Mellissa Villafranco guests to talk homonormative tropes, toxic monogamy, and thirst for Gigi in Season 2, Episode 1 of the L Word: Generation Q. Full transcript available here.
Mellissa Villafranco guests to talk homonormative tropes, toxic monogamy, and thirst for Gigi in Season 2, Episode 1 of the L Word: Generation Q. Full transcript available here.
[soft lo-fi hip hop plays]
Alexia: Thank you for listening to Whatever, I'll Watch It, a podcast bringing queer of color critique to your favorite movies and TV. Each episode me and a guest will pick a film or television series we love or love to hate, and we'll talk gender, race, sexuality and all things representation. Because TV podcasts are way too fucking white. I'm your host, Alexia and this week we are joined by Mellissa Villafranco to discuss Season 2, Episode 1 of the L Word: Generation Q.
[soft lo-fi hip hop fades out]
Alexia: Melli! She's back!
Melli: [makes horn noises] I made my reappearance, bitch! I'm so happy to be here to discuss the episode, "Late to the Party."
Alexia: If anyone missed it, Melli was the guest on the first ever episode of Whatever, I'll Watch It!
Melli: Let them know, honey.
Alexia: So we actually already roasted the L Word Generation Q, so if you missed that go check out the pilot.
Melli: Absolutely. And it just got significantly worse since then, to be honest [laughs].
Alexia: I relistened to our episode recently and I feel like all of the shit that we talked and predicted came true and then the little bit of hope that I gave to some of the characters just withered away as the season went on.
Melli: Yeah. Perhaps we needed to trudge through Season 1 to undersatnd hwere the fuck eeveryone is, and now season 2 we're going to get some actual complex, nitty gritty storylines and not these like, hetero-rom-coms plotlines that are motivating everything.
Alexia: Dude you know that's not what's going to happen.
Melli: Let me be hopeful. Come on Ilene!
Alexia: Well, Melli, in case people have forgotten, do you want to remind our listeners who you are and what you're about?
Melli: Hello everyone my name is Melli. I use she/her pronouns. I'm broadcasting to you live, well recorded, from San Diego. I'm a professor at Arizona State University and I need to move to Phoenix in January. So hit me up if you know QTPoC community in Phoenix and can connect me. I absolutely adore Alexia and I love roasting queer television shows. So I'm here for it, I'm really excited to be back on board.
Alexia: Yay, me too. So we're going to do things a little different this time and try to move somewhat chronologically through the episode. We'll see how that goes.
Melli: Oh we got notes. We got chronological notes.
Alexia: Notes on notes on notes. So let's start where the episode starts, which basically we find out that Sophie chose Dani and we get a little glimpse of their rehearsal dinner.
Melli: Why did we leave with the cliffhanger of Sophie in the airport, and you made me go through all those emotions, and the opening scene is Dani's dad welcoming everyone to their rehearsal dinner. I was also confused like, did I miss something? Did they get married? But no, this is just the rehearsal dinner, I think... unless there's some other ritual I don't know about.
Alexia: In case anyone blocked it out the way I did, the way season 1 ended it was like literally five minute sof here's a shot of Sophie walking, here's Finely at the airport, here's Dani at the airport, here's Sophie, it went on for so ridiculously long. I was screaming at my TV, like are they really going to keep doing this for the three minutes that are left in the episode?
Melli: There's a lot of scenes that feel too extended. One that I had written down that was awkward, to jump around a little, was when Angie wanted to know about her donor and they're having that really awkward conversation in the kitchen. There's just some scenes that I think could have used some more editing and I caught the sleepless in Seattle reference with running in the airport, who is she going to choose, and then we don't even get fed the morsels we were promised with the opening.
Alexia: And we know they have a budget, like y'all can pay an editor.
Melli: RIght? And also the rehearsal dinner, I was like, I know Dani's dad is rich but god damn. Talk about opulence.
Alexia: Yeah so when we were watching that scene I turned to Tiana and I was like, he's literally a conquistador. That is this family's vibe. For now on Dani is just la conquistadora, that is her name.
Melli: [laughs] She.. I can't stand Dani's character. I don't like looking at her face, I'm sorry, I gotta say it. It's the... [sighs]... they're really hitting us over the head, constnatly, with her being the latina with the homophobic dad and I also feel like it's more evident that her character is supposed to be hte masc, works outside the home, doesn't have time for thier wifey. Dani overall is kind of a shitty character.
Alexia: I feel like she's a mini Bette but without any of her charisma.
Melli: Yeah, and at least Bette is opening herself up tot he prospect of having Gigi, another power lesbian, who is super afirme and involved in her work but taht' snot what Dani wants. I think one of her friends is even like, you want someone who's going to stay at home and do all the feminized reproductive labor in your house so you can go and be the breadwinner.
Alexia: But Melli if you want the previews, fucking Gigi and Dani are about to start dating.
Melli: I did not watch the previews.
Alexia: I'm so upset about it. If you wait until the credits end...
Melli: No! I was told Bette and Gigi are supposed to start.
Alexia: Well, they are, and Bette is going to find out that Gigi is also dating Dani.
Melli: I mean they can all date one another but I mean...
Alexia: New triad!
Melli: Let's hope it's less bizarre than the last one was. I actually was kind of rooting for all three of them, Nat and Alice and Gigi.
Alexia: Yeah, of course! It's like finally we're getting kind of, some polyamory on this show. Which we had talked about in our pilot episode, so we did get our wish even though it didn't turn out the way I would have liked.
Melli: Yeah, Roxane Gay in last, Season 1, Episode 8, she even used the word polyamory on Alice's talk show, which I really liked. I think introducing ethical non-monogamy on the show is long overdue, as we talked about with Shae's proclivity for being somewhat promiscuous, but they could do it in a much better way. That clearly gets them in trouble in this episode with fucking Lena, who plays Eddie. Shaved head Lena, talk to me about it. I'm here for it.
Alexia: So you mentioned the hompohobic dad but he says some nice things at the rehersal dinner, which is just like, of course her bitch ass dad is about to like Sophie now that she's about to fuck it up. That's the only reason he said those nice things because we're like, this isn't going to last.
Melli: Yeah he also strikes me as someone who would put on a nice face. He strikes me as a narcissist, like he would do that to make everyone pleased and have a lovely evening even though he might not feel that way internally.
Alexia: Well yeah, and a rehearsal dinner isn't a roast. It's the place you're going to pretend to like the people involved.
Melli: Everything is great! Love wins!
