The L Word(s)

We're staying true. Somebody has to.

So did anyone watch The L Word last night? Or did you all catch the OurChart version last week so that you could be free to sleep through the Oscars on Sunday?

Either way, you probably found yourself nodding off. Neither show was particularly thrilling. But at least the L Word isn't navel-gazing and self-congratulatory. Um, wait a minute...

I mean, can we talk about the hell we put ourselves through just so that we can witness an "ultimately triumphant love story" between two women? OK, maybe we're not all in it for anything that grand. Maybe we just want to watch hip, hot lesbians having fun friendships and getting off.

But how ridiculous are we, the way we hurt our brains trying to come up with reasonable motivations and excuses for all those holes in the narrative? And how ridiculous that we have been engaged in this for five seasons?

Let's start with Bette and Tina, who both need to get bitch slapped right about now.  You're off, you're on, you're off again -- but without any real conversation about how you might actually feel about each other? Never mind how high the stakes are right now?  The fact you parent a child together? That you're both supposedly serious adults?  Tina, you're going to show up at Jodi's dinner even after Bette has come all the way out to the Lez Girls set to tell you how uncomfortable that would make her? Your  excuse for accepting the invitation from Jodi is that you thought Bette wanted you there as much as Jodi did. But Bette is standing here telling you she was shocked when she heard Jodi invited you, with a date, no less. 

Bette is practically begging you not to show up, and you're still gonna go? Like, why? It's not the event of the season. Not some big reunion for the extended family. It's just some small dinner to allow Jodi to show off her cooking skills and her hideous outfit.  How about just calling Jodi (or texting her or whatever is appropriate) and gracefully bowing out with some story about how tied up you are on the set?  I mean, honestly.

And can we talk about the actual dinner for a sec? So it's a small dinner for eight but everybody is already eating when Tina and Sam show up? Tacky. Even tackier is the fact that Shane and Molly get up right in the middle of dinner, without any excuses or announcements, grab a bottle of wine off the table and go outside to smoke and make out. Huh? Who does this?

And Tina, why would you bring a date up in Bette's face at this juncture? Here Bette has gone and done something way out of character (I know, I know, everybody on this show constantly does stuff that's out of character)  and actually shared some of her feelings with you. She's so conflicted. It's so written all over her face. The screwing around you have done behind Jodi's back has actually meant something to her. Can't you see that? She knows she needs to figure out a way to leave Jodi for you.

This is big, Tina. Why are you showing up at Bette's girlfriend's place with some random date you know you don't want anything to do with anyway. Aren't you past throwing a girl in Bette's face so she pays attention? Hello, she's paying attention. She just needs to figure out how to get back to you. And come on, not like you didn't push her away in the first place. Remember, Bett "f*cked up,'' she didn't "f*ck off." Now you're gonna look Bette in the eye and tell her you don't want to be the one to break up her and Jodi?  You might have thought about that before you threw yourself at Bette in the kitchen that steamy afternoon. And then did her again in your own bed. How much sneaking around have you two been doing, anyway? And why did you pass up a perfectly good opportunity to get it on in that trailer? But, seriously, I understand why you want Bette to take care of business on her own and why you don't want to be in the middle of this. But, guess what, you're in the middle. How about the two of you figure something out together, since you're so obviously seriously in love here.

Of course, once everyone leaves the room to check out Jodi's sculpture outside, you're gonna have a hard time keeping your hands off each other, even though you have just agreed to stop with the fooling around. Sigh. I know, love is complicated. And passion makes us stupid. Which is why, even though too often the L Word's storytelling makes us scream at our TV, we keep watching. It's a bad relationship for us, we know this. But we don't know how to quit it. We're as hooked as Bette and Tina. Let's just hope Bette's suggestion that they go see their old shrink leads to something positive.

As for Alice and Tasha.  Well, who knows what's going to happen next. Tasha has just had some last-minute epiphany about living her life with integrity. Although integrity is something she was glad to do without all these years. I mean, she fought to stay in a military that demanded she lie about some pretty fundamental stuff. And at the end of her Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell trial, she was guaranteed she could stay, which is all she ever wanted. All she had to do was go along with one more little lie. But instead, she gave it all up to shout her love for Alice. Aw. Let's hope she sticks to her guns later when she's out there in the cruel world without a J.O.B. and a girlfriend who essentially is still very different from her. Let's hope she's glad she put integrity first.

