So I just finished watching Love, Victor for the 10th time (yes, I am a little obsessed, deal with it). This is my first time rewatching it since they announced that it will be coming back for Season 2 on June 11th. This time, I decided to rewatch with an eye towards what I would like to see in Season 2.
To refresh: Victor Salazar is a young man who moved with his family from Texas to Atlanta, Georgia after his mother had an affair (it seemed to be more emotional than physical) with his dad's boss and after his dad was fired for attacking his boss over the affair. Victor's sister Pilar is incredibly upset about moving and his brother Adrian doesn't really seem fazed by the move. Victor was relieved to be in a big city because he was starting to realize that he was gay and on his first day at Creekwood High, he heard about Simon Spier who came out as gay and kissed his now-boyfriend at a carnival in front of most of the school. He writes to Simon on Instagram (they never say for sure, but based on the look, I think that is a safe bet) about how he was hoping to start over and that, after hearing about Simon, he felt upset and unsure about what to do. On his first day, he met Mia, a popular and pretty girl who is also quite kind; Felix, his quirky upstairs neighbor who can be annoying at times; Lake, a petty and insecure friend of Mia's who Felix is crushing on; and Andrew, a jock who nicknamed Felix "Lone Stone", has a crush on Mia, and who Lake is crushing on. He also meets Benji, an out gay kid who Victor is instantly attracted to. Over the course of the season, Victor and Simon talk as Victor dates Mia and tries to deny his attraction to Benji. When he and Benji go on a trip to get the coffee machine from the coffee shop they work at fixed, Victor kisses Benji and then freaks out. Benji is none to pleased about it and decides to move to another store because he has a boyfriend who would not be pleased about what happened. Victor sneaks off to New York to visit Simon and meets Bram (Simon's boyfriend) and their roommates who show Victor that there is no one way to be queer and that they are in his corner. Victor comes out to Felix, who gives him a hug and assures him that nothing has to change, and then tries to come out to Mia only to have events stymie him. He takes Mia to a dance where she catches him kissing Benji (who broke up with his boyfriend) and she leaves the dance with Andrew. Felix sneaks around with Lake (at her insistence) and then breaks off what they have when she won't go public. At the dance, she asks him to come up front and kiss and dance with her, making them official. After leaving the dance, Victor and Pilar go back home where their parents tell them that they will be separating. Victor, who had planned on telling them he was gay, decided not to say anything to make sure that there was no more tenseness, only to turn around and tell them, "I'm gay."
Ok, there was obviously a lot that I didn't hit (there are 10 25-30 minute episodes), but those are the highlights. So now I want to go through each main character and say what I am hoping we get from them.
Victor- First off, I am hoping that we get to see his parents' immediate reaction to his declaration. The Spring Fling was at some point during his sophomore year and Season 2 is in his junior year, so I am assuming there is a time jump there. I want to see how they react, not just be told about it. Second, he needs to make things right with Mia. I get why he didn't tell her right away, but he waited way too long. He hurt her tremendously and he needs to make it right if he can. But he also needs to respect her choice if she tells him that she needs space. Third, I am really curious about how he and Benji navigate his coming out and dating. Mia was Victor's first relationship, so this should be interesting. I am hoping that they start to retire the Victor and Simon messaging each other thing because Victor does need to learn how to do this on his own. I would like to see him get advice periodically, but not several times an episode like he did in Season 1. Finally, I want Victor to have more of a backbone. In the first season, he kept doing everything he could to help his family keep peace at the expense of himself. He needs to focus on himself here and not so much on them.
Benji- In Season 1, Benji was mostly the object of romantic interest. He got some character development, but not as much as any other main character. We learned that his coming out was traumatic (he got drunk and crashed a car into a Wendy's just before coming out to his parents in a hospital) and that his ex-boyfriend was very much not a romantic while Benji is definitely one. Benji is going to be in the interesting position of having to help Victor navigate coming out while being in a relationship with him. I also suspect that there is going to be tension between him and Mia over what happened with Victor.
Mia- I really felt for her in the finale. I know that when I was coming out, the idea of dating a woman (to try and force myself to be straight) and causing her pain by coming out was my greatest fear. Victor did this to her in spades. I am hoping she can forgive him eventually, but I am suspecting that it is going to be a bit of a road back. I really hope that we don't come back and they are friends right away. Victor needs to make amends and I want to see him do that. I am also curious about how she will handle her father and Veronica getting married and having a baby together. She seems to be the character who all the drama happens to, and I hope that is not the case. I really hope she and Andrew do end up together because he does seem to care about her. Unfortunately, I am not sure how she feels about him. so unless she can actually care for him, maybe they shouldn't be together.
Lake- It was great to see the character who was presented as a popular almost-airhead has depth. I really grew to love her over the course of the season and she and Felix make a lovely couple. Of course, I love the odd couples like this (I also love Mouth and Rachel or Mouth and Brooke on One Tree Hill), so seeing them together was like catnip for me. I do not like the way her mother talks to her and beats down her self esteem. I think her mom thinks that she is helping Lake by "being realistic", but she is not. I really hope Lake continues on her path to being less shallow and less concerned with what other people think.
Felix- Felix is the type of character I love. He is quirky, cute, and fun. Fortunately, he is also not too neurotic or insecure. He has been an awesome friend for Victor and has really helped Lake realize how awesome she is (I say helped because she started on her own, he just helped the process along). I am hoping that he doesn't change for the worse from being around popular people, because that seems to happen to this type of character a lot. He just needs to keep being the awesome person he has been.
Andrew- For the first several episodes, I intensely disliked him. He used Lake to try and hang out with Mia, gave Felix a dehumanizing nickname years ago, and tried to embarrass Victor due to his socio-economic status. About the only person he didn't hurt was Mia. Where I came to start liking Andrew was after Felix told him off for what he was doing (bullying people by making them the butts of jokes or by humiliating them) and Mia let him know that he might be a good person deep down. I think Andrew truly did not realize how much damage he was doing, because he did try and change after that. I was impressed that he didn't tell Mia about Victor kissing Benji and that he declined to go into Mia's house after taking her home after the dance. He wants to be in a relationship with her and is willing to wait.
Pilar- Honestly, she is the character I like the least. She is whiny, passive-aggressive, and pretty much the most annoying character around. I get why she is the way she is, but that doesn't mean that I like her. I am just hoping that she grows and become less annoying and less passive-aggressive (or just less aggressive).
And I hope Victor's parents get their shit together. They were fighting all season long and did not seem to get how much they were hurting their kids until Victor called them onto the carpet about it. Separating is a good idea because they need time and space. I am also hoping that they handle Victor's coming out with good grace. I am expecting some stumbles and some mistakes, but I really hope we don't get anything major like him getting kicked out or something like that. Based on how Armando (the father) reacted to the idea of Adrian potentially being gay, I am expecting him to have the most trouble. Isabel (the mother) is closer to Victor, so I am hoping that she handles it well, but it is entirely possible this could actually cause her to react worse if she feels betrayed or something.
Anyway, I really am looking forward to season 2 coming out. Until then!
