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Lobsters

Jenny?s back and the girls are excited to celebrate her return. They gather at one of L.A.?s trendiest restaurants. It is the first meeting of Moira. Each character?s response to her speaks volumes. The scene is at once hilarious and disturbing as well as pivotal for the following reasons. It marks the first real, not stalker, encounter between Alice and Dana. Is there possibility of friendship?

How intriguing is the ramification of exes on a group dynamic.
Moira is clearly a newcomer (which one is not like the others?) and the disparities in class, education, culture, values, exposure are quite pronounced, causing tension and discomfort. Hearing that Lobster is the chef?s special, Moira offers her own enlightening tale (Hint: Episode theme). She explains that when cooking male lobsters, you must put a lid on the pot; otherwise, the males will scramble together, form ladders, and help each other to escape. When cooking female lobsters, you do not need the lid. The females, sensing death, start grabbing each other, holding each other down; if one is going to die, the all must die. She ends, ?It?s a real shame, isn?t it?? Let?s just say, Moira is a bit dark. Honest, but dark.

Soon after, Moira excuses herself from the table and departs alone. The girls discuss the story and Moira, their differences and what those differences provoke. One potent piece of dialogue centered on language, the language we use to describe others, and ourselves how limited that language can be.

Prompting Shane to say, ?What does it matter if people are Butch or Femme? Leave labels alone. Let people be who they are.? Amen.

Best and Worst

The Best of Episode 3: how much I love and adore baby Angelica, my favorite new character; that Zagat glimpse into one of L.A.?s fine dining establishments, yummy yummy; the budding romance of Angus and Kit, kinda weird but kinda cool; Otto, my second favorite new character; and lastly, the episode?s points to ponder, mentioned above, that linger and resonate.

The Worst: the amount of wine/whine I need in order to keep up with all the characters, plot twists and turns; Dana?s pending illness; the mounting tension between Bette and Tina, their not so subtle role reversal; Billie?s blind ambition to take over the Planet; and the petty differences that divide us, as women, as lesbians.

Your L Word Homework

Think of your favorite seafood metaphor. Let?s see. How do steamed clams behave? What do the male clams do versus the female clams when faced with a pot of boiling water? It?s difficult to build ladders with that damn shell. Hmmmm. Until next week, I?m off to a lesbian revival in Sublimity, Oregon. Kumbaya!