, I’m already worried and fearing the worst. She pulls up outside a local motel, readies her gun and slips on a ski mask. She proceeds to kick down the doors of her competition’s workers, interrupting their sessions and sending everyone scurrying for their clothes and the exits.

“Y’all don’t work here no mo! Tell Bugs to stay off this block!” Chastity yells as she fires shots into the air. It ends up being more hilarious than scary… but when Chastity slides back into her ubiquitous Caddy to drive off, I worry that the disguise was all for naught. And, sure enough, Bugs knows the threat came from Chastity and immediately returns to take his vengeance. His goons beat the sh!t out of Chastity as he holds her stable at gunpoint. Next time Chastity tries him, Bugs promises, he’ll kill her.

Chastity returns home, bloodied and bruised, to nurse her wounds but, aside from the bag of frozen greens he gives her to reduce the swelling, her Uncle Calvin offers her no respite. Chastity wistfully wonders if he’s going to kill Bugs but he hands her the gun and insists that this is what has to be done to earn respect. Even as they pull in behind Bugs’ car, Chastity hopes that things can somehow end amicably.

“Yeah, you know, maybe you can just, you know, talk to him instead of… you know what I’m sayin’?” she asks, hopefully.

Calvin scoffs at her naïveté and steps out of the car, tucking his gun in his waistband. He approaches Bugs’ car and asks about the incident involving his niece. Bugs touts his restraint — he didn’t “try to do too much to her” — but admits that Chastity was acting out of pocket. Calvin seemingly accepts the explanation and daps Bugs up before appearing to walk away. Watching, Chastity breathes a sigh of relief and mocks Bugs from a safe distance. But then, her Uncle pivots back, walloping Bugs, slamming his body with the car door and, finally, firing a single shot into him.

Calvin slides back into the drivers’ seat next to Chastity, exhales and acknowledges, “I got your block back.”

Without looking at him, Chastity nods and offers her thanks. Inside, I imagine, Chastity’s reaffirming her commitment to make this rap sh!t happen and to leave this world far, far behind… but we’ll have to see how that develops next week.

Black Cake Episode 109: “Nine Night”

Written by Nic

It’s the season finale of Black Cake and while many of our season-long questions were answered, they left us with just enough mystery to wonder what a potential season two might include. Each character gets a bit of time to shine in the finale: we see Mathilda giving birth to Covey in an island forest; Byron finds out his girlfriend is pregnant and they don’t see eye-to-eye on their next steps; Mabel reveals that her husband died while she was pregnant with her son; and we finally get the answer to who poisoned Little Man during his wedding to Covey.

Most importantly, I think, is we get some insight into Bunny’s life in the 50 years since she believed her best friend died. Firstly, Bunny’s full name is Benedetta! Eleanor named Benny after her best friend without knowing just how much the two would end up having in common.

As promised, Bunny fulfilled her and Covey’s dream of becoming famous swimmers, changing her name to Etta Pringle and becoming the first Black woman to swim across the English Channel. Covey/Eleanor kept up with her best friend’s career, unbeknownst to Etta, to the point where Benny just thought Etta Pringle was a random swimmer that her mother was obsessed with.

During their Nine Night honoring of Eleanor, Benny of course wants to know how Etta felt after her best friend shut her down after revealing feelings for her. It turns out, Covey took Benny on a joyride on a motorbike and the two had a heart-to-heart where Covey vowed that no matter what happened, she would be a safe space for her queer best friend.

So it only made sense that Bunny would be the one who ended up “saving” Covey by poisoning Little Man’s champagne rather than wait for Gibbs to come up with his own plan.

I loved Black Cake as a messy family story, as a beautiful tribute to the Caribbean, as a reminder that you never really know what someone is struggling with. However, while Bunny felt like she had to hide her identity in the shadows, Benny was busy hiding in shadows of her own: Byron’s, then Joanie’s, then Steve’s. My wish for queer Black women on television and frankly, in life, is that we can be seen in our glory and our fullness without hiding or fear. But hey, if we do get a second season, maybe a light episode where Benny and Bunny take on the perils of the queer dating scene?

Boobs on Your Tube: Beacon 23’s Unimpressive Latest Episode Hits Almost Every Enraging Queer Trope

Happy long weekend, if you’re having a long weekend! ❤️ The Autostraddle offices are closed today, but we still found some TV and film for you to watch.

