My Thoughts About Heartstopper

To state the obvious, there are spoilers in this. Please do not read any further if you don't want to be spoiled.

So I watched Heartstopper last night and it was absolutely lovely. It was very much like Love Victor's first season in that it was about young love and figuring out who you are. The show is based off of comics written by Alice Oseman, who also wrote all of the episodes. She wrote these comics to tell the story of how Nick and Charlie met and became a couple. She had previously written a book called Solitaire (which is next on my reading list) which was about Charlie's sister Tori. In Solitaire, they were already a couple, so Alice decided to tell the story of how it happened. If you haven't read the comics, you should do so. I was able to finish each volume (there are currently 4) in about a half hour. I read very quickly, so it will probably take other people longer, but it is worth the time.

Speaking of the comics, I have been having some second thoughts about whether or not I should have read the comics before watching the series. On the one hand, reading the comics (I read them for the first time about a month ago and then again over the course of the last week) gave me the opportunity to really fall in love with the characters. On the other hand, there were several scenes which I was expecting which I suspect lost some emotional impact because I knew how they would turn out. There was only one scene where I was truly emotional and that was in the last episode when Nick had the rugby ball and was looking around for Charlie. When he saw him, he tossed the ball and ran off to the sidelines. When he did that, I immediately sat bolt upright, my hands flew up to my mouth, I muttered "Is he really?", and I started to tear up (I am actually tearing up now just thinking about it). When he took Charlie's hand right in front of everyone, I said, "He did!" and teared up even more. That was a big step for Nick and I was so proud of him. I tell that story because I seriously suspect that there were other moments where I would have had a similar reaction if I wasn't expecting them. But that point is really moot, it just makes me wonder.

Before I get to my thoughts about the rest of the season, let's look at the thoughts I posted on Wednesday about the episode titles. When I posted those thoughts, I was trying to figure out what scenes from the comic would translated into which episodes. And all of my guesses were pretty much spot on. There was a lot that wasn't in the comics, but that wasn't covered by my guesses. Here's what I said:

"[1] Meet- They meet and Charlie joins the rugby team

[2] Crush- Nick realizes he has a crush on Charlie and is trying to figure out what to do

[3] Kiss- The party, Nick and Charlie kiss, the misunderstanding

[4] Secret- Nick and Charlie sort their stuff our, Nick works on how to come out

[5] Friend- Nick continues to work on how to come out, to the world they are friends, the bowling party

[6] Girls- The concert, Nick comes out to Tara and Darcy

[7] Bully- Dealing with his dickish friends at the theater

[8] Boyfriend- Nick and Charlie go to the beach, Nick comes out to his mom"

The one big thing I missed was Nick and Charlie coming out to Elle, which happened earlier in the show than it did in the comics.

As I said earlier, there was a lot in the show that wasn't in the comics. This really isn't surprising since you can do a lot more on screen than you can on a page. We got to know Tao, Elle, Darcy, and Tara a lot better than we did in the comics and we got two new characters: Isaac and Imogen. I do have to say that I am not really sure why Imogen was added. She really only seemed to be there to cause a bit of drama between Nick and Charlie. Before I saw the episodes, I assumed that she would be replacing Tara as someone that Nick had been interested in at some point, but that wasn't the case. Instead, she was a girl who was interested in him and who asked him out after he realized he liked Charlie. I'm glad that he ended up gently turning her down, but she didn't really seem to have a point other than that. Well, and the scene where she declared herself to be an ally to Tara and Darcy. (Sidenote: If you are not a member of a particular minority group, you don't get to declare yourself an ally, only a member of that group can declare you to be an ally. OK. Thanks!) As for Isaac, he also didn't seem to do a lot. He mainly sat around reading and staying out of all the drama. This morning, Alice said that she wrote him to have aroace vibes (see https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=aroace for a definition), so maybe it was a way to get some aroace representation into the series. Assuming the show comes back for a second season, I'd love to see both of them get more substantive stories.

