Season 4 / Episode 2 ; Episode: "Livin'
La Vida Loca"
|
 |
|
Episode
Summary
Kace Evers Episode Review Of Mass Destruction
#402: Livin' La Vida Loca
This is just one entertaining lil' episode. Seriously.
_____________________________________________
We get our previously highlights while trying in vain to get that damn
Ricky Martin song out of my head. After going through the transitional
phase of departures, it's time for some arrivals!
Showtime presents, so-so music and Alice in a club. She has a deer in
the
headlights look in her search for Papi. We're introduced to some
pretenders to the throne as men and women alike fight over who's the real
Papi. None of 'em are the real deal though, but that comes later.
Our beloved BETTY theme that I, The L Word people and nobody else likes
plays on as the montage slowly begins to build itself with Phyllis being
added to the mix. We still have two people with their backs to the screen
here, but don't worry...if you haven't figured it out yet, they'll be
revealed soon enough.
Shane is making phone calls in the search for Gabe while Max reads a
newspaper and dresses like me. I knew there was a reason why I liked him.
Max is good at looking for people online, but Jenny's good at
being...Jenny. Jenny misses hanging out with Shane and mentions the notion
of trying get to Shay out of their hair, thus making Shay all depressed.
Great going, Jenny.
Onto California University, the same college Tim was an assistant coach
and
I guess Randy's still head coach. Bette walks with Phyllis and they talk
business and stuff. Phyllis mentions having a husband which usually
wouldn't mean much, but this is The L Word, so...y'know. Bette gets to
interview TA candidates later on and Phyllis mentions the Provocations
exhibit from Season 1.
Tina talks with Aaron The New Boss in an effort to save her job. Tina
wants to make a movie called Twisted Forest and Aaron likes that, but
doesn't think it'll happen. Tina pops the news that it's a done deal and
saves her job as Aaron is a happy man. Aaron however tells Tina that she
gets to play the messenger of bad news.
Tina informs Helena that she's been fired. How nice of Aaron, but I'm
sure
the Tina Bashers'll just use this as more fuel for the fake outrage fire.
Zombies On A Train was an Aaron movie. "I want these muthafuckin'
zombies
off this muthafuckin' train!!!" Look, if it's Samuel L. Jackson and
the
enemy's not a shark, the enemy's in for a bad fight.
Back to CU where Bette talks in a classroom that looks like the one
Charlotte Birch taught in. We're introduced to Juliet Huddy of Fox
News...no, wait that's not Juliet. Christ, she kinda favors her though
and
she thinks Bette is hot.
Alice gets a message from Papi and Tina says hi. We hate on the straight
people, because Alice dated a lesbian man...therefore all shall suffer.
Great moral lesson there, guys! Keep 'em comin'! Kit's had her abortion
off camera and Tina mentions having had a couple of abortions.
*pause*
Guys, Tina's not the one who needs the lecture. The one who's done nothin'
wrong is usually the one who shouldn't have to deal with such things.
But
yeah...We're All Supposed To Hate Tina. I get it...resistance is futile,
you shall be assimilated. Blah blah blah, blah blah blah.
*unpause*
Shane arrives with Shay and everyone remembers her existence again.
Helena's still appearing a bit bitter. I don't blame her. Shay's
introduced to the crowd and Alice and Shane engage in a quick hug.
And now, a really cool moment as Bette has hired James from the CAC to
be
her receptionist. And people say there's no continuity on this show.
HA!!! Anyway, Nadya (I remember Nadia Merchant in Season 1...therefore
I
shall spell this Nadia's name different for my own sake) Carella or however
ya spell it...the Juliet Huddy lookin' gal says hi to Bette for the
interview.
Kit gives Shay some Fries so that's at least one thing they've replaced
Lara's cooking with. Alice informs Shane the obvious, that Helena's the
one who got hurt the most next to Carmen over the wedding fiasco. Shane
wants to make it up to her somehow.
