Big things happen for Miss Toni Childs (Jill Marie Jones) this season as well. Following a Botox mishap, she meets a short, Jewish, white but very handsome dermatologist and the two immediately develop a strange relationship where the continually insult one another. Some of her short jokes are hilarious! He calls her a half-wit and she says that's because he can only hear half of what she is saying way down there. Funny, funny stuff. Although they are drawn to each other, Toni can't get past his height. Eventually, she does and finds herself falling in love with Todd. The season finale wraps up with the pair walking down the aisle in Toni's dream wedding.
Joan (Tracee Ellis Ross) finds a man for herself this season. While working out at the gym, she runs into a B-list actor by the name of Ellis. The two have an immediate dislike for one another, followed by attraction. During their courtship, Joan is hidden from the public to save Ellis' single guy image, his career comes before her on many occasions and the biggest blow to their relationship comes when an old flame of Ellis' turns up pregnant with his child. Instead of going back to her, he chooses Joan, yet Joan's jealousy over Sylvia and the child comes back to bite her again and again. Joan also finds herself intensely jealous of Toni's impending wedding, although she wants to be happy for her. Joan is distracted when she is really supposed to be there for Toni and the two have a blowout on the day of Toni's wedding, causing Toni to lose it and shred Joan's dress, kicking her out of the wedding party. The two eventually resolve the matter, but there are quite a few dark and dramatic moments.
Lynn (Persia White) falls for a celibate poet named Sivad and has a hard time being non-sexual. The two have many ups and downs. Another huge ordeal for her happens when her birth mother, Sandy, comes back into her life and convinces her to leave the full-time job she just landed (finally!) to help her make a documentary about sex. Then Sylvia leaves just as quickly as she arrived, leaving Lynn in a lurch. However, Lynn continues to make the documentary and finds her calling. Upon visiting her mother's home in Virginia, she eventually discovers that Sylvia suffers from manic depression and never finishes anything. Lynn sees a good bit of herself here and has a lot of self-doubt.
One moving story arc is concerning HIV. Todd asks Toni to get an HIV test before they get serious and this leads into the return of Reesie, an old college friend of the girls and the one who stole Joan's boyfriend. When Toni asks Reesie to be in the wedding, Joan is mortified! She is equally floored when the group discovers that Reesie has full blown AIDs, given to her by the man she stole from Joan. Lynn interviews Reesie and several other women about their fight with AIDs and it's a very touching piece.
Another pivotal point in the series is William and Joan being passed up for the promotion to senior partner when the job is given to an outsider, Sharon Farley (Anne-Marie Johnson). William quits the firm and sets out to hang his own shingle, which doesn't go so well. Sharon convinces him to consult on a big case and the two end up in a passionate relationship, which hits rocky times when William is asked back to the firm. Well, the problems start when Joan guesses that the two are sleeping together and blurts it out to Sharon, who breaks up with William. A comedy of errors ensues.
Included are featurettes on the fashion behind the show and the making of "The Wedding", which was actually directed by Mara Brock Akil's husband, Salim. These two are great for fans because fashion is oh so pivotal in the show and it's cool to see a little of the behind the scenes when it comes to selecting the girls' individual styles. The piece on the wedding tells how drama was infused and a single camera was used to give the finale a completely different feel.
All in all, this is can't miss stuff if you've been following the show. If you are new to the series, do yourself a favor and rent or buy Season 1 and Season 2 just to catch up because the episodes do build upon one another. My favorite running gag is when the ever so selfish and self-absorbed Toni calls Maya's son Jabbari by wacky names starting with "J" like jalopy and Jamaroqui. It's actually quite hilarious. If you've never seen this show, Girlfriends: The Third Season is just as great a place to start as any, but you'd be shorting yourself out of the earlier seasons. All around, it's great stuff.