Here’s what happened this week: Carmen got to interview WNBA stars Syd Colson and Theresa Plaisance (TP) about their new sketch comedy show, also called Syd + TP! Anya broke down how Chrishell Stause queered Selling Sunset. Natalie wrote about how Rustin, the film, flattens the complex Black gay history of Bayard Rustin, the icon. We also wrapped our Trans Awareness Week coverage in part with a history of trans actors in cis roles. We are still cleaning up our streaming guides and this week that came with the present of the 40 best LGBT shows on HBO Max. Vuk Lungulov-Klotz, the director of Mutt now streaming on Netflix), talked with us about working with a trans crew and the value of sweetness.

And now, here’s what else you missed!

Notes from the TV Team: 

+ All Rise wrapped up its third and final season this week and, much to my surprise, it closed out with a lesbian storyline. Unfortunately, it was just the case of the week, instead of the storylines I’d hoped for: Ness reuniting with Sam, or Ness hooking up with that cute bailiff who we met earlier in the season, never to be heard from again, or Judge Brenner returning to the HOJ to marry Georgia. A disappointing end to what, at times, had been a promising show. — Natalie

+ Though it won’t premiere in the States until next year, a heads up to our Canadian readers that Sort Of debuted its third and final season last week. The show was one of our favorites of 2022 and I have high hopes for how they’ll wrap the series. — Natalie

Beacon 23 Episode 103: “Why Can’t We Go On as Three?”

Written by Valerie Anne

:deep breath: WE COULD HAVE HAD IT AAAAAALL

In my review of the series overall, which went up when only two of the episodes had aired, I alluded to the fact that this season of Beacon 23 featured some bad tropes, and now I can finally explicitly talk about them.

In episode three, Aster and Halen are getting high from the gravity beams (?) when a woman in a uniform with a spikey helmet slinks onto the ship. After a tussle, Aster realizes she knows this woman, Coley. At first it seems like she might just be a coworker, but soon she’s caressing Aster, clearly closer than just peers.

Coley eventually reveals her truth when she interrogates Halen about his relationship with Aster, insisting she just wants to know, and he wouldn’t be the first of Aster’s “whims.” Halen assures her they’re just friends and returns the question, to which Coley says simply, “We’re close.” Later, Coley brings her things to Aster’s room. Aster tells her to pick a side of the bed and Coley responds, “You’re gonna let me choose?” Not their first bed-sharing rodeo.

Aster decides to help Coley relax by taking her up to get high and make out. This is where I recommend turning off the show and never returning.

At dinner with Halen, Coley goes on a rant about how Aster is always cheating on her, including once with a hot lady fighter pilot. Coley says, “She’ll always let you down.” She even calls her street trash. It is Not Great.

Aster eventually realizes that Coley orchestrated her ship’s crash, and they fight. Coley says she can’t bring herself to kill Aster, but she does intend to kill Halen. But before she can, Aster stabs Coley and saves Halen.

Aster holds Coley as she bleeds out. Coley’s last words are “I loved you, Aster,” before Aster strangles her the rest of the way dead.

I’ve said this before, but it seems like these characters were made queer after the script was written — like they decided to make Coley a woman during casting and didn’t consider the implications. But we’re not at the point yet where you can randomly pick characters to be queer regardless of their story arc. We’re not far enough past the peak of the Bury Your Gays massacre to bring in a queer woman just to kill her off. In 2023, you shouldn’t be able to skip one (1) episode of a season of TV and not know one of the main characters is queer. There are so many ways to reveal a character’s queerness without an on-screen partner, so many ways to show what queerness looks like in your fictional sci-fi world without having queer-on-queer violence. Not to mention this was all after Coley accused Aster of sleeping around, leaning into the biphobic “slutty/cheating bisexual” trope. I was unimpressed by this episode, and this show, which is too bad because we all deserve more queer Lena Headey characters.