Nadya waxes her legs for the 5th time and tries to play up to Bette while
trying to get her job. Boy, I can see this one comin' from a mile away
and
considering it's Bette this could get fun. Nadya thinks Bette has great
arms. Well, you should see Helena's. Bette wants to use a metaphor about
being in a new place, but not like a new place, 'cause that would be like
a
simile and stuff. See, I remember some stuff from High School that was
educational. Bette takes a liking to Nadya and it appears Nadya is now
the
TA. Teacher's Assistant? Tormented Apostrophe? Tits Ass? Bueller?
Bueller? Bueller? Bette has a Kevin Spacey moment from American Beauty
and flexes her right arm a little. Cute.
Max arrives at her boss's house. Disaster! Dead ahead! We're introduced
to.....to....
*pause*
God...DAMN she's lovely!
*unpause*
...to Brooke. I can't really say anything here...um...wow.
Oh yeah, it's night at the Planet now. It's an attempt to go after Tina
since she's not around. Shay's left alone...kinda like Tina, because
that's what friends do. :) Shane's not putting Shay in a foster home or
any of that stuff as Shane had some bad experiences. For the second
episode in a row, we have nausea. Jenny wishes Carmen was here...well,
don't we all??? Paging Sarah Shahi....Sarah? Teachers sucked!
Come back
to us!!!
Max and Brooke By Gawd have a date at a restaurant and Max is all
understanding about women. Brooke's not really attentive to detail, is
she? Either that or all the boys she's been around look and talk like
Max.
Just picture that in your head.
The wild goose chase continues as it's raining in God Knows Where. Alice
arrives, looking for Papi. One guy is pointed out as, "Papi,"
but he ain't
the one. Alice (nice dress she's wearing) wanders out and it's still
raining. You know what would be funny? Walking into a Mexican
establishment where Rush is playing. Just picture drinking some Mexican
brew with a sombrero on the wall and "Tom Sawyer" playing. Alice
is led to
a limo and we're FINALLY introduced to Papi. And the rain stops.
Jenny talks with an interviewer gal. They do a bonding thing and Jenny
doesn't want gay press after talking to this interviewer from Curve
magazine. "Cunt Enthusiast." That may be the term of the year.
Jewish
Lesbian? A lesbijew? A hebrian? Anyway, this goes on and on and on as
we
get details that come in handy later about people and stuff. That's nice.
Papi takes Alice to some restaraunt. No doubt it's different from the
one
Max is at. This is apparently a different section of town from the one
the
Morales family hang out in as the whole gay thing seems a little more
embraced here. What was that whole thing about continuity again? Screw
it, hypertime glitch. Papi has no last name...kinda like Kane. I wonder
if Papi chokeslams people and sets 'em on fire, too? Right away, Papi
strikes me as Season 1 Shane, but without the whole conscience weighing
her
down thing. Papi makes her move for Alice, which Alice doesn't mind.
Welp...looks like we're officially over Dana and Lara now! Papi can make
a
woman come just by kissing her.
Max brings Brooke By Gawd home. We get the goodnight kiss and it's
just...awwwwww. Oh, I can only hope that Brooke has an open mind and heart
about Max once Max tells her about the whole transgender thing. I
mean...he's gotta tell her!!! Right? Otherwise...hey, more kissin' and
that's a good thing. Some Max Haters might not care for it, but hey the
character's comin' around now. Good night, Brooke!
More of that interview thing with Jenny and Stacy. I wonder if all Curve
Magazine interviews go like this? I'll let you know as soon as they
interview me...which I'm sure they will at any moment. Or maybe not.
Jenny's opening up a bit and Stacy probably feels bad about that.
The back of Papi's limo now as it's time to get the love groove on.
Yep...getting over Dana and Lara is now official. Hey, Alice has gotta
move on, people. What, ya want her to do nothin' but mourn all year? Let
her be happy, 'cause she's all that's left! And Papi is definetly bringing
a smile to her face. Watching this, I have a greater appreciation of
circles now. "Circles are good." Everyone take note!