A couple of more general thoughts before looking at characters. First off, I loved how the show used comic drawings to illustrate strong emotions or fantasies. Like when Nick went to ask Charlie to join the rugby team and Charlie was imagining Nick telling him that he is gay and asking Charlie out. Or when they were going to hold hands and you saw sparks or flowers or something like that. Or when Elle was looking at Tao with affection and hearts were circling around her head. Or when Charlie's world shattered and the screen was broken up into sections. I loved seeing that and it really helped drive home that the show in based on a comic. The second thing is the way that the show allowed for perspectives outside of Nick and Charlie's. We got to see Tao and Elle talking about how Tao was hurt that Charlie was growing closer to Nick and we got to see Higgs which we never saw in the comics. Because we got to see Higgs, we got to see Elle adjust to being there and we got to see her become friends with Tara and Darcy. Getting to see these things helped to make the world richer and also gave the supporting characters a story outside of just being Nick and Charlie's friends. The third thing is that because the show had more time, it really helped fill in some gaps that weren't as explained in the comics. I'll get into those in individual character's paragraphs.

Ok, now is the time for my thoughts about the show. I'll go through character by character since that will be the easiest way to organize it. That way, I can go through all the episodes with a particular character and then repeat with the next.

First off, Charlie. I have to admit that doing Charlie and Nick separately is not going to be that easy since this season was mainly about how the two of them became a couple. That being said, they both have their own things happening, so I'll focus mainly on that. When we first meet Charlie, he is periodically meeting up with a boy named Ben who is saying the right things, but whose kisses leave a hell of a lot to be desired. The kisses we see barely occur and are tremendously tepid. By the middle of the first episode, we realize that the reason for this is that Ben has a girlfriend and is either trying to figure out his sexuality (and is so far in the closet, he is visiting Narnia) or he is trying to hurt Charlie. I suspect the first, but the question is never really answered. Anyway, Charlie breaks things off with Ben and falls for Nick, who is really nice to him and invites him to join the rugby team. Watching Charlie and Nick figure their stuff out was so cute. I loved how, like in the comics, Charlie was reassuring Nick that it was ok to not be out. Since Charlie was outed rather than coming out, he is really sensitive to that. This led to something that was hinted at in the comics, but made much more explicit in the show. When Charlie and Nick are talking about how it's ok that Nick wants to keep their relationship a secret, Nick is worried that he is putting Charlie through what Ben did. To Charlie's credit, he realized this was happening and quickly reassured Nick that these were two different things. The other thing which was more implied in the comics, was the amount of emotional damage that both being outed and Ben had done to Charlie. He has become so used to being put down by other people and being used that he expects it and even tells Nick that it's ok when it happens because he is used to it. I love that Nick was adamant that these were not ok. We are definitely seeing seeds being planted about Charlie's anxiety and his anorexia, but neither has been directly addressed yet. Other than this, most of Charlie's story really tracks with the comics. He and Nick start going out in secret, Nick's friends (particularly Harry) are really dickish, Charlie's friends don't understand what is going on, and they ultimately start openly dating (although without a big coming out announcement).

I wanted to devote a paragraph specifically to Tao and Charlie. These two are really good friends and there is a lot of damage inflicted that could have been avoided if different choices had been made. A lot of the damage inflicted on the friendship is a result of Nick not being ready to reveal that he and Charlie are dating. Because of this, Charlie can't explain to Tao how he knows that Nick is a good person. The thing is that Nick's friends were among the people who really bullied Charlie when he was outed the previous school year. Because of this, Tao doesn't trust Nick or his friends. And I can't say I blame him! Because Charlie has a habit of downplaying the effect of things that happen to him, Tao is not entirely sure he can trust what Charlie is telling him about how Nick is different. But because of all of this, Charlie doesn't tell Tao that he and Nick are dating, even when the rest of their friend group knows. It's never stated outright, but I really suspect that Charlie was upset that Tao was making things worse by verbally retaliating against Harry and that Tao was being jealous of Charlie and Nick's friendship. Given all the givens, I don't see how this could have turned out differently. Ultimately, I think more of the blame lies at Tao's feet. I do get that he was trying to be a good friend, but the choices he kept making made it hard for Charlie to tell him that he was dating Nick. Notice that Charlie had no problem telling either Elle or Isaac, and neither of them were as openly hostile towards Nick as Tao was. Not that most of what happened was Tao's fault, but I do think his choices played a bigger role in their estrangement. I do love that we got to see Nick go to Tao and talk with him. It gave the two of them a chance to clear the air, gave Nick the impetus to go look for Charlie, and gave Tao what he needed to make up with Charlie.