Alexia: Okay so that was a short scene, also we don't care, right?
Melli: Yeah we don't care.
Alexia: I know you had some thoughts on Shane walking her dog. THat's the next scene that we see.
Melli: Oh is that the next scene? All I wrote was Tess! I miss Sense 8 because Jamie Clayton plays Nomi in Sense 8 and plays Tess in the show. Yeah, I didn't note it as remarkable but a connection I made was, we ended Season 1 Episode 8 with Shane picking up a dog after their partner unfortunately has a miscarraige and they're like, somewhat relieved about it so the dog becomes a surrogate, a metaphor for Shane and their need to care, their desire or want to actually be tender and loving. I said Shane, you picked up your dog, what a lez power move, just like you picked up your younger brother lmao. LIke you have some interesting ways of coping with loss by picking up little creatures.
Alexia: Shane is all of us in quarantine.
Melli: [laughs] Yeah, yeah. I really want ad og in my life so I'm excited there's a dog cameo, please. We need representation beyond the cats and the queers, let's show the dogs and their queer mamas, thank you.
Alexia: Thank you that was something majorly missing from the rest of the series.
Melli: Wait, didn't Jenny have a dog? No, she killed the dog for the vet? [laughs] She didn't kill the dog, the dog died of old age but...
Alexia: As far as I'm concerned, seasons 4-5 Jenny doesn't count. LIke I just pretend that, you know... that's not my girl.
Melli: I follow her on instagram.. Jennifer, is that her name IRL?
ALexia: I`m so sorry Jenny, I don't know.
Melli: I follow her on instagram and she's very artistic and loves animals. I wish she would have come back instead of Tina and Rosie O'Donnell.
Alexia: Yeah. So I think it's funny you didn't even write anything down about Shane in your notes because I think all I had originally before I rewatched and was like okay, I'm actually podcasting, was: Lena Waithe, and then Tess looks fine as hell dealing those cards.
Melli: Yes. Literally.. that is my chronology of notes. Its says Eddie, Lean Waithe, yesss, love your shaved head, Tess, I miss Sense 8, I absolutely love JHamie Clayton as an actress and I'm excited to see what happens between her and Shane because I think there could be the propensity for healthy ENM, ethical non-monogamy, and I'm here for it.
Alexia: I hope so! The other thing that struck me in this scene when they first introduced Lena I was just like, are they really about to make her the new Papi? She immediately is like, you're the white one everybody likes, I'm the Black one. I'm just like, they're really doing this again.
Melli: "I'm the Black version of you." Though it's not until later in the episode that we really hear about why Eddie created the space, wanting to have a space where Black folk can play poker and have these incredibly high buy-ins. But I do like the idea, imagining and thinking about these poker dens with a bunch of hot studs and bois and butches that are operating in Los Angeles, that's a great thought.
Alexia: Except there was no one in there except for them.
Melli: [laughs] It's like VIP club vibes.
Alexia: Maybe.. we can talk more about this.. I'll wait, I have thoughts. So the next thing is Nat wants to fuck around a bunch of kids? I was like, that's a literal sex offense.
Melli: With her in the car? [laughs] And then GIgi is like, is she trying to get you to have public sex again, or something like that. And Alice is like, are you into that?
Alexia: Dude, Gigi's entrance was epic. She's iconic.
Melli: She comes in under the promise of delivering cookies or something, I believe.
Alexia: And then they ask what do you want and she says, to get back together. And she can't even get it out of her mouth before she dies lying.
Melli: Yeah! My actual reaction while that was happening I was like naaaa--about to be like, you better not! And then I held my breath. Gigi knew she was playing.
Alexia: I love her so much.
Melli: Me too. I texted you, she's smoldering fucking hot.
ALexia: Shes hot as fuck, and also, I assume everyone on this show is coded lesbian unless we get told otherwise but she has this real chaotic queer femme bisexual energy that I just need in my life.
Melli: Yeah, I really enjoy her and what she brings to the show. I think in terms of acting chops, some of the older folks on the cast for whatever reason are just carrying the show. Gigi especially, I find all of her acting to be, not believable, but engaging. She pulls me in as a character. I also sit up in my seat whenever Gigi gets on screen.
Alexia: I totally agree. I think maybe the only other of the newer cast who I think is a really good actress as much as I hate to say it is the girl who plays Finley. As much as I hate her character she makes that little annoying shit so believable. I really buy it.
Melli: I buy her too. I like that Gigi says to Nat or to Alice that she needs a project or something to focus on. I had written that down.
Alexia: I think my favorite line from Alice she goes, she's a real menace! Which is what I'm saying, chaotic bisexual energy. I'm head canoning that she's bi, I don't care if I don't get to see that in the script.
Melli: It's her destiny.
Alexia: I know this is one of those things where people might be like, Alexia that's a harmful stereotpye and I'm like okay, yes, but also as a chaotic bi femme I'm allowed to relcaim that stereotype and want to see myself represented by hot ass lesbos on TV.
Melli: All of her suits. I know you hated the movie but it reminds me of Aubrey Plaza's characters' aesthetic in the holiday movie with K Stew, my exception white girl crush that I'll let myself have.
ALexia: Yeah that was the only aspect of the movie that was worth watching.
Melli: [laughs] Right? Where do I get all of these suits?
Alexia: Speaking of iconic clothing, next we see BEtte wearing all beige loungewear.
Melli: Oh! Such a look. Athleisure. Muted tones, athleisure.
Alexia: HOw does she make it look so good? I think my faovrite side of Bette in this episode is her being so fucking annoyed at Carrie, played by Rosie O'Donnell.
Melli: Rightfully so. Carrie.. I have.. I don't have positive reviews for Carrie.
Alexia: [gasps dramatically] Oh my gosh, wow!
Meli: I like seeing Rosie on screen. I like paying homage and having respect for older queers, particularly in Hollywood, I guess. Although that respect doesn't.. it's not like I'm fangirling but I respect the hustle and I respect what ROsie O'Donnell has represented for queer people on television. All that to say, Carrie's character struck me as kind of oaf-y like she's the payasa, the shitty clown that has one-liners and she and Tina don't have much chemistry at all. I had higher expectations for Rosie O'Donnell's presence on the screen and it just felt like comedic one-liners that are just kind of awkward and fall a bit flat.
Alexia: To be fair, who would Tina have chemistry with?
Melli: Yeah, TIna.. it just seems so obvious that Tina, the actress was like, I don't want to fucking be here but they paid me a lot to be here so Rosie, we're getting married.