And we go from that to the Sisters Porter...and this really peaceful,
sad
music. God, no wonder Bette gets pint up so much. If I listened to that
all the time, I'd snap, too. Seriously, Bette throw in some Guns N' Roses
or somethin'. Kit breaks down about the abortion and how she feels bad
for
Angus. Kit needs a hug and Bette obliges. Someone cue up Sister Sledge.
Alice thinks she's done. Papi says otherwise. Daylight now as Helena
(looking rather Dana here) sees the limo and hears the sound of sex. Alice
is out of her limo with the dress back on and Helena's smiling. Helena's
probably really happy for her, too. Helena's about to go for a jog and
the
legend of Papi continues as Helena stops to talk with Papi.
Muhuhwahahahahahahaha!!!
Max talks with Jenny about her situation and Jenny doesn't care, because
Jenny lives in her own World. A World where Max's problems don't matter.
Jenny decides to read Stacy's review of Some Of Her Parts. Shay walks
in
to see what the fuss is about. Hilarity ensues. Jenny's reamed a new one
by Stacy, the Curve Magazine reviewer. Here's the thing, Stacy understands
where Jenny's coming from, but the vice versa isn't as true. But I guess
we'll get to that later. Shane shows up and Jenny says, "cunt,"
around
Shay, upsetting Shane. She then says, "fucking," upsetting Shane.
Typing
and laughing at the same time as Jenny is absoluetly brilliant here. When
I bash, I bash, but when Jenny needs exalting, I exalt her. And I exhalt
her!
Nadya tries to lay the groundwork for Bette's paranoia while continuing
to
win her over and come on to her. If trying this on lesser women, Nadya's
in like Flynn. But this is Bette Porter who's been through Hell and
back...twice. So again, this is gonna get fun. Little Nemo? Or as Peggy
Peabody might call it, Little Fucking Nemo. I like the sketch art. Nadya
continues trying. Some dude named Preston shows up. Where the Hell's
Randy?
We're at Wax and Shay's in from skating. Marta's a useless assistant
and
Shane is apparently in charge now. I guess Chase and his boyfriend went
on
vacation.
Phyllis's office as Bette talks business and Phyllis, remembering we
only
have so many episodes to make things happen in Season 4 gives us her story
right away. She comes out to Bette as a lesbian after so many years of
being in the closet and being married and with kids and all. Eek, poor
thing. I guess this'll be our complicated tragic story and hopefully it
won't lead to dreams about a circus and a bad haircut. Is it too late?
Bette says it isn't. If I'm the husband, I'm thinking it is.
Jenny shows up at Curve HQ and annoys some receptionist. Jenny's
all
raging and everything. And to think, Curve's having a big party
for being
in an episode where their magazine's referred to as, "a piece of
shit."
It's a crazed form of logic, but hey if it works it works. Jenny
translates Stacy's last name as, "Vagina Wig." Makes me wanna
reeaxamine
Pearl Jam's Merkinball CD now. Shay's a little clumsy as something's
spilt. Shay runs away and Shane tells Marta to come back in. Marta
doesn't really do this. Marta tells Shane he just left and Shane fires
her. "Again?" And hopefully for the last time. Idiot.
The team gets together and hey, Tina's with 'em! Guess it makes sense,
no
one's talking shit about her while she's there. 'Cause that's what friends
are for. :) Paging Dionne Warwick...hello?
Shay's in a truck with a truck driver and I get a really queasy feeling
here.
The gang's all looking around for Shay as Shane drives around and Max
and
Jenny check a skating park. No signs so far.
The trucker talks with Shay and this is just spooky. "You know what
happens to boys who run away when they're 10?" What would make that
even
creepier would be some circus music. We wind up in a parking lot and I'm
really feeling uneasy here. But this has a happy ending as this is one
of
the good guys who picked up Shay. Shane arrives and is thankful to find
him. Shay was wanting to go home and Shane...grows up. This is Shay's
home now. Good thing Shane's out of the game, 'cause she doesn't really
need the stress. It's also good for Papi.
