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

Viewers of this week’s episode are likely still chuckling over the first scene with Alice (which I won’t spoil for you if you haven’t seen it), or the part where Alice is trying to teach Helena to play basketball. The best line of the episode for me, however? Kristanna Loken’s character Paige, telling Shane “Sometimes being a parent causes dementia.”

(Spoilers below.)

Sometimes being a parent (even a substitute one, as in Shane’s case) causes not dementia, but a conscious willingness to do something we don’t want because it’s for the good of our children. Shane chooses to model in order to pay Shay’s hospital bills, though she’s clearly uncomfortable doing so. It’s uncertain at this point if the incident is just a one-off promotion for Hugo Boss or if Shane’s character will evolve into a Jenny Shimizu-like top model. (If it means Angelina Jolie will guest star, I’m all for it.) Regardless, it’s a reminder of how our lives can take unexpected directions because of our kids.

For those of you concerned in reality about the need to provide health-care coverage for all children in America, check out Families USA, and of course, keep tabs on the 2008 presidential candidates.

Scribe Grrrl has the full recap at After Ellen.