Alexia: Tina's a wet fish so I'm not going to blame Rosie O'Donnell for that, but, I agree.. well actually I don't agree, but I'm with you that her performance is kind of dull and it was interesting becuase Tiana nad I are watching Queer as Folk and we just finished an episode where she guest stars and it was very much teh same, she was this very awkward character, very kind of dull and monotone. But I didn't.. .I actually read her performance, I don't know if it's Rosie or if it's the character that's written, but I actually read her as being really neurodivergent, like that's what I got from her character. And I do agree with you in that sense that it's not great that she seems to be there just for comedic value where the joke is kind of on her that she can't read social cues.
Melli: Yeah like she's a punchline, that's how it feels.
Alexia: But that being said, I just love watching her annoy the shit out of Bette. I actually loved that scene, I was eating up every second of it. I was like yes, please keep pissing off Bette Porter because it's hilarious watching her to try to keep it together and absolutely struggling.
Melli: Her jealousy is very seeting, when she's like making out with Gigi and half staring at them the entire time [laughs]. She's very intense when Bette is jealous.
Alexia: Yeah, I think in that scene though it's like jealousy but also, I think part of why they wrote Carrie the way they did is because she's meant to be the exact opposite of Bette. One thing though that I will critique Carrie's character on even though I love her, she came on, I stan her, I thought she was hilarious, I loved watching Bette get upset, I thought she was really cute and sweet, but then I felt like it was one of those things where she just kept saying stuff that was like, not racist but racially weird and it kept happening... Did you notice that?
Melli: Yeah. Absolutely.
Alexia: She like, references them as the three amigos, she's inviting Angie to check out their chicken and waffle truck, she's talking about how she could be related to Obama and telling her to get an ancestry test...
Melli: The Vietnamese pastry rolls, but they're like filled with meat. So I was like, you brought savory pastries, why are you pretending it's dessert? I'm not quite sure, maybe it's like trying to make fun of older queers in LA who are interacting with the multiculturalism in this really implicitly racist way. But yeah it made her character a bit more unlikable. Some of her comedy reminded me of like, being non-PC or these one-liners, the clown in the room, it reminded me of Mellissa McCarthy a little bit, who plays Sookie in Gilmore Girls.
Alexia: Mmm. Which of course, is the classic sort of comedy we are going to give to any woman actress who doesn't look like Bette and Shane.
Melli: Right. Absolutely.
Alexia: Something too about her charceter, I was thinking, finally a butch. Lena and Rosie are probably the first two butches we've gotten in all of the L-Word and at least for Carrie's character, we never get to see anyone who's not thin on the show.
Melli: Tasha also! But that's the old L Word.
ALexia: Yes that's true.
Melli: I see what you're saying. I guess if we're going bny representation points, fuck yeah Carrie. I think I need to see more to actually be emotionally connected to the character. But she's there to be the foil to what Bette is not.
Alexia: Try rewatching her as a neurodivergent character and see how that might change things for you.
Melli: Yeah I appreciate that perspective a lot.
Alexia: So we get then into the completely awkward wedding announcement.
Melli: Oh gosh, that whole scene is so cringe.
Alexia: I feel really upset with Bette and Tina, how they're like, they have these completely arbitrary age restrictions on their daughter in order for her to find out about herself and then they keep changing the story. So.. I don't blame Angie for wanting to go behind their backs.
Melli: Yeah me neither. EIghteen.. like I've always gone off the principle that if a youth is asking about something then they are ready to hear the answer. If they have the curiosity that's coming from within themselves, if Angie wants to know about her sperm donor I think it's rightful. I was confused about, do I need to rewatch or figure out what their original deal was with the baby daddy and if he was supposed to remain anonymous because you're right, the story does change.
ALexia: I hate too when parents do this thing where they're like, when you're 18, but it's just randomly.. I guess it reminds me of how the state does things where it's like once you're 18 you can get cigarettes once you're 21 you can drink alcohol, like okay but why? It's not like maturity gets mapped onto numbers like that, so I just find it annoying.
Melli: Normative markers of time that are supposed to signify maturity or bieng an adult but again, if she's asking, she deserves to know and has the mental faculties to actually understand. We need better examples of having complicated conversations with youth instead of just being like, nope not until you're eighteen and an adult and I don't have to deal with it with you.
Alexia: Mhm. And then Dani's trying to figure out seating arrangements.
Melli: Ugh, Dani. Whatever.
Alexia: [laughs] I know. Let's keep moving. We see that Micah is still fucking around with the neighbor.
Melli: With José! With José! Yeah I thought... Micah mentions the wedding and then José, one of them alludes to they can't let people know. I'm not sure why it's secretive. It seems like the husband had some inkling that José is dating from the last season and he's at the art show and goes to the opening of Jose's art work that he debuted so..
Alexia: But he doesn't know that Micah was there as his lover.
Melli: Mmm. I see. But I thought it was implied because he's literally his muse. He did like a serena painting of Micah.
Alexia: That is so true. It's good you went back and rewatched it because I have blocked out season one.
Melli: [laughs] Okay. Yeah, I just think Micah, everyone involved, deserves better than that. You can be open about this, there can be compromise, it doesn't need to be secretive.
ALexia: I'm really upset about that.. I think Micah is the only.. there are mulitple trans actors on this show but I think Micah is the only trans character played by a trans actor and I just feel really upset to see him being a sidepiece to some cis gay dude. I just feel like it's not fair. I feel like his character was completely under-utilized in season one as well as Maribel, who is played by Jillian Mercado. I actually had to look up Sophie's sister's name because I didn't even know the name of her character because they just don't utilize her at all.
Melli: Yeah she's utilized as a prop almost.
Alexia: Right! So I want to see a lot more for both of their characters because it really feels tokenizing like they were just checking a box like okay we have a disabled actress, alright we have an Asian American actor and a trans guy, let's make sure we throw them a line every few episodes.
Melli: Right. I hope that Micah leaves the situation entirely or that there's some type of open reckoning with their relationship. But I could have sworn that Tess was also out as a trans woman but I could be mistaken.
Alexia: No actually, Tess is cis. She's a trans actress playing a cis character.
Melli: I see. Okay, yeah. Micah seems like a subplot.
ALexia: And then as far as I konw, Jordi, Angie's girlfriend, also a trans actress but I don't think that she's been named as trans at all on teh show so I think that they may be casting most of their trans actros to play cis characters. So that just to me, makes it extra fucked up that they treat Micah the way that they do.