Speaking of Nick, watching him figure out who he was was absolutely delightful to see. Meeting him at first, he seemed like the "nice jock" stereotype. Some of his friends (particularly Harry) were the "awful jock" stereotypes, but Nick was always different. We never saw him be mean to anyone, although he did do a lot of sitting around while awful things were being done, which is a definite character flaw (albeit an understandable one given his age). It wasn't until he became friends with Charlie and started to get feelings that he started standing up to his friends when they were being mean to people. A lot of this flowed from something that is very understandable: peer pressure and wanting to fit with your friends. Also, as Nick said to Imogen, "Do you ever really feel like you're only doing things because everyone else is and you're scared to change?" This is the central struggle Nick has the entire season. He knows he like Charlie and he knows that he wants to be with Charlie, but he is trying to figure out what this means when it comes to who he is and how he lives his life. When he told Tara and Darcy that he and Charlie were dating, it was absolutely adorable. And when he acknowledged to Charlie that he is bisexual and that he wants to be with Charlie, it made my heart sing. I absolutely loved the beach scene and when Nick came out to his mom, it was beautiful. Her reaction was almost perfect. I wasn't super fond of her saying that he didn't have to say he liked girls. On the one hand, it was nice that she was encouraging him to be open and honest. On the other, it was treading really close to the stereotype of the gay guy who uses bi as a stop on the way to being "truly gay". That being said, it was really nice to see Nick figure out that he is bi. Watching him focus on both Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom when he was his mom were watching Pirates of the Caribbean was really cute. That was when it really struck him that he really was attracted to both guys and girls.

Now for some Charlie/Nick stuff. Their pasts definitely caused some issues with their getting together. Given how badly his outing had gone, Charlie was understandably very nervous about the same thing happening to Nick. That was good since Charlie was very understanding about Nick needing time, but it also was exacerbating Charlie's anxiety and contributing to his feeling that he was not good for either Nick or Tao after they both got in fights with Harry when in fact he was wonderful for Nick and what happened with Tao we looked at above. And Nick knowing about how badly things went with Charlie was causing Nick some problems. He was worried that he was being like Ben and he was concerned about how to come out himself. All that being said, watching the two of them discover being in love was so much fun. From tentatively taking hands to the first tentative kiss to the other much less tentative kisses to figuring out when and how to come out was oh so sweet. And in the last episode (most of which was not in the comics!) when Nick left the game to take Charlie into the school? Oh, my queer heart was fluttering a mile a minute.

Now for Elle. she is a trans girl who came out as trans not long ago. She had been going to school with the guys, but transferred to an all girls school after coming out as trans. Seeing real positive trans representation was lovely. She is really a lovely person and it was so nice to see her make friends with Tara and Darcy. I also loved that we got to see her and Tao have some scenes alone. You could see that there is a really deep friendship there and you could also see that there was definitely more. I really had to feel for her when she figured out that the milkshake outing was an attempt to get her and Tao together. While Tara, Darcy, Nick, and Charlie really were trying to help, I can totally see how and why it was an overstep and it was nice to see everyone look somewhat chagrined when she called them on it. Although the fact that being there gave them the opportunity to acknowledge to her that it was a "triple date", hence letting her know that Charlie and Nick were an item was a wonderful thing, as was her reaction.

As for Tara and Darcy, these two really can't be separated. 95% of their scenes were together, and the only time this wasn't the case was a scene or two when Nick was talking with Tara alone. I got the impression in the comics that the two of them were pretty much out to the school, but that was definitely not the case in the show. I did enjoy seeing Tara working her way to being open, but the reactions they showed were really, really bad and it really made my heart ache for her. I was glad to see Darcy be such a support for her and the rest of the friends will also rally around her as needed. Other than being an adorable couple, most of their story was serving as an inspiration for Nick about what his relationship with Charlie could be.

