S02.E03: New World Coming

[formerlyfreedom]

Josh and Raquel ask Colton to move in; Maura and Ali meet a feminist scholar—and Maura's former nemesis—at UCLA; Sarah launches a sexual fantasy life with a domineering figure from her past.

 

 

[Febgirl]

Man, the use of music on this show is just so, so good.  

I had to look up where I'd heard this song before ( sung by Josh's band and then again by Nina Simone in the episode) and then it hit me.  My mom used to play Mama Cass' version   of it all the time when I was a kid.  

  I love Cherry Jones, and for her to go full bore against Maura was pretty great.  Ah, those Pfeffermans, so not self aware!

[Glade]

Hated this episode, and the arrogant lesbian poet who wouldn't acknowledge the fact that feminists of her time, and a large part of the feminist community today, is transphobic and kept/keeps transgender people down with their rigid, non-inclusive definitions of gender.  Now in a position of privilege and power herself, she looks down upon transwomen as if they are/were never oppressed pre-transition and didn't have their own painful journey to go through.  Personally, I don't think all the ridiculous women lining up to say that people like CJ aren't "real women," have any legitimate place in the discussion, so I find it offensive that Solloway felt the need to include them here.

[Maysie]

I'm wondering where things are headed with the rabbi and Colton. I found it strange that she's ready to put him in the basement when the baby comes. Just how big/small is that house? You can't tell me that it's only a two bedroom house - not with a pool in the backyard and a playground (never mind the fact that it was the family home which means it probably had at least three bedrooms to manage everyone; I'm making allowances for the age difference between Sarah and Ali, so they probably only needed one room for a girl and one for a boy).

 

I'm a bit tired of everyone calling Josh "Joshy." I know it's a family endearment and all that but it's creeping me out a bit because he's a grown-ass man.

 

It's odd that I enjoy the show so much but there aren't many characters I'm liking all that much.

[apollonia666]

It's odd that I enjoy the show so much but there aren't many characters I'm liking all that much.

I'm not enjoying it as much so far this season.  They're just so self-involved that it's hard to feel very invested in any of them.  At this point the only characters I care at all about anymore are Colton, Raquel, and Syd.  

[CouchTater]

 

 

 

It's odd that I enjoy the show so much but there aren't many characters I'm liking all that much.

Maysie, you read my mind.  I'm trying to downsize my tv viewing, so I periodically assess the shows I watch to figure out why I watch, and if I should.  Just last night as I was bingeing this show I went through each character and each actor, and couldn't really pick a particularly likeable one, except for Raquel and Colton.  And yet I binge.

And I must say, I do not like Judith Light in the mother role.  Her acting feels forced and stereotypical to me.  Ugh.

Edited December 13, 2015 by CouchTater

[Primetimer]

You've gotta love Transparent's adorable puppy in S02.E03.

Read the story

[DrivingSideways]

Maysie, you read my mind.  I'm trying to downsize my tv viewing, so I periodically assess the shows I watch to figure out why I watch, and if I should.  Just last night as I was bingeing this show I went through each character and each actor, and couldn't really pick a particularly likeable one, except for Raquel and Colton.  And yet I binge.

And I must say, I do not like Judith Light in the mother role.  Her acting feels forced and stereotypical to me.  Ugh.

I'm with you.  These people are terrible.  I will add Raquel to my list of people I don't like.  She was horrible this season.  Judith Light comes across as a sexless Gollum to me.  I like Colton, and I will add that Maura's trans friends Davina and the Juliette Lewis looking one are awesome too.

 

When I'm watching this show, I find myself thinking if these people didn't have so much money, or had to work, their lives would seem a lot less complicated.   When you're incredibly wealthy, you can navel-gaze (or vagina-gaze, since they are all obsessed with their sex lives) 24/7.

[Justin]

"And I must say, I do not like Judith Light in the mother role. Her acting feels forced and stereotypical to me. Ugh."

I wish I could agree with you, but I've had several moments where I've exclaimed to myself, "Oh my god! Shelly Pfefferman is my mother."

[zentropa]

I'll go one step further and say I wish I WAS Shelly Pfefferman. She is made of titanium.

 

I have started poking my bony fingers out at people in tribute to her.

[auntiemel]

Hated this episode, and the arrogant lesbian poet who wouldn't acknowledge the fact that feminists of her time, and a large part of the feminist community today, is transphobic and kept/keeps transgender people down with their rigid, non-inclusive definitions of gender.  Now in a position of privilege and power herself, she looks down upon transwomen as if they are/were never oppressed pre-transition and didn't have their own painful journey to go through.  Personally, I don't think all the ridiculous women lining up to say that people like CJ aren't "real women," have any legitimate place in the discussion, so I find it offensive that Solloway felt the need to include them here.