Melli; Right, yeah, it does feel really tokenizing. Micah you deserve better bb.
Alexia: I know. SO then we get to that scene at Alice's office where Sophie makes a terrible decision by basically telling Alice I want to have a baby therefore I don't want more money and I don't want your promotion. I was just like, do you have any idea how long it takes to get pregnant much less deliver the damn thing once you are pregnant? Why would you turn down his job offer?
Melli: Oh this is when Finely is also mentioned, right? Whenever Alice is getting coffee and is like, I miss that, she made my coffee right.
Alexia: Literally she's like I have to hire her back because she makes good coffee and shoots finger guns at me.
Mellli: Alice is so... she's so successful that she gets to be douchey [laughs] but her show was in jeopardy but now she's like wildly successful and has all this liberty over her show. Alright Alice, go off.
Alexia: She's always been a little douchey.
Melli: Yeah she's pretty douchey.
Alexia: Yeah so basically that office scene happens, after that, a quick scene we see Angie and her girlfriend Jordi walking, I think they're eating ice cream and we basically find out that Angie likes Carrie and she's going to do the ancestry test. And then we go back to Dana's where Bette is talking shit about Carrie.
Melli: Dana's! Such a cute homage.I love that Shane decided to name the place Dana's.
Alexia: Yeah, I just.. I feel like the friendship scenes are what used to work the best for me in the old run of the L-Word but this just felt boring. The scene felt boring to me.
Melil: I agree, it was unremarkable.
Alexia: The one thing that is remarakble is that Bette is saying basically that she's like femme top for femme top and everyone at the table is like girl, you need a bottom ass bitch, stop playing. We all know you want a wifey wife.
Melli: THat's why you wanted Tina and why Tina left your ass because you weren't giving her the opportunity to be an autonomous individual. Don't play Bette. In that way that's how I see her and Dani's character very much alike.
Alexia: Yeah so then we see some bigshot gallery guy talking to Bette about how she used to be such a curator-activist. I'm just like, were we watching the same show?
Melli: Right? [laughs] You mean she was just like, queer and of color, and in space.
Alexia: Yeah which is basically how this guy sees her, right? What does she say, she says something like, in your myopic vision I'm only associated with BIPOC artists but I happen to have worked with every major artist.
Melli: Yes, she's like don't put me in a little box about only dealing with BIPOC artists. He apparently is recruiting her because marginalized artists are the hottest commodity in the art world, didn't you know? The negotiation scene was pretty badass, I have to admit. Even though he knew she was going to take the job and literally had that shit laminated on the door, I liked seeing Bette negotiate and be a boss about that. She's like, I want a signing bonus, I want 10% sales, like okay!
Alexia: I feel like Bette's thing though is like, she's literally the diversity hire and the very first thing she does is strike down affirmative action. She's like, you shouldn't give BIPOC more! I want everyone to get 10%. I was just like wow, classic. That's what happens when you hire Bette Porter to be your diversity officer. Which rings true. She would be the person to sit on a diversity board of some major art gallery and her first thing would be to ask for equality not equity.
Melli: Exactly.
Alexia: So it checks out. It's just funny because she's offended by their racial inclusion efforts, which she should be, but I feel like it's for all the wrong reasons.
Melli: Why is that?
Alexia: Her reason is just like, why are you associating me with this? Not because it's performative.
Melli: Yeah that makes sense.
Alexia: Also my skin crawls every time I hear that guy I say BIPOC. I don't know why, it's just like.. it's too much.
Melli: His character is an interesting nod to who owns the capital politics of art galleries. I think he's cast as an Armenian art dealer. With all of the tropey plot lines, I still love the backdrop of LA and how that informs the casting and little dynamics I at least pick up on when watching.
Alexia: Yeah. I also do think this scene feels really topical, especially right now. We are both in academia and we can see there's not a lot of jobs being offered right now but everyone is like oh fuck I guess we need to hire a person of color now so, it does feel very topical.
Melli: It's hot!
Alexia: It's a hot commodity.
Melli: A segue.. Alice is going over her book proposal in the next scene and I'm like, I can't even get a book proposal out there but Alice has a book proposal [laughs]. I love how she's just like, fearless. She's trying to be the Ellen Degeners of the Real Word Generation Q. I mean the L word [laughs]
Alexia: Oh my god. [sighs] I feel like I just need a moment of silence for that thought [laughs]. Her memoir just feels too real. Like yeah I know that white lesbian and that story is probably out there. Um, it's wildly inappropriate the way that Sophie just spilled everything to Alice at the workplace. I'm just like, do you know the power dynamics here, girl?
Melli: Yeah, we needed more finesse. That was a conversation, I can't discuss it right now but perhaps after work we can have a plactica. She at first was having this visceral reaction in front of everyone at the office.
Alexia: Dude if Sophie said that Alice would go [mockingly, in bad Spanish] plactica?!
Melli: [in bad Spanish] Papi! Papi!
Alexia: [laughs] Ugh. And of course Alice is the most notorious big mouth in all of the L Word. If you have a secret she is not who you tell.
Melli: And I like how her advice is basically like don't say anything. It happened, don't say shit about it, move on.
Alexia: You know what, I'm kind of with Alice on this one.
Melli: I am too!
Alexia: Not that if you cheat on your partner you shouldn't ever tell them but everybody seems to forget that you can get divorced. And also if we're at the point where it's like the night of their rehearsal dinner, number one they might have already signed their marriage certificates or number two they haven't done it yet so just get through the ritual performance with your large audience of people there to see you and then deal with it afterwards.
Melli: And yeah it's, the whole wedding rehearsal now is tainted because we're wondering if Sophie is going to spill the beans. It ends up coming out in such an odd way, they're like in WeHo, but that's a little ahead.
Alexia: And then at the rehearsal dinner Micah and Maribel are there like pouncing on her while she's having a panic attack which we know because there's heavy breathing for like three minutes. It's too much. We get it.
Melli: And the heart is beating. I was like shit I need to pop some buspirone right now this is tripping me out. I did write, cheesy, 27 minutes, rehearsal dinner, running up the stairs, lol. Also why are her friends being so metiche and trying to intervene and get involved in her business? One of them literally says I will tell her if you don't tell her. Bitch, what? Stay out of my interpersonal relationships, please.
Alexia: And also at the rehearsal dinner. I'm like y'all have really bad judgement.
