Hi Unicorns! As a fan of all things bi in media — especially when it comes to series and cozy or funny sitcoms — I had to check out the latest season of The Sex Lives of College Girls (2021-), which premiered last November. I’ve been hooked since season 1, thanks to my love for Reneé Rapp. True to form, SLOCG delivered drama with a side of relatability and plenty of laughs. This season, especially the finale, served up some much-needed bi representation, filling a gap in a show meant to capture everything we really did during college (besides studying, of course).
Was the entire season without its flaws? Not, but it did give us some tear-jerkers and moments where our main 4 were SERVING everything and anything. Let’s dive into what Sex Lives had for us in The episode “Essex Strong” of this latest season.
While we got some bi representation with Eli early in the season and his brief relationship with Kimberly, his role was minor and not very developed. So, this Unicorn Scale focuses more on the finale. (But yay for representation — I love to see it!)
Fair warning — I love SPOILERS, and this review is full of them! If you’re not caught up, grab a snack, pour yourself a drink, and come back in a few hours. Also, if this is your first time reading a Unicorn Scale review or you’d like a refresher, you can check out more details here. You can also browse our Bi Media Entry for the show if you’re looking for a quick summary!
Good to go? Follow me to the Essex dorms!
The Sex Lives of College Girls is a Max comedy-drama that focuses on the lives of four college roommates in the fictional Essex College in Vermont. Each season tackles the trials and (sometimes) misadventures of young women dealing with relationships, first times, exploring sexuality, friendships, and keeping grades/scholarships in a high-paced and upper-class environment.
In the season finale, we saw Bela and Arvind break up. While they were undeniably cute af together, his judgmental attitude toward how Bela shared her stories about past sexual partners was a dealbreaker. It clashed with Bela’s openness and her willingness to talk about her experiences — even in front of an audience — since her ultimate dream is to be a comedian.
Some have criticized Bela’s realization that she has feelings for Haley, which leads to their kiss at the Omega basement party, as coming out of nowhere. But honestly, they weren’t paying attention! Bela has consistently made comments about finding women attractive or saying she’d “hit it” to her friends. These remarks don’t feel forced or played for laughs — they’re just genuinely part of who she is. Her openness to exploring her sexuality and experimenting reflects her personality perfectly. Like many of us in real life, sometimes it just takes connecting the dots to realize we’re bi as f***.
What I Liked:
Bela’s journey to realizing she’s bi feels so authentic. Honestly, it reminded me of my own 19-year-old self figuring it out. The hints were always there — it just took her a bit to connect the dots. In Episode 10, there’s this amazing moment at the party when she looks at Haley, and you can see she’s feeling something. When she finally works up the courage to kiss her, I was literally kicking my feet, scattering chips everywhere, and screaming, “HELL YEAH, GET IT!” And then when Haley says, “I’ve wanted to do that multiple times”? UGH. My little bi heart melted.
The next day in the dorm’s living room, Bela proudly announces, “I’m bi!” Her friends —Whitney, Kimberly, and Kacey — cheer for her but are more focused on getting to the dining hall before breakfast ends. Bela, who loves being the center of attention, feels a little annoyed that her coming out isn’t as big of a deal as Leighton’s. The girls explain, “Well, yeah, she went through so much,” which is true — Bela has been open about her sexuality from the start (remember the Essex mascot scene?).
I actually love this kind of casual, no-drama coming-out. It’s relatable and refreshing. Sometimes being bi is just one of the least remarkable things about you, and that’s perfectly fine. It’s great to see Bela surrounded by friends who support her and recognize that owning her sexuality makes her more confident in herself.
Bela’s coming out for me was refreshing, it offered very low-stakes compared to Leighton’s, and it fits in with her and the tone for the entire season. While I do agree that coming out sometimes is complicated (and not very fun/safe), not all bi people need to have a crisis about it or make it “All about the struggle”. I think this scenario is great! Sometimes, you don’t need a giant revelation moment. You just figure yourself out and go about your day.
A lot of shows and movies nowadays do tend to “purple wash” and introduce bi stories for shock value but zero follow-throughs (I’m looking at you, Riverdale, and all Marvel movies). But Sex Lives integrates Bela’s bi-ness into her arc without it feeling massively shoehorned or worse, cringe.
Thanks to this, I think we’ll get more of her exploring herself and relationships out in the open in future seasons.
What I Didn’t Like:
I’ll admit, this season does feel a bit rushed. Although I am happy that Bela has joined the bi brigade, it was way too fast! We got subtle hints into her thinking about girls, into a full-blown confession as our finale. Do I think we could have gotten that since the first episode? Definitely! Especially since she was single for half the season! Gimme a little something, Max!
It would have been a little nicer if Bela had explored being bi without jumping into a full-blown relationship with Haley like in the finale, maybe kissing some other girls at an Omega party, or even flirting with some cowgirls at the hoedown, who knows? It would have been very on-brand for her. But I won’t discard it just yet. Maybe for future episodes? (Mindy Kaling, if you’re reading this: we need more bi Bela adventures!)
I am very excited to see what the future holds for Miss Bela Malhotra. Will we see her explore the dating scene as an out-and-proud bi bad b*tch? Will she call out the dismissal about being bi in hookup culture? I’m dying to know! Her story as a #bicon is promising, but of course, it’s JUST getting started.
The Rating:
Bela’s bi awakening (well, more like lightbulb realization, to be honest), is a win for me. It’s natural, treated with respect, and doesn’t rely on old, stale-as-hell tropes. But because it happened so quickly, I still feel the writers could have expanded on it a bit more. That being said, The Sex Lives of College Girls has a strong record of handling its characters with love and care (well, for the most part, what did y’all do to Canaan and Whitney this season?!). And if season 4 builds on this, we could be looking at a funny and refreshing bi storyline for some years to come. Here’s hoping we get to see more of Bela embracing her bi-ness, however awkward, funny, and messy it may be.
