Happy Almost Pride!!! This week on Autostraddle dot com, Kayla recapped the Hacks finale, the final episode of one of the best Third Seasons of all time, and Riese recapped Under the Bridge’s final episode. Also we have all the answers for anybody wondering what the gay television show you are re-watching says about your mental health.
In the world of cinema, Lisa Laman explains why ‘Furiosa’ is a dazzling blockbuster and also a trans allegory, Sai’yda watched ‘Queen of the Deuce,’ a captivating documentary about a queer woman who created a porn empire. Also, since Pride is so very close (it’s tomorrow), Drew has dug up 10 queer movies that will turn your straight friends into gay friends before Pride. You’re welcome!
Also, also, also — did you know that all AF+ Members not only get an ad-free/ad-lite layout on the website (and an ad-free experience on the app), but they’re also automatically added to the list to receive two new newsletters, one from Riese about television and one from Drew about cinema? Well they are and if you’re not already a member, there’s never been a better time, you can get in on this for a mere $4 a month.
Meanwhile, Fatima reappears, just in time to be a resource for Kiesha in her search for information about her baby’s father, and a supportive partner when Victor is strong-armed into a vote and is subsequently arrested for murder. — Natalie
Seven years later and it’s official, our beloved fire show is over. But our beloved fire family is forever — a fact that Station 19 hammered home in its series finale.
Speaking of fire families, as I predicted last week, Maya survives the brush fire and makes it home safely to Carina. When it looked like it was all over for her, Andy called out to Maya that she should focus on who she’s going to make it out for. This opens up one of my least favorite finale framing devices, the Happy Ending Fast Forward (TM). Normally I would complain, but in this instance, when the present day of Station 19 entails an increasingly intense fight against spreading Seattle fires, I actually appreciated the reprieve of seeing the future. It kept my breathing even to know that, no matter how dire it seemed, everyone was going to make it to the other side.
For Maya and Carina, that means a family. That’s no real surprise, they’ve been pushing towards that plot all season long. But we get to see both Carina and Maya support each other through their respective labors in the future, and I hope you caught the Easter Egg of Carina pushing Maya’s hands off of stroking her hairline and instead pushing them between her legs mid-birth for a little…ummm…natural pain relief (once Dr. Orgasm, always Dr. Orgasm!). We also get fast forwards to see all three DeLuca-Bishop children as they grow up into teenagers.
(Did I mention that in the present day, in a delightful bit of fan service, we also get to see Carina DeLuca suit up in a fire uniform!?!? To deliver a baby in the middle of a forest fire?? Is it hot? Is Stefania Spampinato hot dressed as a firefighter? You already know the answer, but in case you didn’t, her saunter coming out of the station will tell you, just to be safe.)
The biggest news of the night is that in the final minutes of the episode we learn that Maya will once again become captain of Station 19, this time on her own terms. They put a wig on her that I think was supposed to approximate her infamous bisexual bob from Season Four, but arguably wasn’t the best costume choice for our final seconds together. No matter, Maya becomes Captain (and baby Prue grows up to become a Station 19 Probie!). Andy becomes Seattle’s Fire Chief. Our family is in such safe, loving, good hands.
Last week I said that we had two episodes of Grey’s Anatomy left, but apparently I miscounted because this week was in fact the finale! But also? Maybe that was for the best.
First, in frustrating Grey’s Anatomy news, Dr. Beltán and is still sleeping with Winston Ndugu. The show opens by giving us a glimpse of their morning after (I think it was Monica’s bedroom? Didn’t seem like Winston’s style), in which Beltrán cracks a joke about moving too soon and having him meet her parents after only a one night stand. Sadly, it was indeed not a one night stand because at the end of the episode Winston awkwardly asks Monica out on a date at Joe’s for something to eat or a drink only for her to counter that instead she’d prefer more sex at his place please. So! That’s a thing that’s happening!
And second, other frustrating Grey’s Anatomy news, Jules and Yasuda spend the episode building on some of their electric energy from a few weeks ago (back before we officially knew that Jules was bisexual) and it caps off the two of them being millimeters away from a kiss in the intern basement hallway (you know the one) that normally I’d be screaming about. The tension was tensioning! It was right there! Midori Francis and Adelaide Kane knew exactly what they were doing! But it’s hard to get excited about the potential of a new romance when we all know that Midori Francis is leaving the show. I’m assuming the writers didn’t yet know that contract detail when they dreamed up this plot, but nonetheless what should have been a spectacular romantic cliffhanger instead falls completely flat.
