Boobs on Your Tube: Kissing Witches in the Moonlight on “Motherland: Fort Salem”
We sure had a jam packed week! First, there was that Killing Eve SPOILER we can’t stop talking about. (And wow, we really mean this, you don’t want to miss it). Carmen wrote a love letter to Vida’s final season and we’re all really sad to have Tanya Saracho’s masterpiece leaving us so soon. Riese sat down with Little Fires Everywhere‘s bisexual showrunner Liz Tigelaar about everything that made the show addictive, bingeable, and gay. Then! Heather talked with One Day at a Time showrunner Gloria Calderón-Kellet about Elena, Syd, and helping people find comfort during a pandemic.
Batwoman‘s queer love triangle reminds Heather why she first fell in love with superheroes in the first place Valerie recapped the latest Legends of Tomorrow while Kayla got Riverdale covered! Drew wrote a beautiful review of Better Things and how its succeeding at telling trans story by explicitly not telling a trans story. To L and Back covered the iconic episode “Lez Girls,” a classic if there ever was one.
Finally, Here’s what is Gay and New On Netflix, Amazon and Hulu in May 2020
But we still aren’t done yet!! Today is the premiere of Alice Wu’s new film The Half of It! We are ECSTATIC!! None other than Malinda Lo stopped by to review the film for us, and we still can’t believe we were lucky enough to get her. Drew spoke with Alice Wu (OMG) about the movie and also her legacy on lesbian filmmaking and also wrote about what the movie meant for her.
AND GUESS WHAT!?!? THE ENTIRE TV TEAM IS LIVE TWEETING THE FILM TONIGHT!! STARTING AT 8PM EST/5PM PST! IT’S BASICALLY RIGHT NOW!! PLEASE JOIN US!!
Our TV Team — @draw_gregory, @natthedem, @carmencitaloves, @autowin, @PunkyStarshine, @KaylaKumari, @theheatherhogan — is joining @thatalicewu for a live-tweet of #TheHalfOfIt tonight! You don’t want to miss it! pic.twitter.com/sQImpMBNBz
— Autostraddle (@autostraddle) May 1, 2020
Notes from the TV Team:
+ Tia ended this season on Boomerang still dating Dorothy, but more importantly, with the two of them starting a mobile clinic for dancers and sex workers. I love that Boomerang not only took Tia’s activism around sex workers rights seriously, but took her from single action protest campaigns to evolving into longterm care from her community. Talk about a glow up! — Carmen
+ On Station 19 Maya is starting to confront the legacy of her dad’s abuse towards her and her mom. So far, it’s not going great. We’ve all seen the previous flashbacks on the show and know that Maya’s dad was emotionally abusive, but she’s in such deep denial that when her mother shows up to announce that she’s left Maya’s father — Maya rebukes her. She’s grateful that her father “pushed” her so hard that she won a Gold Medal and is now Seattle’s youngest an first woman fire chief. She’s angry that she’s being asked to think of her life differently. (Don’t worry, Carina’s there to hold her hand through it all). — Carmen
+ Elena and Syd had their first cute little baby gay spat on One Day at a Time! While listing off their crushes to one another, Elena makes the mistake of listing the cute barista from around the corner among all the other celebrities. Syd’s definitely a little jealous, but before the two get to dig in it further they have to hide from Alex on the rooftop (it’s a long story). — Carmen
+ It’s rare that I find myself surprised by cancellations anymore but CBS’ decision to ax God Friended Me certainly caught me off guard. Nonetheless, the show went out in dramatic fashion, its last episode devoted to Ali’s cancer surgery. Thankfully, she survives and the experience compels her to attend seminary, following in her father’s footsteps, and becomes a pastor. — Natalie
+ Dre’s lesbian sister, Rhonda (played by IRL queer, Raven-Symoné), returned to black-ish this week with a special announcement: She’s planning to adopt a baby. Her sister-in-law, Rainbow, is excited to host a shower, while Dre’s skeptical that his recently divorced baby sister is ready for the arduous task of single parenthood. Rhonda admits her marriage didn’t work because her wife didn’t want children but she’s committed to being a mom… and eventually, Dre relents, and commits to being genuinely supportive of his sister. — Natalie
+ Team Queer lives on on this season of Top Chef. Karen rejoined the competition, after battling her way out of Last Chance Kitchen, and placed among the top three in Immunity challenge. Meanwhile, Melissa continues to impress, finishing in the top four again this week and being lauded for her Michelin-level skills. Next week: RESTAURANT WARS! — Natalie
9-1-1 319: “The One That Got Away”
Written by Natalie
Earlier this season, heartbroken by an accident that left a young cellist dead, Henrietta Wilson nearly walked away from her job. She found the strength to put the uniform back on but she’s a different person now…more determined than ever to save lives.
Station 118 is called to the scene of apartment building fire and Hen is left to triage the victims. As she’s examining one victim, Anton, she notices that he has some tenderness on his left side. Anton admits that he’s been nauseous for days and has been popping antacids like candy. Hen quizzes him about his other symptoms and, ultimately, suspects that he has excess calcium in his blood due to an undiagnosed thyroid condition. Hen and Chimney transport Anton to the hospital and she lists all Anton’s injuries before handing him off to the nurses. She alerts them to his suspected thyroid condition and suggests ordering an EKG.
Later, news that someone from the building fire has died interrupts Hen and Karen’s date night. She stops by Bobby and Athena’s house — in the middle of their date night — in hopes of getting more information. Bobby confirms that Anton died from cardiac arrest and Hen’s frustrated that the nurses and doctors didn’t listen to her. The Captain reminds Hen that she did her job but she’s angry that she’s the only one that did. A few days later, the team’s called to the set of a reality cooking competition where a chef has impaled himself with a pressurized canister. It’s reminiscent of an accident that killed a French fitness blogger.
Once they get the chef into the ambulance, his blood pressure starts to crash. Hen surmises that the shrapnel has nicked the chef’s aorta and he’ll likely die before they can get him to the hospital. Over Chim’s objections, she performs a successful thoracotomy and stabilizes his pressure. He’s wheeled into the ER with Hen still pinching his aorta with her hand. The nurse is dismissive of Hen’s success but the surgeon seems impressed…and, all of a sudden, I wonder is this episode is a backdoor pilot for “Henrietta Wilson, MD.”
Back at the firehouse, the team presents her with a doctor’s coat to celebrate. Bobby sees that Hen’s still acting out of guilt over the deaths of Anton and the young cellist. He congratulates her on the win but warns Hen not to do it again.
The Baker and the Beauty 103: “Get Carried Away”
Written by Natalie
It feels like we’ve seen a story like The Baker and the Beauty about a thousand times: regular, good-hearted, good looking, blue collar guy crosses paths with a celebrity and complicated romance ensues. If you opted to skip TBATB based on its overdone premise, I can’t blame you, but this week, the show offered a reason to tune back in: BABY GAYS.
Let me back up: TBATB is about the Garcias, a tight-knit Cuban family that works together at their bakery in Little Havana. The eldest son, Daniel, is the aforementioned guy who finds himself caught up in a celebrity romance. Mateo’s the middle brother, a baker by day and aspiring rapper/DJ by night. And then there’s Natalie, the Garcia’s only daughter, who is a smart and witty teenager, still trying to come into her own at her new school. Last week, after a painfully uncomfortable shopping trip to get a new swimsuit for school, she meets a classmate, Amy, and the two strike up an easy rapport. When Mateo’s not there to pick Natalie up, Amy offers to give her a ride home. Natalie beams when she gets a follow-up text from Amy…so much so that her mother’s convinced she got a ride home from a cute boy.
But this week, Natalie’s mother realizes that her daughter’s happy because she’s finally made a friend and, naturally, she takes it upon herself to invite Amy over. Free from her responsibilities at the bakery, Natalie and Amy retreat to her bedroom and watch Daniel’s exploits from his impromptu trip to Puerto Rico. Amy admits that she has the biggest crush on Noa Hamilton — Daniel’s celebrity girlfriend — and Natalie shifts uncomfortably as she ponders the revelation. Before she can respond, their conversation is interrupted: first by Mateo, then by Natalie’s mother who invites Amy to stay for dinner. Amy accepts and Natalie is an adorkable mix of excited and nervous.
Later, Amy asks Natalie she’s been holding onto the entire day: “do you like boys or girls or both?”
Natalie stammers.
“None of the above?” Amy asks.
“No, I…I mean…I like…” Natalie responds, stopping herself before she admits liking another girl aloud. But Amy hears enough and leans in for a kiss…and then Natalie closes her eyes and leans in for a kiss…and they’re almost there when Natalie’s mom knocks at the door. Natalie jumps away from Amy so quickly, she falls off the bed. As she collects herself, Natalie informs her mom that Amy was just leaving, much to their surprise. Soon after Amy walks out the door, Natalie realizes she screwed up and collapses on her bed in frustration.
Later, Mateo intrudes on Natalie’s teenage self-loathing and asks what happened with Amy. She’s reluctant to share, of course, but Mateo persists. He may seem hapless but, without her even telling him, he sees Natalie for who she is.
“I told her to leave,” Natalie admits. “I really like her and I think she likes me and she’s so nice and I freaked out. Can you believe that?”
Mateo — who’s no stranger to having women stomp angrily out of his room — encourages his sister to call Amy. Natalie insists she can’t but her brother promises she can…and, besides, if Natalie doesn’t call her, their mom definitely will.
S.W.A.T. 320: “Wild Ones”
Written by Natalie
Last week, the Deputy Mayor’s assistant threatened to reign “a lot of misery” down on Chris’ head if she persisted in seeking charges against his boss’ son. This week, the misery started. But Deputy Mayor Logan Carter doesn’t attack Chris or S.W.A.T. directly — as Chris had been expecting — he targets her family just as she targeted his. Chris’ uncle gets a citation for un-permitted construction at his house and she knows, right away, who’s behind it. She heads to City Hall to confront Carter directly and he denies any knowledge of the citation. Carter chastises Chris for trying to use her influence as a S.W.A.T. officer to make her uncle’s problem go away. He accuses her of an abuse of power and Chris just stands there in disbelief.
Later, back at HQ, Chris is still seething about the Deputy Mayor’s actions. She still doesn’t know what to do about the city’s demolition order but promises that she’ll cover the cost of his fine because it’s all her fault. Street overhears her problem and while he understands the stakes, he wonders if its worth all this trouble. Chris stands firm, determined to be the thing that stops the Deputy Mayor’s son before he hurts himself or someone else, and plots to catch him driving drunk again. Street warns Christ that she’s in danger of crossing the line — a particularly ironic warning given his history in S.W.A.T. — but Chris is undeterred: Carter crossed the line first. Thankfully, Lieutenant Piper Lynch intercedes, bringing together Chris’ passion with her political acumen to keep the situation from spiraling out of control.
Lynch manages to convince Carter to come to HQ to meet with Chris and hash things out. They step inside one of the interrogation rooms and Lynch apologizes for Chris’ impulsive confrontation of him at City Hall. She insists, however, that Chris’ concern about Carter’s son is legitimate. The Deputy Mayor assures her that they’re dealing with it but Chris interjects that he’s not, he’s enabling his son’s bad behavior. Annoyed that he’s not getting the apology he was promised, Clark says he’ll continue to cover for his son for as long as he wants. There are perks and privileges that come with his office, Clark explains, and he doesn’t care if Chris likes it or not. Then the Lieutenant and Chris remind the Deputy Mayor that the interrogation rooms are wired — their whole conversation has been recorded — and Lynch threatens to pass the tape onto the press.
“You and your son have all the second chances you’re gonna get,” Lynch tells him and soon thereafter, he resigns from office.
Tommy 111: “This Is Not a Drill”
Written by Natalie
Lord knows I enjoy a good police procedural but, to be honest, Tommy‘s struggled to keep my interest at times. It was too saccharine, too uncomplicated…which, while being CBS’ trademark, is not Edie Falco’s…and from a show, starring Edie Falco, about the first lesbian police chief of Los Angeles? I expected more. This week, 11 episodes into the show’s inaugural season, it felt like the show might offer us that.
At the site of a fire in the Hollywood Hills, Tommy confronts the Mayor about not giving her, at least, a heads up that he was going to ask for an Ethics Inquiry. The Mayor avoids her question and, instead, blames Tommy for creating the appearance of impropriety. He assures her that the whole thing is just theater but Tommy’s clearly worried. Later, she sits down with her speechwriter and the LAPD’s legal counsel for prep for her hearing and opts against submitting written responses. She insists she has nothing to hide.
Once again, this show confounds: there’s no way a female police chief — especially not a lesbian police chief, especially not a lesbian police chief with a black ex-husband and a biracial child — would be this naive. But the show persists…Tommy’s legal counsel pesters her with invasive questions and she pushes back, insisting that the panel would never ask her those sorts of questions. She’s dismissive about her speechwriter’s suggestions about what she should wear and assures her lawyer that she did nothing to interfere in the investigation into her son’s sex crimes. Even on the way to the hearing, she takes a call from Kiley and insists that she’ll be fine. Meanwhile, across town, powerful men are gleefully plotting her demise and the elevation of her Chief of Staff, Donn Cooper, to the head of the department.
As I expected and Tommy so obviously did not, the hearing is a complete shitshow. The panelists rebuff Tommy’s attempts to clarify the record and the head of the Vice division lies about Tommy’s involvement in her son-in-law’s case, torpedoing her defense. The Ethics Commission believes him and recommends that Tommy be dismissed…and the Police Commission concurs.
It’s an auspicious way to end the show’s penultimate episode but I’m hoping that it signals a shift in the show’s narrative. They’ve dispensed with the pretense — the LAPD’s sexism and homophobia has been laid bare — to not fundamentally change Tommy in the wake of that would be a disservice to the audience and Edie Falco.
Roswell, New Mexico 207: “Como la Flor”
Written by Valerie Anne
This is the face of a newly liberated woman, not unlike all the women Sara Lance left in her wake across space and time.