Black Cake Episode 106: “Ma”

Written by Nic

On this week’s Black Cake, the episode begins with Eleanor reflecting on the choices she made as a mother to all three of her children. She’s especially regretful of the way she and Bert pushed Benny away, considering Eleanor’s childhood friendship with Bunny. What Eleanor (then, Covey) didn’t realize was that by asking Bunny to pretend in public, to mimic her friend’s behavior with boys, to not stand out; she was asking her to abandon herself and her truth. In a flashback, we see Covey and Bunny dancing together at a party, their joy infectious. Until Gibbs and his friend arrive, and Bunny’s posture immediately becomes stiff, fighting against her attempt to fit into a heterosexual mold that feels inauthentic to her core. We see her copy Covey’s dance moves and eventually, she loses her virginity to that very same boy. Her mouth tells him that she’s sure, while her eyes fight back tears, mourning the person she wishes she could be.

Back in the present, Benny is at the police station giving a statement about the altercation between Byron and Steve. She explains that the abuse started six years prior, and the officer gently explains that even though the abuse continued beyond the statute of limitations, it would be difficult to prove because she stayed. *rage* So Benny decides to file a temporary restraining order against Steve and blocks his number.

Shocking no one, Steve is pissed. He shows up to Benny’s parents’ house and tries to convince her to come back by… continuing to insult her? I don’t know, y’all. I’m not going to attempt to make sense of it because the important part is that Benny WALKED AWAY. Even when Steve tries to hold her responsible for the $25K advance he got for the piece she destroyed, Benny replies that that’s not her problem, and he’ll figure it out. The whoop that I whooped?!

Later that night, Byron arrives back at the house after a harrowing day of getting arrested and then speaking on a diversity panel, to find “B&B’s” long lost sister waiting in the driveway. Mabel showed up on a whim after the lawyer contacted her. The three siblings have a bit of an awkward conversation, before Benny and Mabel start to bond and connect over their love of food. Benny even cracks a joke about how Mabel’s “cancellation” isn’t real because she’s actually Caribbean and Chinese. Before they start to listen to the final recording, Mabel asks about her birth father and she can tell everyone else knows something she doesn’t. When Byron reveals that her birth father was likely the man who assaulted Eleanor in Scotland, Mabel decides this whole thing is too much and leaves.

Benny, in a beautiful turn from the previous five episodes, stands up for her sister, recognizes that she’s hurting, and decides not to give up on her because that’s what she wanted all those years ago when she walked out; for someone to beg her to stay. She tells Byron that their father had been going to cafes across the street from her apartment for years, never working up the courage to talk to his daughter. She won’t do that to Mabel.

So Benny shows up at Mabel’s hotel, with ackee and saltfish (traditional Jamaican breakfast) in hand, remembering that Mabel loves breakfast for dinner. The two have a heart-to-heart, and Mabel decides to stay and listen to the recording. What she learns is that Eleanor never wanted to give her up; both that decision and Mabel were taken from her.

I’ll admit, I’ve been a bit hard on Benny, but I loved watching her get more introspective this week. My biggest hope and dream is that Bunny is still alive, so that she and Benny can have some quality queer bonding.

Rap Sh!t 204: “Detour”

Written by Natalie

She tried to tell them.

Before agreeing to be part of Lord AK/Reina’s tour, Chastity tried to push Shawna and Mia to press for a better deal. Some stage time, some money, some thing, But Shawna was so desperate for a win that she disregarded her manager’s POV entirely, and embraced that this is just what they have to do to pay their dues. Fast forward to the tour’s stop in Oakland and the girls’ accommodations are absolute trash.

“Now I dun stayed in some fucked up places before but this, by far, takes the cake,” Chastity rants, as she documents the scene for Francois Boom. “Bruh, you got us staying in the hotel MLK got shot at. This gotta be the nastiest place in Oakland.”

The furniture is caked with a thick layer of dust. Flies linger on rotten food in the mini-fridge. A water-logged carpet. Bet Shawna wishes they’d negotiated now.

Chastity refuses to sleep at the the Best Worst Western and tries to lean on Francois to get them better accommodations. As usual, he is absolutely no help — he insists that the limited budget means some cities are going to be rougher than others — and drops the problem at Chastity’s feet. But, of course, Chastity is nothing if not a hustler and when she spots some old friends at an Oakland house party, she hopes they can take her to where the money’s at. Neither dude seems to appreciate Chastity’s urgency so she dips… but not before she swipes the chains and cash from their glove compartment.

The next morning, she welcomes Shawna and Mia back to the bus with some IHOP and promises that from now on, they’re done taking scraps.