Certainly, nobody on the set of Lez Girls is worried about integrity. Which I guess is Ilene Chaiken's little stab at gay Hollywood. Does it make sense that Tina would be the first to suggest finding the lead actress a beard so that audiences believe she's straight?  I mean, Tina has been written as someone with fine dyke politics. Or, at least Tina  always believed she had fine dyke politics, even when she was screwing a man. Hey, at least she's always been out. You'd think she'd try to be some sort of catalyst for change in Hollywood. Side note: Can Bette really respect Tina for doing this sort of thing? I mean, Bette is hardly virtuous in love, but her politics have always been right on. She would never sweep her sexuality, or anybody else's, under the carpet for the sake of a paycheck. And here the love of her life and the mother of her child is being the kind of Hollywood scum she has always hated. But, whatever. Why dissect this?

I guess the message is, even today, in too many arenas, if you play by the rules and keep to the closet, you get to stay in the game. Like Niki in Hollywood. But if you bust out of the closet, you get drop-kicked from the life you want. Like Tasha in the Army.

But,  either way, I think I've just about reached my threshold on the Lez Girls drama. And you know what? Niki is annoying. There, I said it. I don't give a f*ck what happens to her. She's hot, sure. But she's stupid. And are we really buying that she's in love with Jenny?

Speaking of stupid. Shane certainly isn't. But she is uneducated, and going nowhere. Phyllis is not wrong about this. Not very nice of Phyllis to tell her LSAT-acing daughter that Shane is sort of beneath her. But, it's not an unreasonable thing for a mother to say.  Shane, you're having fun getting all the babes now. But an aging Fonz is not a pretty picture. You really should make something of yourself.

Though, I guess an Ivy League education and a serious career won't necessarily prevent you from being a cheating dog. Look at Dean Porter. 

 

Lez Get Real

Can we chat about the tale-within-a-tale business for a minute? Muy meta, sure.  But, are we really enjoying this?  So let's see: Ilene Chaiken develops a TV show that reflects her real life, and she creates a character named Jenny in her image. Jenny becomes a screenwriter and director who in turn makes a movie about her own L world.

I suppose this is sort of fun. Though to me, it's mostly a stretch.  Seems like a great inside joke for the cast and crew of the L Word. But is it an effective storyline otherwise? After all, what's great about the L Word is that it reflects our realities. REALITY being operative. You know, "This is the way that we live - and looooove!'' Remember how some fans bitched in the beginning because they said the show didn't ring true because of its too-rich, too-fab, too-lipsticked characters? Those were the days. Now we have to deal with this over-the-top Lez Girls situation.

We get it, we get it. There is always a certain amount of wackiness on a set. Actors let their foibles hang out for all to see. Managers and publicists are forever trying to sweep under the carpet certain aspects of their actors' personalities. And sh*t happens when you're cloistered together trying to film a project. 

IC has told us in her newest podcast that the opener in Episode Seven, where the chicks who play Jenny and Marina get into some diva drama, should not be read as reflective of any real drama that Mia Kirshner and Karina Lombard may or may not have had in real life. Though, there were plenty of rumors to that effect after Season One. And then there's that stuff about actors in Lez Girls who are pretending to only play gay when they're actually gay in real life. It all makes you wonder what's true and what's not. And I guess that's the whole point.

But that leads to a natural question: If Jenny is getting it on with the actress who plays her, then should we wonder if IC got it on with Mia? Did those two ever get the trailers rocking on the set of the L Word? I actually asked Ilene this question a few weeks back.

"Why in the world would I answer that?,'' she responded, and you have to give her props for having a sense of humor. You know I was just joshin', Ilene.

But here is her straight answer about all those meta moments:

"What I would say to you and everyone else who's watching is that you can imagine and interpret some of the things you see to be true. And some not. We had a lot of fun with this. But even some of the cast has come up to me and asked 'Did that really happen?' I'm not going to answer all of the questions.''

If we can take from all of this that there possibly are actors on the L Word who are in fact  gay but are pretending to only play gay, then we can imagine that at some point, Leisha Hailey (who is out in real life) might have uttered something along the lines of what her character Alice just did:

"What the f*ck is up with everybody these days? Am I like, some sort of idiot that I'm out? I mean, is the joke on me? 'Cause I don't get it.''

Word, Leisha. I mean, Alice.