Coop explains to Laura why she thinks Miko’s sealed arrest record might be key to getting justice for Patience. She is slightly disheveled, wearing a open button-up over a white tee.
With the national championship looming, almost everyone’s thoughts and time are consumed by the big game. Well…that is, everyone except Coop who spends the hours before kick-off attempting to piece together a gameplan for the prosecution in the case against Miko. Still in yesterday’s clothes, Coop shares a discovery: a sealed arrest record from three years ago. Of course, Laura already knew about Miko’s record but insists that, because it’s sealed, her history is a non-starter.
I’m not sure what’s more perplexing (read: infuriating) about this show: they way it thinks college football championships work or the way it thinks the justice system works. Do they not have Google in the All American writers’ room?
Coop is undeterred by Laura’s dismissal: she’s convinced that Miko’s arrest record would offer proof of a pattern of behavior. Again, Laura pushes back, insisting the record could hide something as innocuous as jaywalking, but Coop knows there’s more to discover…after all, no one jumps from some innocuous crime to stabbing someone. She heads back to the Baker house to sift through documents and dig into Miko’s social media accounts. Eventually, she finds a picture of the girl she’s suspects Miko stalked before Patience…who, as it happens, looks a lot like Patience.
Somehow, Coop manages to track the girl, Jalessa, down at the Jamaican food truck where she works. Coop admits that she’s there for information about Miko and Jalessa immediately clams up. Coop takes her reaction as proof that Jalessa knows something that might help Patience’s case. But Jalessa can’t help — she signed a non-disclosure agreement — and, instead, advises Coop and Patience to stay far, far away from Miko.
After the championship game, everyone heads to Layla’s to celebrate Spencer and Jordan’s victory, but Coop’s mind is still on the case. She pulls Laura aside and reveals that she found Miko’s previous victim. Laura asks if she got confirmation of Miko having stalked Jalessa and Coop concedes that she hasn’t…but she’s convinced that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Laura reminds Coop that Miko’s records cannot be unsealed legally so Coop suggests they access them illegally.
Aghast, Laura wonders if Coop’s truly cut out for a career in law…which might be the truest thing uttered in this entire episode. But Coop is convinced that if she can gain access to that record, Patience can avoid court all together.Hen and Karen are shocked, as they and Denny are reunited with Mara, to hear that Chimney and Maddie have become temporary foster parents.
Still reeling from having her daughter abruptly taken from her, Hen sneaks into the group home where Mara’s been staying to check on her. The poor child looks despondent — as broken and as fragile as when she first arrived at Karen and Hen’s — and insists the Hen lied to her when she said they were a family. Hen insists that they are still a family and Mara wonders if that means she finally gets to go home. The front desk clerk, having realized that Hen’s not allowed to visit, interrupts their visit — accompanied by security — and asks Hen to leave. Mara begs Hen to stay but she can’t: she assures Mara that she’ll see her soon and that she loves her.![Maya & Carina | Wedding [4x16] - YouTube](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kitV71WHkH4/hqdefault.jpg)
Hen’s barely out of the door of the group home when Chimney calls with some unsettling news: both Bobby and Athena are in the hospital after a fire at their home the previous night. She meets up with the rest of the team at the hospital and, eventually, they’re let in to see their captain. Athena’s left the hospital to chase down the person — or, as it turns out, persons — that set Athena and Bobby’s house ablaze. Everyone ends up okay: Bobby recovers from his heart attack and Athena gets the bad guys.
Later, Hen returns home, with Chimney and Maddie in tow, with Chinese food for them all to share. Denny opts to skip dinner, Karen reports, because he’s still upset about what happened with Mara. Karen admits that she doesn’t know what to tell her son about how Mara doing. Hen interjects and explains about her impromptu visit to the group home. Hen admits that Mara’s not doing well: she’s scared and retreating back to her old self. Maddie questions why Mara hasn’t been placed with another family and Karen admits that they were probably Mara’s last shot…now she’s likely stuck in a group home until she ages out of the system. Hen’s ready to go to the Councilwoman and beg to get her daughter back.
There are a lot of incredible relationships on 9-1-1 — Maddie and Chim, Hen and Karen, Athena and Hen, Eddie and Bobby, Eddie and Buck — but the most enduring relationship of all is the one between Hen and Chimney. Those two have been through it and they are truly each others’ ride or dies. So I shouldn’t have been surprised — though, for the record, I absolutely was — when Hen, Karen, and Denny arrive at Chimney and Maddie’s place for lunch and there’s an additional place set on a fancier than usual tablescape.
