The L Word Season Four, Episode Nine: The Parenting Perspective

“I’m his father. Any court will look favorably on that.”

(Warning: spoilers below.) So says Shane’s ne’er-do-well father Gabe, who has reappeared from nowhere after running out on his family at the end of Season Three. Gabe wants to take back his son, Shane’s nine-year-old brother Shay, whom Shay has been parenting for some months now. Despite his on-again, off-again approach to fatherhood, Gabe knows what constitutes a parent in the eyes of the court.

We never find out, however, what prompted Gabe into this sudden burst of paternal responsibility. All we learn is that he’s moving to Oregon and wants his son with him. Given his past track record, though, wouldn’t it have made more sense if he left town sans son? Or is the point that the ties of parenthood never really fade?

If so, things look grim for Shane. She clearly felt like a parent to Shay and learned more about responsibility from him than from anyone in her life. As Scribe Grrrl wrote at AfterEllen, “[Shane and Gabe] go back and forth a little about who’s more likely to win a custody battle, but we know the law is not really the issue here: It’s all about the story, and Shane’s story is pain.”

That was it for children of the main characters in this episode, aside from a throwaway line from Helena about dropping her kids off with her ex in New York. Bette and Tina are presumably still debating preschools for Angelica.

Looking back a generation instead of forward, however, we find Max headed for confrontation with his father and siblings. Max’s mother has just died, and his sister doesn’t want him to come to the funeral. Max is going to go anyway. We’ll find out next Sunday what ensues. Rejection by family is all too common for trans individuals, and this seems a valid enough premise for a storyline. I only hope the show doesn’t turn it into another public-service announcement about the LGBT community, a la the diversity-education scene in Episode Seven. Give us some insight and subtlety, please. Or at least a point wrapped in wit instead of pedantry.

While I wait for the upcoming episode, I’m going to buy my partner one of these t-shirts from The L Word store. Sadly, the shirts, referring in reality to Erin Daniel’s now-deceased character from seasons past, have been discontinued.

Missed any previous L Word/parenting posts? Here’s the list:

• Episode One
• Episode Two
• Episode Three
• Episode Four
• Episode Five
• Episode Six
• Episode Seven
• Episode Eight