As for Tasha and the whole Dont-Ask-Don't-Tell bit. Gotta love Rose Rollins. And you gotta love the powers at the L Word for tackling this issue. Though, usually when the L Word tackles an "issue,'' it makes the eyes glaze over. Then there is Kelly McGillis as the officer who is gonna bring Tasha down. Fun casting. Lord knows Kelly was a lesbian icon back in the day. But can we talk about her now? You know what, let's actually not go there.

Instead let's talk about Jenny and Jesse and the fact that they all of a sudden are in love. Really? Wait, I mean Jenny and Nikki. Hmm. Jenny, I'd say that between your suspect lead actress and even more suspect assistant, you could be going down worse than Kit Porter with a rat problem.

Which brings us to Dawn Denbo and her lover Cindy. Honestly, WTF is this whole storyline about? And lesbian Turkish oil wrestling? I mean, nothing wrong with a bunch of hot actresses getting dressed down and slicked up. But how ridiculous is the Denbo posturing? And why can't anybody say Cindy without preceding it with "lover?''

I'd be happier if the show spent a lot less time on these freaks and a lot more time on Shane and Molly. Because how fun was it when Molly compared Shane to the Fonz? And how much sass are these two bringing?

As for the latest in the BeTiJo triangle.  Sigh. Things are just getting messier. Bette and Tina getting all flirty and cute on Bev and Nina's bed was beyond sweet. And hey, Tina's got pot.  I have an idea. Why don't you crazy kids go somewhere quiet where you can get really stoned and then TALK YOUR SH*T OUT? Afterwards, you can have some more hot sex. Then we can all be happy.

Though, looks like Bette was not so happy when she came home from hanging around the Lez Girls set with Tina. Maybe she was frustrated because she wanted Tina, but couldn't have her. Reminds me of that original "Let's make a baby" scene from Season One, where Bette gets Tina all hot and bothered but then leaves her hanging because she has to go get her work on. How the tables have turned. Here Bette and Tina were about to kiss when all of a sudden Tina's gotta put work first and leave Bette hanging. How does it feel, Ms. AlphaBette?

I guess like hell, which is why Bette is so miserable when Jodi comes home all bright and cute and wanting to love on Bette. I know some folks were disturbed by the forceful way Bette threw Jodi down and then pleasured herself on top of her. And yeah, it's an awful way to treat your girlfriend. And clearly, this couple is in trouble. But, hey, it was still hot because this is Bette Porter we're talking about here. Sue me if I can get beyond the story and focus on the abs and the arms and the hot grunts.

Of course it's wrong for Bette to treat Jodi like a rag doll to hump on. So what made her do that? Was it about getting worked up by Tina earlier in the day?

"I don't know if it's just sexual frustration," Beals told me. "I don't think it was just about her pleasuring herself. I think she's angry at Jodi for not being who she wants her to be. She feels intensely guilty because she is doing the same thing she did before. Only it feels different because this person is the light of her life. She knows she has to pursue this to the end because if she doesn't she dies wondering what could have been. But she does love Jodi. And she has intense shame about what she's doing to her. She knows what she's doing to Jodi is really horrible.''

And seems like the powers edited that JoBette scene down. There was more to it when they filmed it, Beals said.

"In the end, she apologizes to her. She looks at her and says, 'I'm sorry.' ''

Yeah, Bette. Right now, you really are.

Bette and Tina. Bette and Tina. Bette and Tina.

Well, here we are, the morning after. Some of you, especially those who have been gawking at those spoiler slide shows and recaps for days, are sighing "Is that all there is?'' And you know what? Serves you right. You should have fought to stay unspoiled. And if I didn't let you in on the gory details of those TiBette sex scenes early, it wasn't because I was kissing any Ilene Chaiken a**. 

I didn't spill the beans because it's just uncool to take review copies of a show and post all that sh*t ahead of time. And to prove what? In the end, too many of you are probably left with that feeling that comes after you've finally made it with someone you've been working yourself into a lather about. You've imagined it going down so many times so many ways, that by the time it actually happens, there is no way the real thing can compare to your fantasies.

But, one thing is imagination and another is going back to those spoiler images over and over again like crackheads, and still hoping once you actually sat in front of your TVs for Episode Six, you'd get some new, better high.

To those of you who stayed unspoiled: I admire your strength.  (Special props to my gf, who for five seasons has lived with advance copies of this show and has never once broken down and watched an episode before it airs. Well, OK, I forced episode six on her last week. And I did in the end feel guilty about that.)  To the rest of you:  I'm just as weak. I want to know. But I understand feeling a little let down this morning.