Meanwhile, Shawna has swallowed a lot of her misgivings about being on tour with the walking minstrel show that is Reina Reigns… all in service to advancing her own career. But there are only so many indignities a person can stand and they start to mount this week: the hotel, Reina refusing to acknowledge her and Mia in an interview, and then Reina acting crazy at the party. They refuse to perform with Reina but when the Iggy Azalea clone captivates the audience with her pre-written “freestyle,” Shawna and Mia decide to take the stage and show her what it means to really rap. Their performance is so dope, the duo finally catch the eye of the tour’s headliner, Lord AK.

What’s most interesting to me about these interactions with Lord AK — more than Shawna and him vibing — is how it reveals how much of a fraud Francois Boom is. He talks a big game and condescends at every possible opportunity, but he’s only slightly deeper into this rap shit than Chastity. He doesn’t know Lord AK, he doesn’t get invited to the studio, and, as it turns out, Reina’s only on the tour because her team (read: Francois) wouldn’t stop calling. Seems like Chastity and Francois aren’t that different after all… and I’m interested to see how that plays out for the rest of the season.

Boobs on Your Tube: “Black Cake” Finds Freedom in Smashing Chaos

Congratulations, you made it through another week! Here’s what happened on screen while you were busy living life:

Lena Headey is once again playing queer in Beacon 23, but Valerie wants to know — at what cost?? A Murder at the End of the World is a mystery worthy of our grief. Natlie watched Candace Parker: Unapologetic and reminded us that behind every G.O.A.T. is a love story. Carmen has spent all week thinking about that one scene from The Marvels.

Happy Scott Pilgrim Anime Day to everyone who celebrate, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off centers bisexual blader Ramona Flowers!! Drew got high and watched Tello’s latest lesbian Christmas movie, A Holiday I Do (are you looking for a good laugh after a long week? We have you covered). Anya said goodbye to a great one, Survivor Season 45’s Kellie Nalbandian could’ve been a contender. Mutt is now streaming on Netflix and Drew revisited her Sundance review.We’re still updating our epic streaming guides, and here’s a new one for you: 40 Lesbian, Queer & Bisexual Amazon Prime Video Original TV Shows.

Lastly, and we are so excited about this, Drew interviewed thee Todd Haynes(yes, of Carol fame) about his newest film, May/December, queer community, and making art in a vile word.

And here’s what else!

Black Cake Episode 105: “Mother”

Written by Nic

This week’s episode of Black Cake centers on a woman named Mabel who is revealed to be Eleanor’s first-born child, more than likely borne of her assault by her boss. She’s been living her life as a white woman with no clue that she’s adopted and has Caribbean ancestry. When B&B learn that they have an older sister, Benny’s first instinct is to immediately assume that the reason she never felt good enough for her mother was because Eleanor was probably thinking about her first daughter every time she looked at Benny. On first watch, I was immediately annoyed with Benny for only thinking of herself and dismissing any accountability she might’ve in the way Eleanor may have reacted to her shenanigans in the past. During my second watch though, I realized it’s more complicated than that. It’s entirely possible that subconsciously Eleanor was comparing Benny to a fantasy of the daughter she never knew, and that colored her view of the daughter in her life. The fuck of it, is that the same way it’s impossible for us as viewers to know, Benny can’t know what was going through her mother’s mind. She missed her chance.

Later, Steve calls to ask Benny again about selling their sculpture, and Benny tells him that she just wants to go see it one last time. Even though Steve’s not home, Benny uses her key to get into his place. Once she’s there and lays eyes on the sculpture, runs her hands along the representation of her own body, she knows what she has to do. She picks up the nearest heavy object and smashes it to pieces. As she destroys the art, she smiles and laughs and I’m willing to bet it’s the first time she’s felt truly free in years. Steve shows up back home sooner than anticipated, so in a brilliant move that Past!Benny never would have made, she calls Byron and drops a digital pin so he knows exactly where she is in case something happens.