 

I don't think that Leslie's animosity toward Maura was supposed to have anything to do with her status as trans, or as a woman, or any part of Maura's identity. I think it was because Maura, specifically, had been an asshole to her at Berkeley. And then, to add insult to injury, after Maura had caused her so much pain back then, she didn't even remember her--which made Leslie even angrier.

I took her attitude to be in the vein of someone who gets the opportunity to confront the junior high bully that made their life hell back in school, and then the bully's like, "And you are...? Yeah. Don't remember you. Sorry!"

 

Maura basically said as much in the support group later. She said that the Berkeley Seven's extreme behavior was because they thought that the administration was holding them back. Then Maura admitted that, yes, in fact--they did, specifically and intentionally, hold them back. She ends by admitting that in the past, she hurt people.

I took that speech to mean (particularly as it followed on the heels of hearing about her other support group members being marginalized) that she never realized until she was openly part of an oppressed group how much casual, thoughtless damage she did to other oppressed people back when she was part of the establishment. She's starting to feel bad about it.

I certainly didn't take anything that happened in this episode to be an endorsement by Jill Soloway, or any of the other forces behind the show, of the "trans women aren't actual women," position.

Edited December 23, 2015 by auntiemel

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I sang "New World Coming" with my high school choir so I loved hearing it again in this episode.

 

Colton seems like such a sweet boy and I like that Josh is really making an effort to get to know him and include him since he found out about him. It was nice to see him at the wedding but I loved Josh checking on him to see if he was talking to people and felt comfortable. I thought it was very sweet of him to have Colton move in with him but then I wondered where Colton had been staying before then.

 

I'm a bit tired of everyone calling Josh "Joshy." I know it's a family endearment and all that but it's creeping me out a bit because he's a grown-ass man.

I am okay with his family still using it but I don't like that Raquel does it. I know it's really hard to break family members from using childhood nicknames (I have one that only my parents, sisters, and a few really old friends from my childhood still use).

 

I don't think that Leslie's animosity toward Maura was supposed to have anything to do with her status as trans, or as a woman, or any part of Maura's identity. I think it was because Maura, specifically, had been an asshole to her at Berkeley. And then, to add insult to injury, after Maura had caused her so much pain back then, she didn't even remember her--which made Leslie even angrier.

 

I took her attitude to be in the vein of someone who gets the opportunity to confront the junior high bully that made their life hell back in school, and then the bully's like, "And you are...? Yeah. Don't remember you. Sorry!"

 

Maura basically said as much in the support group later. She said that the Berkeley Seven's extreme behavior was because they thought that the administration was holding them back. Then Maura admitted that, yes, in fact--they did, specifically and intentionally, hold them back. She ends by admitting that in the past, she hurt people.

 

I took that speech to mean (particularly as it followed on the heels of hearing about her other support group members being marginalized) that she never realized until she was openly part of an oppressed group how much casual, thoughtless damage she did to other oppressed people back when she was part of the establishment. She's starting to feel bad about it.

 

I certainly didn't take anything that happened in this episode to be an endorsement by Jill Soloway, or any of the other forces behind the show, of the "trans women aren't actual women," position.

ITA - to me this was a clear example of Mort's male privilege. He completely took for granted that his male privilege put him in a position of power and he used it to deny people like Leslie opportunities. (Is it okay to refer to Mort instead of Maura since it was in the past? Just want to make sure I'm not being unintentionally offensive)

 

Then to add insult to injury, Maura didn't even remember that she had kept Leslie from an important opportunity several years in a row. I agree about the high school bully analogy. There was a reality show called High School Reunion several years ago where they took a bunch of people from the same high school class and put them in a house together for a few weeks. There was always at least one bully/victim relationship and I remember at least two occasions where the person who was bullied was in tears when confronting the bully with very specific examples of how this person had made their lives hell and the bully had no recollection of any of it.

 

But what I appreciated is that Maura realized how hurtful those decisions were to someone else and she was bothered by it. Some people have no guilt whatsoever when they're told they have hurt someone so although remorse doesn't change history, at least Maura acknowledged her past actions.

 

I was worried that Leslie would take her resentment out on Ali, but then I realized that I don't care of Ali gets into grad school.

[LisaM]

This was the last episode that I watched during my blizzard binge watch. Not feeling it as much as last season. I like Rabbi Raquel and Colton -- and Maura's trans friends -  but not really anyone else. Sarah bugs me more this season than last. Love seeing more Judith Light - whom I love - but Shelly annoys me too. I'll probably give it one more episode but that may be it.