Melli: And bad timing. Do you really care about Sophie if this is the moment that you choose to pressure her into telling Dani about something that she's clearly very distraught over? It's like you're just here for the chisme. No. You need to let people deal with conflict in their own way and not provide your opinion unless it's like, directly affecting you in some way and your ability to be.
Alexia: Mhm. And then Dani is equally annoying. She runs over, she sees that she's upset, and she doesn't let her get a fucking word in. She just completely bulldozes her.
Melli: Very Bette. She's like, tell me what? Of course she shows up right when they're whispering, she's like, what do you want to tell me? Of course that shit happens.
Alexia: I know. And then she wants to get shit faced before her wedding. I'm just like, how old are they?
Melli: I know that scene really irritated me. I'm like really? Dani's like let's go and get really shit faced and drunk and make out on the dance floor and we're not going to be single anymore. It feels very, I'm 21 and I'm at the truck stop in West Hollywood.
Alexia: I'm just like, how old are you? I'm 30, I imagine they are close in age to me, and I had one hard booch last night and it's 7:50pm the next day and I still feel crappy. So... I just don't understand the logic. So Angie who is at least, I don't know, 10, 15, 17 years younger than these girls has way more sense. The next scene we see her deciding she wants to do the ancestry test and hse's so empathic and sweet with Bette when she's trying to explain why it's important to her, and then that's when Bette just shoots her down.
Melli: We told your sperm donor that he was to remain anonymous in a time when it was very dificult forlesbains to have babies! We have to respect his decision.
ALexia: Which is not what she said the first time.
Melli: Right, she changed her story. I'm also having flashbacks of Bette and Tina being visited by the social worker whenever Angie was a little baby, l-o-l.
Alexia: Oh my god. Also so ableist. But Bette is right in this scene that te rpgiacy of those acnestry tests is sketch as fuck. Please do not pay someone to take your DNA. And also, I feel like I always have to get on a soap box and be like, those tests are not reliable! The science is not rigorous! Please do not take that test and start running around saying you are Indigenous because that is not how it works.
Melli: It's very dystopic. People just want to have a sense of belonging and where tehy're coming from, which I don't know how much that really matters to me anymore but that's becuase I'm fucking over identity politics.
Alexia: It's also just very... It's very biologically essentialist to act like our sense of belonging comes from our genetics. It should not and it doesn't. That's just, no. That's not how identity works, that's not how group belonging works. Anyways, I'm like, I have a lecture on this in one of my classes on the social construction of race and I will not make y'all listen to it now but I can't ever hear someone talking about an ancestry test without going, well actually!
Melli: That's bonus content. Subscribe for more.
Alexia: Exactly.
Melli: [laughs] And then I like how Angie's girlfriend is like we can go to Target and get one! I was like, Target sells these tests now, what the fuck? [laughs]
Alexia: I missed that but I'm not surprised, Target has everything. So all of Shane's scenes, it's just like.. Shane walks a dog. Shane gets takeout. But I guess the important thing in the next scene is just that Chloe, who is the woman from the club, is hitting her up. I don't know if you noticed the ridiculous way they texted each other but she's like "will u be there 2nite?"
Melli: It's 2007, didn't you know?
Alexia: That takes longer to text that way.
Melli: They're trying to be like over the top, this is a text message! She sends a cute smiley though. Let's see Shane walk into this old pattern that we know so well, trying to holler at somebody else's girl. Okay.
Alexia: I know, I know. So we find out Bette is on a date with Gigi and then they snatch away that scene from us just as we get excited to [mocking voice] Alice and Nat, womp womp.
Melli: [laughs] I don't know if I can say this, but I don't think I could ever fall asleep with someone who is giving me head. But maybe if I have children, or multiple fur babies, perhaps? But how?
Alexia: I have done it but I was very drunk [laughs].
Melli: Okay so sober Alexia...
Alexia: Probably going to edit that out [laughs]
Melli: Sober Alexia, could you fall asleep... have you been at a point in your life when you were so exhausted that you'd fall asleep when someone was giving you head?
Alexia: More often than not, my eternal problem in life is being tired and horny.
Melli: Yeah [laughs].
Alexia: That is my main issue is being like, oh this sounds nice but I'm tired so, guess I'll just think about it...
Melli: Interesting. I experience you way more as a top. But I see, it's nice to indulge in being somewhat of a lazy receiver sometimes.
Alexia: Oh I'm top all the way, what I'm just saying is that like, I wouldn't fall asleep during sex, usually what happens is I'm too tired to even begin. I'm just like, I'd rather go to sleep. I'm tired, I want to go to sleep. I'm all for some day time sex. That is pretty much the only way for me. I like to be in bed by 11. That is not the time to be starting things up.
Melli: Before 8pm, please. In between my feeding hours, thank you.
Alexia: Yes exactly.
Melli: I really resonate with Alice's libido. I'm thinking of like, Alice back in the day, vamp queen, she's always been for me, the Samantha, you know how I feel about Sex and the City. She's also the person who's usually introducing kink and she has a really voracious sexual appetite you could say. It was cute to see Alice initiate with Nat and I think it's pointing to their domesticity and how comfortable they are with each other, this idea that like the romance is waning and their energy is waning. But okay, yeah. I just hope I'm never at a point where I fall asleep while I'm getting head [laughs] Nat is like oh no, sorry baby, I was just resting my lids, my eyelids are heavy!
Alexia: I also hope you're never at the point where you're just like, binging seven hours of SVU on the couch.
Melli: Yeah, like SVU? There is so much better shit out there.
Alexia: Yeah but it makes sense that is what Nat would be watching. Like 100% authenticity, checks out. So then we go back to Bette and Gigi.
MellI: Bette being judgy as fuck on her date!
Alexia: She is... I will never forgive her. I will never forgive her for the way she treats her.
Melli: So judgy. Yeah.
Alexia: Bette was just like, oh I want this hard working top, and then the hottest hard working top shows up and we're like see Bette, we all told you. She's everything you said you wanted and you just don't know what you want.
Melli: I feel like you can see Bette being calculative and trying to belittle Gigi somehow, even just with little glances and being aloof and disinterested and hse only gets interested when Carrie and Tina show up and Gigi like, shows off her comedic chops and makes Bette laugh with that shitty comment about the scallops.
Alexia: [sighs] I love Gigi and she lost ten million points for me with that one.
Melli: It was mean.
Alexia: It was mean, It was rude, and especially if we are going to read Carrie as a neurodivergent character who is expressing having some sensory issues, to then equate her to being a child, because of that, is really ableist and fucked up. I was just like, Gigi you know better than that.
