South of Nowhere: Put Out or Get Out [Episode 3]

On this week's episode of South of Nowhere, it appears that the understanding and supportive Carlin family has a chink in their armor: they are not down with the gays. To quickly sum things up, while Spencer is out with her brother Clay, she meets a new friend, Kelly, who views their budding relationship as more than platonic. Ashley, who has nowhere to go for a night because her parents both have dates, spends a night at the Carlin's house while Spencer goes out with Kelly to see DJ Money. Ashley tries to warn Spencer of Kelly's intentions, but she insists that it isn't a date and rebuffs it as jealousy. Meanwhile, Glen and Aiden are still fighting and the scheming Madison ends up punking them both.

While Spencer is out, the cut-from-a-different-cloth Ashley weirds out the Carlins, especially the mother. The clash of Ashley's secular lifestyle with the very religious Carlin family is almost too much for Paula, who begins to worry about her daughter's well-being, especially after finding out that Ashley is gay. The ending of the episode worried the liberal in me, but it made me excited for various reasons. First off, an eventual showdown is going to happen between the Christian beliefs of Arthur and Paula and the sexual curiousities of Spencer. Also, there was a brief exchange between Clay and Ashley regarding Kelly's sexuality. Clay, who had met Kelly the night before, is way into her, and the question of sexual orientation never enters his mind. The only questions on his are: is she single and is she into him? When Ashley mentions that Kelly is a lesbian, you can read the look on Clay's face -- he is no longer thinking of his chances with the girl, he is now thinking about his sister, a topic that will obviously be dealt with in the not-too-distant future.

Ashley and Spencer have a tense moment after the concert, but like in the previous episode, they talk it out and make up. As they are hugging, Paula is walking down the stairs, sees them and states that it is getting late. To make things even more awkward, Ashley's bed is made downstairs, an obvious sign that the Carlin's morals do not waver.

New episode in two weeks. Get pumped!