Hot Taking It: A Faking It Rewatch Podcast

This week on Faking It, the writers just read a great Autostraddle piece on bisexuality and they're here to tell you all about it! Meanwhile, Karma is desperately yearning to be Amy's prom date, which she thinks is a straight thing to do. Amy has a flirtation with a boy that we don't hate? And something happens with Shane's sister, not sure what because I already blocked it out.

Amy and Karma go to a hoedown, but it's a party for all of us when they end up pretending to be girlfriends again. We meet Shane's mom, who lives up to her sex toy-selling reputation. There may or may not be a bisexual character floating around somewhere. There is definitely a mechanical bull. And Karma's mom has to come clean about an embarrassing lie, a situation that her parenting has driven her daughter into more than once. If only there was some word for experiencing consequences that match your past actions.

This episode: a bottle episode, except not really! A Breakfast Club parody, except not really! Discussion of analingus, really! Secrets are spilled, dramatic confessions are made, Shane is called out, and Liam finally makes good art.

The ouroboros: a snake that eats his own tail. Shane Harvey: a boy who outs his own outings. It’s time for Duke’s first professional fight, but Karma and Liam are showing their skills as amateurs. Amy and Lauren sister-bond over their parents’ serial infidelities. And Alix and Laney have their hearts stolen by Duke’s publicist, who is just, like, SUPER mean. Email: hottakingit@gmail.com Twitter: @hottakingit

Have you ever wanted Xander Harris to be your dad? Liam Booker has. Have you ever wanted your girlfriend to prove to you that she’s a real lesbian? Well, that’s bad. Don’t do that one. Have you ever wanted to be monogamous with your boyfriend but you think gay people can’t do that? That’s not great either. Maybe stop getting advice from Faking It characters. Listen to this week’s HTI instead to hear Alix and Laney vent about biphobia, like, a lot. Twitter: @hottakingit Email: hottakingit@gmail.com

It'd be cool if, per the title, this was an Avengers satire, but it's not. Instead, it's the death knell of any fondness we had for Amy's girlfriend Reagan. Karma and Liam continue to prove that body language is not actually an effective way of communicating in a relationship. Shane, Amy and Lauren bond adorably. I try to get through this summary without having to type the words Skwerkle Monocle. Shit!

The second half of season 2 kicks off with a disappointingly bland episode title. Karma and Liam both struggle with new secrets, and that's not including their weird hate-tryst. Lauren is the class president Hester High School deserves, but not the one it needs right now. Principal Penelope has been demoted due to the drug bust, but it probably should have been due to the mandatory LARPing? And a new character asks a hard-hitting question: what kind of terrible person fakes being gay, anyway?

For weeks, Alix and Laney have groused about Theo, but were unable to say why. Now, after eleventy thousand long years, we can FINALLY talk shit about him. And friends... we do. This week, Karma and Amy's friendship crisis is compounded by a family crisis for Karma. Lauren has a REAL bad day. And Shane embraces his true nature and does what he does best: outing someone.

The Stanford Prison Experiment. The Milgram Experiment. That day when the school in Faking It made up fake social classes and forced all the students to LARP. All milestones in the history of behavioral psychology. The Amy/Liam aftermath has hit, so buckle in. And find a Cloud Spinner to offer you patronage. We can all weather this storm together. Twitter: @hottakingit Email: hottakingit@gmail.com

In a shocking twist, this episode of Faking It focuses on teens trying to be someone they’re not. Pretending it, you might say. Amy’s girlfriend is a bigot, and so is Duke’s chicken sandwich. Laney and Alix both forget the names of every male character. Twitter: @hottakingit Email: hottakingit@gmail.com

What more can you ask from an episode of Faking It besides an eight-person communal date? (It's communal.) This week, everyone tries to keep secrets from everyone else, which of course goes perfectly with no complications. Heavily charged food metaphors are bandied. Liam actually gives good advice! IT'S A GROUP HANG, A GROUP HANG. Twitter: @hottaking Email: hottakingit@gmail.com

