It’s been a while since we’ve checked in with our favorite group of lesbians from Los Angeles, but the wait is about to be over. Season 2 of The L Word: Generation Q premieres this Friday on Showtime and we’ll get to spend ten weeks with Bette (Jennifer Beals), Alice (Leisha Hailey), and Shane (Kate Moennig) after a long hiatus.
The trailer for the new season reveals that the show is going all-in on the drama, teasing hookups that might tear friendships apart, a new Dani (Arienne Mandi), and a dog playing poker. What more could we want? However, if you’re a little lost on the deets of what happened in Season 1 and need a fresh reminder of where we left off back in January 2020, this article holds all the information you need. So let’s get to it.
The Name on Everyone’s Lips
Alice went through a hell of a ride in Season 1. She started off stable as the host of a popular TV talk show that featured lesbian and feminist icons such as Megan Rapinoe and Roxane Gay. Also, she was in a stable relationship with Nat (Stephanie Allynne), a woman who shared custody of her kids with her ex-wife, Gigi (Sepideh Moafi). When Alice suggested that Nat should have a friendlier relationship with her ex, that’s when things got messy.
Gigi ended up getting way too close, and when the three women got drunk and hooked up, they decided to give the throuple thing a try. As we all know, it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt — in this case, Alice realized Nat was falling for her ex-wife and left them both.
On top of that, her self-titled talk show was at risk of being cancelled and, rather than giving in to the network’s demands of making it more fun and less political, she decided to do none of that at the risk of losing her job. But she might have gotten a viral moment when Nat showed up in the middle of a taping to ask for another chance. Alice said yes, of course.
The Next Mayor of Los Angeles
Bette Porter had quite a leap from when we last saw her at the end of The L Word. She decided to run for mayor after the LA health system failed her sister Kit (Pam Grier), who overdosed a couple of years prior. She was going to be the first female mayor of LA, had it not been for, you guessed it, drama. Bette had some unfortunate events happen during her campaign, such as the revelation that she had an affair with a married woman and that moment when she shoved a man down a flight of stairs after he assaulted her daughter Angelica (Jordan Hull).
Yeah, it was hard. So hard Tina (Laurel Holloman) had to fly back to give her some emotional support, proving that Tibette (or Bettina) is still real — or at least some part of it. We shouldn’t get out hopes up, though, as Tina is about to get married again. So it’s safe to say this will affect Season 2 Bette.
The One That Got Away
Shane is the one who changed most since 2009: She left LA for some years and only came back in 2019, with a lot of money in her bank account and divorce papers in a drawer. That’s right. During those 10 years, Shane got married to Quiara (Lex Scott Davis), a woman who can be very manipulative and brings the love-hate relationship that puts Shane on edge every time. With her 40th birthday looming, Shane did what anyone would do while having a mid-life crisis: buying a bar and naming it after her late friend Dana (Erin Daniels).
Even though she signed the divorce papers, she had a fling with Quiara, who was pregnant but ended up losing her baby. As Shane never wanted kids, this put another strain in their relationship because Quiara thought she was relieved there wouldn’t be a baby. It’s not clear if Quiara left for good after that, but Shane ended up adopting a stray dog. Yes, baby steps, Shane, baby steps.
New Girls
Fans of dearly departed Sense8 got a good dose of Jamie Clayton in Season 1: Tess is a bartender who had been sober for a long time but sadly fell off the wagon throughout the season. True, she got her heart broken when her wife slept with her boss (which is Shane, by the way… oh Shane) and that’s a low blow. But she’ll be back for Season 2 and we’ll be rooting for her once again.
Tess also had a drunken thing with Finley (Jacqueline Toboni) one night. You might not remember much about Season 1, but you do remember Finley, don’t you? We could all relate to her I-don’t-know-what-to-do-with-my-life vibe but fell in love with the way she’s a truly great friend who’s there for everyone who needs her.
Unfortunately, she’s been through some crap, which makes her mess up every romantic relationship she has. Remember when she told lovely Rebecca (Olivia Thirlby) she wasn’t a real priest? Ouch. That was hard to watch. If only Finley could handle her relationships the way she handles her sexuality. Or their sexuality. Finley doesn’t ever state she’s queer or non-binary, but it’s not a far cry to assume she’s comfortable with any pronoun and doesn’t really think about labels. Here’s to hoping she’ll find whatever she went looking for in Missouri.
But more on that later, because it’s impossible to talk about Finley without mentioning Sophie (Rosanny Zayas), her best friend in the world. Sophie had it together until her grandma was hospitalized. After questioning her long relationship with Dani, who was not always there for her, she ends up kissing Finley. This could be the worst or best mistake she’s ever made, we don’t know yet. But if you ever kissed your best friend, you know how complicated this could get.
And that’s not to say that Dani is the worst girlfriend ever. She’s a workaholic who’s struggling to get under the shadow of her prejudiced father. She worked fiercely in Bette’s political campaign but it came at a cost: she probably lost Sophie, and even though they ended Season 1 with a trip booked to Hawaii to elope, the Season 2 trailer suggests that this plan might have gone south. After all, Finley was also at the airport embarking on a flight to Missouri, so Sophie had literally two paths to take. We’ll likely find out which one she chose at the beginning of Season 2.
New Love
Even though we missed ten years of Angie’s life, watching the daughter of Bette and Tina feels like witnessing the growth of a baby we held in our arms. She was just a toddler during the original The L Word, but now she is 16, smokes pot, drives, punches other kids, and has experienced her first love. She kissed and said those three words for the first time to her friend Jordi (Sophie Giannamore), so you can expect to see our baby girl get into all that lesbian drama for the first time in Season 2.
Last but not least, we have Micah (Leo Sheng), a boy who is also Finley and Sophie’s best friend. Micah has had his share of depressing events in his life, including a mother who still struggles to fully acknowledge his transition. Despite his insecurities and initial hesitation, he decides to let all that go and admit he’s in love with José (Freddy Miyares). Unfortunately for Micah, he does that precisely when José’s husband decides to pay him a visit, but let’s try not to worry. If you’ve seen Grey’s Anatomy you know that people who show up at the end of a season claiming they are a spouse can be lying. It will all be sorted out in a couple of episodes, right? Right?
What do we know about Season 2?
Not much. Whether Alice has lost her TV show or not, she’s moving forward. She is paired with a book editor, which means she either had to get another source of income or is working two jobs. Shane’s dog apparently will follow her everywhere, so we already know what the best scenes of Season 2 will be.
And finally… The Chart is back with a vengeance. If you don’t remember (shame on you!), The Chart was a board in which Alice kept track of who hooked up with who in her circle of friends. And the Season 2 trailer makes it very clear that, in full Chart spirit, Bette will date Gigi, who was previously in the failed throuple with Alice and Nat. Really, Bette? You had not one, but two perfect candidates by the end of Season 1, so why go that way? Oh, boy. Here we go again.
Season 2 of The L Word: Generation Q premieres this Friday on the Showtime streaming platform and Sunday on good ol’ television.