Get past that, and go to the part where you recognize that for years to come, you will totally get off on these images in Episode Six. Instant Lesbian Classics. Not so hard, given how little material there is out there. But Episode Sex rocked, really. How many years did we re-watch the scenes in Desert Hearts and Bound? Because we so thirst to see ourselves reflected, yes. But also because we thirst for love scenes between two women who are even somewhat convincing. And really, can Bette and Tina be more convincing, even with the sometimes-bullshit story around them?

Lets thank Ilene for giving us what we so desperately wanted, not once, but twice in one episode. Have we really been waiting since Season Two for another TiBette hookup? And lets thank Jennifer Beals and Laurel Holloman for giving themselves up to their characters the way they did for famous Episode Six. Pay attention to the way these women kiss each other this time around. They ain't playin'. Or, at least they look like they ain't playin'. And that's good enough, no? Not that their kissing scenes have ever been lame. But they so went there this time. Watch again. I know you will. As I write this, I know there is not a single original thought I can have about this episode because by the time I post, you will  have so processed each scene, you've left nothing but the picked-over bones.

I was re-watching this episode last night with friends, and one of them was saying, as she always does when any L Word sex scene unfolds, that she just can't believe acting out this stuff wouldn't be a turn on for these actresses. Her theory is that it's just objectively  impossible to make out with Jennifer Beals and grind on her near-naked body without getting into it. And really, who would argue? But what's cool is that Tina has so come into her own this year (how dykey and hot was Laurel at the end of the episode when she's walking around the set of Lez Girls?) that I know a lot more of us now believe it is also objectively impossible to make out with Laurel and grind on her near-naked body without getting into it.

The perfect on-screen couple. We're invested in both.

Here's a question: Why does Jennifer Beals insist on feeling insecure about her body?

"I'm a lot less self-conscious in the [sex] scenes," she told me in an interview. "But I'm still self-conscious about my body. Jennifer's concept of her body is still there. You just get in your own way.  Every single actress on this show has something they're not thrilled with. It's not so easy to just get over it.''

To which I have to say: Huh? 

Beals has been saying for months that she thinks Bette and Tina should end up together again, but only if they "earn it.'' And you gotta wonder, is all that hot sex behind Jodi's back what she means by earning it? I mean, total points for the hot sex, don't get me wrong. But TiBette goes at it twice without any real conversation.

Are they teenagers? Or serious grown up women and parents?  I mean, you two broke up over Bette's cheating. All this drama, all those WTFs,  over Bette's cheating. You're just gonna have an affair with each other now without exploring what the hell you're doing? Bette? You stole some huge rusty sign and -- wait, you got a tractor and...what the hell was that "17 Reasons Why" thing about, anyway?

Did it amount to anything story-wise? Wasn't that your huge declaration of commitment to Jodi?

"It was an incredibly romantic gesture,"  Beals says. "She had the ability to get this sign and she knew what it meant to Jodi. And she wasn't ready to be alone.  It wasn't a huge commitment. The commitment would come after that gigantic gesture.''

TiBette gestured right on JoBette's bed. Because, yes, that used to be TiBette's playground, but if that bed were a crime scene, it would be Jodi's name written all over it.

Clearly, Tina came hours early to pick up Angie because she was set on explaining to Bette that she knew Bette wasn't all that in love with Jodi. I mean, it's not that these two don't process. It's more that they have their own special way of processing. Maybe Tina is ultimately just that in charge of Bette and knows it (maybe she has always known it.) Maybe Tina didn't bother to sit Bette down for a mature conversation because everything she needed to tell her, she knew she could tell her best with a quick afternoon of  "reconnecting.'' Jodi, you shoulda stayed home to "reconnect" when Bette asked you nice.

And hey, it seemed that after Tina got through explaining things to Bette, Bette was sold. Sold enough to get rid of Jodi the next day with some lame story about needing alone time. And sold enough to show up at Phyllis' party with that old swagger of hers, knowing a simple  "Tina? You wanna get out of here?''  seconds into saying hello would be enough game.

But here's what I want to know: Why does Bette mouth that "I love you" behind Tina's back? And why does Tina say "I'm not pushing you. I don't even know what I want?''

You don't know what you want, Tina? That's why you showed up at Bette's house one afternoon when you knew she would be alone, totally flirted, totally threw yourself at her, totally shut her up when she had that one little moment of sanity and asked "What are we doing?'' and totally took your sh*t back?