Isobel is really leaning into her queerness and I am so happy about it. This week, she was proudly recounting her time at the gay bar to her brothers, talking about the bartender’s “thoughtful manicure” and saying it makes sense to her, that it should have dawned on her sooner that aliens wouldn’t be fussed by human gender and sexuality constructs. But that’s how pervasive heteronormativity is in human society! Anyway, she’s very excited about this new part of her she’s discovered and plans on going back to the gay bar again, and even recommends Max consider joining her and Michael in the beautiful land of queerness. I can’t wait to see what comes out of this new side of Isobel, no pun intended.
Motherland: Fort Salem 107: “Mother Mycelium”
Written by Valerie Anne
This week’s Motherland was another one where our sweet gays really went through it. Scylla is being tortured, fed glass, made to listen to horrible noises. But she stays strong, loyal to her cult, refusing to let Anacostia into her mind. That is, until Raelle is kidnapped in the night and dumped into her cell. She’s kept there long enough for the witches to be reunited in a tearful moment that goes so quickly from relief that the other is okay to fear and panic about the truth of what’s going on.
This whole scene was hauntingly beautiful.
Scylla tries to warn Raelle that she’s going to hear things about her, and just wants her to believe two tihngs harder than the rest: That she loves her, and that she would never do anything to hurt Raelle. Those are the only truths that matter.
Seeing Raelle weakened Scylla’s defenses enough for Anacostia to get into her head, which of course was the plan all along, and they were able to see the day Scylla got her first blue balloon, burnt a new face for herself, and killed a bunch of people in a mall. The first scene of the series.
Anacostia is hesitant to keep treating Scylla as a total enemy when she sees this though. She sensed…hesitation in Scylla. Regret. Like she wasn’t 100% on board with the Spree’s mission. And what we didn’t see is what led Scylla to that moment. But General Adler has no room for grey areas, despite being comprised of them herself. Scylla is Spree, and Spree is the enemy. So fingers crossed Anacostia enlists the help of the Bellweather Trio or Scylla may be doomed.
In the Dark 203: “Son of a Gun”
Written by Valerie Anne
In this week’s episode, Jess continues to be awkward around Sterling, the cute new butch in the office, and Murphy wants them to just do it already, but Jess doesn’t think she’s capable of having sex without feelings. (“Being a lesbian sounds exhausting,” Murphy says. Used to such quips, Jess has an answer ready. “It sure is on the wrist.”
Jess also admits to masturbating to Sterling’s instagram, which I’m sure isn’t helping her be able to keep her cool, and it’s clear she’s got it bad. She eventually finds herself in a grooming pickle, and thinks Sterling can help because she wrote that she worked at PetSmart on her resume, but that turns out to be a lie. Still, they work together with cute smiles, and eventually Sterling admits that she wants to help Jess with the grooming truck more often because she wants to spend more time with her. And Jess doesn’t hate this plan at all.
You mean there’s hope for us who lose our entire minds around attractive women?!
Later, Jess claims to Murphy that it’s just casual, but I think we know Jess doesn’t really do anything halfway, so we’ll see how that goes.
Vagrant Queen 105: “Temple of Doom”
Written by Valerie Anne
All this sexual tension AND homages to the movie Tremors? Be still my weird nerdy heart.
Elida and Amae continue to have insane chemistry, sweetly complimenting each other, making lingering eye contact. At one point Elida offered Amae an out for the dangerous mission they were about to embark on and Amae said, “I can’t do this” and at first I thought she misunderstood and was trying to back out of their flirtationship but both Elida and I sighed with relief when a) she was talking about the mission and b) she was joking. She’s all in. She even adds a cute little, “Moms love me!”
Eventually they learn that their mission was doomed to fail from the star because Elida’s mother isn’t actually alive after all, and when they find out Elida’s old mentor Hath had been lying this whole time, all Elida can do is stare at him in devastated disbelief, but Amae marches right up to him, glares up at this man who is a full head taller than her, and calls him an asshole. The girl who uses “crackers” instead of “darn” full-out swore in his face and isn’t even sorry about it. She also pulls Elida aside and gently takes her hand, promising her that no matter what, she has them, Amae and Isaac, on her side. To which I say: KISS KISS KISS!
Boobs on Your Tube: Shondaland’s Bisexual Firefighter and Dr. Orgasm Are The Crossover Queer Romance You’ve Waited For
Hello! Welcome to a VERY exciting edition of your weekly television round up, Boobs on Your Tube! This week, wow Batwoman navigated some bisexual vampires. SUPERGIRL CELEBRATED ONE HUNDRED EPISODES by sending Kara and Lena through space and time! Vanderpump Rules also got mighty bisexual which means that noted Bravo television fanatic Kayla really got to strut her stuff for our dear website. Caity Lotz made her directing debut on Legends of Tomorrow while Ava fought Genghis Khan (this show!!). Alice has a new hook-up and new stand-up material on Good Trouble. Archie’s mom came out as a late-in-life gay on Riverdale! Queer Molly Ringwald for everybody! I’m Not Okay With This has an angsty lesbian who telekinetically gives her crush’s boyfriend a nosebleed, so we assume you’re gonna want to watch.
Riese also really covered that L Word beat this week: Here’s an absolutely marvelous in-depth interview with Generation Q costume designer Dierdra Govan and style thief shopping guide to Alice’s jumpsuits to match!! And she also covered the OG’s episode 309 with Carly for the podcast.
Notes from the TV Team:
+ Time got away from me this week, so look for that Party of Five piece early next week. On the plus side, that gives you the weekend to catch up with the Acosta family so if you haven’t already, do that. I have a lot of feelings about this show and can’t wait to share. — Natalie
+ I really need Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist to add a queer lady because I want us to be able to write about that show so badly. IT’S SO GOOD. It’s like if Glee and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend had a child that somehow grew up to be more well-adjusted than either of them! Just wanted to shout about it. #GiveLaurenGrahamAGirlfriend — Valerie Anne
+ None of us watch The Conners, but I guess Aunt Jackie is in a thruple now? Do with that information what you will. — Carmen
God Friended Me 214: “Raspberry Pie”
Written by Natalie
Have you ever met someone at exactly the wrong moment? Like when you’re just out of a relationship and still nursing those scars? Or you’ve got a project at work or school that’s just consuming you and you don’t have time for anything else? Well, that’s what happens to Ali Finer this week on God Friended Me.
She meets Emily — “Ali and Emily!” I scream in the throes of a horrible PLL flashback — in the waiting room of her fertility specialist. Emily breaks the unwritten rules of waiting rooms and tries to start up a conversation. She’s charming so Ali puts aside her clipboard and introduces herself. They discover that they share a favorite novel and a common acquaintance and that Emily teaches at Ali’s alma mater. They strike up an easy rapport which leads to Emily oversharing about her reasons for freezing her eggs. Though she finds Emily’s candor refreshing, Ali doesn’t return it: instead, she insists that she’s busy figuring her life out too. She does, however, manage to name drop the bar she runs….smooth, Ali, very smooth.
Sure enough, Emily shows up at the bar the next day and asks Ali out on a date. When Ali doesn’t answer right away, Emily assumes she misread the signals but Ali assures her she didn’t. Ali declines the offer, chalking it up to bad timing, and Emily leaves a little heartbroken. Later, Ali backs out of dinner plans with her dad and he tracks her down to talk. She explains what happened and admits she said no to the date, despite thinking Emily was great. She doesn’t want to invite someone into her life just as she’s about to undergo chemo. As is his wont, Papa Pope comes through with some great advice.
“It’s naive to think that your life won’t change a great deal over the coming months, and if you’re not interested in dating right now, well, that’s fine, but just because your life will change doesn’t mean it needs to stop,” he tells her.
The pair run into each other again at the fertility specialist’s office and, this time, Ali tells Emily the truth: about her cancer, about her fear and about the real reason she said no to the date. Emily takes the news in stride and immediately asks Ali out again.
All American 214: “Who Shot Ya”
Written by Natalie
This week episode of All American opens with Crenshaw lamenting the loss of another son…though half the people at Tyrone’s homegoing service couldn’t stand him when he was alive…Spencer and his mom are there, Coop and her parents are there and, surprisingly, so is Shawn’s mom. Maybe everybody just came to make sure he was really dead.
Outside the church, Spencer corners Coop. He’s worried that she’s still a suspect in Tyrone’s murder but Coop is remarkably calm about the whole situation. But Spencer is unconvinced: the threat to Coop — from the investigation or from Tyrone’s boys seeking revenge — distracts him from the rehab of his shoulder injury. Mrs. Baker, the newly elected DA, shares Spencer’s concern and urges him to get Coop a good lawyer, quickly…which, thanks to Layla, he manages to do. But Coop doesn’t take kindly to Spencer’s interference and lashes out when her best friend shows up back in Crenshaw. Spencer’s stunned by her reaction; he can’t believe he’s in trouble for trying to protect her.
“No, you’re getting in trouble for creating more problems in my life, trying to hide from your own,” Coop corrects. “Listen, I’ma say this one last time. You do not have to save me, and leave this whole Tyrone thing alone.”
Escaping the pall of Tyrone’s murder isn’t as easy as Coop would like, though: security footage leaks of her carrying a gun near the scene of the murder and a warrant is issued for her arrest. Convinced that turning over the gun to the police will vindicate her, Coop sneaks away from her family and heads to Patience’s house in search of it. Why Coop feels so comfortable believing she can walk into the LAPD with an unlicensed firearm and think she’ll be okay, I don’t know, but, apparently, she’s got more faith in the cops than I do. Patience admits she tossed the gun because she loves her and doesn’t want her to go to prison.
“Look, if that ain’t some Queen and Slim, ride or die type of love, then I don’t know what is. I’ll always love you,” Coop admits, before turning and walking away. I try not to think about how that movie ended.
She meets Spencer in the park for one last hoorah before she turns herself in. He’s pieced together who really killed Tyrone — Shawn’s mother — but Coop has resigned herself to taking the fall. Ultimately, it all comes back to her, Coop surmises, and she won’t force Shawn’s mother to sacrifice another thing. At the station, Shawn’s mother confesses to the murder, realizing she can’t sacrifice another thing either, especially not Coop.
Deputy 109: “10-8 Entitlement”
Written by Natalie
We don’t get to see Bishop reveal their gender identity to their girlfriend, Genevieve; we only get the witness the uncomfortable and disheartening fallout. Bishop’s been exiled from their bedroom, forced to sleep on the couch, while Genevieve locks herself in the bedroom. Before their first day at Majors, Bishop tries to talk to Genevieve but every conversation just leads to another fight.
Bishop asks for understanding from Genevieve — they’re finally being the most authentic version of themselves — but Gen insists that she feels like she doesn’t know Bishop anymore. She asks for more time to process and Bishop gives her space….too much, perhaps, because they spend the entire day ignoring Genevieve’s calls. They meet Gen after work, eager to celebrate their first day, but Genevieve isn’t happy about being ignored. Frustrated, Bishop laments how chaotic things have gotten between them.
“I’m a lesbian,” Genevieve says, as if she’s been holding onto this thought all day. “A woman who likes women. And if you’re not a woman, what does that mean for me? For us?”
Bishop handles the sting of that response better than I do (there was a lot of yelling at my TV). They admit that they don’t know what it means for Genevieve but, for their relationship, there’s the chance for both of them to engage as their whole selves. Without a word, Genevieve turns to head home and Bishop follows close behind. Once they’re in the rideshare, Gen asks if Bishop knew they were non-binary when they moved to LA and they acknowledge that they knew but didn’t have words for it. Bishop insists it doesn’t change how they feel about Genevieve and they’re sure that they can make it work. But, in that moment, Bishop recognizes that her certainty isn’t enough if Genevieve doesn’t share it…and asks the driver to stop the car.
“Just so that we’re clear,” Bishop says, as she climbs out of the car, “I wanted your acceptance, but I did not need your acceptance.”
They finally let their emotions out, on the shoulder of the freeway, as Selena Gomez’s vocals sum up this entire hateful, uncomfortable mess: “I needed to lose you to love me.” But because this show can’t just let Bishop be the star, even of their own story, Sheriff Hollister rides to rescue…and the story ends on what an incredible ally he is, rather than leaving the focus on Bishop, where it belongs.
Nancy Drew 114: “The Sign of the Uninvited Guest”
Written by Valerie Anne
Things are getting spookier by the week in Horseshoe Bay but even in episodes where the focus is more on the larger mysteries than the characters’ side missions, they still find a way to keep the off-screen plates spinning. For example, this episode was mostly a murder mystery dinner party, where the Drew Crew retraced their steps the night of Tiffany’s murder and learned they all may have accidentally had a hand in her death. But we also got a taste of what’s going on in Bess’s life when she gets a text from Amaya asking her to be her +1 at an event, and she’s afraid their relationship is escalating from Mentor/Mentee to something more, which her girlfriend Lisbeth probably wouldn’t like too much.
Queer culture is having to ask your friends if a girl is asking you on a date or not.
Also there was a character called Dominique who was a hacker with an alternative lifestyle haircut. Just a fact I thought you’d appreciate.
I was talking to my friend this week about how much we love Nancy Drew and how unusual it is for me to genuinely like all of the boys on a CW show. There’s no Landon, no Mon-El. No over-worshipped piece of cardboard. There’s Ace, a sweet, gentle soul who has more going on under that floppy head of hair than it seems. And Nick, a good boy with secrets of his own who cares so much about so much. And so I decided to take a peek at the list of episodes on Wikipedia, and lo and behold…there are so many women in this writer’s room! In fact, only one episode this season gives a man solo credit for an ep. And what’s more (more unusual, that is) , many of this season’s DIRECTORS were women, too. Including Sydney Freeland, the Navajo trans woman who directed Her Story. Just when I think I’ve reached peak love for this show, I learn something new about it that makes me love it more.
The Bold Type 406: “To Peg or Not To Peg”
Written by Carmen
A look that screams “boss bitch” if I’ve ever seen it.
