The L Word Gen Q: Episode 8
Happy Shanesgiving!
New year, new episode of Gen Q. This one is called “Quality Family Time“ and terrible things are happening to just about everyone: Misty gets diarrhea from drinking pumpkin spice-flavored coffee, Finley gets a surprise visit from her homophobic mom, Mirabel proposes to Micah, and I can’t even talk about what happens to Carrie. Oh, and Tess is drinking again. Also, it’s Thanksgiving!! It felt strange to watch a Thanksgiving episode in January, but whatever.
This episode begins at the Dana’s coffee bar, where Carrie is visiting Finley at work. Carrie calls out Finley for “sexting“ Sophie, then confesses that she and Misty haven’t slept together yet. Carrie comes out as demisexual, as opposed to someone who wants to have sex with strangers they hate. I jest, but it makes sense that she’d be extra cautious after Tina. She doesn’t want to get hurt again! The bar is low, but Carrie is the character with the most dimension and heart this season and she’s carrying this entire show. Rosie O’Donnell has had a real movie career, and it shows!!! Misty sidles up to the bar (“I saw a leaky handle and I couldn’t resist“), Finley gives her a “special coffee,” and she and Carrie leave to participate in a Turkey Trot.
Finley is overseeing preparations for the Thanksgiving dinner that Dana’s Bar, Grille, and Coffee Shop is hosting. She’s doing a great job and being extremely competent and managerial. She goes into the kitchen (Dana’s has a kitchen now, in addition to the new coffee bar?) and finds Tess instructing a chef to “get the turkey cooking“ whilst the chef is literally mid-baste. We learn that Tess has just returned from Patty’s funeral. The urn containing her mother’s ashes is on the liquor shelf, next to the SKYY vodka. Tess says it’s a good place for her mom. I relate to this because sometimes I drive past the cemetery where my Grandma Flossie is buried and think about leaving a pack of Marlby Reds on her grave, but I don’t because I’m afraid an animal might eat them and die. Anyways, Tess says that she hasn’t been home to see Shane yet which is confusing because last we checked, they were in Vegas together? Maybe Shane came back earlier, but why wouldn’t Tess say that? This show makes me stressed about the tiniest things and I hate it.