Karen asks if Buck’s joining them but Chimney corrects her: it’s another sibling that’ll be joining them today, Mara! Maddie and Chimney got themselves a foster license so that they could provide a home for Mara until Hen and Karen can find a way to adopt her. It’s such a beautiful moment…Hen’s crying, Karen’s crying, I’m crying…I love these guys so much.
But the happiness is short-lived because when Hen and Chimney return to work, they’re introduced to their new captain…who is also their old captain…the same captain who made their lives hell when they arrived at the 118.
Pretty Little Liars: Summer School Episode 205: “Chapter Fifteen: Friday the 13th”
Written by Valerie Anne
Pretty Little Liars Summer School: Jen and Noa kiss
Bloody Rose just couldn’t let Noa have her cake and eat it too.
This week, Jen is still crashing at Noa’s. Jen asks if Noa’s okay and when Noa admits she’s not, without giving details about Dr. Sullivan’s betrayal and Faran’s incident, Jen comforts her. Noa decides the way she wants to be comforted is by sleeping with Jen, so that she does. But the next morning, Noa’s boyfriend swings by to pick her up for a run. Noa is flustered, and Jen makes a joke about not getting much sleep last night, but the boy is none the wiser.
While on their run, Noa starts to apologize, but doesn’t end up actually confessing to cheating. Later at work, Noa snaps at Jen for this morning, but their fight is interrupted by Noa’s boyfriend’s mom coming to scream at her for borrowing $2,000 from her son. Jen moves to comfort her when the mom leaves, but also implores Noa to break up with her boyfriend, which isn’t what Noa needs to hear right now. Jen asks if last night was a mistake, but Noa doesn’t answer, so Jen just stalks off to find $2k to pay Noa’s boyfriend back.
Confused and scared, Noa tries to overcompensate for her guilt by sleeping with her boyfriend. When he finds out what his mom said, he storms off to yell at her about it, and comes back asking to move in, because he sort of told his mother he wasn’t coming home. He says he’ll always choose Noa and Noa tries not to wince; she’s not sure she can say the same.
Side note, Imogen and Tabby have a cute scene where they play house. Tabby says, “And how was your day dear” as she pours Imogen tea, and Imogen returns with, “and yours, honey?” It’s very cute.
On Friday the 13th, Noa comes home to find Jen with the money she owes. Jen thinks this will help Noa have a clean slate to break up with him, but as she’s talking, Noa finds a letter from A threatening “her beloveds” so she turns heel and starts yelling at Jen. She tells her to leave, says she’s picking her boyfriend, says them having sex was a mistake. Jen doesn’t buy this sudden shift but Noa cries, begs her to leave, so she does.
Noa goes to the trail A told her to go to alone because, new or old, Liars never learn. She is told to walk barefoot over thorny roses while a dog chases her. She eventually runs to a road, where Jen is there ready to pick her up, and they speed away into the night and away from Bloody Rose. And unless A made a lucky guess, I’m not sure who could have known about Jen. They’ve only kissed inside their houses, and Noa hasn’t even told the Liars about it. So unless all their significant others are in on this, I think they might be bugged in more places than just Dr. Sullivan’s office.
While Dev is absent in the season finale of Beacon 23, our girl Aster does come back, in a way. The Artifact is reactivated, and Halan finds himself in an AI simulation with Bart, Harmony, and Aster. The Artifact kept her spirit alive. Aster gets to chat with Harmony again, reflect on their life together, on how Aster was such a difficult teenager that Harmony almost asked for another assignment, but realized she didn’t trust anyone else to take care of Aster like she could. Ultimately, they’re glad to have found each other.
In the Beacon, Halan’s body dies, but he stays in the simulation. Together, they realize that the thing that connects them all is Harmony. So they all link up, and Harmony sort of…absorbs them. As soon as she does, the Artifact reaches out to her telepathically. It says “You are ready to receive us,” and she looks up as a giant alien squid monster appears.
And now, I have to imagine this is the series finale. Where do you go from giant alien squid monster? And if there is somehow a third season, I can’t say that I’ll watch it. This show was slow and weird and confusing and just simply not for me. Sorry to Lena Headey. It was at least nice to see her one last time.