I’ve tried to figure out how to even describe The Bold Type this week in terms that aren’t: “Y’all this was a mess.” I even deployed my fellow TV Team members Drew and Natalie on the task. Drew rearranged her day to watch the episode this morning!
And here’s what the three of our great minds, combined together, came up with: “Y’all this was. A. MESS.”
I’ve been trying to process it and clearly I can’t, so here’s a short summary: The bartender from the end of last week asked Kat to peg him this week. That meant Kat needed to buy a strap-on, a task she was less than hype about but Jane and Sutton were all over. Kat buys a rainbow strap-on (this is based on the previous week’s “Next Week On…” because I don’t think we actually see the toy in question this week) with suspenders. She wears it taped to her leg the next day at work to really become one with its energy. Then she tops the bartender. They have lots of intimate eye contact. And the following day at work she tells her friend about it, realizes she’s bisexual, and of course Jane and Sutton hold hands and support her. The end! Happily ever after! We can all go home now!
Except Natalie and I, and given past comments on the website I’ll go on a branch to say a lot of our readers, had already known Kat was bisexual?
Or rather, Kat has always described herself as queer. She dated men before Adena, and never seemed to have a specific crisis or coming-to-understanding about that fact. In fact, she had never referred to herself as a lesbian before last night’s episode? So her “big” bisexual coming-of-age was murky, fell short, and definitely didn’t land for me in the way it feels like the writers intended.
There is definitely a version of last night’s episode that I would have loved. A queer woman of color coming into her top energy by pegging this white dude — it has all kinds of intriguing subversion of expectations baked into it, some of which I wish The Bold Type had explored more. Both Natalie and Drew pointed out is that TBT seems very invested in “shocking” and “breaking sexual norms” this season (including the masturbation/sex party episode, last week’s jump into Kat’s hook ups, and now this) — but they haven’t been focused on underpinning emotional value of those explorations. Pushing boundaries just for the sake of saying you’re doing it is bad writing and… well… boring.
Next week Adena’s finally back! (YAY!) but it looks like she’s coming back to be the token biphobic lesbian (BOO!) and I’m not looking forward to it.
For my money, Drew really summed up this week’s episode best: “Kat, yes we knew you were bisexual; what we’ve learned is you’re switchier than you thought!” Kat may be bonafide switch, but this episode was a swing and a miss.
Black Lightning 314: “Book of War: Chapter One: Homecoming ”
Written by Carmen
Everyone is home safe from Markovia!
During Pierce family dinner Lyn admits that she needs to get treatment for her Greenlight addiction while Anissa lowers her lashes and bashfully admits to her family that she thinks “Grace might be the one.” HER CUTE LIL FACE AS SHE SAYS IT!!!! I wanted to shove my whole fist in my mouth and just scream!!! I can’t even describe it. See for yourself:
Honestly, that would’ve been enough to send me away sweet dreaming on queer cloud nine, but wait! There’s more!! The Markovians have bum-rushed South Freeland and captured some of the Perdi. So Anissa suits up — with Grace!! Who has clothes ready to go in Anissa’s super hero closet!!! — to save them. They meet Black Lightning on the scene and Anissa says, “How about we give them a little Lightning and Thunder” before Grace chimes in “with a touch of grace” and once again my friends, I screamed.
Grace Choi kicks some Markovian military ass (the show seems to have settled back into a version of Grace’s super strength powers from the comics and to be honest — I’m not mad about it at all). If you’ve been wondering for about the past year now about how the Markovians came to care about the United States and Freeland in the first place…. Finally we have our answer.
The person who delivers this gift is none other than my beloved Lady Eve. I want to write another 500 words solely about how pitch-fucking-perfect Jill Scott is in this role. How Lady Eve is the only villain the show ever had who cold hold a light to Tobias Whale. I want to write about her smooth, sweet voice, her cleavage, her cool as ice attitude. I want to tell you that not only was she the one who orchestrated the hit on Gambi back in Season Two; she’s also the one who taught Tobias the “raise the dead” spell that he used to bring Lala back to life in Season One. Is this some BTS plot reconstruction and fan service to explain her absence? Of course it is. And I will gladly take it. Black Lightning is better with Lady Eve in it and some things are just facts.
So Lady Eve has in her possession the suitcase that was once Lala’s, and before that was Tobias’, and before that belonged to the ASA. After a stand-off with Gambi (see: the previously mentioned hit on his life), Lady Eve turns the case over because even she realizes that the Markovians are bad news. In the top secret suitcase is the entire history of the Greenlight experiment, down all the way to Patient One — Gravedigger.
I don’t have time to get into all the details here, but if you want to see what black science fiction and afro-futurist stories look like at their best, please watch Gravedigger’s origin. The last ten minutes of Black Lightning are some of the best they’ve put forth. Taking a Captain America-style origin story, tying it into histories of systematic anti-black racism in the US military, and demonstrating how the perversions of racism can seep between every line and leave no choice but to take one world’s “All American hero” myth and instead turn the person into a villain of white America’s own creation?
GAH, it’s a so, so good.
Station 19 305 & 306: “Into the Woods” and “Ice Ice Baby”
Written by Carmen
AT JOE’S BAR EVEN!!!! A true Shondaland gay fairytale.
So Krista Vernoff, the Grey’s Anatomy showrunner since Shonda left for Netflix, has also taken over as the showrunner for Station 19. Despite the fact that I think her time helming the mothership on Grey’s has produced uneven results, I’m really enjoying what she’s doing with the firehouse. If you fell off of Station 19 before, this season is a great place to jump back in.
As it relates to our interests, one of the biggest switches is an increased focus on hot bisexual Olympian firefighter Maya (now Captain Maya to you). Last week we got an episode devoted to Maya’s origin story. In short: Her dad was an obsessive, overly competitive, overbearing asshat who didn’t teach Maya to have human feelings and also ruined her one shot a teen love with a girl on her track team. And now she doesn’t know how to act like a human being capable of friendship or loyalty or love. Basically, she’s hot bisexual Olympian robot Maya. SAD!!!
It doesn’t necessarily excuse why Maya is the way she is — arguably stepping over her best friend’s back on her way to a promotion as captain; breaking the heart of her boyfriend along the way to do so. But at least it’s moved Maya up from her previous status as “so boring it’s like watching paint dry.” Yes, I might be rooting against Maya sometimes (often), but at least now I’m finally invested in her, you know? At least there’s an emotion attached.
One of the many great things about Krista’s tenure as dual showrunner is now there’s more cross-series romantic storylines happening, helping to turn the two-hour commitment of Grey’s/ Station 19 on Thursdays into something that feels more like one continuous show. Thus far, I’m really into it! And for Maya that means enter… drumroll please… DR. ORGASM!!!!!!
We all know that I love me some Carina DeLuca! And Grey’s has never really known what to do with her, ever since Arizona broke her heart to run back into Calliope Iphegenia Torres’ arms #SorryNotSorry.
Last week their eyes met at Joe’s Bar. Doves cried and the rainbow skies parted. Tegan and Sara sang a love song duet with Mary Lambert while Brandi Carlile played piano. True to form, this week Carina recommended that Maya tell a patient in crisis giving an emergency birth during a blizzard to, you guessed it, masturbate. (Dr. Orgasm, please never change!)
When it’s over Maya does a little flirting of her own, promising Carina that they’ve yet to scratch the surface of .. ahem.. all the things that Maya is good at.
There’s a gay crossover romance brewing in Shondaland. And I for one, cannot wait.
Boobs on Your Tube: “The Bold Type” Puts Kat Back on Tinder to Delightfully Bisexual Results
Hello and welcome back to some more Boobs which are on your Tubes! This week, Riese and Carly podcasted that episode of The L Word where everyone took a private jet to a WNBA game. Valerie Anne wasn’t mad at Supergirl, just disappointed. However, she was absolutely not mad at Legends of Tomorrow. Carmen adored Zoe Kravitz in High Fidelity. Natalie spoke some truth alongside Good Trouble about allyship. And Heather ate up Apple TV+’s new docuseries about LGBTQ visibility on TV. Here’s a few words from the TV Team because they love you.
Notes from the TV Team:
+ I’m going to stop giving soaps credit for telling good queer stories; it just jinxes it. Soon after I praised the lesbian love story on Home and Away, it fell apart in embarrassing fashion. And then Emmerdale kidnaps Vanessa and gives her cancer in the same week?! WTF. — Natalie
+ This week on God Friended Me, Ali revealed her breast cancer diagnosis to her father. The cancer is aggressive but thanks to an early discovery, her prognosis is good. But fearing that chemo might affect her fertility, Ali decides to delay it for a month to undergo egg retrieval and freezing. — Natalie
+ Lucia came out to herself on this week’s Party of Five, a show that is so emotionally resonant and groundbreaking in its depiction of family separation that I cannot emphasize enough how much you should be watching it! On top of the fact that it is now 100% officially gay. Anyway, Natalie is working on a stand alone about this for next week, so use this weekend to binge and catch up! — Carmen
+ I feel like it’s my duty to tell you two facts. 1) Two girls, Pepper and Didi, kissed on Katy Keene. 2) I cannot, as a New Yorker, bring myself to watch that show beyond the pilot. It hurt me more than the Bold Type girls Gossip-Girl-traveling around boroughs impossibly fast. It hurt me more than the Glee kids finding a perfect loft apartment they could afford and also zipping to/from Ohio on student/artist/waiter salaries. (And my list of grievances is much longer than this but this was the kindest one I had.) So maybe someone else on our TV Team will take up the mantle, and if not, since I’m neck-deep in CW shows I’m sure if anything else happens I’ll hear about it and do my best to pass it on. — Valerie Anne
All American 213: “The Art of Peer Pressure”
Written by Natalie
Alexa, please play “Ryde or Die Chick” by the L.O.X.
Just a few weeks into their collaboration, Layla and Coop have their first track finished. Once it gets Spencer’s seal of approval, Layla announces that she wants to enter the song in a local radio contest. Before Coop can celebrate too much, Preach summons her to the LA County jail for a face-to-face meeting. When she arrives, Coop finds Preach battered and bruised. Preach warns that Tyrone’s back and he’s already targeted him and Flip and Coop is likely his next target. He advises Coop to lay low. This time, Coop actually listens, hiding out at Layla’s place, but when she crosses paths with Layla’s father, his attempt at a pep talk prompts Coop to change course.
“You know why you’re still here, Coop… your will,” J.P offers. “No matter how scary things get in your life, you never fold. If there’s one thing I learned about you, you’re not one to back down from anything or anyone, ever.”
Coop heads back to Crenshaw, stopping at Patience’s house to make sure she’s safe. Though things are still frosty between them, Coop urges Patience to pack a bag so that they can go stay with her uncle in Riverside. Patience does it without hesitation while we find out the real reason Coop’s at Patience’s house: to pick up the gun she’d stashed there. Before they can escape, Spencer shows up — having heard about Tyrone from Layla — and chastises Coop for not being more careful. She promises that she and Patience are on their way and urges him to head back to Beverly Hills. He acquiesces and seconds after he leaves, Coop pushes Patience out the door, without her.
The next day, Coop stops by Spencer’s scrimmage to watch him play from afar and gets to hear her track with Layla debut on the radio. It’s a final hoorah before she heads into battle. For his part, Tyrone’s chilling, impervious to the chaos around him. Shots ring out — though it’s not clear from where or how Tyrone wouldn’t have seen the threat coming — and, after being hit three times, Tyrone dies.
Word of Tyrone’s death filters out and Patience rushes back to Crenshaw to confront Coop. She asks her ex directly if she killed Tyrone and Coop responds with a tepid denial. Before they can engage any further, Flip interrupts: he hadn’t been attacked by Tyrone, he’d been securing his family in preparation for war. Coop spots two detectives entering the cafe and, without drawing attention to herself, pushes her bag underneath a nearby couch. The detectives invite her down to the station for questioning and she follows them out. Crenshaw’s former QB, Chris, reports the news of Coop’s “arrest” to Spencer in Beverly Hills.
Meanwhile, Patience proves she’s a real one: she collects the bag that Coop hid from the police and, under the cloak of darkness, takes the gun, wipes it down, and tosses it in the river.
All Rise 116: “My Fair Lockdown”
Written by Natalie
It’s a campaign story that’s being told plausibly…can you believe it?
Through 16 episodes of All Rise, Judge Lisa Benner has been somewhat of an enigma. Details about her have been slowly doled out, through her mentorship of newly appointed judge, Lola Carmichael, but we haven’t gotten a glimpse into what drives her…that is, until this week.
Lisa’s preparing to launch a campaign for Attorney General but before she throws her hat into the ring, she wants to be vetted by the people who know her best. She asks Lola to dig into her years in private practice and the judge’s assistant is eager to the research. Three cases catch their eye — a wrongful termination suit, a toxic tort class action and fraudulent investments — and Lola expands the investigation beyond public records. She meets up with the lead plantififf in the class action case and realizes the company, Cubrillon, shortchanged the plantifs on their settlement even though they knew the company was at fault. It’s not an illegal action but it’s unethical enough that Lola continues her investigation, this time talking to plantiff’s attorney.
This week, Lisa shows up at Lola’s office to introduce her protege to her son and narrowly avoids a run-in with the aforementioned attorney, Jean Rubenstone-Frost. She details the bullying of her clients by Cubrillon and how, six months after the settlement, internal documents leaked delaying the cover-up. Jean could never find proof that the law firm hid the documents but she remains convinced they knew and that Brenner knew. Lola questions how she can be so certain — Brenner was just a lowly associate — and Jean reveals that they seriously dated all through law school. They’d find themselves on opposite sides of the class action suit years after they’d broken up and she finally saw Lisa’s true colors.
Before she leaves the courthouse, Jean stops by Lisa’s office to give her the heads up on the investigation but thanks to an ongoing hostage situation in Lola’s courtroom, she can leave. Stuck in a room together, the exes catch up: Lisa’s widowed with a son that’s an idealistic lawyer, Jean’s divorced with two kids in college. It doesn’t take long for the lingering bitterness between them to come to the surface: first over a dog they never share, then over the Cubrillon case. Lisa admits she wanted the outcome to be discovered so, perhaps, both for political reasons ans so she could forgive herself for what happened.
