L Word - LAguna
Nov. 27th, 2005 01:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatJust finished watching S2 of The L Word, the final episode entitled Laguna.
Mixed feelings about this episode. It focused primarily on Tina and Bette and on Jenny. In some ways it wrapped up the action fairly well, in others...I wanted closure to a few storylines that I have a feeling the writer believed she closed or have been wrapped to the extent she is willing to wrap them up. (Not talking about the ones that will no doubt be picked up in the third season.) These bits and pieces were: 1)Camryn Mannheim's bit role as the obnoxious studio exec that Shane walked away from. Was Shane still involved with her? My guess is she wasn't. But I'm not certain. On the fence whether I want to be or not - in some respects the vagueness of Shane's departure from that relationship feels more realistic. 2)How they dealt with Mark. He appeared to get off fairly easily. And never really seemed to get what he did. Again this is realistic if not emotionally satisfying. 3)Helena and Tina's relationship - appears to fizzle in an odd way. I'm not sure they are over until Tina asks to move back in with Bette. We seem to get most of the relationship from Bette's pov which felt odd. This may be a thread that will be picked up again in the third season. 4) Sandra Bernard and the writing class from hell - is Jenny still in the class or did she drop out? It's like the writer decided to drop Jenny's writing as a metaphor for her fucked up state and move to a more visual and disturbing s&M/Stripping metaphor?
The last episode also got a little on the preachy/issue side. A trap numerous television writers eventually fall into. They are basically moseying along telling us this great story, with all sorts of social and politictal issues neatly yet subletly wrapped within the trappings - until they wake up one morning and think, wait - I have an audience. Captivated by my story and characters. Why don't I use the opportunity to get up on my soap-box and preach. Doesn't work. All it does is pull everyone out of the story. Up until this episode they didn't really do it that much and when they did, it was couched in humor or fairly subtle. Here - it comes right after a memorial service to Bette's father - the late great Ossie Davis. Sort of detracts from the memorial service.
Don't get me wrong - I liked the Gloria Steinmen bit and agreed wholeheartedly with it. Also found the bit where the women go around the table and talk about sexual predisposition rather interesting. (Bi-sexuals get a bad rap from both heterosexuals and homosexuals. Known this for some time - noticed it in college and online. We say we aren't prejudiced, yet we are. Therein lies the problem, so many people don't realize how prejudiced they truly are. Hey I admit it. I know I have prejudices. I see them. I poke at them. And I work to overcome them. How hard is that? Very. Saw a bit of Oprah special over the holidays - she's interviewing a man who honestly does not think of himself as racist, yet every word out of his mouth is. Really have troubles with the discrimination I see from both the heterosexual and homosexual communities regarding bisexuals. Yes, sexual attraction is a choice but what people seem to be forgetting is sex is meaningless without love. And we do not choose who we love nor do we always understand why. Love is without boundaries, borders, walls or confines. Nor should we place walls or confines around it. Following one's heart...as opposed to one's genitals, one's head, is I think rather wonderful. Don't see why people have a problem with that. Why it threatens them so much. No wait, that's a lie, I tell myself, I do. The L Word subtly shows why too. It's simple really - people want to feel good about themselves, feel right, feel validated. And we like black and whites, definites. I'm homosexual or hetero. I'm celiac or not. I'm white or I'm black. I'm fat or I'm thin. I'm rich or I'm poor. I'm smart or I'm dumb. Saw the Nicolas Cage film - "The Family Man" the other night - not a great film, emphasizes the either/or - you either have the sucessful high profile job or the family in the suburbs with the bowling trophies. Which is not true.
Me,Myself, and I - an independent film with Rachel Griffiths about the same thing, was better - it showed that both lives have their ups and downs, and neither choice is exclusive of the other. It's not an either/or, it's just two different choices with two different out-comes. Why do we think life has to be all one way or all the other? Why can't it be both? Why can't it be both black and white, mixed? - Sorry a bit of a rant there.)
Other problem had with LAguna was the repressed memory storyline. This may be due to my own experiences with people in college regarding it. Repressed Memory syndrom was an in thing in the 1980s and early 1990s. Quite the rage. Everyone had it. All the self-help books preached it. And over 80% of the people claiming to have it, discovered they didn't. Self-diagnosis and bad therapists. So, I'm struggling a bit with the whole Jenny storyline. On the other hand - they are building it well and it certainly explains those surreal dream-scapes.
