IT’S MARCH MADNESS, BABY! Not just women’s basketball but also AUTOSTRADDLE TROPE-Y WIVES! So far, Natalie has unveiled our Enemies to Lovers region and our Forbidden Fruit region.
Shelli Nicole is covering another film festival; this time it’s SXSW. She reviewed Cora Bora and interviewed Meg Statler!!! She reviewed Who I Am Not. She reviewed Bloody Hell. She reviewed Swarm. And she’s not done yet!
More movies? Okay! Drew reviewed Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin’s new movie, Moving On. Valerie Anne reviewed Bella Ramsey’s horror short, Requiem. And A.Tony reviewed Scream VI.
The Last of Us’ first season came to a tear-jerking end this week, and of course Nic and Valerie Anne were here to recap it all for you! Also here to recap it all? Drew, with a brand new Drag Race rundown. Heather reviewed Perry Mason’s second season and introduced our new TV Team series, I’ll Watch Anything. Anya introduced you to the queer women of Survivor’s newest season. We heard A League of Their Own was coming back for four more episodes. Then we heard it was still fighting for #MoreThanFour. Riese reminded us of all the sapphic shows that have been cancelled after one season. And Heather made a list of TV comedies where lesbians are actually in on the jokes.
+ This week on Tournament of Champions, two chefbians stepped up to face the dreaded randomizer…though, thankfully, they didn’t have to face each other. In the first contest, celebrated pastry chefbian Elizabeth Falkner faced Joey Sasto in a battle that required: chicken thighs as the protein, rutabagas as the produce, metal skewers as the equipment and buttery as the style. Falker offered a Turkish chicken thigh with rutabaga hummus, a dish so creative that I was surpised Falkner didn’t take the victory. She lost by just one point.
In another battle, James Beard award winning chefbian Karen Akunowicz went head-to-head with Christian Petroni. The randomizer forced the chefs to work with pancetta as a protein, arugula as the produce, a ricer as the equipment and boozy as the style. Akunowicz was successful at showcasing the protein and the style in multiple ways which helped her secure the win. There’s a rematch with the chef that defeated Akunowicz in the last edition of TOC. Go gays! — Natalie
+ This week’s episode of NCIS: Hawai’i was a real testament to the growth that Kate Whistler’s undergone over two seasons. She’s no longer the DIA agent to felt like she had to be in control at all times…here, she’s admitting that there’s something she’s not immediately good at and allowing herself to be vulnerable with both Lucy and Jane Tennant. — Natalie
Station 19 610: “Even Better Than the Real Thing”
It all started with a lasagna.
In season three of Station 19, when Maya and Carina were still in the verrrry early stages of their relationship, well, there was a lot of sex. But also, there was lasagna. Lasagna baked by Carina and brought to the firehouse to surprise her girlfriend before pressing her hard up against bookcase. There was Maya telling Carina that she didn’t know how to have a girlfriend, because she was worried that she broken. There was Carina telling Maya, “I’m not in the habit of fixing broken people.”
There was them, this lasagna was them.
And I believe that’s why this week, Maya baked Carina a lasagna. Because she was right, she has been broken, but also she is healing and she wants to heal the hurt she’s caused Carina, too. So on her first day back at work, while the rest of Station 19 is out on a call, she tells Jack that she’s going to skip over to Grey Sloane to win back her wife with baked cheese and noodles.
Carina, who is in a meeting with Bailey, doesn’t respond with the warmth Maya was hoping for. Carina’s been asking for space, you see, and Maya is trying to respect those boundaries — but she also wants her wife to know that she’s here. She’s ready to fight for their marriage. But Carina does let her in the office, which is a start. And after Maya leaves, Carina does eat some of the lasagna at Bailey’s suggestion. Her wife made it for her, and she’s been having such a bad day.
That was a mistake, because Maya — overeager, overzealous impatient puppy of a woman Maya — she maaaaybe took the lasagna out a little bit early, in a rush to get it to Carina while it was still hot.
(An aside from the home cook in me: All the parts of lasagna are fully cooked before they go into an oven, and taking it out early should not have caused food poisoning — if anything, just undercooked noodles. But don’t let me ruin a good time!)
Here is Carina, back in the hotel room she’s been living in, sweaty, and nursing a toilet bowl. Maya shows up, having heard about the unintentional pain she’s caused, and at first Carina turns her away. But patiently, Maya stands by the bathroom door. I’d say it was even romantic, if it were not for all the vomiting. And wow, Station 19 sure did commit to the audio effects of the vomiting.
Eventually, when she’s done yelling at Maya, Carina relents. Having gotten it all out — her physical guts, her sticky emotions, her hurt, all of it — she slumps against the bathroom wall. She’s cold. Can Maya bring her a blanket?
Never have I seen a woman sprint across a hotel room to be helpful as quickly as Maya Bishop to bring her wife a blanket, and if I didn’t already know she was a Gold medal winning Olympian, there would be no doubt. In a flash, she’s by Carina’s side, wrapping her softly in a rust colored throw from the bed. Carina leans against Maya, she lets Maya hold her softly, her cheek pressed against the sweat of Carina’s hair. They talk almost in whispers, so much said without being said.
Maya doesn’t want to leave. She’s afraid that if she gets up and walks out the door, she won’t see Carina again. But Carina promises this won’t be their last time.
For one, she’ll call Maya in a few hours so that Maya knows that she’s OK. And for second, well Carina doesn’t say anything about what comes next. But I have a good feeling about this.