Jean’s dismissive, at first, but listens as Lisa explains what really happened. Lisa admits that she leaked the documents — an admission that would ruin her career — and a shocked Jean reaches out and comforts her. Once the hostage situation is resolved, the exes part ways but not before exchanging a hug in the hallway. A surprised Lola watches their embrace and Lisa promises that they’ll revisit the issue later.
The Bold Type 405: “Tearing Down the Donut Wall”
Written by Carmen
The definitely left this episode out of The Nanny
Kat got back on Tinder at the end of the end of last week now she’s ready to take that baby for a spin. Specifically she’s looking for someone who is the exact opposite of her type, someone that she won’t build an emotional connection with. At first it looks like she’s found that person in whom our Managing Editor Rachel so perfectly described as “lesbian Fran Drescher” (keep The Nanny aesthetics, minus the voice) and unfortunately for this character, who seems like a perfectly lovely human being, that is now the only way I can refer to her.
So Kat and lesbian Fran Drescher, with her love of leopard print, gold jewelry, and a French pedicure go on a date and have some sex. Great sex even, according to Kat. And then the very next day, before she knows it, she’s going on second date with dear old Fran to an intimate game night for Fran’s friend’s birthday. Somewhere around the middle of their board game, Kat realizes she’s in too deep and bails RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DATE (poor form, Kat).
She meets up with Fran at a bar the next day to apologize, and then lesbian Fran Drescher went down in history as my favorite Kat hook up. Because when Kat tries to pull the whole “it’s not you, it’s me” routine – lesbian Fran Drescher narrows her eyes and says “I know I’m great, it’s definitely you.” Then, in the epitome of Boss Moves, she walks away.
The bartender overheard her breakup and he offers Kat a free drink to cheer her up. I’m sure we can all see where this is going, but Kat takes him home and has sex with him instead. Listen, I’m never rooting for really dope women of color to hook up with mayo bland white guys (a trend that continued last week with Hulu’s reboot of High Fidelity), but I am glad for the reminder to the audience that Kat is, in fact, bisexual. Next week, my girl is buying a strap-on!!!! An entire queer world of firsts stand before us to unfold!
Legacies 213: “You Can’t Save Them All”
Written by Valerie Anne
Legacies wasn’t on this week but I just caught up and witches we have a new queer in town! Vampire Jade was a student when the twins were little but Alaric Saltzman, who has apparently been an even bigger menace to supernatural teenage society for longer than I realized, send her to a prison world with two of her friends when they were caught having done a massacre. While technically they did do the murders, if Alaric had taken ten minute to talk to them and hear what actually happened, he would have realized that the truth of it was they were being bullied and were ill-equipped to handle their supernatural powers under stress.
If he had just LISTENED he would have realized that he didn’t have uncontrollable monsters on his hands, just scared teenagers who just needed more guidance. But instead he panicked because he’s a human species-ist and always has thought the worst of supernatural creatures, despite supposedly loving his family. Anyway, one of the people in charge of this bullying session was a girl Jade thought might be into her, and though she was sleeping with Kai in the prison world, she does admit to be on the preferring girls end of the bisexual spectrum. When they get back to Mystic Falls, Jade had her humanity switch flipped back on and she smiled with kind eyes on Josie, who got a little flustered as she smiled back. Which is relatable.
A Ripper and a Gemini? Don’t mind if I do.
So if Hope is going to insist on choosing the flaming marshmallow over Josie (though she did choose to save Josie over him, she still went back to him romantically in the end), especially now that we know they have something in common, with Josie having Dark Josie hiding just under the surface, and Jade being a Ripper, I can pivot to shipping Josie and Jade.
Boobs on Your Tube: Spooky Ladies Smooching on “Nancy Drew”
Buckle up, because we had a week! First, Valerie told us more about Andrea’s past and how she relates to Lena Luthor (and therefore her girlfriend, Supergirl) on Supergirl. Drew had Sunday dinner with the cast and creators of One Day at a Time — where publicly crying was a dress code requirement. Riese accomplished some major deep dive research into exactly how a lesbian or bisexual character gets their name on television (spoiler alert: lots of Kats, lots of Susans). She also reviewed Jessica Biel’s lesbian journalist in Limetown, a terrifying Facebook Watch thriller starring so many of your favs including Lena Adams Foster and Jodi from The L Word. Speaking of terrifying, Kayla wrote yet another soliloquy to Riverdale‘s Cheryl Blossom, who is the show’s most interesting character AND NOT JUST BECAUSE SHE’S GAY (but, let’s be real — that helps).
Riese and her special edition co-host Drew Gregory (hi Drew!!) dropped a new episode of To L and Back, chronicling the famous season three quinceañera episode — which, get this, includes special commentary from former Autostraddle senior editor Yvonne Marquez and her wife Gloria!!! You don’t want to miss it!
Notes from the TV Team:
+ On God Friended Me, it looks like Ali is going into the family business. Things haven’t been working out in grad school, and after some consultation with her pastor at the LGBT church (Peppermint from RuPaul’s Drag Race) Ali decides to give a sermon and see if that helps her find her way. It does, and that path is leading right to the pulpit. — Carmen
+ Grace is still on Black Lightning!! I don’t mean to sound so shocked, but that makes three out of the first five episodes so far. That’s definitely a record for this show and their uneven queer representation. This week she’s playful with Anissa, gets to know Uncle Gambi, and helps keep Anissa’s Black Bird secret safe from the ASA by using her shape-shifting super powers. — Carmen
+ Atypical star Brigette Lundy-Paine came out as non-binary. Sending you lots of love Brigette, from all of us on Autostraddle’s TV Team.
American Horror Story 909: “Final Girl”
Written by Drew
AHS: 1984 is over. And it never escaped purgatory.
Much like its collection of hot teen ghosts, the ninth installment of Ryan Murphy’s iconic anthology series ended up stuck between past trauma and the possibilities of the future.
My main interest entering this season was how Angelica Ross’ Nurse Rita would be handled. Would she merely be a supporting character unworthy of Ross’ endless talent? Or would the show actively write back to the exhaustive (and exhausting) history of trans women killers? Well, the answer, ultimately, was neither.
It was a joy to watch Ross receive the material that she did. Even Pose never quite gave her the range AHS allowed. And oh my, does she have range.
But after the thrilling reveal that Rita wasn’t Rita at all, but a serial killer-fascinated psychologist in training named Donna, Ross’ storyline became sort of safe. In fact, the whole show did, despite its immense gore.
The final episode of AHS: 1984 focuses on Jingles’ son searching for answers in 2019. The show ends on him and Jingles and their family, four seemingly straight cis white people.
“I guess we’re both the final girl,” Brooke says to Donna. But are they? Yes, they both live. But Brooke is the protagonist (alongside Jingles) and Donna’s story centers around her. Being the “final girl” isn’t just about survival. It’s about narrative importance.
That’s not to say it isn’t radical that Ross lives through the series, even getting some fun old age makeup. Hell, it’s radical that she was there to begin with. But it shouldn’t be! There are two approaches when creating inclusive art. You can celebrate yourself for including people who always should’ve been included anyway. Or you can actually take that individual and explore their full humanity, pushing back against film history, and pushing forward to something more interesting. AHS: 1984 was a step. A very fun step. But there is so much more one can do with the horror genre, specifically with the horror genre and trans people. Maybe next season.
9-1-1 308: “Malfunction”
Written by Natalie
I haven’t seen the new Harriet Tubman biopic. Despite my love for all things Janelle Monáe, my rationale is simply this: however good Harriet is, it could be better than Aisha Hinds’ turn as the famed abolitionist on WGN’s Underground. Though she’d built an expansive TV resume before she stepping into Harriet’s shoes, that role announced to the world what Aisha Hinds was capable of, and in the years since her fans have been waiting for a show to take advantage of her talents. This week, 9-1-1 did just that.
Throughout her shift at Station 118, Henrietta Wilson is out of sorts. She’s late to work, she’s distracted on calls, she’s barely communicating with her partner. It’s not until she gets home that we learn the reason behind it: her wife is still in mourning over the loss of their six embryos. Hen tries to gently nudge Karen out of bed but the pain is still so raw, it feels like a shove. Karen accuses her wife of not feeling the loss, but Hen assures her that she’s not alone in her grief. When Hen missteps and refers to the embryos as just an idea, Karen recognizes that her wife didn’t see the embryos as an extension of her… and, thus, doesn’t understand her pain.
Hen’s carrying her own pain, along with a growing resentment of her wife for allowing her grief to obscure the life she still has with her and their son. She hates herself for even saying the words out loud, but Athena reminds her that she’s just venting to her friend not directing her ire at Karen. As long as Hen needs that outlet, Athena promises to be there.
The next day, though, Hen’s still distracted at work. Hen’s driving a patient, along with her co-workers, in the ambulance and everything is going well until it isn’t. Hen activates the emergency vehicle pre-emption device which should ensure clear passage to the hospital but something malfunctions and she ends up t-boning a teenage driver on the way to her debut for the L.A. Philharmonic. It’s a testament to Hinds’ performance in this episode that I (and probably every other 9-1-1 viewer) rewound the accident about a thousand times trying to figure out which driver was at fault.
Once Hen realizes what’s happened, she jumps out of the ambulance and tries to help the wounded driver (Evelyn, as Hen notes from a discarded Starbucks cup). Back-up arrives and takes over the effort to rescue Evelyn, while Hen watches in absolute agony. The shock of it all starts to hit Hen just as Athena arrives. Witnesses (and their smartphones) are gathering and Athena tries to reign in her despondent best friend. Investigators are coming, Athena warns, and Hen needs to be prepared to let go of her feelings and answer their questions with the facts. But it’s not clear how much of Athena’s warnings Hen actually hears because she’s still focused on Evelyn… until her crew stops working and it’s clear she’s dead. Hen collapses against the fire truck, crying and wailing — seriously, I think Aisha Hinds’ wail might haunt me in my dreams — and it’s all just awful.
S.W.A.T. 307: “Track”
Written by Natalie
Unsurprisingly, this is the thing I liked most about the episode.
As a general rule, I don’t like cop shows and, in particular, I don’t like cop shows on CBS, which tend to flatten their portrayals of police officers and lionize them. Those shows cling to a firm rule: the cops are the “good guys” and the criminals are the “bad guys.” Those kind of portrayals contribute to an environment where police are uniformly believed even when the circumstances don’t warrant that faith. But I gave S.W.A.T. a shot because the show’s creator, Shawn Ryan, has a reputation for creating more complex portrayals (see, The Shield and the Jennifer Beals-fronted Chicago Code). To the show’s credit, they’ve succeeded in pushing the boundaries of the everyday cop show.
That is, until now. This week, S.W.A.T. fell pray to the same “good guys” narrative that hampers lesser police procedurals.
When the episode begins, Chris is at home, painting a feature wall with Kira. They’re cute and flirtatious until Ty interrupts and the warmth of the moment is lost. After Kira excuses herself to get ready for work, Ty approaches Chris about the imbalance in their triangle: he feels she’s not as invested in their relationship as she is in her relationship with Kira. Later, after a work assignment doesn’t pan out, Deacon approaches Chris about how reserved she is today. Initially Chris brushes off his outreach because she knows how Deacon and his wife, Annie, feel about her home life. And here’s where S.W.A.T. starts to go astray.
“You know that wasn’t a judgment of you,” Deacon says. “Annie’s issue was you talking to Lila about it and in a way that made it hard for Annie to explain it to her. That’s all.”
This is absolute bullshit. Last season, Annie told Chris that her “threesome thing” was not normal, right or moral. She said that if she’d known about Chris’ relationship with Ty and Kira, she absolutely would not have Chris the godmother of her newborn child. It had nothing to do how Chris described her relationship to their daughter, Lila; it absolutely was a judgment of Chris and for the show to suggest otherwise is absurd. Instead of grappling with the fact that Deacon’s wife said something so ridiculously fucked up, S.W.A.T. resigns itself to the age-old trope of “good guys” vs. “bad guys.” The show firmly plants Deacon and his wife among the “good guys” with little regard for the depiction of its queer character… or how it might feel for that queer character to hear that she’s “not normal” from one of the “good guys.”
Deacon offers to listen to Chris’ problem and she explains Ty’s concerns about their unbalanced relationship. She concedes that he might be right: things with Kira just flow effortlessly and while things are good with Ty, it requires effort. Deacon urges Chris to tell Kira how she really feels, even if it means upsetting the relationship, because a marriage will only further expose the fault lines.
Later, Kira stops by SWAT HQ and Chris is honest with her. She tried to love Ty because she loved Kira but it hasn’t worked. Chris asks Kira if she can imagine a future where it’s just them and freaks out when Kira doesn’t respond right away. But Kira calms Chris with an assurance that she’s in love with her, too. She admits that she’s been having doubts about the wedding and wonders if her feelings for Chris are the reason why. They promise to talk to Ty together later but when the time comes, Kira relents. She’s invested too much time into this relationship with Ty, Kira says, as if they’re about to enter a business contract, not get married. Kira says she loves Ty — not “in love” like she is with Chris, mind you — and she can’t throw it all away.
“Just wait till after the wedding, okay?” Kira begs. “You’ll find a way to be happy with both of us.”
From the hurt that flashes across Chris face, I cannot imagine that happening.
Nancy Drew 106: “The Mystery of Blackwood Lodge”
Written by Valerie Anne
Things are steaming up on the Bess/Lisbeth front. (I believe we’re going with #LisBess for this one.) After a very awkward first official date because of Bess’s nervousness, the gals go where every queer lady couple goes on their second date: a masquerade ball. Okay technically Bess just ran into Lisbeth there, Bess on a secret mission and Lisbeth working security. I’m actually not entirely clear on what Lisbeth’s role is in this town, if I’m being honest? Maybe just odd jobs for rich folks? Honestly it doesn’t matter all that much, I’m just happy she’s here.