And Bette? You can't actually say "I love you" out loud and to Tina's face given how overwhelmed you are by the realization of what you've been missing?

You so are not "earning it,'' I almost wanna say you don't belong together. Almost. But honestly, you're hot together.

Speaking of details though, here's a little something to add to the L Word cult book, which somebody really should write. Because, you all know we're all in a cult, right? I mean, you can recite five seasons of dialog better than the folks who saw Rocky Horror 80 times.  The Star Trek freaks have nothing on you. You already know what lines from last night's episodes will live on.

Add "Bette, turn around'' to the list  that proves Tina has always been in charge.  Already on there: "Come here.''  "This is you.''

Anyway, here is my little tidbit for the Cult of L book (Hey, at least L Heads won't have to wear Spock ears or do funny hand salutes to be in good standing): You know in that first sex scene, where Tina is talking dirty to Bette (guess you don't have to treat her so "gingerly'' any more, huh Bette?) and she says "I just wanna #$%* you.'' The delivery is kinda, sorta forced?

It was a voiceover. On the review DVD, that strong "Don't'' that Tina utters comes out like whisper. The whole "Spread your legs" bit comes out like a whisper. Including some stuff you don't hear in the version that aired. I couldn't make out all the whispering (probably why that bit was edited) but Tina may be saying something like "I wanna see how wet you are. And something about how something is so hard. I mean, I think that's what she's muttering. But honestly can't say for sure.  I just know it was hotter.

Should I remind you to stay Zen about the rest of the season? Or do some of you know exactly how it all ends? If you do, tell me. OK, wait. Don't.   

Time to get Zen about the L Word.

I was chatting with a colleague the other day about some of the questionable plot points in the L Word. Because, God knows there are still way too many of those. You know, those WTF moments that get us all bent out of shape because we're not willing to let the details slide long enough to just enjoy the visuals and the good times for what they are.

Like, how fun was that party at Shane and Jenny's? And how cute were Alice, Shane and Tina together, all wasted and dancing and eating pot brownies and carrying on? And how fierce was Bette with that "Mary F*cking Poppins'' line?  Also, how poignant was that whole Tasha-Alice  thing? You know, Alice may have an issue with understanding boundaries sometimes, but in the end, you gotta agree with her.  Screw the military for dictating that gay soldiers who risk their lives defending the country should have to live shamed, closeted lives in order to stay in the military. 

Anyway, this colleague and I were talking about the JoBette tablecloth break down, and the fact that a lot of viewers turned on Jodi that day because she lost it at the thought of Bette making minor (and easily reversible) decorating decisions when it wasn't her house, blah, blah. I mean, being your own person is one thing, but having a fit over your girlfriend surprising you with a new tablecloth, because you just have to assert your assertiveness -- is just, well, really it's just a not so smooth device to hit us over the head with the idea that Bette is getting her comeuppance from a new girlfriend who is not Pushover Tina.

There was probably another way to make that point without having Jodi look like an irrational, uptight freak-show. After all, it's not like Bette let herself into Jodi's place, rearranged the furniture, sloppily painted the walls a different, and absurd, color and placed computers and cable modems and other electronics in irrational places with no consideration to how those things might actually get HOOKED UP to relevant  wall outlets and whatnot. (Actually, I was victimized exactly this way once, and I definitely freaked out the way Jodi did. But hello, it wasn't over a stupid tablecloth.)

This colleague, always keen, said even my explanation for that tablecloth bit goes too far. It wasn't so much that the powers at the L Word were (clumsily) trying to make us see how different the dynamic between Bette and Jodi is, and how Bette has finally found a worthy opponent, she argued. It's more that the powers were trying to find a way to get to that sexy blindfold scene. Bette controlled Jodi by foisting a tablecloth! And Jodi had to freak out and teach Bette a lesson!

In the end we got to see Jodi blindfold Bette,  pin her arms behind her back and have her way with her. How are you gonna stay mad at Jodi for that?

Here's my advice about the best way to approach the L Word from episode five on (probably a good way to approach life in general):

If you overthink it, then you won't get off on it.

Actually, season five is lots of fun. But you have to be zen about it. The blindfold scene was pretty sexy, and too many of you didn't allow yourselves to vibe on it because you got all hung up on what a crazy bitch Jodi was to throw shade about that tablecloth when Bette only meant to be cute. Right?