Melli: Yeah you know I'm reading Carrie's character very differently now because her rationale is that it's a texture thing regarding the scallops. I actually had to rewind that scene, I was like eating ice cream or something. I rewound it because I thought Bette said the comment, not Gigi. When I realized it was Gigi I was like oh girl, that's bitchy. Are you just doing this.. Bette gave that quick this is my ex, so are you just doing this to be flirty? It seemed out of character for her to say something like that.
Alexia: Absolutely. She was doing it to get Bette's support and it worked 100% because the first time we see Bette smile and look interested is when Gigi says that. So I'm just like, I think I wrote in my notes, and then Bette gets turned on because she's a monster.
Melli: Yeah Bette gets turned on by like, belittling and humiliation but not in a consensual kink way. Okay. So you belittling this Carrie person is what brought you two closer together. Alright..save them for the grown-ups, Gigi said. Ouch.
Alexia: And then Tina and Carrie are so sweet together in that scene afterwards.
Melli: They were, that was really sweet. The candlelight, the romance, that was sweet. It's a really sweet scene. I saw a blip of chemistry between the two of them, they hold hands and we understand why Tina has chosen Carrie.
Alexia: Absolutely. Yeah. So then we get back to Gigi and Bette and Gigi.. ugh! Ugh! She fucking looks at Bette and she goes, "Come here." And Bette is shocked. She is shook. She has literally never in her life been bossed around like that before.
Melli: She's like, you're naughty.
Alexia: She says, [in a sultry voice] you're very naughty. Oh my god!
Melli: Those one-liners, just a close-up of just her lips. That's the Bette I know.
Alexia: That's the Bette that.. ugh, she can get it.
Melli: Bette, in the OG days, she had some of hte hottest sex scenes. Along with Helena. Helena Peabody, come back!
Alexia: Absolutely. You know what though, I am ready to watch Bette bottom. I am ready for her to get fucked by Gigi, I want Gigi to top her. It's time.
Melli: [laughs] Fuck yeah! Let's see. Let's see how this relationship progresses.
ALexia: Okay my next note is Shane, poker, who cares. And then Lena with exclamation points.
Melli: I put, Lena, exclamation, reparations, LOL. [laughs]
Alexia: So break it down for me, what do you think about this scene?
Melli: It's very kind of patriarchal in the sense that Eddie, played by Lena Waithe, summons Shane in, alongside Tess, because SHane has been trying to get at Chloe, who is Eddie's wife. And I immediately thought, oh my god, this storyline again. Of Shane being like, Sherry Jaffe, it rings a bell, preying on these really high powerful people whether knowingly or not, and then fucking around with their girls. Okay. So basically Shane is shit out of luck because Eddie says the $10,000 that Shane provided to be a buy-in for poker is going to be Eddie's reparations, you can consider it reparations because this space was supposed to be for Black folk to get together and listen to Black music because weird white people music in WeHo is whack. It made me laugh, I thought it was very like, trying to be with the times in the way that, oh, BIPOC artists are a hot commodity right now, pushing on hot button subjects. It was comedic relief. I'm not mad at Eddie getting 10k becuase Shane's a fuck boy [laughs].
Alexia: Yeah it made me laugh. I'm all about.. .like I don't care that Shane lost money, she clearly has enough to spend.
Melli: She clearly is filthy rich.
Alexai: Something about it though. I'm just not sure how I feel about it. After rewatching, I'm also wondering whether it's supposed to be a set up or something. I felt weird, it's like as soon as Shane shows up, Chloe is kind of flirting with her, it's not acknowledged that they are in a relationship together. Eddie then says her wife can do whatever she wants, it doesn't sound like they're monogamous, so the issue is actually with Shane. So I don't know, I was almost wondering if Eddie knew that was going to happen and was trying to work Shaen to get that 10k.
Melli: Hmm. Do you know if Eddie will be a recurring character or was this just a cameo?
Alexia: I'm assuming it's a cameo. I sent you an image from Autostraddle, they do a recap of the episodes, I have plenty of critiques of the way autostraddle covers the L-Word but something that did make me laugh they had a screenshot of Lena and it was like, do you want to be on this show? Absolutely. Do you want to be on more than one episode? Probably not. It's just like, she's got way better things to do than waste her time on this fucking show.
Melli: Yeah. That would be funny if she did the whole shake down with Shane to get the 10k and it was a set up. I hope it was deeper than just, this is my girl, you can't be touching my girl, because clearly they had some sort of arrangement. Maybe we are supposed to be duped with Shane's old patterns, I don't know.
Alexia: I don't know. The reparations thing made me laugh and I don't know if it also felt... like virtue signalling too much, or maybe I felt weird about.. I don't know. If someone else can help me disentangle why I'm feeling weird about this scene please let me know because I haven't quite sorted through it yet.
Melli: We need a deeper analysis.
ALexia: So then we see Dani and Sophie at the bar.
Melli: Ugh. I can't stand this scene.
Alexia: Okay the best part of this scene and probably the whole episode is just that fucking Bad Bunny song that is playing when they're on the dance floor. I love that song.
Melli: [laughs] I'm so sick of listening to Bad Bunny! I do love that song but I'm like, okay ya, Bad Bunny and J Balvin, I get it. I'm over it. I got it. But it's a light hearted scene. I'm just wondering why that's the place Dani chooses to confess that she had a crush on Bette, but okay.
Alexia: because she's drunk.
Melli: I need to be drunk to actually be honest and communicate with my partner. THat's a problem.
ALexia: Yeah. But I don't know, that reads as real to me, they're just like drinking, sexy, flirting, having a good time and she's like, let me tell you about this thing, you know?
Melli: Having a crush isn't cheating. I don't know why, Dani seems like it's so built up, I have to tell you, I had a crush! I don't understand that.
Alexia: Well she's super weird about monogamy. Immediately she's like, cheating, that's dealbreaker shit! Absolutely not, no!
Melli: Even thinking about another girl is cheating!
ALexia: Does she say that?
Melli: No but that's what that type of toxic monogamy runs toward.
ALexia: Yeah, that was Tasha. She literally said that in the first run of the L Word.
Melli: [laughs] and they're confessing secrets in between tequila shots. And tequila? Out of all things? But Dani is latina so she drinks tequila, you know? Didn't you know?
Alexia: What did you think of thier sex scene?
Melli: Meh. The chemistry between Dani and Sophie is not believable. The chemistry between Sophie and la huera, Finley, believable. Now that's some hot lovin.
