Looking Forward with Totally Undiminished Enthusiasm to Season Four, You Bet!
In which:
Shane spends episodes one through five having rebound sex with five UPS girls, eight random bar pick-ups, most of her clients, all the waitresses at the Planet, two minor Hollywood starlets (who can play themselves), a psychiatrist, Cherie "Jaffe" Peroni, the twins she blew off in Season Two, a vampire, Cherie's daughter, and Jenny. Her character is deftly drawn and completely consistent in every episode of the entire season.
Jenny's book becomes the subject of a Fake Writer scandal, even though Jenny is real (or anyway realer than Leroy). She agrees to appear on Moral Court, opposite her mother (Margot Kidder), who claims that nothing bad ever happened to Jenny. Mrs. Schechter is ruled "Morally Outrageous" and Jenny wins $2,000. (Okay, so "Moral Court" went off the air in 2001. It's always playing in the women's locker room at the Y.)
Helena gets the inevitable waitressing job at the Planet (draw your own conclusions about the first item). Dylan turns up, haggard, haunted by regret, and wearing a tight tank-top. She then spends episodes two through four trying to persuade Helena that she (Dylan) loves her (Helena), even though Helena, now penniless, is living on canned creamed corn and day-old Planet pastries (which makes her plumper and better-looking), and has no idea how to operate a washing machine so wears only jeans and the cryptic T-shirts that Carmen left behind, and her hair is a mess.
While on the run with Bette like B.B. and Beatrix Kiddo, Angelica learns to talk. Back in Los Angeles, Tina wakes up one morning and realizes that (a) Henry is ugly and piggish, (b) she could get the same effect with a dildo, and (c) she misses Bette and wants to hug her. However, given that Bette has been such an unbelievable asshole lately, Tina decides to devote the season to studying martial arts with a view to hunting Bette down, scaring the shit out of her, and only then hugging her.
Kit decides to have her baby, but refuses absolutely to marry Mangus, making him hop with frustration. He continues to treat Kit like a queen, but is no longer played by Dallas Roberts. Instead, Ewan McGregor takes the part.
Lara gains back some of the baby fat that made her look so adorable in Season One.
Peter Sarsgaard joins the cast as Alice's sleepily sinister ex-boyfriend Dax and has an affair with Mangus.
Max disappears and is never heard from again.