When it comes to Tao, I don't have a lot to say that I haven't already said. It was nice to see him and Elle get some screen time together and watching him and Charlie grow apart was heartbreaking. So yeah, refer to what I said above regarding Tao and Charlie or Tao and Elle.

The rest of the characters really were just secondary. Harry and Ben were antagonists. Seeing Nick go after both Ben and Harry when they were being awful was nice to see. Harry in just awful and homophobic and tries to laugh it all off as "being a joke". I talked about Ben above, but I just wanted to add that he is an unspeakably cruel individual. Between the time he sexually assaulted Charlie (yes, forcing someone to kiss you is sexual assault)and the time he told Charlie that no one would want to be with him, he is just awful. He may be very confused, but he is also just cruel. As for Isaac and Imogen, I already stated my feelings. Tori (Charlie's older sister) was just fun to see. She had some wonderfully delivered lines and when he broke down crying and she just held him, it was lovely and heartbreaking. I loved Mr. Ajayi. He's a gay teacher (I'm assuming gay, he only ever talks about liking guys, so the implication is there) who let's Charlie eat in his room when things get to be too much. He is such a wonderful support for Charlie and Nick. And I loved, loved, loved, Nick's mom. I know her from the show Broadchurch, so seeing her in this was quite nice. The only issue I have with her is that she assumed Nick was straight, which is never a good thing. That said, it is so common that it is hard to fault her for it. But she handled his coming out with such love that it really made up for it. And as for her line apologizing for anything she did to make it harder for him to come out? That was right out of the comics and it stole my breath away it was so lovely.

I know I plan on watching it the next few Fridays, so I may write more about it another weekend. I really hope we get a season 2, because I want more!

Thoughts About the Heartstopper Episodes

So the premiere of Heartstopper is in two days and they released the episode list. As I was reading the episode titles, I was thinking about where they might fit in the books. Based on the titles, I think that the season will cover the first two volumes of the Heartstopper books. The episode titles are:

[1] Meet

[2] Crush

[3] Kiss

[4] Secret

[5] Friend

[6] Girls

[7] Bully

[8] Boyfriend

So the first three titles match the titles of the sections of Volumes 1 and 2, but the rest don't match section titles, so we know that the titles won't exactly match the sections in the books. It's possible the first and second sections will line up with the sections in the books, but I doubt it because the first two sections are the entire first volume of the books. So below, I am going to take a guess as to what each episode will be about. After Friday, we'll have to see how close my guesses are. On Saturday, I plan to write a review of the season.

[1] Meet- They meet and Charlie joins the rugby team

[2] Crush- Nick realizes he has a crush on Charlie and is trying to figure out what to do

[3] Kiss- The party, Nick and Charlie kiss, the misunderstanding

[4] Secret- Nick and Charlie sort their stuff our, Nick works on how to come out

[5] Friend- Nick continues to work on how to come out, to the world they are friends, the bowling party

[6] Girls- The concert, Nick comes out to Tara and Darcy

[7] Bully- Dealing with his dickish friends at the theater

[8] Boyfriend- Nick and Charlie go to the beach, Nick comes out to his mom

Really curious about how close my guesses will be. For the record, I haven't seen any spoilers other than the trailers and the episode names.

Hopes for the Third (and Final!) Season of Love, Victor

So today (February 8, 2022), Hulu announced that Love, Victor’s third season, coming out on June 15^th, will also be the last season for the show. I’m definitely sad about that, but also hoping that the writers will be able to wrap everything up in a nice way. Not sure why they're stopping here, since this will just be the rest of their junior year, so going for another season or two to finish high school would make more sense, but they are. And there are only 8 episodes instead of 10, which also concerns me a bit. Just really hope that they can wrap things up nicely. 

So, I wanted to write up some ideas about what I would like to see for the final season. These are going to be paired as couples for the most part because that is an easy way to look at them given the genre. I will discuss individuals in each as well as the pairings.
 