Before Steve can even get going, Benny reads him for absolute filth, telling him that he took her best years from her and that he doesn’t own her body or her talent, and that the sculpture is gone. As she storms out, Steve goes after her apologizing, admitting that she’s right, that he can’t lose her and he doesn’t know how he can live without her; he hits every classic abuser line. I worried for a minute that Benny would go back to him, but that worry didn’t last long because soon Byron speeds up and confronts Steve. Steve feigns having Benny’s back and accuses Byron of not being there for her for eight years (let’s not rewrite history here, bud) and calls him a joke. Byron responds by pummeling Steve before cops arrive. I can only hope that shutting down Steve is the turning point for Benny; that she’ll start to feel and believe her worth within herself.

Boobs on Your Tube: The “Doom Patrol” Series Finale Sails Away With Not One, Two Queer Happy Endings

Happy Friday and CONGRATULATIONS TO THE MEMBERS OF SAG-AFTRA ON THE SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION OF THEIR STRIKE to all who celebrate!! 🎉 Once the terms of the deal are made public, we’re going to have some in-depth reporting on the success for both the actors and the writers. But for now, just sending our love to the people who make the stories that we love! Congratulations, we hope this is start of a lot more fair deals to come.

Yes, it’s already November, but listen here: Kayla cannot stop thinking about the House of Usher’s scariest moment, from a lesser known (and extremely wild!) Edgar Allan Poe story. Nic reviewed Hulu’s new series Black Cake (more on that below in this week’s round up), which is telling a beautifully complex story of family, identity, and secrets. Meanwhile, Drew would like you to know that Apple+’s The Buccaneers, ugh… ruins Edith Wharton and fails history. The Morning Show wrapped its third season in a tornado of chaos, and Christina did not miss a beat. Rap Sh!t returns for its second season, and the girlies may still be struggling to break into the music industry, but Natalie is vibing with it. And season three of Upload on Prime Video gives us a deliciously evil queer character.

Turns out that Chrishell Stause delighted in this Lifetime lesbian thriller about a pregnancy cult (what a sentence!). Speaking of Chrishell, Anya recapped the top 15 gayest moments in the latest season of Selling Sunset for you. Tessa Thompson zoomed in as Valkyrie just under the wire of Captain Marvel’s final trailer before the movie release this weekend (are you planning to go?). And if your movie tastes are a little more niche than Marvel, Drew made you this outstanding quiz that you should take immediately, Which Obscure Lesbian Movie Should You Watch?

Then the senior editors got together to ask What Makes a Sexy Lesbian Screenshot — a little conversation that’s somehow both horny and smart, two of the best things:

It’s a conversation that, ahem, requires a lot of visuals. Click through.

Riese is in the midst of cleaning up and revamping all of our streaming guides, so get in here to learn what’s good and gay: 25 Best LGBT TV Shows on Peacock and Hulu’s 27 Original TV Shows With Lesbian and Bisexual Women Characters.

And here’s what else!

Doom Patrol Episode 412: “Done Patrol”

Written by Valerie Anne

“The curtains close on a kiss, god knows, we can tell the end is near.”

I’m SO sad this was the series finale, but it was a lovely sendoff to our ragtag team of barely capable superheroes.

We open with the Doom Patrol stuck between an Immortus and a zombie butt place. Jane realizes she has the powers of all of her alters, so she fights with Flit’s teleportation, Flaming Katy’s fireballs, Silver Tongue’s knife words.

Things are starting to look dire, until Dr. Wu shows up with her butt boyfriend and they start performing Shipoopi. The Butts can’t resist a musical number, so they sing along and stop attacking. Immortus also can’t resist a musical number, but wants it to be HER musical number, so she leads the butts in her song about Cloverton and the Doom Patrol sneaks out. Their singing sucks the theater into the time stream and Cloverton is safe again.

The team goes home and Larry makes pancakes and they celebrate their victory. Larry points out that they didn’t actually do much, the problems (which they caused) sort of accidentally solved themselves, but they celebrate anyway. Rita is happy they’re all together, Cyborg shows off his metal tattoos, and they all remark on Jane’s new powers. Cyborg asks what they should call her now that she’s merged, and she says the only word she can think of is Kaleidoscope, so Cyborg suggests they call her Kay. Her first name, and her last. (I’ll call her Kay now, too.)

Immortus shows up, but not to fight. She had a thousand-year music career, so she thanks them by returning their longevity. They take it eagerly, but when Rouge runs to give Rita hers, it’s too late, Rita is gone. They want to get her back, but Rita’s ghost appears and says it’s time to let her go. The Doom Patrol is over, and they need to go their separate ways, work on themselves before they try to save others.