I have this theatre-nerd disease where every time I see a mask like this my brain starts shouting MASQUERADE! PAPER FACES ON PARADE! because I’m haunted by Phantom but not in the sexy way Christine is.
I also don’t think they’ve really established on screen why they like each other beyond the initial attraction. I have to imagine there are some offscreen conversations we missed out on, because while I totally understand why they’re into each other, when at the end Lisbeth tells Bess she likes her and wants to make it work, I don’t REALLY know why? But I like Bess too, and also there are ghosts afoot, so I’m not going to hurt myself thinking about it. I’m just going to enjoy our sweet secretly British nervous nellie getting the girl in the end.
I happened to catcch this shot as the lighthouse beam hit them and WHEW they look good in this glow.
Also this is neither here nor there but it seems that Maddison Jaizani, the actress who plays Bess, is hangs out with Ruby Rose a lot, and combined with the fact that this is her second time playing queer in a row (which is exactly 50% of her IMDb credits), I’m wondering if maybe she’s one of us?? A girl can dream.
Legacies 205: “Screw Endgame”
Written by Valerie Anne
Legacies hasn’t been too explictly queer lately but I thought it was high time we checked in on our queer witches. Also because they mentioned Penelope this week, and used her magic book to make Josie cry, and I’m in my feelings about it. Hope and Lizzie spent the episode in a classic sci-fi loop with an 80s arcade twist, and even though their day started with Lizzie trying to get Hope to break Josie and Landon up because Hope and Landon are meant for each other, it ended with them smashing the patriarchy (and a minotaur) and deciding that the concept of endgame is ridiculous and there are more important things for teenage girls to be fighting for/about/against than teenage boys.
“Should we…date each other?” “Hm. Hm! Maybe?”
Also just that the general idea of fate is screwed up, and by buying into it they were stripping themselves of agency and, well, hope. Also Hope. She wanted to jump into the pit again because she believed it was all she was good for.
I just really liked this girl bonding episode for the two of them, and while I agree Josie could do better, and while I really hope they’re not using Landon as a tool to spur her into darkness (because she had plenty of darkness without him), overall I’m still really loving this witchy little show.
How to Get Away With Murder 608: “I Want To Be Free”
Written by Natalie
All this BDE from Annalise and it’s being wasted!
So, we’ve reached that part of the How to Get Away With Murder season where I have so many more questions than answers about the show, that writing about it seems like a folly to endeavor. But, if I’m going to confused, at least we can be confused together.
With Cora on assignment abroad — flanked by plenty of security — Tegan steps back into the role of lead counsel in Nate’s civil suit, once Bonnie is forced to the sidelines. Annalise tries, once again, to push Tegan off the case but the new C&G Managing Partner persists. Annalise accuses Tegan of chasing a losing case for ego but Tegan insists that that’s not the reason. She reminds Annalise that she lost her entire family in a plane crash and, in the aftermath, Jorge Castillo helped her. His help didn’t come free, of course, it came with a lifetime of strings and now, finally, she’s ready to be free of all of them. Annalise accepts Tegan’s answer and even offers to help but Tegan assures her that she’s got it handled.
“Then I don’t have to cancel my date tonight,” Annalise quips. Tegan barely masks her surprise before Annalise adds, as she’s walking out the door, “Now who’s jealous?”
When Governor Kerry Weaver’s testimony doesn’t go as hoped — she gets an underling to take responsibility for a misstep — Tegan, Bonnie, Nate and Annalise regroup at C&G to strategize. Annalise suggests putting Bonnie on the stand to implicate Ronald Miller in the murder. Bonnie expertly uses her time on the stand to press the state to offer immunity to the person (Officer Gladden) who first implicated Miller in the scandal. Much to my surprise and Tegan’s jubilation, it works. Meanwhile, Annalise orders Frank to do whatever he has to to ensure that Gladden tells their version of the story to the jury. But before Frank can threaten Gladden, Annalise calls him from the hospital: someone — the Castillos — cuts the brakes in Bonnie’s car and she’s been in an accident. After learning that Bonnie’s going to be okay, Frank confronts Nate about his unrelenting pursuit of his father’s killer, at everyone else’s expense.
Legal Briefs
+ Following a side conversation between Frank and Nate, Tegan has finally put together that Nate’s behind Ronald Miller’s death.
+ From the very beginning of this season, I’ve thought that the answer to #WhoKilledAnnalise was “no one”… she faked her death and is sitting on a beach somewhere, standing in the sun with the love of her life (maybe Tegan, maybe Eve, but definitely not Robert). And while the end of this episode very much suggests that VIP Results has “Justine” on her way out of the country, I wondered: Why would Annalise Keating telegraph her plan by making it the solution to her interns’ Criminal Law Exam? If she’s “dead” and there’s no body, wouldn’t everyone immediately suspect that Annalise — who is most definitely the Queen in the “Snow White” parallel — had faked her death?
Boobs On Your Tube: Anissa Pierce is Having Very Hot Superhero Sex on “Black Lightning”
We can’t believe that yet another week in queer television has flown right on by! Sunday night started the week with a bang thanks to the new L Word: Generation Q trailer (don’t worry, Riese has all the details in case you missed it). Speaking of The L Word, Riese and Carly are still retro-plowing through Season Two of the OG Series, and they dropped another podcast episode for you. The CW launched their fall line up and our favorite superhero Valerie Anne brought you a recap of Supergirl’s Season Five premiere (Season Five! Where has the time gone!?!?) while Natalie launched a new recap series for All American’s Season Two. It’s what Coop deserves. Kayla got us settled back into Riverdale for their fourth season premiere (RIP Luke Perry). Valerie did a deep dive into the queer legacy of Legacies. She also wants you to know that we feel really bad for sleeping on YouTube’s Impulse when it first came out. Last night Grey’s Anatomy staged a Charmed reunion, and you know that Kayla was all over that!
Notes from the TV Team:
+ Lilly Singh has already started queering up late night with her show, A Little Late with Lilly Singh, but this week, late night’s getting even gayer as Kid Fury and Crissle West bring their acclaimed podcast, The Read, to television. Tune in tonight at 11PM on Fuse! — Natalie
+ Legacies has done the unthinkable and paired up one boring dude with two queer women instead of putting the two queer women together but hopefully it all gets sorted out soon, because I do so love that show. — Valerie Anne
+ I went to the She-Ra panel at NYCC and Noelle Stevenson was using they/them pronouns for a character named Double Trouble (I can’t be 100% sure they are not two people in one vs non-binary because of their name and because on She-Ra it could go either way) and when AJ Michaelka was asked to describe Catra’s arc in the upcoming season in one word she said, “Revolutionary,” so do with that as you will. — Valerie Anne
+ Also at NYCC I learned that Poppy Drayton aka Ambertree (fka Amberle) the queer elf on The Shannara Chronicles will be guesting in upcoming episodes of Charmed. — Valerie Anne
+ Nora is still gone. This has been your Flash update. — Valerie Anne
+ On This Is Us, Tess Pearson is still adjusting to the trials and tribulations of being a queer middle schooler. Namely when a new friend at her new school asked her during lunch, “do you think this football guy is hot” she said yes, even though she really didn’t. And now she can’t stop beating herself up about it! Don’t worry bb, we’ve all been there. — Carmen
American Horror Story 904: “True Killers”
Written by Drew
AHS: 1984 reached new levels of insanity this week with an endless barrage of twists, deaths, and resurrections. The episode begins with Montana and Richard in a flashback. They meet at one of her classes, Montana telling Richard, “My class isn’t for posers. This is aerobics. It’s serious.” Richard shows just how serious he is by grotesquely murdering her student who complained she wasn’t playing enough Cyndi Lauper. They have sex in the locker room, rolling around in the poor guy’s blood.
We learn that Montana’s brother was Brooke’s fiancé’s best man who was killed at her wedding. That’s why Montana wants her dead. Richard happily signs up for her revenge plot, eager to kill, and to win Montana’s affection.
I truly cannot praise Billie Lourd enough. She understands the tone of the show, managing to ground her character and play into the campy humor.
Meanwhile, Donna has Brooke hanging from a tree, eager to learn if Jingles will kill her even without the thrill of the chase. Jingles and Richard arrive at the same time and fight to Richard’s death. Donna and Montana also fight, ending with Donna unconscious.
Also Margaret was the real killer in 1970! She framed Jingles and the years locked away convinced him her story was true. She almost kills him, but not quite, and he’s left wandering the camp pondering his true nature, while Margaret joins the kids with her façade of Christian innocence intact.
Donna wakes up in the woods just as Richard is being resurrected by Satan. They lock eyes and he cracks a smile. Ryan Murphy better not get any ideas, because I want Angelica Ross’ mad scientist around until the very end! Not that any deaths on this show actually mean someone is gone forever.
Why Women Kill 109: “I Was Just Wondering What Makes Dames Like You So Deadly”
Written by Natalie
Guess who’s coming to dinner?
Before each episode of Why Women Kill gets into full swing, there’s a short introductory montage. Usually it’s an insignificant glimpse into the future — after the woman has killed whomever they’ve killed — but this week, we get a window into the past that’s worth noting: a warning from Jade’s dearly departed foster mother, Verna Roy, that she is pure poison.
Back in reality, Jade’s cooked up a special breakfast — with a side of coke — to help Eli prepare for his meeting with Martin Scorsese. But Eli’s meeting with Scorsese is just a rouse: his agent leads him into a room where Taylor waits, eager to tell him everything about the woman who’s been sleeping in their bed.
Taylor explains that Jade (real name: Irene Tabatchnick) had been thrown out of three foster homes by the age of 16: twice for stealing cash, the last time for attempting to seduce her foster father. A week after Irene was booted from the third home, it burned down with her foster parents — including the aforementioned Verna Roy — inside. Irene disappeared after the fire, before the Ohio police could talk to her about the mysterious circumstances.
When Jade picks Eli up, eager to hear all about his meeting with Scorsese, it’s clear that some of what Taylor said got through to him. He continues with the rouse, recalling that Irene’s story sounds a lot like what Jade suggested for his script. Jade claims the idea just popped into her head and Eli asks if the name Jade popped into her head, too. She quickly realizes that Duke’s shared her story while Eli realizes that everything Taylor said was true. Jade starts driving erratically, nearly mowing down an old man crossing the road, but Eli grabs the wheel and crashes them into a nearby car instead. The crash leaves Eli bloody and disoriented but Jade’s unhurt. When she hears the police cars echoing in the distance, she knows she has to run.
Taylor gets to the hospital and finds a sedated Eli with fractured ribs. Before he went to sleep, though, he wrote her a note: REHAB. Meanwhile, Jade and Tinkerbell are making themselves comfortable at Duke’s apartment. She tries to ingratiate herself to him but Duke’s not having it and, eventually, he reveals he sold Jade out to Taylor in exchange for bail money. The show Jade finally remembers that Taylor’s a lawyer and realizes that she has to get out of town before Taylor uses her connections to get her locked up. When Duke refuses to give her his watch to pawn, a fight ensues and we finally get an answer to why women kill.
How to Get Away With Murder 603: “Do You Think I’m a Bad Man?”
Written by Natalie
A unicorn.
From the moment that Tegan Price revealed that she was queer on How to Get Away With Murder, I’ve been hoping for hook-up between her and Annalise. I’ve tried to speak it into existence from my recaps. They were both attracted to each other and they were both sex-starved so a hook-up felt inevitable. Sure, they hated each other for a while and, I suppose, Tegan wouldn’t really know Annalise was an option until Eve came to town, still: my hopes were up.
But last night’s episode of HTGAWM may have shattered my dreams: turns out, Tegan Price is married.
This week, Tegan’s faced with fires on multiple fronts, caused by Annalise’s underlinings. Somehow Michaela manages to get a felony murder charge added to a laundry list of charges being thrown at one their clients, while a well-intentioned Connor kidnaps his client from his foster home to take him to see his mother in Maryland. She chastises Annalise for not being there to supervise her students and for sending Bonnie to her for a job and, as is her wont, AK is immediately gets defensive.
Tegan pulls rank, saying, “A lesbian, woman of color, running a major law firm. I’m a damn unicorn. So, to have you — not one of the 321 other men working here — making my job harder, someone I thought was my friend, that’s not salt in the wound, it’s a chain saw to my neck.”
“I feel safe with you. Too safe, clearly,” Annalise admits. Usually this is the point at which I’d note how that sounds like something you’d say in the prelude to a relationship but, honestly, everything about the delivery said “friends” not “future lovers.”
Tegan leaves Annalise to work with Michaela on her case while she heads to Maryland to bail get the firm’s clients, Marisol and Hector, out of a detention center. Already there when she arrives? Bonnie, who saw the opportunity to earn points with Tegan by helping. As is her wont, Bonnie lies to get them into the room but when her plan to free Marisol and her son falls flat, Tegan steps in. She places a phone call to the Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis at Homeland Security* and urges them to tell the director of the ICE facility to release their clients.
Who is this Under Secretary, willing to do a favor for Tegan at the the drop of a dime? Cora Duncan. Tegan’s wife.
We’ve known about Cora. We knew that she was the best sex of Tegan’s life. We knew that Tegan sacrificed their relationship for her job. I assumed (and, given her title, it’s a safe bet) that Cora’s the genius that supplied Tegan with the copy of Emmett’s phone records last season. But every time Cora has been referenced previously, it’s always been as an ex.
Sharing my confusion, Annalise confronts Tegan about not telling her she had a wife. Tegan and Cora are still married only because she hasn’t filed the paperwork yet.
So, let’s review? Annalise has been friendzoned and Tegan’s still married. How did something that started with so many possibilities go so wrong?
(*Fun Fact: the current Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis is most senior out gay official serving in the administration.)