[1] Victor- I would love for Victor to not pick between Benji and Rahim. I really want him to pick both of them. Romance is (with almost no exceptions) depicted as being a binary choice between person A or person B. Why not date both of them? Polyamory is a very real thing and it is has almost no representation on TV, so having a good polyamorous person would be cool. Both Benji and Rahim are good for him in different ways and he loves them both, so why can’t he date both of them. Not sure if this would technically be a triad (do you all have to be dating each other for a triad?) or not, but it would be cool to see. If Victor does pick Benji, the two of them have some serious work to do given how quickly things fell apart last season. As for Benji and Rahim, I just hope that they are happy.
 
[2] Mia and Andrew- Gotta go with these two together since they left to look for Mia’s mom in the finale. I really do hope they stay together because they are absolutely adorable together. I also hope Mia finds some peace. She is the person who has a lot of personal drama because of other people and she deserves a break. I also really hope she and her dad make up. He has some serious groveling to do because of the way he outright lied to her. He told her that he would do what she asked and then broke that as soon as he could. He needs to seriously repair their relationship if he wants things to work out.
 
[3] Felix and Pilar- This was a couple that I didn’t really see coming. I can’t say I am super fond of the two of them together, but I am willing to be open minded. Other than that, I can’t say I honestly have a lot of particular wishes for either. Other than romantic relationships or Felix and his mom, they have mostly been in a place of supporting Victor. Now that Felix’s mom is in a better place, I really hope the two of them can relax and enjoy themselves.
 
[4] Lake and Lucy- This is the one that promises to be the most interesting. I am really curious to see where this goes. Other than a few compliments, Lake has never really expressed any interest in women, but when Lucy was blatantly flirting with her, you could tell she was intrigued. I am looking forward to seeing the two of them figuring things out. It promises to be a fun and interesting time. I also look forward to seeing Lake and Felix get to a place where they can be friends. I also really want Lake to stand up to her mom and tell her how toxic she can be.
 
{5] Armando and Isabel- So it appears that they are back together, which will be nice. And now that Isabel has finally come around to accepting Victor, I am looking forward to seeing him bring his boyfriend(s) to the house.
 
[6] Adrian- Not a whole lot to say here. He has not been in it much at all, so I can’t say I have any hopes for him at all. It might be nice to see more of him, but not essential.
 
I would also love to see the series explore a more accepting version of religion that exists. I appreciate that they showed the reality that there are a lot of religious people who don’t accept queer people, but it would be nice to see an accepting, affirming church, not just one that is “less awful”.
 
Until June 15^th!

Some Thoughts About Venji

I watched Love. Victor season 2 for the fourth time last night. The first few times I watch a show or movie, I tend to notice details or think of things that I hadn’t thought of before. For example, the first time watching the season, I missed that it was Felix who shouted “Yaass queen!” at the beginning of the third episode (the one right after Victor comes out in the hallway). The second time I watched, I thought it might be Felix, so I paid attention on the third time, and sure enough it was him. I have to say that that line never made much sense to me. While Felix says some odd things, that one doesn’t strike me as a very Felixlike thing to say. And that makes me wonder if it was supposed to be someone else and ended up being Felix for some reason or if Anthony decided to just shout it and the producers loved it so much that they kept it in.

Anyhow, when I watched the show for the third time, I was trying to figure out what happened to Benji and Victor. While most of the fault undoubtedly lies with Isabel and some with Victor (see my initial reaction for a lot more about this), it occurred to me that a good amount of the fault lies with Benji and I’m not talking about the AA below-the-belt shit he said. It started before that. At the end of season 1 and the beginning of season 2, Benji assured Victor that he knew what he was getting into with Victor being so new and all. And for most of the season, Benji seemed to get that Victor needed time to talk and process. However, during the AA fight, it became obvious that Benji was never as really cool with everything as he pretended to be. Victor’s need to talk things out, his need to keep up a relationship with Isabel, and everything else really got on Benji’s nerves. But Benji never let Victor know. On the one hand, I get it. You don’t want to shut your boyfriend down. On the other hand, Benji was always pushing Victor to be honest and wasn’t being honest himself. This was obvious from the first watch. What occurred to me later is the probable reason why Benji was being like this.

