'The L Word: Generation Q': Bette Porter's honesty urges Dani to switch sides and align with the good
Spoilers ahead for Season 1 Episode 1 of 'The L Word: Generation Q' titled 'Let's Do It Again'
We first meet Arienne Mandi's Dani Núñez in the very first scene of the pilot of 'The L Word: Generation Q'. She is in a committed relationship with her girlfriend Sophie Suarez (Rosanny Zayas).
Very characteristic of 'The L Word', the show opens to a cunnilingus scene with the quick revelation that there is also some period blood in play (if you sneered here, maybe you're not mature enough for 'The L Word: Generation Q').
The whole encounter is actually pretty sweet and shows the loving, caring relationship Dani and Sophie share with each other. Dani is waiting to propose to her but wants to tell her father about it first, and Sophie is just waiting for Dani to pop the question.
Unfortunately, though, Dani's father doesn't exactly approve of their relationship, even dismissing it altogether as he later adds that he thinks "it is important to have fun while you're young".
The second time that we see Dani, we meet her with Bette Porter (Jennifer Beals) and her campaign manager Pierce Williams (Brian Michael Smith) when they meet for a potential donation to her campaign.
Dressed in her corporate best, staunch and strict, Dani is quick to rush into business. But their meeting quickly turns bitter as Bette points out that Dani's father's company, where she is the PR executive, is contributing to the worst opioid crisis their city has seen.
Refusing to be a sellout, Bette makes it clear that she is not like the current mayor who willfully ignores the crisis and continues to take money from Núñez Incorporated, the big pharma that is primarily responsible for the opium crisis LA is facing.
And while Núñez Incorporated is a big player, Bette is not here to compromise her value system. Bette leaves Dani dumbfounded, but there is little time to mull over that as one of Núñez Incorporated's employees' son dies from a heroin overdose.
She quickly takes charge, changing the narrative of the controversy, and at the end of it, walks away with a promotion. However, Bette stirred something inside Dani.
After her father breaks the news of the promotion, Dani sees the employee who lost his son break down in the quiet of his car. Having held himself together throughout the day, the loss of his son to overdose is just not easy to deal with.
This is when something changes inside Dani — almost as if she was hit by a sudden realization that she is on the wrong side. The final contributing factor is Bette's interview on Alice's (Leisha Hailey) show.
Bette says that she is like anyone else in LA — wanting to do good for the city and its people, "the part of you that wants to do better". She adds that while she might not be the perfect messenger, she does have the perfect message to bring change to their city.
By now, Dani has proposed to Sophie against her father's knowledge. With one wrong corrected, she sets on to right the other one: conviction taking over as she decides to quit Núñez Incorporated and join Bette's campaign fighting the good fight.
'The L Word: Generation Q' airs on Sundays at 10/9c on Showtime.