And I do like the Jenny/Shane relationship. Possibly one of the most interesting relationships on the show.
Because here are two damaged, fucked up individuals, who have chosen completely opposite means of dealing with their pain. Fascinating to watch.
The music for the L Word is the other reason I keep watching. I like it. It fits my mood. And seems to fit the characters - rare that. Most shows have music that rarely registers for me or I block out because I can't hear the people speaking over it. (Highly annoying.) Grey's Anatomy suffers from this dilemma, as does Lost, Nip-Tuck, and Veronica Mars. BattleStar Galatica and the L Word on the other hand handle it nicely, the music enrichs the action.
Speculation on S3: 1. Jenny's Repressed Memory syndrom will be front and center. (Curious - will we have the opposite love triangle with Jenny/Shane and Carmen - where Jenny and Carmen begin fighting over Shane as opposed to Shane and Jenny fighting over Carmen?? No, doubt it. Shane doesn't sleep with roommates and sees Jenny as a friend.) 2. Mark will probably fade out of the story. 3. Focus will be on Bette hunting a job since she was unemployed at the end. May see more of the Peabody's because of it. Not looking forward to that storyline.
But far more interesting than Bette/Tina break-up, also will explore Bette's need for control in a new way.
4. Dana and Alice's romance may take a dive due to the reintroduction of Dana's cool ex - the chef. Also Alice's bisexuality may threaten Dana, who clearly doesn't get it and seems a tad uncomfortable. Considering Dana just got the guts to come out of the closet - this makes sense. Would like to see it explored.5. Kit and the married man? Not sure about this one. They appeared to be close to dropping it at the end of the season. Not much else can see on the horizon. Last season seemed to end on more of a cliff than this season did. But preferred this season. Interesting.
Okay, now I'm going to have to wait another full year before it comes out on DVD, aren't I? This means I won't see any episodes until next Oct, if that. Damn. One of the downfalls of seeing these shows on netflix and not on cable - which is why I have cable for everything else.
Mixed feelings about this episode. It focused primarily on Tina and Bette and on Jenny. In some ways it wrapped up the action fairly well, in others...I wanted closure to a few storylines that I have a feeling the writer believed she closed or have been wrapped to the extent she is willing to wrap them up. (Not talking about the ones that will no doubt be picked up in the third season.) These bits and pieces were: 1)Camryn Mannheim's bit role as the obnoxious studio exec that Shane walked away from. Was Shane still involved with her? My guess is she wasn't. But I'm not certain. On the fence whether I want to be or not - in some respects the vagueness of Shane's departure from that relationship feels more realistic. 2)How they dealt with Mark. He appeared to get off fairly easily. And never really seemed to get what he did. Again this is realistic if not emotionally satisfying. 3)Helena and Tina's relationship - appears to fizzle in an odd way. I'm not sure they are over until Tina asks to move back in with Bette. We seem to get most of the relationship from Bette's pov which felt odd. This may be a thread that will be picked up again in the third season. 4) Sandra Bernard and the writing class from hell - is Jenny still in the class or did she drop out? It's like the writer decided to drop Jenny's writing as a metaphor for her fucked up state and move to a more visual and disturbing s&M/Stripping metaphor?
The last episode also got a little on the preachy/issue side. A trap numerous television writers eventually fall into. They are basically moseying along telling us this great story, with all sorts of social and politictal issues neatly yet subletly wrapped within the trappings - until they wake up one morning and think, wait - I have an audience. Captivated by my story and characters. Why don't I use the opportunity to get up on my soap-box and preach. Doesn't work. All it does is pull everyone out of the story. Up until this episode they didn't really do it that much and when they did, it was couched in humor or fairly subtle. Here - it comes right after a memorial service to Bette's father - the late great Ossie Davis. Sort of detracts from the memorial service.
