7 Things: Subtext Couples – #1

Lindsay & Cindy (Women’s Murder Club)

Like Birds of Prey, Women’s Murder Club had only thirteen episodes into which to squeeze the subtext. But they wrung so hard, thirteen episodes was all that it took to earn them the top spot on this list of subtext couples. And that’s not even considering the fact that there were serious OTP wars with WMC, like more serious than I’ve seen with any other show.

From episode one, though, it was the Lindsay-Cindy subtext that jumped from the screen. Cindy was so obviously crushing on Lindsay, and, no matter how much she tried to resist, Lindsay’s willpower was simply no match for Cindy’s determination.

How It Started

Lindsay and Cindy meet over a workplace partition, as Lindsay investigates the murder of Cindy’s colleague. It’s innocent enough. By the second meeting, though, the cuffs come out, accompanied by unconcealed flirtation. Then, there’s more flirting, teamwork, and, by the first episode’s end, when Lindsay’s demon returns from the past and she looks out the window to get traction, it’s Cindy that grounds her to the Earth.

When it comes to WMC, it’s not so much a question of which moments are the most subtexty, but which episodes. Because there were episodes of the show where Lindsay and Cindy were damn near canon. Those episodes, counting down, were –

3 – “The Past Comes Back to Haunt You”

2 – “Father’s Day”

1 – “To Drag and To Hold”

Unsurprisingly, three of the top seven subtext moments come from those three episodes. Surprisingly, though, none contain my top subtext moment of the show.

So, without further ado, because I do believe I’ve ado-ed enough, here are my top seven Lindsay and Cindy subtext moments (MAJOR SPOILERS):

7 – Jamie Galvan Jealousy (Episode 1.7 “The Past Comes Back to Haunt You”)

Jamie Galvan quasi-kidnaps Cindy to get her help. Lindsay isn’t having it. She could just be having a cop-like reaction to Cindy’s risks and possibly-dangerous new association. She sounds more like a jealous girlfriend, though. When Jamie tries to run, she even gives him an elbow to the arse. Sure, he did hit her first, but we all know that she only takes that last shot because he’s been mackin’ on her shorty.

6 – Protective Lindsay (Episode 1.3 “Blind Dates and Bleeding Hearts”)

Episode 3 sees the first indicator of how protective Lindsay is of Cindy. When she finds out that Cindy has gotten herself into a possibly dangerous spot, she demands that she not just get out of it, but meet her.

For a spanking, I suspect.

5 – Protective Redux (Episode 1.8 “No Opportunity Necessary”)

Unless it ended with Lindsay and Cindy making out in the morgue, it would have been difficult to make this scene more subtexty. With its sly, side-of-the-eye, not-quite-done-looking-at-you double-take, it’s already got the femslash vibe. And then Lindsay utters a line that is pretty unmistakable.

Note how much Lindsay’s idea of protection is keeping Cindy away from men. As we learned in the previous episode, this applies even more so to cute ones.

4 – Cindy, Honey (Episode 1.12 “And The Truth Will (Sometimes) Set You Free”)

Am I wrong in remembering that Lindsay uses terms of endearment twice in the thirteen episodes of Women’s Murder Club – once when ex-husband Tom, with whom she is supposedly still in love, gets shot, and then again when Cindy does?

3 – I Won’t Leave You (Episode 1.9 “To Drag and To Hold”)

Undoubtedly the subtextiest episode of the series, “To Drag and To Hold” also contains one of the subtextiest scenes. Or possibly two. The line “Who’s ready for a hand and foot fantasy?” leaves little to the imagination. It’s Cindy’s impassioned plea, though, that brings the femslash home.

2 – Double-Stack (Episode 1.11 “Father’s Day”)

Oh, the subtext that carries the last fifteen minutes of this episode. Lindsay going all-in to make things up to Cindy, the way that she reacts when Cindy wants to help, the both-hands-on-Cindy walk to the back of the van. Then, there is the way that Lindsay looks at Cindy as she crosses that street.

And, of course, there is nothing cuter than a terrified pancake.

1 – Self-Sacrifice (Episode 1.13 “Never Tell”)

This scene has such subtlety. Yet, every time I watch it, I think it’s the most revealing moment of the Lindsay-Cindy relationship.

Cindy simply offers her help, as always, and, as always, Lindsay tries to talk her out of doing something risky. This scene is more subdued than their usual exchanges on the subject, though, and more intense. And the subtext in the scene is like actual verbal text, playing subliminally on a hidden audio track.

On that track, when Lindsay says “You can get in a lot of trouble,” she’s actually saying, “Baby, don’t take this risk for me.”

And when Cindy responds, “It’s half the fun,” she actually breaks into an unrestrained, octave-jumping rendition of Bryan Adams’ “Everything I Do (I Do It For You).”

See it for yourself in the video below (but, be forewarned, there are some sound clips that cut off milliseconds early – Movie Maker – What are you gonna do?) –