Alice and Bette are at a basketball park in LA and no drug deals are
going
down s'far as I can tell. The good news is spread to Alice and Bette.
It's been a long day. And now for our comic relief to end the show as
Papi
and Helena emerge....they just did something. Papi doesn't do repeat
engagements. A friend is made in a crazy circumstance. Helena probably
needed that, too.
And that's our program and it's gettin' fun again. Seriously...for
those
of you who gave up, it's safe to come back and be entertained again!
Discussion
Board -- What did you think of the episode??
Guest Stars:
Steven Eckholdt
Cybill Shepherd
Music
A big thanks to EzGirl and Howard Parr, the Season 4 Music Editor!
Visit EzGirl at www.myspace.com/ezgirlmusic
1 Recap-- ezgirl
2 La Carretilla-- Jenny Peer
3 Main Title-- BETTY
4 Shay Overhears-- ezgirl
5 Running Out-- Mabel John
6 Short Stoppin--Veda Brown
7 Carry On-- Jean Knight
8 Nadia Job-- ezgirl
9 Champion Lover-- Deborahe Glasgow
10 Waltz From Coppelia-- Studio Musicians
11 Teresita-- Studio Musicians 5 Alarm Music
12 Never Run From Jah-- Queen Omega
13 No Me Hables Asi-- Sol
14 Esta Noche Tu Vendras-- Chelo Silva
15 Max Finishes Date-- ezgirl
16 Salve Me-- Studio Musicians
17 Mozart Concerto #23-- Studio Musicians
18 Helena Meets Papi 1-- ezgirl
19 Helena Meets Papi 2-- ezgirl
20 Helena Meets Papi 3-- ezgirl
21 UCLA BI 0:07-- ezgirl
22 Wargasm-- L7
23 Rebel Girl-- Bikini Kill
24 Shane Looking 1-- ezgirl
25 Couldn't Leave Her Alone--The Hedrons
26 Shane Looking 2-- ezgirl
27 Fallaste Corazon-- Ranchera All Stars feat. Maria E. Garcia
Previews
NON-Spoiler Version
Tina throws a party for the girls and
Bette's boss wants a part of the action at the Planet. Helena is looking
for a job. Shane takes care of her little brother, Angus gets some good
news, and at the art college, Bette's teaching assistant is having feelings
for her.
SPOILER VERSION:
#4.3 LASSOED
Bette finds it harder and harder to keep the distance between herself
and her TA Nadia and finally succumbs to Nadia's flirtations.
Tina and Henry (Steven Eckhold) decide to throw a mixer for all of their
friends, gay and straight, except that some friends mix better than others.
Shane runs into red tape as she tries to register Shay into public school.
Obsessed in tracking down Stacey (Heather Matarazzo), the journalist
who screwed over Jenny with a malicious review, Jenny gets Max to do a
computer search on Stacey's girlfriend, hoping to find dirt and thereby
destroy Stacey's credibility.
Angus lands a recording contract and national tour dates then finds out
the band wants to replace him with a younger, pretty boy.
After coming out to Bette, Phyllis invites herself to The Planet's Rancho
Notorious party and crashes Bette's table where she's convinced that Alice
is giving her signals.
Shane gives Helena a job at WAX as a receptionist, but she doesn't quite
fit the bill.
After it's obvious that Max isn't going to be invited to Tina & Henry's
party, Max takes Shay under his wing and makes him feel at home.
Alice tries to lay down the law and sets boundaries with new roommate
Helena.
GUEST STARS
Carrie Colak .... Mindy
Steven Eckholdt .... Henry
Janina Gavankar .... Papi
April Telek .... Nell
Brittany-Ellen Willacy
Olivia Windbiel .... Angelica Kennard
Written By: Ilene Chaiken Directed By: Tricia Brock
|
