"It's Disgusting. And it's a lie."

[eumelia]

I took a deep breath and I watched the rest of the new episode of Bomb Girls.

I regret nothing. I might be a bit sensitive over the the day, but it was worth it.

So worth it.

When I mainlined the first six episodes a couple of months ago, I became utterly invested in Betty and Kate's story. As I watched their arch I was torn between two different stories that I could see unfolding.

One where Kate sheds the oppression and suppression of her fundamentalist upbringing and finding freedom and love within Betty's secret world.

The other being what came about. "That's disgusting, and if you can't see that then you're disgusting too."

In this episode, 2.01 The Quickening, Betty's whole demeanour is made up of despair and self loathing. "That's what girls do. They date boys."

Gladys' naivete continues to grate me, much like it does Betty, I suspect. It grated me in the first season and it hasn't let up. She's starving for affection, a theme that's continuing on from the previous season and one that will probably her main stay throughout the show.

What's interesting now, to me, are the ticking time bombs (yeah, yeah, I know, *stagadush*) of the various characters.

Lorna's baby, whose baby suddenly moved just when she was about to induce a miscarriage. The laws of television make me believe she'll have a miscarriage of her own at some point, be forced to go to hospital, and confess in public that she got pregnant out of wedlock. Am I the only one who was really annoyed at the moralistic finger wagging? "You have to live with it! You made the decision to have sex AND abort that baby! YOU ARE TAINTED WITH MORAL JUDGEMENT!" And don't tell me it was "The Times", I have no doubt many women were happy to be rid of an inconvenient intereference in their life. I really like the woman who provided the tea, her commitment and conviction to help and support women "in trouble" really shone through, as did Vera's own confession. The whole weaving of this juncture was just brilliant.

Betty and Kate have switched positions with regards to agency it seems, at least for now, which is interesting. Though it's clear that it is Betty's presence that bolsters Kate's confidence and sense of self. I did feel the rescue was a bit quick, though the murder that accompanied it is interesting on a narrative level, as a parallel to the "sexual deviance" which needs to be covered up and quashed.

Gladys' meddling is really something else. I'm sorry, I really want to like her, and narratively she does what she's supposed to very well (Jodi Balfour also has a special place in my heart seeing as she's a South African actress), but I really felt resentful about the way she kept trying to decide how Betty felt and how she chose to deal with her feelings.

I liked that the show decided to diversify the cast, there were some women who weren't white and had lines, but I wonder if they'll get a story. I suspect not, but I'd like to imagine that there is place for their own unique tale.

I swear, if Betty and Kate's love doesn't happen I'll-I'll... I'll cry even harder than I did when I watched the episode!

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Comments

[theleaveswant]

I'm glad you were able to watch the rest of the episode and find it worth the stress.

I actually feel like the abortion decision was handled about as well as it realistically could have been, given that this is, y'know, television, and like most Canadian television has to play things a certain way in order to court the possibility of American distribution. I don't think it's quite as bad as condemning Lorna for having sex, period, but even if you strip away the barfy "sanctity of marriage" veneer, Lorna had an affair without her monogamous partner's consent, and it's very plausible for her to feel guilty about that even without the likely shaming she'll get from other people for it; the show might eventually come round to supporting her (at least Bob might, probably right before he dies and leaves her to raise the baby with Marco) but they have to do the "cheating bad! (except everyone in media does it, so . . .)" dance first. What surprised me about the whole thing was Marco finally accepting her decision, and her right to make a decision, rather than sticking to his macho possessiveness ("my baby") or putting a Catholic guilt curse on her. Also Vera, oh ♥ Vera, you have just swooped drastically up on my scale of favouriteness!

I also kind of love Gladys, in an "I'm glad I don't have to put up with your shit in real life" kind of way because, as you say, she is staggeringly naive about a lot of things--particularly her own privilege. She doesn't seem to realize that just because she's 'in' with the factory girls, that she's gained their trust and friendship, she's still not one of them, and that knowing about their problems does not actually mean she understands their experiences. In a contemporary setting she would be the wide-eyed tumblr activist (white cis het suburban . . .) who really, really wants to be a good Ally and doesn't understand why folks won't 'let' her but instead insist on having their own damned opinions and agendas. With Betty in particular, Gladys thinks she's being supportive by encouraging to Betty to "be herself" the same way Gladys is trying to be, without recognizing that the potential risks and gains of their respective situations are just a little different. I thought her refusal to leave the party was particularly interesting--Betty was offering her exactly the excuse she wanted not to play poster girl, yet she brushed her off by saying that Kate was a grown woman who could make her own choice--implication: you (Betty and Kate, poor and/or queer) are so strong and brave, but I (a real person) have responsibilities.

The thing about Betty and Kate is . . . I don't think Betty really has a "secret world", not yet; she's seen nodding knowingly at queer presenting people at the jazz club late in the first season but at the beginning she balked at going dancing because she thought Lake Ontario was the Atlantic Ocean. She's a prairie girl who grew up on a farm surrounded by men, and a relatively recent arrival to the big city herself--I think she's still only beginning to figure out what she wants, what's actually possible for her, and where and how to find that, and falling in love with Kate is a major step on that journey but it might not be the destination. My expectation is that Betty will have a girlfriend by the end of this season but that it might not be Kate. And of course I'm very curious to see how things will play out with Kate's return + her father's manslaughter + Betty's new beard (who might be concealing something himself). I do agree that the rescue came too quick; I didn't expect Kate and her father to still be in Toronto.

[eumelia]

Let's go point by point in your awesome comment!

1) I think I was still in stress mode when I was watching those scenes, because on second thought and viewing, it's clear that Vera herself wasn't being judgemental, I was probably unclear on that in my actual post, but I did feel the narrative was being judgy, even if the characters were okay. And yes, Marco's reaction was decent and kind, which didn't surprise me, because he's been decent and kind (and only a tiny bit macho) - if he'd reacted the typical way I would have just rolled my eyes, because you know, typical and boring. Vera continues to be fantastic.

2) Yes, to everything you said! I'm a bit concerned about writing ambivalent opinions about Gladys or Lorna, because I don't want it to be misconstrued as bashing. I've been there before, where I'd voice a dislike of a female character in my fandom and was called a misogynist. I don't want to be lumped with the character bashers and have my opinion invalidated, you know?

3) I think Betty's secret world is very internal at the moment, she'd been in Toronto long enough to know more about the clubs than Gladys (unsurprising, but still, Gladys is a Toronto native and all), and yeah falling in love with Kate was a big step.

[theleaveswant]

:D

I have a piece of headcanon for Gladys that she read The Well of Loneliness in secret while attending Bishop Strachan or whatever other fancy girls' academy she went to, and cried over it, while Betty's never even heard the name or if she has doesn't know the significance, and because of this Gladys feels she understands Betty's situation better than Betty herself does. She's wrong, of course, but her wrongness comes from a kind place.

I also think that when Betty told Ivan it was her first time she meant with anyone, not just with a man. I think her try on Kate at the piano might have been her first kiss. She has ideas, at this point, but not experience.

[eumelia]

Oh man, that's a gorgeous detail. If/when I write fic I'm including that with credit!

I agree, I also think Betty is kind of in the dark and not sure what she's supposed to be doing at all.

[theleaveswant]

Thank you :) You're most welcome to use it, and I'd be delighted if you do.