Three Women episode 1 recap: A tale of female desire

Three Women has finally made its debut on Starz! The series was originally ordered by Showtime but the network decided not to air the show. That's when Starz stepped in and based on the first episode so far, we're so glad it did! Here's a recap of the first episode, "three women." SPOILERS BELOW.

Gia

Shailene Woodley plays Gia, the writer who sets out to tell the stories of the trio we meet in episode 1. She's kind of stuck and needs to find something different and exciting to write about when it comes to sex in America. She gets some advice from her "idol," who tells her to travel around the country and sleep with married men to get insight. She takes one part of that advice, and it's not sleeping with married men.

Though she does go on a roadtrip to find her subjects, and she eventually does. Though we learn through the voiceover, Gia narrates the story for us, that it takes eight years for her to find them all and tell their stories completely. So why these three in particular? It's because they were "unheard in all the lonely ways." And Gia herself finds herself enraptured, wanting to hear them more than wanting to just speak of their experiences.

Lina

I have to say, so far Lina is my favorite character, played by the fabulous Betty Gilpin. You immediately sympathize with her and the situation she's in. The housewife and mother has lost all passion in her marriage, and there's no one to help her. Living in rural Indiana, she and her husband go to couples counseling with their priest, and he gives the oh so helpful advice that Lina just needs to accept that her husband doesn't like kissing, and so she shouldn't expect intimacy. Just let it go, he says. Ok, bro.

Lina is experiencing pain and goes to Dr. Henry (Ravi Patel). He's a bit of an eccentric character, but I like him. He diagnoses Lina with endometriosis and fibromialgia. He sets out to help her, though recommends that her best cure is going to be a good bout of, ahem, pleasure. Obviously she's been starved of any kind of desire or passion, this poor woman. So much so she was making out on the glass of the shower. She takes her doctor's advice and pleasures herself in the car, and it seemed successful.

Sloane

Sloane I felt like is a bit of a beautiful mystery, and that makes her intriguing. DeWanda Wise is really great in the role so far! She and her husband live in Massachusetts and are very successful. So much so that judgment and jealousy always follows her around. Though the two are in love, they invite other men and women into the bedroom at Sloane's request. She was starved of physical affection growing up, so Gia tells us that's probably one of the reasons she seeks more comfort.

The couple has rules, and an unspoken one is that any other man Sloane picks shouldn't be "better" than her husband. She's instantly attracted to oyster seller Will (Blair Redford). And though nothing happens or is suggested yet in episode 1 of Three Women, the show seems to hint that there's going to be tension coming up between Sloane and her husband. And Will is going to the source of that tension.

Maggie

Finally, there's Maggie (Gabrielle Creevy) who lives in North Dakota. When she was 16 years old and in high school, she and her married English teacher, who's also a father, were in a relationship. We don't see much of that time yet, as Maggie's story starts five years later where she's now 23 years old and waitressing. At this time, Aaron receives a "best teacher" award and so she decides to leave a congratulations card with her phone number in his mailbox. She's clearly not over him even years later.

Her friends are worried that he might be having this inappropriate relationship with another girl. If you do it once, you could definitely do it again. They encourage her to do something about it. So Maggie decides to send an email to Aaron telling him she's gained a new perspective on their relationship and that it would be "in his best interest" to prove her wrong. The episode ends with us seeing the teacher taking out the trash at his home, and then throwing it in frustration. Clearly he's read the email.

Stay tuned to Show Snob as we'll be providing recaps and reviews of Three Women each week. New episodes are released Fridays on Starz.