The L Word S.5 Ep. 11 - Lunar Cycle

The longest breakup in lesbian film history is finally behind us. Yay! And oy vey, how tedious it was. Twelve stages of push and pull ending in a truly anticlimactic departure of Jodi, leaving Bette with an expensive Tag Heuer watch. I don't get it. There are so many more meaningful gifts to give... especially coming from an artist such as Professor Lerner. A work of your own (expensive) art, maybe? Or was this simply a corporate-imposed brand plug?

But let's rewind and go back to that ill-fated moment when Jodi walked into the Planet in an identical outfit to Bette's. I already remarked on the omni-presence of pink in this season (someone, please tell the stylist already that it's overkill). The scene in Bette's other status symbol, the Lexus, was too much: even the babyseat matched their outfits. And Angelica, in the last scenes was also wearing pink.

I know I should pay more attention to the events at Bette's house, but honestly: if that was me, I would have just pointed at the door. Being kept hostage in your house for half a day by a woman, who then, all of a sudden, starts acting normal and accompanies you to your office and then still refuses to get the message? I sense a bunny in the pot next episode. A core values bunny...

Moving on, Jenny finally met her match: Adele - cool as a cucumber - took over at the helm in an easy putsch. This just as everyone was beginning to realise la Schecter's a creative genius (if the dialogue in the Nina/Bev scene is anything to go by, I declare a bomb at the box office, but who am I, n'est-ce pas?). C'mon, a sex tape, a call to William, and voilà, she's in the director's chair? And do we really believe that she is doing it for Les Girls? All shall be revealed in next week's episode, I suppose. You would think that Jenny would have learnt from the whole Mark episode (a whole season of Mark, remember Mark? Where did samurai boy vanish to?).

Meanwhile Shane and Jenny are left to drown their mutual sorrows with a bong and a lot of alcohol. And where was Mollykins in all this? For a moment there, I almost suspected that the writers were ready for it: friendly sex and a final insight. But no such thing, as the oracle known as Max walked in. And Jenny declared Nikki to be dead to her, thus paving the way for *insert spoiler here*.

I did mention my reserves and worries about Tasha and Alice, and during this episode they were confirmed. Pretty young (soup-chef lookalike) Australian designer hits the Look and home, right into Alice's heart. Meanwhile Tasha and Alice seem to be on different wavelengths.

Kit, pushed into a corner by Denbo and her lovah Cindy, decides it's time to go all Foxy Brown on us. 'She won't budge when she carries a grudge'... Only little Angelica can sway her: first as the ringtone for Bette, and later when playing with Kit's gun. I saw that one coming too, but thankfully the writers that be decided on a positive outcome for that story arc. I will refrain from commenting on the idiocy of throwing the gun WITH YOUR PRINTS in the dumpster.

It was largely an uneventful episode this week after last week's sexanigans. Not a boob in sight. An episode that was written to showcase Marlee Matlin's acting talent and to wrap up some storylines in anticipation of the finale and season 6's eight episodes. But hey, maybe the writer's team's lunar cycles were all up in the air... or maybe there was some rampant PMS raging. I would have never guessed it from all the references to it...

PS - I kept thinking that the Clea character looked familiar, but it just dawned on me. She played the role of Pauline in Heavenly Creatures, that Mario Lanza murder extravaganza!
Fun moment: Kit and Max rolling their eyes at all the PMS-bitchslapping going on around them. Shane actualling reading something (the NYT no less). And on a final note, I'll admit to feeling sorry for Jenny this episode.