They have a funeral, and it’s cute and imperfect and funny; classic them. Everyone goes inside to watch a Rita Farr movie together, while Rita goes into the afterlife to be reunited with the love of her beforelife.

They all fall asleep on the couch, but Kay wakes and catches Cliff sneaking off to Florida. Kay says she’s going to sublet a place and paint, and he calls her boring, since she has all these powers. But she wants to chill and be open to what’s next.

Cliff does go see his daughter, her wife, and his grandson. He sees Rory’s life play out through a crystal Immortus gave him, and then Cliff turns off forever.

The Doom Patrol house gets packed up and everyone starts to move out. Vic starts teaching, Larry finds his boyfriend, Rouge torches the Ant Farm. Kay is looking for her perfect sublet when the Doom Alarm goes off. She stomps off to stop it and runs into Casey, who says she heard the house was empty and came back to get the spaceship, but eventually admits she actually was hoping to find Kay there. Kay smiles and gets an idea. “What do you say, Captain, got room for one more?”

Casey’s face lights up, and Kay’s in return. So off they go into space together. They adopt a kitten, because gay. Happier than she’s been in a long time, Kay kisses Casey, and Casey kisses her back, and it’s beautiful.

I’ll miss the Doom Patrol very much, but I’m so glad we got two queer happy endings in the series finale.

Black Cake Episode 104: “Mrs. Bennett”

Written by Nic

This week’s episode of Black Cake spends most of its time giving us insight into what transpired that fateful Thanksgiving causing Benny to cut out her family for eight years. I wish I could say that this episode helped me to understand Benny’s actions, but instead I was left feeling irritated by her decision-making and frustrated by the lack of nuance applied to complex conversations.

In a series of flashbacks, we see Benny in bed with her girlfriend Joanie, where she admits that she’s afraid to come out to her family because she feels pressure to live up to the image her parents have for their first-generation American daughter. Joanie understandably tells Benny that she isn’t going to pressure her, but she also doesn’t want to go back to hiding who she is.

Cut to that Thanksgiving, and color me shocked when I realized that Benny actually brought Joanie along and the Bennett family was perfectly warm and inviting at first. After cordial conversation at dinner, things take a turn for the awkward when Bert asks his daughter if she has any culinary apprenticeships lined up for after she graduates. Benny reveals that she dropped out of culinary school in favor of working in a cafe to get real-world experience. This enrages Bert, as he’s been the one footing the bill every time Benny decides to pursue a new creative interest. Benny feels attacked and judged and like no one in her family understands her need to express herself through her art. Bert continues to berate Benny, bringing up her failures and her sexuality and how she can’t “just pick one thing and stick with it.” It’s a low blow and all Benny hears is that her father does not accept her. She storms out, Joanie follows her in an attempt to comfort Benny, but Benny blames Joanie for pushing her to come out and breaks up with her on the spot.

We then meet Steve, the man who in the present day is saved in Benny’s phone as “STEVE DO NOT ANSWER.” He takes an interest in her and her art and seemingly appreciates her in a way that she’s been longing for. Turns out, Steve is a textbook abuser, isolating Benny from everyone in her life, attempting to control her appearance, and getting physically violent after she doesn’t introduce him to Joanie in a chance meeting. She eventually forgives him, but when she learns her father died two years after their Thanksgiving fight, Steve assaults Benny when she insists she wants to go to the funeral. He screams that he is her family, not them. It’s awful and heartbreaking to watch, and gives context to Benny’s disappearance from her family.

Benny did go to the funeral, but she stayed in the car so her family wouldn’t see her bruises. In the present, she tells Byron that it’s because she was afraid they would judge her again and she was afraid of another rejection. Byron tells her they would have taken her in, because she’s their family.

This episode lacked a clearer illustration of the fact that multiple things being able to be true. Benny deserved unconditional support and love from her family AND it’s understandable that her parents were upset about her hiding that she dropped out. It’s awful that Bert weaponized Benny’s sexuality in their argument AND with time and conversation, Bert could have come to understand his daughter better. Benny does have so many layers, but unfortunately we’re left with a fairly shallow and irritating characterization that does not do Adrienne Warren’s incredibly emotional performance justice.