This article contains spoilers for The L Word: Generation Q. It is recommended that you watch the show before reading.

Welcome to my weekly review of Season 3 of ‘The L Word: Generation Q’. Each week, I’ll go over the characters’ narrative arcs and pick out sections that suit my agenda. I’m not sorry to say that these will all be thinly veiled pro-communist rants. You can read my thoughts on earlier episodes if you need refreshers.

Image credit: Showtime, 2022

This episode centred around themes of queer chosen family. It actually had some really great moments. But before we get into those…

This episode was set during ‘Thanksgiving’. That can absolutely get fucked. Clearly, someone said, “Hey, it is really problematic to celebrate this day,” so instead of just not celebrating it, they did a throw-away acknowledgement of whose land they were on and that genocide occurred, then tucked into some dead turkey.

This show needs to do so much better, or just literally do anything, around First Nations issues.

Back to the family themes. This episode was probably hard for a lot of viewers, because this time of year can bring up a lot.

So, Finley’s feeling really good about herself. She is killing it at Dana’s and offering support to Tess – even letting Tess know she can chill because Finley is “not political”. (Yikes.)

Then Finley’s mum turns up, and it’s a hard and emotional scene, watching Finley so stressed. Tess gives the most bullshit advice, basically saying Finley should see if she can reconcile with her mum.

We watched Finley struggle to engage with her mother and I was nervous that this episode was going to become about their reconciliation. I wish Finley had just told her mother to leave the moment she arrived because I hate these narratives where you are meant to reconcile with family of origin.

Friends, if you don’t talk to your family of origin, or only rarely do, that is so fine. You are allowed to not talk to them. You are allowed to tell them to leave if they turn up at your work, or cross any boundaries you have.

Thankfully, the episode did not take this route and I let out a sigh of relief. The smallest of victories on this show.

So, Maribel is planning to propose to Micah because she regrets turning him down, except she loses the ring when she hands it to her abuela. This results in some potato humour, which I fully support.

While they are all preparing lunch, Finley calls Sophie all upset and asks her to come over to Dana’s for lunch because her mum is there. Then there’s some nonsensical plotline that has them all end up at Dana’s for lunch.

Dre is at Dani’s preparing to fly back to their family of origin, but then their flight is cancelled. It really is just the norm now for services not to run because like the collapse of capitalism, etc. etc.

Dani opens up to Dre about her dad being incarcerated, and while I am 100% Team Let’s Fucking Close All Prisons, it’s pretty hard to have sympathy for Dani because, you know, she is sitting in that fancy apartment with her money from being a spin doctor for her father’s opioid business.

I wonder if they still have multiple mansions.

Carrie and Misty come to chat with Finley and we learn that Carrie is demisexual and so hasn’t yet had sex with Misty. It’s cool to have some demisexual representation and I was really hoping this episode would explore this more, culminating in them getting hot and heavy.

Instead, it literally devolves into poo humour as Misty runs to find a toilet. Like, mates, Carrie and Misty first met in a toilet and now their burgeoning romance is the butt of poo jokes. Why are they so fucking sexless?

Oh, hang on, I know why: this show is homophobic. There, I said it. We finally see two people who aren’t stick-thin and manicured as hell – people who look butch and dykey as well as being older than most of the cast – but the show chooses to draw on some really homophobic tropes by presenting them as sexless.

Add in the ageism, fatphobia and misogyny, and we have Misty running to drop a shit at Dana’s, with no dignity. (But, also, no shame about having gut issues, I mean that obviously is true queer representation. #QueersWithIBS)

Anyway, they are all at Dana’s for lunch when Finley’s mum goes off. Carrie won’t have a bar of it, though, and jumps in hard to Finley’s defense. These were some awesome queer chosen family moments. If only this was the bulk of this show!

We find out that Finley was kicked out of home at 17 for being queer, which I think maybe we heard about once in an earlier season. I really hope the show explores this harsh reality which so many people in our communities have faced – but, LOL, you know it won’t.

Everyone sits down to eat together after Finley’s mum has stormed out. Micah gets an email about a donor. Carrie asks if the donor was for an organ or baby, which makes us cackle – she is really doing the heavy lifting in this episode.

There are some pointed shots to Tess holding a drink which has alcohol in it. Sigh.

Then, back at home, Maribel proposes to Micah and the acting is cringe.

Once Finley and Carrie get home, they are chatting away and then Rosie falls to the ground. Please, no, we can’t lose Rosie!

That’s about it. Friends. I fear this is my most lackluster review. Each week I send these drafts to my girlfriend and she congratulates me for “polishing a turd”. I am just not sure this turd can be polished, though I am painfully aware that I have now also spiraled into poo humour.

Oh, hang on, there’s also some story with Shane and Angie and the professor. It was cute seeing Shane and Angie’s relationship, I love them together so much, but it was centred around really weird behaviour towards Angie’s ex.

Though, to be fair, he was her professor and did subject us to that spoken word performance, so okay, yeah, maybe smashing his car window was fine.

Read Jess’ recap of the next episode here!

Jess Ison is an aficionado of queer media and loves every bad lesbian film ever made. In her professional life she is a researcher at La Trobe University. She lives with her dog on Wurundjeri land. Find her on Twitter.