Almost Family 102: “Related AF”
Written by Valerie Anne
Victoria Cartagena is coming for me in this show. The way she talks and walks and the things her character is saying (“You’re a good kisser,” for example) is so great and overwhelming at the same time.This week, Amand and Edie had a conversation about their kiss and Amanda asked Edie what her ~deal was anyway. Edie didn’t really know where to start with that, so Amanda explained that sexulaity is a continuum and it’s rare people are 100% one thing or another. She describes her own ratio as 80/20 and Edie blurts that’s she’s more like 50/50. She blurts it like it’s something she’s just thinking about now, and she’s not quite sure how she feels about this realization. It’s a little more binary than is strictly necessary, but considering this is the kind of show my parents are watching, I thought it was nice to hear them to talk about queerness and sexual fluidity like this, chipping away a bit at the assumption that all bisexual people are all attracted to their same gender and another gender equally.
After a day of courtroom foreplay, however, Edie is reassessing her original declaration, saying she thinks maybe it’s more like 60/40, and Amanda pulls her into a room so they can pick up where they left off.
Julia ends up spotting them making out and keeps Edie’s husband from finding them, but surely this will complicate things going forward.
For some reason this reminded me of the classic Rookie Blue moment: “The courier was sick, Oliver, if you must know!”
God Friended Me 202: “The Lady”
Written by Carmen
The only gay church I attend regularly is the Church of Beyoncé, and I never miss a service.
Since we left God Friended Me last season, Ali Finer came out to her dad, Minster Papa Pope, and then Minister Papa Pope changed the tone of his ministry to be more LGBTQ+ friendly. Then, the church lost parishioners. Minister Papa Pope thinks Ali didn’t notice, because he would hate for his daughter to know that the community she was raised with is actually a group of small minded people with cruelty in their hearts, but there you have it. Also, he’s no longe the minister at that particular church (for separate reasons).
Minister Papa Pope has since been asked to give a special sermon at First Advent of Harlem, an LGBTQ church. He goes to Ali for advice, and her words are true, but hard to swallow: If he’s going to practice service leadership, Minister Papa Pope might want to take a back seat and learn about the queer and trans community before he starts ministering to them.
That leads him back to First Advent to meet with their pastor, played by trans actress Peppermint (you might know her as first ever trans runner-up on RuPaul’s Drag Race or as the first trans woman to ever create a principal role on Broadway in Head Over Heels). Pastor Peppermint informs Minister Papa Pope that Ali has actually been attending First Advent for a while now, she intends to become a member of the church.
I was pretty surprised that his first reaction was to freak out; he never imagined that his daughter would leave the church that she grew up in (even though he’s no longer the minister there? Which feels like a key reason to move on if you ask me). Once confronted, Ali tells her brother Miles the truth — she’s leaving their family church because she knows about the parishioners that left after she came out last year. She begs him not to tell their dad.
Miles tells Minister Papa Pope anyway, because even though its a risk, he believes that airing the truth will ultimately bring Ali and her dad back together. It works! Minister Papa Pope attends Ali’s new membership ceremony at First Advent; he understands now that he was putting his own ego ahead of his daughter’s needs. The hug and I cry and really I can’t believe how much this corny little show pulls right at my heartstrings.
Black Lightning 301: “Birth of Blackbird”
Written by Carmen
Kissing with cornrows and a honey suckle background? This is the black lesbian representation I’m looking for.
Welcome to the new home of your Black Lightning recaps! I talked it over with Heather, and we both agreed that until the writers of Black Lightning really get their shit together (excuse my language, I’ve had all summer and I’m still mad) and treat Anissa’s love life with the same consistency and care they’ve given their straight characters, we can chat about her right here weekly! IF anything huge happens (*cough *cough THE RETURN OF GRACE CHOI would be a prime example *cough *cough), we will be sure to give it a special stand alone treatment! And of course all of this is subject to change as the season progresses, etc.
Enough with the business of recapping, and on to the business of Anissa having sex! Because she definitely did that this week.
Anissa has been looking for Grace Choi ever since last season when she found out that Grace is a shapeshifting meta. However, it seems that Grace doesn’t want to be found, so Anissa keeps coming up empty. When she meets a national reporter for the website “Clapback News” (Jamiliah Olsen, who I think has to be somehow related to Supergirl’s Jimmy) one night at a bar, Anissa thinks she might be able to help. Well my friends this reporter had other things on her mind, namely helping herself to Anissa in her hotel bed.
I’ll give Black Lightning this, the scene in question is Hot. Very Hot. But then again, hot lesbian sex has never really been this show’s problem — consistency in lesbian storylines, that’s where they’ve faltered.
Speaking of which, very little about the rest of Anissa’s storyline made sense this week, for example if she’s supposedly heartbroken and looking for her girlfriend, why is she looking for her in between the legs of another woman? Hmmm? OR why would they chose to force Anissa into a heavy handed metaphor about family separation at the border that didn’t quite make sense for Freeland in the first place? OR where on earth did the Pierce family get the money for Anissa’s balling new apartment? What happened to her living at Grandaddy Pierce’s old house? (Not that I’m complaining about Nafessa Williams listening to Chaka Khan in her underwear, not at all, but c’mon!) Still, if Black Lighting is going to keep giving us incredible lesbian sex like that, I may just have to learn to forgive them.
PS: The episode ends with our favorite bulletproof lesbian actually getting shot while performing a rescue mission, but I wouldn’t worry if I were you. I’m sure our girl makes it.
Winter 2019 TV Preview: All The Lesbian, Queer and Bisexual TV Coming Your Way
Let’s ring in the new year where we rang it out: on the couch, watching television! What we have here is all your 2019 television premiere dates for all your favorite new and returning shows.
The Fall 2018 season was pretty incredible for representation — it seemed like I had to update the TV Preview every few days with a new lesbian or bisexual character popping up. Unfortunately, most of the new shows on my radar for 2019 aren’t, as of yet, promising a whole lot of lesbian and bisexual women characters — but there sure are a lot of gay men, especially in a few supernatural and comics-inspired programs I’m keeping my eye on in case they choose to toss us a lesbian bone. Not a dead lesbian bone though, we’re past that now.
So, without any further ado except for the rest of this paragraph, let’s get into it! Shows that took less than a one-month break between their last 2018 episode and their next 2019 episode are mentioned in bold italics, but are not given full pics and descriptions.
This post will be updated as events warrant.
January
Grown-ish (Freeform) // January 2nd // Season Two
// watch the trailer //
(Freeform/Tony Rivetti)
Grown-ish is back and so is Zoey’s bisexual bestie Nomi, who will start tentatively exploring her school’s queer community mid-season. This show is really cute and fun and if you’re not watching it, I bet if you started watching it you’d be like, “Aw! This is cute and fun but also has an awareness of social issues! I’m so glad I’m doing this for myself!”
Fresh Off The Boat (ABC) // Season Five Returns January 4th
God Friended Me (CBS) // Season One Returns January 6th
Mainfest (NBC) // Season One Returns January 7th
Good Trouble (Freeform) // January 8th // NEW
// watch the trailer //
Good Trouble picks up where The Fosters left off: with Mariana (Cierra Ramirez) and Callie (Maia Mitchell) headed north, from their sleepy San Diego suburb to the bright lights of Los Angeles, to start their new jobs. Most exciting of all: their new building manager and de facto house mother, Alice Kwan (Sherry Cola), is a selfless and closeted-to-her-family Asian-American soft butch lesbian.
Brooklyn 99 (NBC) // January 10th // Season Six
// watch the trailer //
BROOKLYN NINE-NINE — “Honeymoon” Episode 601 — Pictured: Stephanie Beatriz as Rosa Diaz — (Photo by: Vivian Zink/NBC)
Now on a new network, Brooklyn 99’s Season Six will include an episode focusing on the #MeToo movement, directed by Stephanie Beatriz, and will open with Jake and Amy on their honeymoon.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC) // Season 20 returns January 10th
S.W.A.T. (CBS) // Season Two Returns January 3rd
The Good Place (NBC) // Season Three Returns January 10th
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (The CW) // Season Four Returns January 11th
Sex Education (Netflix) // January 11th // Season One
// watch the trailer //
This eight-episode British dramedy stars Gillian Anderson as a sex therapist with a socially awkward son who, with the help and urging of his classmates, starts his own “underground sex therapy clinic” at school. Otis has a black gay best friend, but as far as queer girls go all we’ve spotted so far is a girl/girl couple in the preview who are only listed as being in one episode on imdb. Still, it looks really cute!
The Flash (The CW) // Season Three Returns January 15th
This Is Us (NBC) // Season Three Returns January 15th
Schitt’s Creek (Pop) // Season Five // January 16th
// watch the trailer //
Black lesbian town councillor “Ronnie” isn’t really a main character on Schitt’s Creek and that’s really my only complaint about this smart, clever, campy Canadian sitcom everybody seems to have discovered within the past few months. Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy shine as parents of a family who suddenly lost its wealth and are forced to live in a motel in Schitt’s Creek, a town they originally purchased as a gag gift, and Daniel Levy plays David Rose, a delightfully bitter young bisexual man. Plus, queer actress Emily Hampshire!
Riverdale (The CW) // Season Three Returns January 16th
All-American (The CW) // Season One Returns January 16th
Star Trek Discovery (CBS All Access) // January 17th // Season Two
// watch the trailer //
Star Trek has the most bizarre relationship with the gays. Kirk and Spock shippers are the original TV fandom and wrote fan fiction via printed ‘zines before the internet was even born! Once the internet was born, Janeway and Seven of Voyager became the go-to queer subtext sci-fi couple for decades. Finally, in 2018, Discovery introduced the franchise’s first canonically gay couple, Paul Stamets and Hugh Culber, and then promptly murdered Culber. Through the magic of science fiction and internet outrage, Culber is returning for season two. Also joining the cast: Tig Notaro as (presumably lesbian) Chief Engineer Denise Reno, who, according to the trailer, can best be described as “Tig Notaro in space.” I can’t wait! ( – Heather )
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) // Season 15 Returns January 17th
How To Get Away With Murder (ABC) // Season Five Returns January 17th
Shameless (Showtime) // January 20th // Season 9B
// watch the trailer //
Photo: Isabella Vosmikova/SHOWTIME – Photo ID: SHAMELESS_907_2424
The back half of Shameless’s Ninth Season returns after an extended break — oddly, after all this time, the now-totally-uneven ensemble dramedy about the tough-luck Gallaghers has managed to feature a record number of queer female characters, although many have been pretty recklessly constructed. Most recently, Debbie has considered her Sapphic side through a brief fling with hot construction worker Alex, while Veronica seems to have abandoned hers in Svetlana’s absence. Honestly I can relate to abandoning things in Svetlana’s absence, I miss her with all my heart. I can’t stay away from this show regardless of its missteps. Previews suggest that Debbie appears to remain committed to smashing the patriarchy in Season 9B and also identifies as a “sexually confused Teen Mom.”
High Maintenance (HBO) // January 20th // Season Three
// watch the trailer //
Season Two of High Maintenance was one of the best shows of 2018, and casting notices for Season Three have been a delight in and of themselves — in addition to opening all roles to non-binary actors, we’ve got gay Latinx construction workers, hippies in Poughkeepsie, and characters described using clauses like “got into a Seven Sisters school back in the day but dropped out” and “the kind of woman who definitely owns some Birkenstocks and has energy crystals in her home.” Season Three will feature guest spots from Margaret Cho (spotted hanging out with other QPOC and kissing Hye Yun Park in the trailer) as well as Rosie Perez, Jemima Kirke (Girls), Annie Golden (Orange is the New Black) and Guillermo Diaz (Scandal).
Supergirl (The CW) // Season Four Returns January 20th
Charmed (The CW) // Season One Returns January 20th
Black Lightning (The CW) // Season Two Returns January 21st
The Magicians (SyFy) // January 23rd // Season Four
// watch the trailer //
Aside from Daniella Alonso’s Pirate King, most of the queer vibes in Season 3 of The Magicians were from the magical men. However, according to interviews, Margo is bisexual, so maybe we’ll see more of that this year…then again, everything got turned on its head so really it’s anything goes in Season 4. All I know for sure is that no one really reads as particularly straight on this show. ( – Valerie)
Broad City (Comedy Central) // January 24th // Season Five
// watch the promo //
Broad City‘s Season Five will, sadly, be their last. According to a recent interview in The New York Times, Abbi is going to date a woman this year, which means this show has TWO bisexual protagonists. How about that.
JACOBSON I really feel like our show has been so queer from the get-go.
GLAZER Queerer than we knew. Behind the scenes, in front of the cameras. Everyone who works with us has gotten queerer and queerer in the past six years. I swear to God.
Siren (Freeform) // January 24th // Season Two
// watch the trailer //
Season 2 of Siren promises to give us more of the throuple action from Season 1, where mermaid Ryn seems into both Maddie and her on-again, off-again boyfriend Ben. And it also promises more mermaids, so here’s hoping all mermaids are sexually fluid! It seems some of them will be working against Ryn and some will be working with her to just try to blend in and save their species, but hopefully we get some more lady-loving merladies this year. ( – Valerie)
Legacies (The CW) // Season One Returns January 24th
RENT! Live (Fox) // January 27th
// watch the trailer //
In a moment that will undoubtably make me feel elderly, RENT! Live is coming to our teevee screens this January, starring Vanessa Hudgens as Maureen and Kiersey Clemons as Joanne. This will also be a great opportunity to see if Mark is less annoying when he’s not played by a white actor!
February
Russian Doll (Netflix) // February 1st // NEW
// watch the trailer //
Rebecca Henderson as Lizzy and Greta Lee as Maxine in “Russian Doll”
I initially wrote, “f this show is somehow not even remotely gay, I will eat my hat!” and good news — I did not have to eat my hat! Rebecca Henderson (who is married to co-creator Leslye Headland) plays Lizzie, a lesbian who enjoys group sex and also one-on-one-sex and wearing overalls! Natasha Lyonne co-created and stars in the “existential adventure show” about an inescapable New York City party, created by an all-female writing team, directed by lesbian Jamie Babbitt and featuring actors including Greta Lee, Elizabeth Ashley, Rebecca Henderson, Chloë Sevigny, Dascha Polanco, Ritesh Rajan and Jocelyn Bioh.