I'll bet some of you are also hung up on the fact that after that amazing TiBette kiss last week, when Tina actually takes a huge risk this week and asks Bette if she's in love with Jodi, Bette  looks Tina in the eye and says, "Yes, I am. ''

I mean, it's  MAJOR for her to say that to Tina. And  ridiculous.

And implausible. But it's supposed to set us up, get us going, drop us from that great high we were on after episode four. Given the narrative to that point, there is no way Bette would have said "Yes I am.''

She would have hesitated. She would have equivocated. She would  have -- I don't know, something. She would not have looked Tina in the eye and said something that stupid. Talk about a WTF.  She also  wouldn't have called the cops to put an end to her friends' party next door. I mean, come on.

But, again, it's best to stay zen when it comes to the  L Word. The TiBette roller coaster is about to go into high gear. Tina tells Bette in the opening to episode five that she doesn't want to get into a whole "push me, pull me thing.'' Which of course means that's exactly where they're headed.

Some of the narrative around that will be lucid. Some, not so much. But, really, does it matter in the end when the hot love scenes are the thing?  Remember, just don't overthink it. Because episode six is right around the corner. And you just don't want to be frustrated by the finer points of the narrative when you get to episode six.

BTW, WTF is up with Dawn Denbo and her lover Cindy? I mean, who shows up at somebody's party to talk all that sh*t? These two supposed Miami girls are kinda fun and hot. But, honestly, WTF with their story? And a newsflash to Shane: Cute, that thing you said about Dawn and Cindy's new lesbian nightclub in LA looking like South Beach just threw up or whatever. Except, there is no lesbian club on South Beach. Hasn't been one for ages (though there are a few hot lesbian nights on the Beach now and again.) Barely any gay boy clubs left on South Beach these days, either. A sad truth.

But not as sad as Bette's "Yes I am.''

What is it about that TiBette chemistry?

Lord knows TiBette fans can go on about how hot Jennifer Beals and Laurel Holloman are together. Especially in those worn out love scenes of old -- because, come on, how many times has everybody hit the rewind button to catch every whisper and every nuance of those steamy exchanges? And how long has it been since these two got it on? Guess you have to go all the way back to season two and the post-ultrasound "brief encounter'' involving a very pregnant Laurel.

Wait. Has it really been that long? Maybe I'm wrong. It's all a blur. But what I do remember about that particular love scene is that Tina was cheating on Helena to have that "OMFG'' moment with her ex. Hmm. Guess TiBette's not beyond that sort of thing, which bodes well (if you're not all Judgey McNun about it) for possible (Jodi-who?) action this season.

Anyway, so many people compare the Tina and Bette thing to the Ross and Rachel thing. But, hello? Ross and Rachel were cute and all. But they had as much fire as -- well, whatever, Friends  was not on cable. It was all very chaste and junior high.

But plenty of couples tangle on The L Word and none brings the emotion or the heat that Bette and Tina do together. What's up with that chemistry?

"I don't know how we have it, or why we have it. I just know we have it," Laurel Holloman told me in an interview a few weeks ago. "We're very different in a lot of ways. Maybe that has something to do with it. As actresses, we want the same results. We love and care about our characters. Maybe our differences makes the chemistry crackle. And our desire to find the core truth of these characters also helps.''

So is it easier, or harder, to create that crackle now that the actresses have gotten to know each other better over five seasons?

"When we shot that love scene in the first season, after  we brought home that guy, I had known her for maybe a week,"  Laurel said. "And the chemistry was there then. I think you have more chemistry when you don't hang out with someone so much. I stay kind of private. I think some mystery creates tension. Obviously, we are great friends, but we give each other a lot of space, too.''

So, are they too buddy-buddy now to put enough heat in future sex scenes, should, you know, there happen to be any?

"It's fun now. We giggle. We do a lot of 'Can you put your hand here?' You know, where the skin is different after having a baby," Laurel says. "But I don't think we have lost the tension. We know the characters. And that chemistry is just there. It's undefinable. In my career, I have done a few sex scenes. And sometimes it's just there. Sometimes it's just not.  It's an undefined visceral connection between two people. Bette and Tina just have it. I think Shane and Carmen also had it.'' 

So far, which has been the toughest love scene for Laurel?

"The one in the finale of the first season,'' she said. "Where I discovered she had cheated. Physically it was very difficicult. And it's very difficult to take yourself there emotionally. You know, it's a painful place to revisit, where you have been deeply hurt and betrayed. You have to go back to your 20s when you have been betrayed and done the betraying, and all that dysfunctional stuff you do when you're young.''