TV Review: The L Word Episode 3.06

Monday, February 13, 2006

From Showtime: Tina continues to struggle with her sexual feelings for men; Kit gives in to Angus; the girls rush to the hospital to be by Dana's side; New York comes calling to Jenny; Moira finds there's a shortcut to getting male hormones.

My Rating: 4 out of 4

I think the writers of my favorite television programs conspired together tonight to make me cry, because once again I found myself in tears by the end of tonight's L Word. Before I head into the content of tonight's episode, let me talk about the opening sequence just a little bit. Each and every week before the opening credits, we have a scene of two people experiencing a gay or lesbian experience. These usually don't stick with me long past the airing of the opening credits, but this episode's opening scene was different because it finally connected us to the stars of our series.

This week, one of the people involved was Bette, a young Bette having sex with a man. This also relates to what is currently happening in the series with her relationship with Tina. At this point, Tina is finding herself attracted to a man, Josh the producer she is working with to be exact. On this episode, Bette gives Tina permission to explore those feelings with a man, but she does tell Tina there is a chance she might not be there when she is done figuring things out. Bette and Tina are probably where my major problem with this series is at the moment. Bette and Tina have totally switched roles. Tina is the tough working woman, and Bette is more of the Tina like character we saw season one. What a switch, and I'm not sure I really like it all that much.

Since I basically jumped right into discussing the episode as far as Bette and Tina are concerned, let's talk about our other ladies. The episode opens up with Shane returning home after a night spent with Cherie. Carmen is up waiting for her, and something certainly hits the fan. The two get into it, and Carmen goes into her whole monogamy speech. She pushes Shane to finally agree to at least try, and the two make up. I'm having a real problem with Carmen this season though. She isn't the same girl from last season. This one is more witchy.

As for Jenny, she is working at The Planet, when the publisher from New York that has her book comes to town. The publisher wants her book, and they want it now. The woman comes with a fall publishing date, and what appears to be a large advance for her. This is the news she's been waiting for, but the publisher does question her on how much of her fictional story is based on her own personal life. As a writer, this part of the story line is bothering me a bit because first time authors aren't usually handled, and it can take years to have a book published. One the show it is a matter of months before the book hits the shelves. A bit unrealistic, but the series writer's have taken a bit of license here it seems.

That night Jenny goes out with the girls to see Sleater-Kinney and celebrate her success. Moira is with her as Max, and Max has actually been talking to Billie about obtaining male hormones. She finally goes to Billie for them, and in a bit of an odd encounter, the two have something happen between them. In essence, Billie gives Max a blow job, which Jenny walks in. Jenny handles it better than I would have, and everything appears fine between the two.

A good part of this episode focused on Dana and her cancer. On tonight's episode, she went in to have her breast removed. Once surgery was done, it became clear that her cancer had spread. Lara tries to find out Dana's condition, but the doctor says she's not family. Lara calls Alice to get in touch with Dana's family. They rush to her bedside and send Lara on her way. Lara stays, and once Alice arrives at the hospital she stands up for Lara.

This shows a very real problem the gay and lesbian community faces today. If one partner gets ill or dies, the other partner has no legal rights whatsoever the way society stands now. This also would affect those families where children are involved, as they are with Bette and Tina. If Tina was to die with no legal documention stating Bette is Angelica's mother, then Bette would have no rights to the baby. As for tonight's episode, Alice calls the girls and they all show up at Dana's bedside. this is the scene that really made me cry.

Another plot of this episode deals with Helena. She has developed feelings for her straight producer, and this is definitely causing problems for her and the other woman. Dylan, the woman, seems to throw caution out the window when she returns to Helena after telling her she is straight. I really like how this story line is developing, and I want to see what happens next.

This series seems to be picking back up to where it was in the past. Tonight's episode was one of the best this series has had in some time. It felt like the old L Word I fell in love with. There are some plot line issues, but all in all I'm enjoying this series more than I was when the season started. I hope it stays that way.