American Housewife (ABC) // Season Three returns February 5th
One Day At a Time (Netflix) // February 8th // Season Three
[Season Two Photo]
Walking Dead (AMC) // February 10th // Season 9B
// watch the trailers //
The Walking Dead
Nadia Hilker, Danai Gurira, Norman Reedus, Ross Marquand, Josh McDermitt
This is a show about, I believe, zombies! There’s a girl named Tara in it and she’s gay, but every time she dates a girl, that girl gets killed. Am I right so far? Many moons ago, the actress who plays Tara told AMC, “I’m excited for what’s to come in Season 9. I feel like it might be such a different equation. It might not just be war. Maybe there’s something else in store. That sounds exciting to play. Maybe instead of constantly fighting for survival, there’ll be some rebuilding and normality. I don’t know, but I’m excited to see if that could possibly happen!”
Boomerang (BET) // February 12th // NEW
// watch Lena Waithe on the making of Boomerang //
Lala Milan as Tia (Photo: Jace Downs/BET)
Lena Waithe and Halle Berry are the powerhouse team behind the television sequel to the 1992 film “Boomerang,” which follows the children of the original story’s three stars. Lala Milan plays Tia, described as a “misguided performance artist with high ambitions” who “is a classically trained dancer who wants to topple the patriarchy. She’s charismatic and wildly unique. Tia is an activist at heart, but she doesn’t mind being a little ratchet every now and then” and Kimberly Hall plays her girlfriend, Rocky, described as “a lesbian with a dominant personality” who is “very protective over her girlfriend Tia and her career.” Waithe is hoping to “change the face of BET” with the reboot.
The Umbrella Academy (Netflix) // February 15th // NEW
// watch the teaser //
As far as we can tell so far, Ellen Page’s new project is unfortunately light on queer women and by “light” we mean “there aren’t any.” But, it’s not often we can see our lesbian girlfriend Ellen Page on the small screen so everybody tune in for that face.
Shadowhunters (Freeform) // February 25th // Season 3B
// watch the trailer //
Shadowhunters will conclude its third season (which aired its first ten episodes from March – May 2018) this year with ten traditional episodes and a two-part finale. Harry Shum told Elle Magazine, “We were able to wrap the show up in a beautiful, exciting way. Filming those last few episodes was truly bittersweet.” However, it’s unclear if queer character Ollie will be returning, as she’s not listed on imdb for any 2019 appearances.
Better Things (FX) // February 28th // Season Three
CR: Jessica Brooks/FX
Details are not in abundance for Pamela Adlon’s Louis-CK-Free Season Three of Better Things, which has a minor lesbian character and also one of Sam’s daughters might be a lesbian or could be non-binary or perhaps transgender, who’s to say! But we do know this: Sharon Stone (If These Walls Could Talk 2), Judy Reyes (Claws) and Janina Gavankar (The L Word) will all show up this year.
March
Station 19 (ABC) // March 7th // Season 2B
Station 19 will be back to see if the otherwordly attractive firefighters survive yet another peril and make it to yet another day. Most relevant to our interest will be finding out if Maya Bishop (who was recently promoted to Lieutenant by the Seattle FD! #20BiTeen in full effect!) decides to leave 19 for a leadership position at Station 23 instead. My gut tells me that she – no way Shondaland would want to deprive us of Maya’s kickass attitude any time soon. (- Carmen)
For the People (ABC) // March 7th // Season Two
// watch the trailer //
Season One Picture (ABC/Eric McCandless)
Think Grey’s Anatomy but with lawyers (and much, much drier). Two great reasons to watch: queer actress, Jasmin Savoy Brown, as public defender Allison Adams…she might not be gay on the show, but her relationship with her BFF, Sandra, is the gayest thing about For the People. Second, the actual queer character: Kate Littlejohn, the Paris Gellar-esque federal prosecutor, who hooked up with Anya Ooms (played by pansexual actress Caitlin Stasey) during season one. (-Natalie)
American Gods (Starz) // March 10th // Season Two
// watch the trailer //
Native American actress Devery Jacobs joins the cast as queer Two-Spirit character Sam Black Crow and Yetide Badaki returns as the pansexual Bilquis when Season Two returns to find the battle in this Neil Gaiman adaptation “moving inexorably toward crisis point as the destinies of gods and men collide.” Bliquis will be absolutely “pivotal” to season Two and although Gillian Anderson is not returning as “Media,” South Korean actress Kahyun Kim is joining the cast as “New Media.”
The Good Fight (CBS All Access ) // March 14th // Season Three
Season Two Picture
It’s worth it, the subscription, just for this fun and expertly crafted legal drama with a knockout cast that includes two primo Mommis, Christine Baranski and Audra McDonald. Listen: if you liked The Good Wife for any period of time, try this spinoff noted for its painfully resonant depiction of life under Trump in a way that somehow totally avoids being heavy-handed. Christine Baranski says Season Three will “focus a little more on the personal relationships and how living in the Trump age is affecting intimacy” and “address this big gender moment that we’re experiencing now with the #MeToo movement —how it’s affecting the workplace and the marriages and relationships and how men and women talk to each other.” Rose Leslie returns in a featured regular role as lesbian attorney Maia Rindell.
Shrill (Hulu) // March 15th // Season One
(Photo by: Allyson Riggs/Hulu)
This smart comedy series based on writer Lindy West’s memoir features Lolly Adefope as a black British lesbian hairdresser and the roommate of Annie, the show’s protagonist. You were probably going to watch this show anyhow but now you basically have to! Also John Cameron Mitchell is in it, so.
9-1-1 (Fox) // Season Two Returns March 18th
Jane the Virgin (The CW) // March 27th // Season Five
Jane The Virgin — “Chapter Seventy-Eight” — Image Number: JAV414b_0535.jpg — Pictured (L-R): Rosario Dawson as Jane Ramos and Yael Grobglas as Petra — Photo: Greg Gayne/The CW © 2018 The CW Network. All Rights Reserved.
Abby’s (NBC) // March 28th // NEW
Natalie Morales stars as Abby, an ex-military bisexual bartender who runs into trouble when her new landlord takes issue with the makeshift unlicensed bar she’s been running in her San Diego backyard.
Harlots (Hulu) // March 29th // Season Three
Veep (HBO // March 31st // Season Seven
April
Legends of Tomorrow (The CW) // April 1st // Season Four
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow — “Legends of To-Meow-Meow” — Image Number: LGN408a_0257b.jpg — Pictured (L-R): Maisie Richardson-Sellers as Charlie and Caity Lotz as Sara Lance/White Canary — Photo: Jack Rowand/The CW — © 2018 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Netflix) // April 5th // Season Two
Killing Eve (BBC) // April 7th // Season Two
April isn’t really winter, but this is probably all you are going to think about all winter so we’re including it. The second series will pick up right where the first left off — M15 Officer Eve stabbed Villanelle, who managed to get away. The President of AMC Entertainment Networks has declared, “Killing Eve is picking up exactly 36 heart-thumping seconds after the events of the season finale. This new season is packed with superlative performances and is as twisty, subversive, darkly funny, nerve-wracking and pleasurable as our fans could desire.”
The Bold Type (Freeform) // April 9th // Season Three
The Bold Type’s second season was a little bit all over the place, but we still hold this show in our hearts. Speaking of hearts, we can probably expect a very heartbroken Kat to return this spring. :-(
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (Netflix) // April 26th // Season Two
Boobs on Your Tube: Shay Mitchell Joins the Dead Lesbian Society, XOXO Gossip Girl
What a week for TV! The Charmed reboot finally dropped, and Carmen reviewed it for you! HBO’s remake of the British series Camping arrived and Heather was mostly underwhelmed by it. Haunting of Hill House became everyone’s binge, and Rachel feels you. (Rachel also ranked 27 X-Files monsters by gayness!) Supergirl returned (and returned to its roots), and Valerie Anne celebrated. Black Lightning was gay as all heck this week, and Carmen was there for it. And Riverdale is getting wackier and horrorier than ever, and you know Kayla’s all about it. Here’s what else!
God Friended Me 103: “Heavenly Taco Truck”
Written by Carmen
Hello! Welcome to the team! My name is Carmen and I’ll be your tour guide.
I guess it’s time for me to come out of the closet. I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this.
You see, I am a lover of very corny television. TV where every problem can be solved in 30 minutes to an hour, where people hug and cry about how much they love each other. They are my secret, guilty pleasure shows. Though I would never watch it now for very obvious reasons, I grew up on 7th Heaven. I grew up on Full House (I still it watch often, along with its reboot on Netflix, Candace Cameron’s conservative Christianity be damned). Some of my most peaceful memories as a child are watching Touched By An Angel in my grandmother’s apartment. I’m an incredibly corny person, but I didn’t want y’all to know that.
When God Friended Me premiered this fall, it was right up my guilty pleasure alley. Miles Finer is a atheist who hosts a podcast about his atheism. He was mysteriously friended on Facebook by God – yes, I know this sounds ridiculous, but thanks in no small part to the chemistry of the cast, it comes across as mostly sweet – and God sends him on mini-missions to help people. Every week Miles gets a new Facebook clue, solves the case, helps a person in need, and we all go home feeling better about humanity. That’s the thing, for a show that’s about “God,” it’s really about us. God Friended Me is about our ability to do good and make the world a little easier for just one person at a time. If you’re cringing right now – I understand, but there’s something in that message that warms me.
Miles is also the son a well-known Harlem minister (the minister dad is played by Scandal’s Joe Morton, so let’s call him “Minister Papa Pope”). Miles and his dad don’t get along, but I guess you could’ve figured that out from the context. Miles’ sister, Ali, is their mediator. She’s a bartender who’s finishing her PhD in psychology. She’s also gay and has just moved in with her girlfriend, which is why we are gathered here today.
Sometimes love means pushing past the hard place.
Ali has a close relationship with her father, but there are some things that they just don’t talk about. Her girlfriend, Deanna, is one of them. It’s not that Minister Papa Pope doesn’t know his daughter is gay. She came out years ago. Yes, it was awkward for a while, but they found each other again. Now things have been smooth. He asks her “how is it [her relationship] going”, she says “good” and then they move on. It’s easy. She doesn’t want to rock the boat of easy, you know? But Deanna knows that keeping this secret is no way to move forward, so she pushes Ali to be brave. Tonight. At dinner with her father and brother. NOW.
That night, Ali breaks the news bluntly, in a single gasp, before physically bracing herself. She holds her breath, counting the seconds before her father completely looses it down the Christian Hate tunnel. Here’s the thing…. he doesn’t. Actually, he’s hurt. He thought that they had the kind of relationship where they could talk about anything. Instead, his daughter moved in with her girlfriend WEEKS AGO and didn’t tell him. She was scared of him. That’s a lot to take in.
Miles, also at the dinner, visits his father later. He never talks to his dad one-on-one if he can help it, but this is for his little sister. He tells Minister Papa Pope that sometimes that whole “minister” thing is hard for his kids to overcome. If he wants an open relationship, he has to come down off the pulpit every once and while.
So – get the Kleenex ready – Minister Papa Pope goes to Deanna’s apartment, housewarming gift in hand.
I bet you Papa Pope never bought President Fitz a brand new pasta strainer. Black Lesbians – 1, Straight White Men – 0
He stumbles over his words, embarrassed and worried that he’s overstepping, but Deanna gives him a big bear hug. He’s family. He’s welcome anytime. She leaves him alone with Ali to reconnect. Papa Pope confesses to his new tv daughter that he has no idea what he’s doing. He always thought that Ali and Miles’ mom would take care of these emotional bits, but she died and now no one’s there to light the way. Anyway, he didn’t think he had anything to contribute to the gay parts of Ali’s life. That’s not because he didn’t love her, you know? It’s because he’s old and a minister and what could his daughter possibly find useful in that?
What could she find useful in it? He’s her father. His love is all she needs.
More hugs. More tears.
Home Is Where The Hug Is.
I can’t help it. I love this show.
9-1-1 205: “Awful People”
Written by Natalie
When we last checked in with Henrietta “Hen” Wilson, she’d come perilously close to being another entry on our Bury Your Gays list. Thankfully, she escaped relatively unscathed and with a new dog named Paisley. Given a new lease on life, Hen and her family — her wife, Karen, their son, Denny, and Paisley — spend the afternoon in the park with Athena’s ex-husband, Michael, and his son. Hen looks as content as we’ve ever seen her which, of course, means that the rug is about to be pulled out from under her.
Karen and Hen are setting the table for their picnic lunch, as Michael laments how easily Athena’s new boyfriend, Bobby, has connected with his family. Karen reassures Michael that, regardless of what Bobby brings to the table, he’s still the kids’ father. Meanwhile, the boys are playing catch with Paisley, when a stranger approaches and cradles the pup in her arms. Except, it’s not a stranger at all — at least not to Karen and Hen who come rushing over — it’s Eva, Hen’s ex-wife and Denny’s birth mother. The couple rushes the boys back to the picnic table and confronts Eva.
Karen reminds Eva that she’s not Denny’s real mother because she signed away all her rights when he was born. Eva readily acknowledges that fact, but then points across the street to a six-foot tall loophole: Denny’s biological father, Nathaniel, who Eva always claimed she never knew and who never signed away any of his rights. She promises that the next time they cross paths, it’ll be in court.
Days later, Karen gets the confirmation that she’s been dreading: Nathaniel is definitely Denny’s biological father. She chastises Hen for bringing Eva back into their lives and threatening their family once again. Once Karen storms out, Denny comes in trying to figure out why his mom is so upset; he wonders if it’s his fault for talking to strangers at the park, but Hen assures him it’s not.
“Can you fix the bad thing like you fix people at work?” Denny asks in that cute and innocent way that kids do. I expect Hen to respond with some platitude to placate him in that way parents do — something optimistic but with just enough wiggle room that when/if things go bad, it’s not really a lie — but, nope. Instead, she says, “Yeah. Don’t you worry, little man. Mama’s gonna fix everything.”