 

I think Benji was feeling tremendous pressure to be the perfectly knowledgable boyfriend/guru, which is not a good combination. He seemed to feel that he couldn’t share his feelings with Victor because he didn’t want Victor to shut down, but he needed to find a way to share them. When he didn’t, he exploded at Victor and one thing led to another and they took a break. Benji seemed to think that he couldn’t be vulnerable or needy or anything other than the strong flying buttress of support. And no one can be that. Now, I will say that it is possible that he talked with his sponsor or someone else, but absent any proof in the story (either verbal or visual), we have to assume he didn’t. And that is something the two of them really need to sort out if they want to have a chance together. Now that Isabel is out of the way, that should ease a lot of the pressure, but they still need to both communicate with each other better than they have been.

 

At some point, I’ll write a post about what I want to happen in season 3 now that the show is officially coming back. Until then, bye y’all!

Some Thoughts About Love, Victor Season 2

Yesterday, Love, Victor season 2 came out. If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram (both @mychelvandover), you'll know I have been posting about it a lot for the last few weeks. I was super excited for the season to come out, and it did not disappoint. After watching it last night, I took some time to process what happened (and there was a lot!) and arrange my thoughts. So, after some spoiler space, I'll write my thoughts about what happened and then I will comment about how whether or not I wanted to see happen actually happened. Without further ado, here we go...

So there are really 2 places I have considered starting: Venji and Isabel's reaction to Victor coming out. The thing is that the two are incredibly intertwined, so it is a little hard to separate them. I'll start with Isabel, because her reaction drives a lot of what Venji goes through.

Isabel is a very religious Catholic Latina and is conservative and that ends up spelling disaster. She and Victor have always been close (as we saw in season 1) and he has always been a mama's boy, so when he came out it completely knocked her off her axis. And she reacted very poorly. For a long while she refused to speak with Victor about it, insisted on calling Benji his "friend", made Benji feel unwelcome in the apartment, insisted Victor not come out to Adrian, did the whole "concerned mother" routine, threw away a dinner that she was making for Victor, Benji, Lake, and Felix (as well as Pilar) when she saw Venji kissing and made a lame excuse about burning it, stalked out of the room when Benji stroked Victor's arm, and just generally did everything she could to show how disapproving and unsupportive she was. All of this led Benji to be pissed and want Victor to push back more, but Victor was doing everything he could to salvage their relationship while pushing back when he felt he was able to. Add to that the time she walked in on them having sex, and things got so far beyond messy.

I so felt this. While I have never had a boyfriend, I did have a conservative, very religious Catholic mother who took quite a while to accept my being queer and pushed back against it somewhat. My mom and I were very close (honestly, pretty much the same as Victor and Isabel), so this was not a fun thing for me. I am not Latino, so I have no experience with that aspect of everything, but I do get a lot of what Victor was going through. A bit more on that later when I talk about Venji's relationship issues.

Anyway, the good thing is that Isabel did get better over time. I have no doubt that she loves Victor, but her refusal to support him came perilously close to causing a massive rupture in their relationship. The only reason there was no rupture is that Victor stubbornly refused to allow one to happen. He stopped confiding in her because of her actions, which is totally unsurprising. After all, if someone is not supportive of you and your relationship, why would you talk with them about it? And the less that is said about that priest, the better. When he and Isabel talked for the first time in episode 5, I had to pause the show, call my sister (who had watched through episode 5), and ask if it was a conversion therapy episode. She assured me it wasn't, so I was able to watch the rest of the episode, and the priest just got worse. He kept trying to get Victor to give up his "sin" and basically told Adrian that Victor would "not know God's love" (ie. he would go to Hell). This last part led to my favorite line of the season. Isabel confronted him in his office, told him that he was wrong and that she would love and support Victor, and ended with one of the greatest lines of dialogue ever. He told her to not give up on God and she shot back, "I'm not giving up on God. I'm giving up on you." She also quit her position as the Music Director of the church and found a more accepting (not sure about affirming) church.