ALexia: Unfortunately I agree with you. I hate that I do but... it's true.
Melli: I mean Dani's beautiful, Sophie's beautiful. I just don't really like them together, it's not believable to me. I want Dani to reframe her compulsive monogamy. If she doesn't end up, if they don't get married, which time will tell.
Alexia: I mean [laughs] based on where things end up, I don't think it's happening. But this does take us to the wedding. So we kind of see everyone mingling around before it starts. Just a small thing, but I absolutely love that Bette and Shane they link up and they start to walk away and Bette looks at Nat and she's like, you coming? And Nat is just kind of scuffling along in her heels and she's like, [in a small voice] thank you for inviting me!
Melli: Yeah, Nat is like a little mouse. She reminds me of a little mouse.
Alexia: That made me laugh though. I felt like that was relatable energy.
Melli: She has a strong sunglasses game. How was that relatable energy for you?
Alexia: THere's nothing worse than being at a social event like that where you're awkwardly standing off to the side, kind of trying to be a part of a circle but you're not really part of it, and then they start to move away and you're just like, oh god, now what?
Melli: Please take me with you, please adopt me for the night! [laughs]
ALexia: So I appreciated that. But also she had to be invited, which I think might say something about her maybe being an outsider with Alice's friends.
Melli: Yeah because we don't ever really see them interact. More the emphasis is on Alice becoming part of her children's lives along with co-parenting and whether or not she's good at it. I think that it will be interesting to see if they actually mesh and get along well with one another because right now it seems like they're just meh about Nat. I like that Sophie when she sees Alice she’s like I didn't tell her and Alice is like, thank god. [laughs] You and I were both like, yeah I wouldn't say anything either, at least not in that moment, yeah.
Alexia: But also in that scene we see Alice being so disgustingly jealous and possessive of Nat when she's talking to Marissa so I'm like maybe that's actually where Alice's advice is coming from, is from a jealous place.
Melli: Oh my god, wait excuse me. Moment of silence for how fucking beautiful Marissa is. She's absolutely exquisite. I wrote, lord have mercy on my soul. My jaw dropped when I saw her. She's stellar. She has a husband and a girlfriend. I'm here for Marissa. But yeah Alice is really jealous when nat says that Marissa had brought up an interesting point about ethical non-monogamy and Alice was like what, what? which I thought was out of character. I thought Alice would be like, what did she say? You should go make out with her!
Alexia: Alice shuts her down immediately, super yikes. It's interesting she's popping up as another polyamorous character, she's making Nat think baout it, I'm wondering what's goign to happen with this storyline. It seems like their monogamy maybe won't last.
Melli: Which is, you know... Alice and Nat, and Gigi, all had to do that labor of opening themselves up to that possibility of operating as a triad, so I hope all that, we get to see another go at it, por favor.
Alexia: I know we aren't talking in depth about season one but one of the most unrealistic portrayals of polyamory in season one was that they never talked about their relationship dynamics once. Anyone who is practicing a polyamorous relationship or in multiple relationships knows that communication is the number one aspect.
Melli: Especially when there's children involved.
Alexia: Yeah and it's like, of course teh show is liek, sex is what polyamorous relationships are about, it's lots of sex! But actually a lot more of it is processing, talking about your boundaries and your comfort,and they never show them doing that as a traid so it doesn't surprise me that it fell apart, since y'all never actually talked about what you're doing.
Melli: Maybe Marissa will be the teacher so to speak, or like the wiser, I've been practicing this, here's how I approach it.
Alexia: What I'm hoping is that she meets Gigi somehow and helps coach Gigi into her polyamorous life, which... like I mentioned, it looks like Gigi is going to be dating both Bette and Dani going forward in this season, so she might be sticking to non-monogamy.
Melli: Very exciting for Gigi. Smoldering hot Gigi.
Alexia: I think one other important thing that happens in the pre-wedding scene is that we find out Tess lost her job because Shane can't keep it in her pants. I really like that Tess just checks her class privilege because Shane is like, [in a low nasally voice] uhh, Tess, sorry I know you really liked that job...
Melli: [in mocking voice] I know you liked being in the scene, Tess.
Alexia: Yeah, she's like I didn't love it, I needed it, there's a difference.
Melli: Relax Shane I'm not here for teh fucking scneery and quote on quote enculturation. And then we're back at a wedding scene. Why is it that weddings are motivating so much in this episode, especially with Tian and Carrie and that being such an awkward conversation to have with Angie and whether or not she's okay with it, and we're back at a cheesy scene...
Alexia: We're back! [sings the wedding theme]
Melli: We're walking down the aisle, is Finely going to show up? And does she? Does Finley show up?
Alexia: Not only does she show up, she shows up with a backwards baseball cap! [laughs] She like, rolled out of bed.
Melli: Fresh from LAX. She hopped in an uber and came straight to the church.
Alexia: I feel like I can smell LAX on her in this scene, you know what I mean? Also, I can understand how this became a romcom trope in the late 90s, early 2000s, because not a lot of people had cell phones but y'all this is 2021. She had so much time and so many opportunities to make that swerve. Why the fuck would she show up rihgt hten to talk to her? It is ridiculous.
Melli: It wouldn't be TV without it. Does anyone have any objections? I do! And then she turns to Tess and she's like, I might need a ride home [laughs]. I love that.
Alexia: That is funny. I'm surprised she doesn't have a ride home since she's usually tealing bikes and cars.
Melli: Well remember the minister roasted her ass and then she returned the bike at the end of season one.
Alexia: The minister!
Melli: The minister is the most healthy person on this show, fight me. I wish she would come back.
Alexia: I loved her. I also think she's really hot.
Melli: She's gorgeous. And Finley's a hot mess and we love her for it.
Alexia: [makes a raspberry sound] I do not love her for it [laughs]. I would like to file a formal complaint. Yeah so my note is they ended this episode the exact same way they ended the last season. Y'all are so tired.
Melli: Cue the soft dramatic music and end scene. I didn't even need to watch the end of it but I did anyway just so I could talk shit.
ALexia: Yeah so this show just has the laziest writers. Something I noticed in watching the first season of Gen Q is how they recycled so many storylines from the first iteration of the L Word. So we see a miscarriage happen in both runs of the show, the first time with TIna and the second time with Quiara, Shane's partner, and then they break up because of it. We see the storyline again that the hot boyfriend/girlfriend ends up having a significant other. So if you remember Jenny ends up finding out Marina has a partner and then the same thing happened to Micah in season one of this one.
