Before you read any further, this article contains spoilers for “The L Word: Generation Q” S1 E8.
Let’s take a look back — way, way back. All the way to 2004 back with the premiere of the original “The L Word.” In the show’s first run, we’ve had scores of characters come and go. Some were like the vampire lesbian of season three: gone too fast then never spoken of again. Others left us with more questions than answers — questions like, “Why?” and, “What the f*ck?” and, “Why did this go on for so long?” (see: Papi, Mangus, et cetera). But the one character that we’ve seen come back from the dead more times than anyone else was Marina Ferrer. With the utmost admiration, I can say (as a Scorpio) that she truly was the specter of chaos that shrouded the entire show.
And now, as they say, the bitch is back.
No, actually, Marina is not physically back for “The L Word: Generation Q” reboot (not yet though, if any Showtime writers room babes are reading). However, her influence on the finale episode of season one is begging to be noticed. If you can’t tell, the writers at GO Magazine are “The L Word” zealots, and no callback goes unseen. For example, Finley was handing out the cocktails she was making for Bette’s watch party sans straws, noting that her environmental choice was “no straws… the planet.” Tongue meet cheek.
In all seriousness, the finale episode has some insane breakthroughs with our characters. (If you haven’t watched, check out the latest recap here.) Sophie, formerly known as our sweet baby undercut angel, grows some serious devil horns under those luscious curls. What first started out as her yearning for the intimacy that Dani was lacking has caused Sophie to turn towards Finley to fill that gap. Finley, with her A to Z list of boundary issues, is unable to stop herself from falling for her and is thrown headlong into this affair that she didn’t start. With her second option secured, Sophie has devolved into a full-blown case of resentment towards her engagement.
Sophie starts acting as if Dani isn’t actually a real person with real feelings anymore, and is focusing all her energy into wringing some emotion out of Finley. The night before the final episode of “Alice” tapes, Sophie corners Finley in Roxanne Gay’s dressing room in order to make herself feel something that she felt was missing in Dani’s absence. To me, this is glaringly similar to when Marina corners Jenny in the bathroom the night that they first met. Sophie is taking advantage of Finley; she knows that Finley has emotional intimacy issues and has trouble setting boundaries, yet she’s trapping her and forcing her to feel very deeply. Just like Marina inflicted her agenda onto Jenny, Sophie does the same. In other words, if Finley was an alcoholic, it would the equivalent of Sophie pouring her a drink and then locking her in the bar until she’s satisfied.
At the end of their workplace encounter (Finley’s first sober sexual one), we see Sophie head back to Dani that night, and instead of rest up for her LITERAL WEDDING the following day, she stays up that night crying about what she’s done. This mirrors the scene in the first season when Jenny goes back to her bed with Tim after sleeping with Marina and cries herself to sleep without Tim noticing. In this case, Dani does notice and tries her best to quell what she thinks are Sophie’s nerves about eloping. She still doesn’t know that Sophie is now just emotionally beyond her grasp. Just like Tim, Dani is so blind to the actual truth of what’s going on behind her back.
Finally, for what I think is the cherry on top of this homage to Marina’s messiness, Micah finds out that José is actually married a là Jenny finding out Marina’s arrangement with the touring costume designer Francesca in first season of “The L Word.” What had ultimately been the strongest couple so far (met on the first episode, only had one minor interruption), has been thrown into a tailspin, and we can’t be sure if we’ll get to see José again.
And there we have it, people. It seems to me that Marina’s spirit is alive and well in this reboot, as she represents all things chaotic in “The L Word” universe. To add a little something familiar into a little something that’s brand new is the recipe that will keep us rabid “The L Word” watchers coming back for more weekend TV binges than what I necessarily recommended. I can feel Marina’s energy flowing through this season’s ending, and in a way, it feels like the show is coming full circle, further affirming that we’ll be watching “The L Word: Generation Q” on repeat until next season.
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