The L Word

Bette kidnaps baby Angelica until a custody agreement can be brokered with Tina. After running out on Carmen at the altar, Shane gets reeled back into the high life with Cherie Jaffe, and then spirals out of control with drugs and alcohol. Meanwhile, Jenny is reunited with Marina, and Helena's mother cuts her off.

Bette adjusts to her new job in academia for a formidable new boss, Phyllis (Cybill Shepherd). Jenny lets down her guard with Stacey, a journalist from Curve Magazine, who writes a scathing review of her book. Tina must fire Helena from the studio, leaving her nowhere to go but accept a roommate offer from Alice.

Bette embarks on an ill-advised affair with a teaching assistant, and her boss Phyllis comes out. Obsessed in tracking down Stacey, 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. Shane gives Helena a job at WAX as a receptionist, but she doesn't quite fit the bill.

Bette deals with an artist (Marlee Matlin) whose work is politically incendiary, and fears the potential for disaster in the relationship between Phyllis and Alice if things don't go Phyllis' way. Jenny grows duplicitous when trying to get revenge on Stacey and resorts to enlisting a dying dog in order to meet Stacey's girlfriend, a veterinarian. Tina is rejected by her friends at a softball game and joins the opposing team.

Bette deals with an artist (Marlee Matlin) whose work is politically incendiary, and fears the potential for disaster in the relationship between Phyllis and Alice if things don't go Phyllis' way. Jenny grows duplicitous when trying to get revenge on Stacey and resorts to enlisting a dying dog in order to meet Stacey's girlfriend, a veterinarian. Tina is rejected by her friends at a softball game and joins the opposing team.

After Bette makes it clear to Nadia that a repeat performance of their past sexual encounter is never going to happen, Nadia decides to resign as Bette's TA. Alice breaks up with Phyllis after meeting her husband, realizing she doesn't want to be part of breaking up Phyllis' family. Tina discovers Angus with her au pair Hazel, while Jenny publishes a short story in The New Yorker that infuriates Alice.

Bette tries to hold her art program together as Phyllis lashes out at everyone after Alice calls it quits with her. Shane's Russian Roulette film premiere gets out of control as a phone tree grows to unmanageable proportions as all the girls scramble to get invited. Papi shows up with her crew to teach Helena, Alice and Shane poker and shares the cardinal rules of the game with the trio.

Jenny's short story about her friends sparks interest from Hollywood much to the chagrin of the girls. Alice's new girlfriend Tasha experiences flashbacks to the war in Iraq. Bette and Jodi rush to Phyllis' side as they try to console her on getting over her first lesbian crush, her coming out affair of the heart.

Jenny gets caught off guard by Stacey who accuses her of invading the lives of real people then promptly attacks her in a parking lot in front of her agents. The clash and argument over their opposite views on the Iraq war leads to an intense love making session for Alice and Tasha. At Kit's CD launch party, her duet with Angus falls apart on stage as she can't hold back her pain and anger over his infidelity.

Tina and Jenny get stonewalled over creative differences on the development of their movie. Phyllis' husband Leonard drops in unexpectedly to Alice's apartment for a tete a tete about Phyllis' coming out, only to find himself in Alice's bedroom surrounded by Helena, Tasha, Papi and Alice who try to impart words of wisdom to ease his broken heart. Bette and Jodi's relationship might go to the next level if Bette can curb her Type-A personality.

Kit binge drinks while Angus desperately tries to make her see how sorry he is. Alice finds investors in her blog, but with strings attached that involve Jenny, who finds the perfect director for her movie. A simple dinner party to introduce Jodi to the rest of the girls becomes a high-stress catered affair where Bette's Type-A personality rears its ugly head, much to Jodi's disgust.

Jenny's serialized short stories hit home for Bette, who faces losing Jodi to an art center on the east coast. Iraq flashbacks haunt Alice's girlfriend Tasha, who is ordered by a commanding officer to hide her sexuality. Leonard tells Phyllis he'll take her back and even enlists the help of their daughter Molly, except Phyllis has no interest in reconcili, ever!

Tina returns to lesbian life while Bette seeks her advice on wooing Jodi back who's left for upstate New York. Alice has a hard time accepting that Tasha must return to Iraq for another tour of duty. Helena looks for a way out from Catherine's financial clutches and seizes an opportunity to get out of the gambling high life. Fearing that Jenny may cause the studio to pull out of producing 'Lez Girls,' Tina and Kate Arden decide to exclude her from a meeting with executives, but Jenny uncovers their plans and barges in anyhow.