Previously, on The L Word. . .

I should have known when they said that there would be an exclusive commentary by the writers and cast, that something was up. . .

There was no "flashback," instead it's Paris, France where Lara is spending time at a spa. A woman walks by who has had a mastectomy and seeing her prompts her to call Dana. She leaves a message saying that she wants to talk about coming home. A clock appears on the screen--1:50 p.m. L.A. time.

Dana has been in the hospital (ICU) for 5 days and Alice has been there pretty much non-stop. The nurse convinces her to take a break and get outside for a bit. Before she goes, Dana tells her that she loves her.

Bette leaves the retreat early and winds up screaming once she starts walking away. She ends up hanging out at a bus stop with some people waiting for a bus.

Jenny and Max meet Tim, Jenny's ex husband, who is married and he and his wife are expecting their first baby. Jenny and Max get into it when Jenny tells Tim that Max is a pre-op transsexual. There is still a lot of hositility between Tim and Jenny, even though both have apparently moved on. Max talks to Tim about working out and says that if he (Max) didn't work out, he'd want to break someone's face and says he knows it sounds harsh. Damn right it sounds harsh.

Helena, her mother, and their lawyer meet with Dylan, her boyfriend and their lawyer. It turns out that Dylan and her boyfriend basically set up Helena because they were turned down in the past when they applied for grants from the Peabody Foundation. Helena's mother doesn't want to give into them but Helena does when she tells Dylan to tell her that she never wanted to see her anymore, that she never loved her. Helena says that she needs to hear Dylan say it and Dylan tells her that she doesn't want to see her anymore. Helena signs the papers.

Kit freaks out a bit when Angus is late in meeting her. She goes over to his house and waits for him and it turns out it wasn't a big deal--she couldn't get a hold of him because he forgot to take his cellphone with him.

Tina, Henry and the kids have dinner with another couple. While eating, an older couple walks up and compliments Tina and Henry on their kids and makes an assumption that Tina and Henry are trying to adopt Angelica. This upsets Tina a bit and Henry tells her that nothing about her past bothers him.

Carmen confesses to Shane that she cheated on her. WTF? Quite honestly, I'm wondering if Carmen isn't lying about it because she told Shane that she doesn't remember the last name of the gal and because Carmen was so torn up about Shane cheating on her (I wonder simply because she was so upset, had the dream, etc.--why would she hurt someone the same way she was hurt?) Anyway, Shane is stunned. After awhile, Carmen apologizes and asks if they can start again--a fresh slate. Shane asks her if she feels better now that they're even. Carmen goes to leave but Shane grabs her and they start making up.

Alice is outside and runs into Tonya, Dana's ex. Tonya tells Alice that she feels bad about throwing it away with Dana. She also tells Alice that she was always a little jealous of Alice because Dana loves her so much.

Alice starts heading back to Dana's hospital room and Dana's blood pressure starts to fall. They flash to the different scenes of the charcters (all of this is taking place in 45 minutes--they basically did the show in real time)--Jenny and Max driving home, Kit and Angus talking, Helena stunned after signing the papers, Tina at the restaurant with Henry, Bette on the bus, and Carmen and Shane making love. By the time Alice makes it back to the room, Dana's gone and she gets the news from the doctor about what happened. It's was gut-wrenching--I had the box of Kleenex handy.

The commentary with the writers and cast talked about breast cancer and the reason why Dana was picked--because most viewers can relate to her the most. They took it as an opportunity to educate and she died because every single one of the writers had experienced the loss of a friend. Despite 'net rumors, it didn't seem like to me that Erin Daniels wanted out of her contract. The rest of the cast was stunned that Dana dies this season and most said that they can't imagine the show without Erin.

There are a couple of important things to learn from this season. First of all--do a regular breast examination and if there's anything suspicious, get it checked out. Second of all--don't end things on a bad note with the people in your life. Life is too short and unexpected things happen. Even though the story and characters are fictional, how would you feel if you were in Lara's shoes and came back to find that your loved one was gone before you had the chance to make up or whatever? Sometimes there's not always a tomorrow so do what you can do today.

Next time: Alice stands up at Dana's funeral and reminds the pastor and everyone there that Dana was a lesbian. She also takes some of Dana's ashes and the girls have their own memorial service for her. Bette sues for custody of Angelica. Shane asks Carmen to marry her. There are only 2 episodes left (they're only doing 12 versus the previous season of 13). It sounds like something is going to happen during the season finale so tune in.