Don't get me wrong - I liked the Gloria Steinmen bit and agreed wholeheartedly with it. Also found the bit where the women go around the table and talk about sexual predisposition rather interesting. (Bi-sexuals get a bad rap from both heterosexuals and homosexuals. Known this for some time - noticed it in college and online. We say we aren't prejudiced, yet we are. Therein lies the problem, so many people don't realize how prejudiced they truly are. Hey I admit it. I know I have prejudices. I see them. I poke at them. And I work to overcome them. How hard is that? Very. Saw a bit of Oprah special over the holidays - she's interviewing a man who honestly does not think of himself as racist, yet every word out of his mouth is. Really have troubles with the discrimination I see from both the heterosexual and homosexual communities regarding bisexuals. Yes, sexual attraction is a choice but what people seem to be forgetting is sex is meaningless without love. And we do not choose who we love nor do we always understand why. Love is without boundaries, borders, walls or confines. Nor should we place walls or confines around it. Following one's heart...as opposed to one's genitals, one's head, is I think rather wonderful. Don't see why people have a problem with that. Why it threatens them so much. No wait, that's a lie, I tell myself, I do. The L Word subtly shows why too. It's simple really - people want to feel good about themselves, feel right, feel validated. And we like black and whites, definites. I'm homosexual or hetero. I'm celiac or not. I'm white or I'm black. I'm fat or I'm thin. I'm rich or I'm poor. I'm smart or I'm dumb. Saw the Nicolas Cage film - "The Family Man" the other night - not a great film, emphasizes the either/or - you either have the sucessful high profile job or the family in the suburbs with the bowling trophies. Which is not true.
Me,Myself, and I - an independent film with Rachel Griffiths about the same thing, was better - it showed that both lives have their ups and downs, and neither choice is exclusive of the other. It's not an either/or, it's just two different choices with two different out-comes. Why do we think life has to be all one way or all the other? Why can't it be both? Why can't it be both black and white, mixed? - Sorry a bit of a rant there.)
Other problem had with LAguna was the repressed memory storyline. This may be due to my own experiences with people in college regarding it. Repressed Memory syndrom was an in thing in the 1980s and early 1990s. Quite the rage. Everyone had it. All the self-help books preached it. And over 80% of the people claiming to have it, discovered they didn't. Self-diagnosis and bad therapists. So, I'm struggling a bit with the whole Jenny storyline. On the other hand - they are building it well and it certainly explains those surreal dream-scapes.
And I do like the Jenny/Shane relationship. Possibly one of the most interesting relationships on the show.
Because here are two damaged, fucked up individuals, who have chosen completely opposite means of dealing with their pain. Fascinating to watch.
The music for the L Word is the other reason I keep watching. I like it. It fits my mood. And seems to fit the characters - rare that. Most shows have music that rarely registers for me or I block out because I can't hear the people speaking over it. (Highly annoying.) Grey's Anatomy suffers from this dilemma, as does Lost, Nip-Tuck, and Veronica Mars. BattleStar Galatica and the L Word on the other hand handle it nicely, the music enrichs the action.
Speculation on S3: 1. Jenny's Repressed Memory syndrom will be front and center. (Curious - will we have the opposite love triangle with Jenny/Shane and Carmen - where Jenny and Carmen begin fighting over Shane as opposed to Shane and Jenny fighting over Carmen?? No, doubt it. Shane doesn't sleep with roommates and sees Jenny as a friend.) 2. Mark will probably fade out of the story. 3. Focus will be on Bette hunting a job since she was unemployed at the end. May see more of the Peabody's because of it. Not looking forward to that storyline.
But far more interesting than Bette/Tina break-up, also will explore Bette's need for control in a new way.
4. Dana and Alice's romance may take a dive due to the reintroduction of Dana's cool ex - the chef. Also Alice's bisexuality may threaten Dana, who clearly doesn't get it and seems a tad uncomfortable. Considering Dana just got the guts to come out of the closet - this makes sense. Would like to see it explored.5. Kit and the married man? Not sure about this one. They appeared to be close to dropping it at the end of the season. Not much else can see on the horizon. Last season seemed to end on more of a cliff than this season did. But preferred this season. Interesting.
Okay, now I'm going to have to wait another full year before it comes out on DVD, aren't I? This means I won't see any episodes until next Oct, if that. Damn. One of the downfalls of seeing these shows on netflix and not on cable - which is why I have cable for everything else.