Melli: Aww. THe first heartbreak is the worst.
ALexia: And then even more specific, is to have a sober bartender relapse after being cheated on.
Melli: Right, where did that storyline go for Tess?
Alexia: And why do they keep having these sober bartenders? I'm confused.
Melli: Awww. Kit! Oh gosh. I love Kiss, I miss her. Yeah, there's some lazy show writing. I feel like Gen Q is a bit more homonormative than the original.
Alexia: which is so funny because it's the queer generation.
Melli: Yeah It just feels too identity politics at some different points. But I did like that, in teh end of season one, there's a conversation about what it means to be a bad queer and if it's a bad queer desire to want to have a family and one other partner and have these more normative ideas so I see the show trying to have complex conversations but it's not translating in the interpersonal relationships, it's just kind of dropped in there at the en dof season one without a lot of care and attention. Other plotlines that are repeated...maybe with Bette becoming jobless or losing the election and then finding out that Miler was actually using Bette. He had asked her to spearhead the opioid crisis task force and Dani is like that's actually just a farce, he's using you basically. And then Bette has this really intensive episode, like a mental health episode where she's depressed and isn't able to eat or sleep and Angie is taking care of her. We've seen Bette in that kind of position before where she's jobless and is having a hard time mentally. And then I like, in season one whenever Bette loses she's like, was any of it worth it, to go into politics? ANd I was like, no. That's why you shouldn't have gone into politics ot begin with. But you wanted to be mayor!
Alexia: So what are your hopes for season two?
Melli: I want to see way more polyamory and done well. I want to see Gigi have a glow up. Like Nat got her nice resolution with getting back with Alice. I want to see Gigi flourish and really challenge herself and develop more romantic relationships with people and do it well and not be messy about it. I'd like to see what ends up happening with Finely and with Sophie. It seems like they had a long friendship with one another prior to developing romantic feelings so I"m most hopeful in terms of the new cast and their sexual chemistry and just like platonic chemistry to carry the show in ways that other actors might carry or not for me.
Alexia: Do you think they're going to date and do you have any feelings about it?
Melli: I feel like the writers are probably going to drag it out because they want to be dramatic about it and we're going to have to wait a long time for them to finally be together. I get the sense that Sophie still is working through [sighs] it was really painful in this last episode to see her so clearly struggling with what it is she knows he wants and actually vocalizing her needs. I think Sophie is going to be going on an emotional self realization type eof journey before she can actually get with FInely.
Alexia: Which Finley really needs to do too.
Melli: And Finle, yeah. Both of them have a lot o work to do before tehy're ready to not fuck each other up.
Alexia: One thing I actually kind of liked about Finley's character arc last season was how they touched on her substance abuse in a way that felt a little more real and nuanced and respectful than maybe some of the ways they depicted Kit's experience with alcoholism in the first run.
Mell: I absolutely agree.
Alexia: It made a lot of sense for her character and I do feel like it gave me some more empathy for her even though I still think she's a hot mess, and not just because she struggles with substance abuse but for all the lack of awareness with how much space she takes up and all the other things we talked about in our pilot episode.
Melli: Sophie sems really close with her family, like what brought Sophie and FInely together was one of her elders had a heart attack or something awful happened and I know Finely is estranged from her family. There's a scene at the end of season one where her dad called and is like we're about to go to your sister's wedding or some shit. So clearly, it would be nice to see Finley get adopted by Sophie's fam but I just want to see Finely be loved on even though her character kind of annoys me sometimes.
Alexia: Yeah I was just going to say, speaking of Sophie's family, I'd really love to see them use Jillian Mercado as an actress more. We know Maribel's character is an immigration attorney, so where are some scenes of her at work? Where are her romantic interests? Where is her relationship drama? I'm really hoping they flesh her out a bit more.
Melli: Yeah, well said.
Alexia: And then I agree with you. I want some polyamory. I just want to see Gigi fucking...
Melli: Flourish!
Aleixia: Yeah, I need it. I need her chaotic bisexual polyamorous queer femme energy, I'm here for it. At this point, that's kind of all I'm invested in, honestly. I just want to see what happens with Gigi. I do like watching Bette on screen, she's just so charismatic.
Melli: She carries a lot of the scenes that she's in.
Alexia: Yeah I can't imagine the L Word without her. She's like the backbone of the series I think.
Melli: Incredibly expressive and non-verbal communicator. That was a note I had written, in the scenes that are awkward, Bette is absolutely carrying the team. Yeah. I hope that Dani becomes less important over this next season [laughs].
Alexia: I'd say the other disappointing character is Shane. It's just like...no growth, nothing that's happening is interesting. Give us something or write her out. Like what is the point in bringing her back?
Melil: Shane is a shell. Also Micah. I want MIcah to get the fuck out of this weird relationship with José. I want more for Micah. I’d rather there be more screen time for Micah in place of Dani. Hehehe.
Alexia: Yes, although Micah lost some points for me this episode being like [in a childish voice] You need to tell her now or I'm going to tell!
Melli: Yeah like shut the fuck up [laughs]. Get out of my business!
Alexia: Yeah. I was not a fan of that.
Melli: Ew. Well, as I was preparing for our podcast today I was excited to see that episode 2 is already out. Also really excited to see the engagement of queer media in general in reviewing Generation Q. I like that there's so much excitemetn abou this show which leaves high expectation. It has disappointed dme in following really homonormative storylines and letting weddings and shit really dominate the plot but I'm still here for it. I'm still here for the tea.
Alexia: I mean I do not watch the show because I like it [laughs]. I feel like anyone listening has probably figured that out by now. It's definitely a hate watch but it's fun to talk shit.
Melli: The feeling is whatever, I'll watch it.
ALexia: Exactly. Yeah, whatever, I think I'll go watch episode 2, probably right now.
Melli: Fuck yeah. I"ll be texting you live updates.
Alexia: Thank you so much for being back on the show Melli.
Melli: I absolutely love you. Thank you for having me.
Alexia: I love you!
Melli: Mmm. Meow meow.
[soft lo-fi hip hop plays]
Alexia: If you enjoyed the episode and you're listening on apple podcasts please take a minute to rate and review the podcast. You can also follow me on social media. I'm on twitter and instagram at whatevertvpod. I would love it if you could take a second to let others know about the podcast, feel free to tag us in your posts. I would lvoe to build my listernership becuase this ia DIY queer of olor podcast. Thank you for listening and until next time take care.