On this chapter of The Queerest Things I Watched Last Week, Good Trouble and The Handmaid’s Tale are back with new seasons; I do an all Elektra Abundance Pose recap and write part 5 of my 10-part love letter to Tanya Saracho.
- Good Trouble – Season 2 Episode 1 “Percussions” [Live]
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Good Trouble is back for season two, and our girl Alice is trying to gain self-confidence by practicing stand up comedy. It’s to an (almost) empty room, but baby steps, right? She also made a video to prove she’s now out and proud to try to win Joey back.
The video worked – yay, Alice!
Also, Joey came out to Alice about wanting to use They/Them pronouns. Yay to more non-binary rep on TV!
- The Handmaid’s Tale – Season 3 Episode 4 “God Bless the Child” [Streaming]
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Remember this cheery, lighthearted comedy? The bleak AF Handmaid’s Tale has been back for season three for a few episodes now. At the end of season two, Emily escaped to Canada with June’s baby, hopefully, to be reunited with her wife and kid who made it to Canada years before.
Of course it’s not a big romantic reunion.
If you were reunited with your wife who you thought you may never see again and who made it back to you surviving being a Handmaid, mutilation, The Colonies, almost getting killed and escaping Gilead in the dead of night, don’t you think you would:
- Not make her take public transportation to meet you.
- Get there early and park in a garage so you’re there when she got off the train.
- Be happier to see her.
I know this is The Handmaid’s Tale and not a romantic comedy, but Luke was happier to see June on their mini-reunion last week. Just sayin’.
Emily spends a sad, awkward day at her wife and kid’s house filled with “emotional piano music.” Emily’s reunion with her son Oliver emotionally awkward too.
She cries through reading him a story about Spinosaurus, and Emily’s story line ends this episode with her and Sylvia silently sharing a beer on the porch.
I know Emily has been through a ton of trauma, but Sylvia is still wearing her wedding ring and marriage is about committing to a person through good and bad. She should be the one to help her with her reentry into non-Gilead life. I am hoping Sylvia is behaving hands-off because she’s being sensitive to how overwhelming this is for Emily, but I want them to be together in the long run, because that is what marriage is about.
- Grown-ish – Season 2 Episode 14 “Can’t Knock the Hustle” [Live]
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I’ll be honest, I like this show because I like Black-ish, but otherwise, it fails The Bechdel Test badly. The main character, Zoey, is really self-centered and privileged, and in this episode, she needs to get a Job job because her parents cut her off.
After passing up jobs she feels too good for, she eventually gets one, “Being paid to sit in a box, like human veal, dressed like an anime character,” at a high-end hotel.
There she unintendedly witnesses something.
Uh oh, it’s Nomi and professor Shane.
Zoey confronts Nomi and tells her it feels weird for her to be dating a faculty member.
I’m with you, Zoey, it does feel wrong.
But Nomi is angry and tells Zoey she’s being judgemental and condescending as usual.
Y’all, I’m trying to get past the teacher/student, big age disparity thing, but it’s still weird. Plus it’s Shane and I don’t trust her intentions. We’ll all just have to see where this goes.
- Pose – Season 2 Episode 2 “Worth It” [Live]
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This is going to be an all Elektra Abundance recap because she was amazing this week. Elektra is a mean condescending bitch, but I love her character very much.
Last episode Elektra had a mysterious new income source. This week we found out she has found the perfect career as a professional dominatrix.
It’s a very fitting job for her personality.
Dinner at the house of Elektra’s former children consisted of Slim Fast and popcorn with hot sauce. This will not do and neither will the lack of closet space. Elektra realizes this house is not for her and makes a dramatic exit.
After that, she assembles a new house — “The fiercest house ballroom has ever seen.” Her new House of Wintour crashes the next ballroom.
Pray kicks them out, but they’ll be back.
When the House of Wintour does return for their first competition they sweep the trophies.
Elektra has managed to claw her way back to the top again.
This show makes my wife and I very nostalgic because it follows our exact coming out timeline. The show portrays so well the determination to celebrate life during a time period steeped in the tragedy of the AIDS crisis.
The album Red Hot + Blue came out in 1990. It was a compilation of Cole Porter covers and the music industry’s first major AIDS benefit. It wasn’t comprised of just the few out artists at the time; it was a wide range of bands who stepped up to support our community.
The first song on the album, I’ve Got You Under My Skin covered by Neneh Cherry, I think really captures the feeling of the time.
Buckle in for the nostalgia train, because I’m sure this show will bring more up as the season continues.
- Vida – Season 2 Episode 5 “Episode 11” [Streaming]
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Dear, Tanya Saracho.
It made me so sad to see Emma getting all those automated marketing emails wishing her a happy birthday while she's depressed and having a hard time getting out of bed or off the couch.
I bet she's the kind of person who's all, "I don't give a fuck about my birthday." but I still felt so bad for her.
Even as the day kept taking a crap on Emma, Nico knew the right things to do and say.
Nico is totally the Emma whisperer.
When Lyn realizes its Emma's birthday, she is all of us.
Lyn trying to make a birthday celebration for Emma with booze and a personal concert was beautiful. I absolutely loved the entire end scene.
Lyn is a fuck up, but she's trying, and she's really good at keeping the peace between Eddy and Emma. She also knows exactly what people need, emotionally from time to time.
Thank you for showing people's multiple layers so well.
Love,
Tracy
PS. Emma dancing with a Beanie Baby is my new sexuality.
Dear, readers, I am going to do something next week I have not done since starting this weekly column. The wife, kid and I are going on a road trip and I am taking the week off. I’ll see you all back here in two weeks!