Well, now I’m worried.
Hen tracks down Eva at the local liquor store and watches as she scores some drugs in the parking lot. Cool, I think, she’s going to call the cops and get Eva busted for possession. That would’ve made sense, but I forgot that this is Ryan Murphy’s world that we’re in and things never happen that cleanly there. Instead, Hen follows Eva home and, after taking a call from an apologetic Karen, goes up to her apartment and bangs on the door. She arrives just in time to hear Eva collapse on the floor, having overdosed on whatever it was she just bought. Hen kicks in the door and checks Eva’s pulse. She reaches for her phone to call for help, as Eva chokes on her own vomit, but Hen hesitates. She knows her life would be easier if Eva died and, for a minute, Hen considers walking out to leave her there.
Of course, our hero turns back. She calls 9-1-1 and waits as the paramedics administer naloxone to bring her ex back to life. Eva’s convinced this means Hen loves her, but Hen just stuck around long enough to tell Eva that her parole officer will be waiting for her at the hospital. Eva’s heading back to prison, and while part of me is glad to see this plot device put to bed, I’m a bit remiss that 9-1-1 didn’t do more with this character. She may have been a hot, hot mess, but Hen once loved her. There had to be something redeemable about her and I wish they’d shown more of that.
The issue with Denny’s biological father resolves itself neatly — turns out, Nathaniel’s not a bad guy and is willing to follow Hen and Karen’s lead about visitation with Denny — and I’m left to wonder what crazy twist Ryan Murphy will involve Nathaniel next.
All American 102: “99 Problems”
Written by Natalie
Spencer James met Tamia “Coop” Cooper on the first day of Little League. They were just six years old. Her hair tucked into her baseball cap, no one even knew Coop was a girl. She struck Spence — already the most gifted athlete in the neighborhood — out three times that day (or just twice, if he’s telling the story). When everyone discovered there was a girl beneath that cap, they told Coop she had to go play in the girls’ league. Everyone, that is, except Spencer James. He protested, refusing to play without Coop — “if she go, I go” — and because they needed him, Coop got to stay.
Spence and Coop’s friendship began that day on the baseball diamond and while they’ve both changed a lot since then, the fundamental dynamics of their friendship have remained the same: Coop gets to be who she wants to be — the girl playing baseball on a boys’ team or a soft stud flirting with the local gangbanger’s girlfriend — and Spence protects her. The day that Spencer James decides to leave Crenshaw, that protection is gone and Coop has to find a way to survive without it.
When Coop encourages Spencer to take advantage of the opportunity that awaits him in Beverly Hills, she knows what she’s giving up, even if he doesn’t. On a midweek visit to Crenshaw, Spence spots Coop getting out of the aforementioned local gangbanger’s car. Spence jumps back into the role he’s always had in Coop’s life and warns Shawn to stay away from Coop, his house and his family. For a moment, Coop lets herself believe that it’s possible — that even with Spence gone, she can still move through the world as herself without any protection — but Shawn is quick to remind her that she needs him now.
At this point, I can’t help but wonder: needs him for what? At least thus far in All American, the only real threat to Coop’s safety has been Shawn. Is she supposed to join his crew so he won’t beat her up? When Coop opts not to roll with his crew, he seems disappointed but not threatening. Are there other folks out there threatening Coop and, if so, who are they and why haven’t we seen them? While I hate the thought of seeing Coop imperiled, the stakes to the decision she’s forced to make don’t seem real right now. Show, not tell, All American; show, not tell.
Spencer’s shown Shawn exactly how to press his buttons and so, of course, the first chance he gets, that’s exactly what Shawn does. He buys Spencer’s little brother a comic book and the moment Spence finds out, he tracks Shawn down at the playground. Spencer talks a bit too much trash and Shawn socks him in the ribs. Before Spence can fight back, someone pulls a gun out, forcing Spence to back down. When Coop shows up, she promises to roll with Shawn’s crew if they just fall back and Shawn acquiesces. The evidence of how much the dynamics of Coop’s friendship with Spencer have changed is laid bare: now she has to protect him and his future. He resists her protection, but Coop knows this is just how it has to be now, “You cannot save the world, Spencer. You got to save yourself.”
As promised, Coop shows up to hang with Shawn’s crew. He asks her to deliver a package to an apartment. She’s older now, her face weathered by the stresses of life, but I imagine the Coop that steps out of Shawn’s car — with a red baseball jersey and a matching red snapback, pulled low — looks very much like the six year old that met Spence that day at Little League. Only this time, she’s signing up for a far more dangerous lifetime commitment.
Turns out, though, that the package that Shawn has Coop deliver only had food in it – a delivery for the grandmother of one of Shawn’s crew that’s doing a bid upstate. The show settles into a narrative about Coop’s flirtation with gang life that makes far more sense than the protection angle they’ve espoused for 1.5 episodes now: Coop can finally link up with a crew that, no matter what, will never leave her behind. With Spencer gone and knowing the threat that coming out might pose at home, it makes sense that Coop would be drawn to a new family. I wish the show had started with this story.
When Spence and Coop reconnect, he lets her know he’s worried about her.
“You don’t need to be. You need to stop worrying about everybody else,” Coop tells him, as they rock gently on the playground swings. “I got it handled, for real this time, but you got to trust me.”
He does, even if he shouldn’t, and they settle back into the easy rapport that they’ve been building for most of their lives.
How to Get Away With Murder 504: “It’s Her Kid”
Written by Natalie
Tegan’s face lights up when she spots Annalise across the dance floor and she rushes over to greet her future girlfriend colleague. Annalise’s nerves hit as Tegan approaches; this is stupid, she says, backing away. Annalise retreats to the bar to take in all the scenery — and, of course, to reflect on the Bonnie bomb Nate dropped in her lap earlier — until Tegan struts over, intent on getting her scissoring partner co-worker on the dance floor.
“You didn’t drag your ass down here to be wallpaper,” Tegan says. “Get out of your head and in your body.”
Sometimes I wonder if Tegan knows that Annalise is queer or vice versa. I keep thinking they must not know. There’s no reason to believe that Michaela’s told Annalise about Tegan and Annalise kept her relationship with Eve so secretive, it feels like I imagined it most days. Besides, surely, if they both knew the other was queer, they would’ve boned by now, right? But, after Annalise beams at Tegan at the bar and Tegan tells Annalise to “get out of your head and in your body,” there cannot be a single shred of doubt in either of their heads about the other one’s intentions. This is happening, people. It’s only a matter of time.
That is, of course, unless Michaela plays spoiler. She wakes up at home with monster hangover and Laurel climbing into her bed to offer her electrolytes (this is a thing that straight girls do, right?). Laurel asks Michaela what happened. She admits she was drinking excessively to try and get over Tegan. That’s not me playing with words or injecting some fanfiction into my recaps, Michaela literally says, “I drank to get over her.” Pete Nowalk is not fuckin’ around with subtext.
The Keating 4 arrive at Caplan & Gold later that morning and there’s a huge display of cheeseburger and fries awaiting the interns. It looks like heaven to a hungover Michaela who rushes to the table and inhales a burger. The firm is hosting the CEO of Ruthie’s Burgers today and Michaela — who worked at a Ruthie’s Burgers when she was a teenager — volunteers to assist, despite the fact that the franchise is facing a boycott for violations of their employees’ civil rights. When the CEO arrives at C&G, she’s thrilled to discover that a former employee has overcome the odds and Michaela takes the opportunity to butter up the CEO. Tegan rolls her eyes and Emmett goes to introduce Ruth Stephenson to their Supreme Court-winning attorney, Annalise Keating. The interaction seems innocent at first but then it goes ALL THE WAY WRONG.
After noting that Annalise is even lovelier in person than on the news, Ruth notes that her hair is different than the last time she saw her… and, as she wonders aloud if Annalise’s hair is real, she reaches out to touch it. SHE REACHES OUT TO TOUCH ANNALISE’S HAIR. It happens so fast on screen, but at home, I’m screaming “NOOOOOOO!” at my TV like it’s playing in slow motion.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Annalise asks, as she ducks out of Ruth’s reach. Ruth apologizes and assures Annalise she meant it as a compliment, but AK is, rightly, having absolutely none of that. She responds gruffly and retreats to her office. Poor Tegan has to work so hard to stifle her laughter as she ushers the CEO off for coffee. Me too, Tegan, me too.
With the partnership between C&G and Ruthie’s seeming even less likely now, Michaela swoops in with an idea to blackmail Ruth. Michaela remembers how the chain forced their employees to violate labor laws by clocking out for break and thinks the threat of a class action will be enough to bring Ruth’s business to the firm. Tegan’s reticient — there’s no proof of any of these violations — and Michaela pledges to get some before the final meeting with the CEO tomorrow.
Ultimately, Tegan doesn’t need her help. She secures Ruthie’s business, making her the African-American face of the business’ new legal team — and, literally, throws all the work that Michaela stayed up the whole night doing in the trash. Tegan was testing Michaela to see if she’d do the real work necessary to build a case.
“Does this mean you don’t hate me anymore?” the still thirsty Michaela asks as Tegan walks past.
“Yesterday, I hated you at 10. Today, you’re an 8.”
Michaela is elated! She beams, in much the same way Annalise did at the bar. Her quest to get back in Tegan’s favor, by any means necessary, is just beginning.
Also, in case you missed it, this episode was awash in purple, intentionally so, for #SpiritDay.
Annalise, Tegan, and Gabriel all rocking purple for #SpiritDay! Enough with the LGBTQIA bullying, a-holes. #HTGAWM pic.twitter.com/2IXIvjPWfT
— Pete Nowalk (@petenowalk) October 19, 2018
You 106: “Amour Fou”
Written by Heather
Well, Peach Salinger did not die of overdosing. Neither did she die of getting smashed in the head by a rock. Unfortunately, reader, she did die. It was by her own gun! At the hands of Gossip Girl himself, Dan Humphrey! I didn’t want to be right about it, but I also didn’t see a way around it, on account of You being both the least Googlable and most problematic show of 2018. It happened thus:
Peach is recovering from Dan walloping her in the head with Beck at her side. She, of course, does not look like she has nearly died twice within the week. She looks like Shay Mitchell, only more aggrieved. She knows Dan did this shit to her, just like she knows he stole her book, just like she knows he’s stolen her laptop, just like she knows he’s stalking Beck. She’s using her near-death experience to do something about that last thing, keeping Beck with her for healing purposes and sending Dan away when he has the gall to arrive with well wishes. “Male energy in my healing space just isn’t optimal,” she correctly proclaims.
Dan decides basically right then he’s gotta kill her some more. Well, actually, it seems like maybe he’s just 75 percent convinced he’s got to murder her another time, but then she’s getting ready to whisk Beck upstate and away to Paris for some recovery and also some lesbianism, and then he decides she’s just gotta die. He tries to tell Beck that Peach is in love with her and manipulating her and etc. but she doesn’t believe him. He gets so mad! Like he wants her to be good at sussing out stalkers?
While Dan is inexplicably dressing in the clothes he saved from the dead body of Artisanal Soda Jerk Chad and driving to do his homicide, Peach decides she’s gonna make a play for Beck. For starters, there’s MDMA.
That’s it. That’s the plan. MDMA. They get high and Peach kisses Beck and Beck’s like, “Whoa, Dan Humphrey totally said you’re gay for me, but I didn’t believe him!” She bounces to an entirely different room of Peach’s upstate mansion to dance alone in the dark, but not before Peach rightly calls Dan “trash” and then hilariously tells Beck to go “slum it with the proletariat.” Then she fucks the MDMA guy. Sad.
During this adequate sexual encounter, Dan leaves his DNA literally all over Peach’s house, including in the form of his own pee. Oh, also his blood. He got into a little car accident because of a deer. Anyway, at some point he slips into a hallucination about his ex-girlfriend due to the blood loss or some pain medication or I don’t even know — and wakes up to Peach beating the devil out of him. He’s like, “You’re a stalker.” And she’s like, “You’re a stalker!” He tells her to go to Paris, she tells him to go fuck himself. They wrestle with Peach’s gun and Peach gets killed for real.
Joe, of course, frames it as a suicide. (Well, “frames.” His jar of piss is still in the house.)
I didn’t really care for this show, but I do hope Shay Mitchell plays a bitchy lesbian again soon!
Quick Hits
The Purge 107: “Lovely Dark and Deep“
We ended last week’s episode on a cliffhanger where Lil Santon, apparently not dead after all, showed up on Rick and Jenna’s door, begging for her life. Can you believe it, Potato Sack Rick actually tries to take his time deciding whether or not to let her in? Of course you can believe it. BECAUSE HE IS THE WORST.
He eventually relents, but – surprise twist! – Lila isn’t the only person let in that night. Jenna and Rick’s neighbor, Ross, also slides right on through. You see, Ross is the kind of person who takes advantage of Purge Night to settle small, petty shit. It’s not about institutional racism or sexism or any other higher purpose for him. He’s pissed because Rick and Jenna sometimes park in front of his house. Why? Because “in this country, you can’t make your neighbor move. But you can Purge.” Wow. Whatever you say, buddy.
Anyway, Ross dies, so ultimately he isn’t relevant to anything. While the crew murders their potential murderer, Jenna decides that she can’t live in this house anymore. Fair enough, if you ask me. Meanwhile, Rick keeps pulling apart Lila’s grand escape tale from the Stanton mansion. In the end, the threesome make a pact to wait out the rest of the Purge Night together in safety. Both Rick and Lila take one of sleeping Jenna’s hands, Jenna ultimately rests her head on Lila’s shoulder, while he seethes with jealousy. Their tension isn’t over, but for now there’s at least an (uncomfortable) ceasefire.
PS: Jane murdered her sexual assaulter, Trump bro, boss. It was glorious. I think she’s going to feel bad about it later, but I sure as hell don’t. – Carmen