Bette responds to Sergeant Duffy’s inquiry by identifying herself as “lucky.” When she elicits Duffy’s response to the question of her arrogance, Duffy makes a slight grunting noise that seems to indicate negation, followed by dismissal of the topic. Past that uncomfortable hurdle, the conversation then turns to Bette's relationship with Tina as well as issues of parenting.
The “Perfect” Relationship
The concept of arrogance, though, sets the stage for the rest of the tape. Often regarded as prideful and self-absorbed, Bette has a chance to set the record straight in this tape and let the viewers see a different side of her. However, she falls miserably short of achieving this.
Bette discusses her relationship with Tina, admitting that she’s “lucky” to have someone who would put up with much more than her own mother endured. Although the audience can hope that Bette has changed her ways and that she has a new-found appreciation for Tina, this comment nevertheless makes Tina appear to be somewhat of a doormat and it undercuts the vast significance of the marriage proposal that Bette made to Tina during the series finale.
Bette continues on to say, “I don’t think that there’s any such thing as a perfect relationship” and that Tina “fails to see" her, again undercutting the love scene and marriage proposal in the finale.
Bette and Tina as Parents
In a shocking, and seemingly unrealistic revelation, Bette explains the deep feelings of hurt and resentment that she harbors over the fact that Tina never offered or asked her if she wanted to carry the couple’s second child. In a melodramatic aside, Bette speaks to Tina as if she were in the room, questioning, “How did it not ever even occur to you?”
In an interview that fails to mention Jenny at all and also makes no mention of the treacherous railing on the flight of stairs at Bette and Tina's house that was referred to as a hazard so many times throughout the finale, Bette’s self-absorption is clear. Feeling slighted because of an issue she never even discussed with Tina and reminding herself not to expect "perfection" from her partner in a relationship where Bette herself had been the most destructive, Sergeant Duffy makes the best possible choice when it comes to responding to Bette’s nonsense: she simply gets up and leaves.
And, thus the tape ends, just as emotionally charged as its predecessors but none the more useful.
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