The L Word Season 5 Episode 4 - Let's get this party started

If you don't like spoilers, then this is the wrong post for you.

Ironically enough, before I started to write this post, I had to go look up the title of the eppy that I just watched. Then, somewhere deep inside my brain, the cogs and wheels started churning. No, it wasn't Pink that I thought of, although one would have been forgiven for seeing pink, given the interior of the new She-Bar...

No, no, I was reminded of the following:


Yup, it's Dame Shirley Bassey singing thàt song. After this little camp interlude, on to more things pink: what's up with Bette and the fuchsia this episode? The eyeshadow, the tops, the mini-purse? First we have the Charlie's Angel pink lipstick last episode, now this. Is this a harbinger of things to come?

Some random thoughts and questions about this episode.

- the self-defence class: I'll take this as a subtle hint that we should all go take one. Here's a little tip though: I usually just take my safety key and insert it in between my index and middle finger on the way home, figuring that nobody is interested in the equivalent of an ice pick anywhere near their eyes or nether regions.
But such undercurrents everywhere. Bette's discomfort upon finding out about Miss Augmented Boobs, Shane resenting the pro's abs, Jenny's infantile lashing out, Jodie's visible discontent at Bette's arms wrapped around Tina, etc. I'm surprised they all made it out unscathed. By the way, did you notice Jenny chewing the cud the Nicorette?

- And while I'm on the subject - please explain the Shenny love to me? Shane caressing Jenny's hair in the gym, the comment about the see-through dress in her bedroom... When did Jenny promote to BFF? Does Shane know something about Jenny that we are yet to discover? Or worse, are they setting up a Shenny cathartic hook up by the end of this season?

- This episode signified the much heralded arrival of the tanorexics from South Beach and their trendy, lounge-like venue appropriately named She-Bar. I thought it said Sheba at first, which is the brand name of cat food over here. The interior of the bar looks my ex's living room, but then she's into interior decoration and champagne. Maybe I should suggest that she hire some go-go dancers... nah, scratch that.

- It took them five seasons to show us a threesome (if you don't count Shane sleeping with twins in the previous series and Mark videoing them).

-Cue to Alice and Tasha. I was informed by my SO, who is very knowledgeable about these matters, that those military guys were out of line. Apparently, you are not obliged to let them in (Alice's first error), and secondly, they are not allowed to touch anything in your place. Civilian/military, get it? Anyway, I'm liking this storyline a lot. Rose Rollins, of course, has a serious eye candy factor going on but she also delivers her lines very sincerely, which only serves to endear the character to me even more. Tasha's apology at Beech's house was so heart-rendering. Well-written, I thought. I'm interested to see how they'll wrap this one up, given that the army of course hasn't changed its position on gay people that much.

- Podcast/vlog. What's in a word, eh? And now that there's an online chart, the original chart on the white board met with its demise.

- To me, Max and Kit continue to drift on the sea that is the L-Word (maybe they got stuck in the dinghy instead of Jenny?). I'm not sure that the writers know what to do with them at this point. Kit continues to be a shallow reflection of her Foxy Brown self ('What if this MF has a gun?'), while Max has been obviously created to drive home some point (Ilene Chaiken is in fact a woman, who wants to be a man, who wants to be a woman? No, wait, that's Victor Victoria!). Max at She-bar: come to think of it, how did Max make it past the lady with the list, while Kit & Co didn't?

- Bette and Jodie: wow, how hot is Dean Porter? Were you just as irritated as I was though, when Jodie was chomping away on Bette's grapes without asking? My hand was just itching to slap hers. I am somewhat of a control freak, I'll admit to that. And why is it that when these two kiss I want to run out of the room and into the street screaming like a banshee? They remind me of two ships in the mist.

- And finally: yes, Bette and Tina did kiss. What a homecoming. How sad that Bette cried.

- For me this episode was all about standards. Setting them, sticking to them, letting them slip. Let me clarify. Shane getting it on with the two nightclub owners. Bette refusing to wear the little pink VIP bracelet in She-Bar, slipping it over her glass instead (she refuses to be meat-tagged?). Bette berating Jodie over the incident in class, with the student and the fake gun (be sensitive to other people's feelings). Alice signing a non-disclosure agreement and then filming people at the party with her iphoneclamshell (I officially envy her now for her gadgetry and thanks Luscious, I stand corrected). Tasha's behaviour (now there's a standard to adhere to). And I gather that some people are quite uncomfortable about what is perceived as another act of infidelity on Bette's behalf.

So on the whole another interesting episode. I'm already looking forward to what episode 5 will bring.