This episode of Faking It ushers in a new status quo, and so does this episode of Hot Taking It. Karma and Liam are finally dating openly, which brings their toughest challenge yet: actually reflecting on their issues. Amy opens herself up to girls besides Karma. Shane's free of having a boyfriend who's celibate, and now has one who LOVES to come... just not out. Alix takes over writing the episode description, because Laney's not feeling well. Where are the extreme teen shenanigans, you ask? Well, Lauren does take ecstasy in this one!  Twitter: @hottakingit Email: hottakingit@gmail.com  

It's Karma's birthday, but we're the ones who received a gift... great Karmy development. Not so shocking in this episode: Karma and Amy snipe at each other passive aggressively. Lauren eavesdrops. Shane tries to out someone. Laney and Alix (AKA Lalix) are not so into the newest male character. Yes shocking: we kept this one under 40 minutes. Enjoy!

Two Faking It characters stand before you. One always tells the truth and one always lies. Both are Liam Booker. In this week's episode, Amy's targeted chaos creates problems for Liam's bizarro rich family, and Laverne Cox yells at Karma until she cries. Also, Oliver is there for some reason. It's great.

Can a bad episode of Faking It make for a good episode of Hot Taking It? That's what Alix and Laney are gamely trying to find out this week. When the characters try to bond with foreign exchange students, maybe what they're really struggling to understand is their own selves. Or maybe this plot was not the best writing choice. Either way, Alix and Laney are here to fixate on Karma's Amy issues and Shane's chronic outing addiction. Please join us.

An episode about hostile communication. Between Lauren, Karma and Amy. Between Liam and Shane. Between Shane and his inner good wolf. Luckily your hosts Alix and Laney are here to smooth things over with a gentle recap, because this IS group sharing, Lizbeth. 

Season 2 kicks off with some new season resolutions. Karma promises to stay away from Liam. Shane promises to stop outing people. Both are broken within 20 minutes of television. We find out Lauren's secret, but Amy and Liam keep their secret buried, which makes them pretty bad people. And the Faking It writers pose an important question: is kidnapping really bad if the person you're doing it to sucks? Alix and Laney argue: no.

Straight up, just tell me: is this the most intense episode of Faking It yet? It sure is the one with the most lasting and devastating consequences! Amy’s mom’s wedding provides the perfect stage for Karma, Liam, Pablo and Shane to all bumble around their burgeoning relationships. Even Amy has feelings, just like those trashy woman on reality TV! Goodbye, Season One!

Amy and Karma break up, but not for real, but then for real, but then not for real. Secrets are spilled. Fake secrets are fake spilled. Alix and Laney, like Lauren, just want to be surrounded by this show's minor female characters. Alix controversially weighs in on who is "the Vriska of Faking It."

HELL YEAH, IT'S THIS ONE. For this trio-themed ep, our duo of hosts are joined by a third party... Amy and Karma's tender love. Let Alix and Laney take your hand and lead you through this madcap romp of fanfiction tropes, dance competitions, and threesome choreography. Plus multiple gay kisses. We know: whoa.

This episode has it all: Amy's complex relationship to femininity, Karma showing genuine emotional intelligence, and multiple scenes with people screaming the word "croquembouche." Also, Karma and Amy confess their love for each other. Okay, they don't, but it felt like it. We got pretty emotional.

Karma and Amy don't talk for an entire episode, which is ten thousand years in lesbian time. Laney and Alix consider getting adopted by Karma's parents. Something with a selfie happens at some point, or something. And Liam, a high school sophomore, may or may not be sleeping with a high-powered Google executive. (He is not.)

We dive deeper into the delicious world of Hester High: sexy protests, hunger strikes, and the evil Skwerkle corporation. Karma takes a risk, Amy makes some important discoveries about herself, and Alix and Laney find someone they hate more than Liam.

In episode 2 of Hot Taking It, Alix and Laney take on "Homecoming Out." Amy and Karma deal with the social implications of their fake relationship. Alix and Laney approve of almost everyone's life choices. Liam sucks.

Welcome to Hot Taking It, where Alix and Laney relive the greatest slow burn fake dating teen lesbian sitcom that was ever canceled too early after three seasons. On this episode, we discuss the Faking It pilot, including one of the most iconic television kisses ever aired.