After that, she was pretty good. She found Benji and apologized for what she did, which was important. And the reason it was important was that her disapproval and lack of support caused a massive rift between Victor and Benji. It wasn't all about her, but a lot of it was. Victor said he wanted to come out publicly with Benji as a couple to the school, but chickened out after his mom reminded him about how cruel kids could be. I want to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that she was only trying to be helpful there, but it is really hard not to suspect that (on some level) she was trying to sabotage Venji. This delayed coming out led to some rumors about why Victor and Mia broke up (most ended up with her being cast as a slut) which led to Victor shoving someone who insulted Mia. Fortunately, that particular situation ended with Victor standing on a chair and proclaiming (in the middle of a hallway!) that he and Mia broke up because he was gay and that Benji was his boyfriend.

But that was the start of a pattern that kept happening. Victor would confront a new aspect of queer life and shy away from it, generally due to total lack of knowledge about it, which would cause him to pull away from Benji only to later have a talk with Benji about it while Benji listened patiently and helped him work it out. This pattern wore on Benji, and (I think) partially led to Benji's decision not to tell Victor that he was in AA, which led to a fight where Benji used his patience with Victor in a massively below-the-belt blow during an argument. I loved that Benji was being so patient with Victor, and that below-the-blow pissed me off. Benji knew that Victor was brand new and had a really hard time coming out before they got together, so if he wasn't ready to help guide Victor, then he should have said something. Don't get me wrong, Victor was no angel in the relationship. He hid things (mainly because he didn't want to admit he didn't know something) and didn't stand up for himself as much as he should have, but he was torn between his boyfriend and his mother. And when that happened, he defaulted to his stance of trying to keep the peace, which ended up causing some problems with Benji.

The biggest blow-up came after Isabel walked in on Venji having sex. Under any circumstance, that would be insanely awkward and nothing a parent would want to see, but Isabel's reaction to it and Benji's reaction to her just made everything a thousand times worse. She said that she didn't want them having sex with Adrian in the apartment, which Benji took (not irrationally) as homophobic. And I have to agree with him. If she had caught Victor having sex with a girl, I don't think she would have been as mad as she was. Don't get me wrong, she would have been mad, I just think that the fact that Victor was with Benji was why she reacted so much more strongly. And, as I said, she had long since forfeited any right to the benefit of the doubt. If she had been supportive in the past, Benji would have reacted less strongly, which would have prevented the fight between Victor and Benji about everything. While she was blowing up at Venji and Benji was blowing up at her, Victor was trying to calm them both down so he could have a chance to breathe and to figure out what to do. That led to Benji insisting that he and Victor take a break and led to Isabel visiting him to try and make amends and to get Venji back together.

Speaking of sex, I have to say that the whole cabin episode was sort of amusing, particularly the look on Victor's face when he saw the bottle of lube that Benji brought up sitting out. That was really, really funny. He was so panicked about the idea of having sex that he immediately tried to talk with Simon about it. That was a classic scene. Anyway, back to the rest....

I think the person I feel for most here was Victor. A lot of that is because I really identify with him and get why he was not pushing back against Isabel while Benji was there, but was pushing back against her when he had her alone or with Armando. He really wanted to preserve both relationships, but Benji seemed to be pressuring him to end (or at least radically alter) his relationship with Isabel and Isabel was sabotaging his relationship with Benji. Victor was trying to get the two most important people in his life to co-exist and neither one was helping out. I had sympathy with Benji until he started doing to Victor some of the same things Derek did to him last year. Benji said that Derek made him feel bad about being a romantic and this season he made Victor feel bad about loving basketball and wanting to salvage his relationship with his mom. Benji didn't seem to get how important both were to Victor and that was a part of their problems. And, like I said before, throwing his support in Victor's face during the argument after Victor found out (from Benji's parents) he was in AA was just cruel.

As for the whole AA thing, I am not super qualified to speak to that. My main thought is that I think Benji should have said something to Victor sooner. I do get that you should share things when you can, but when it is something that major, I have a harder time agreeing with the idea of not talking about it. What if they had gone to a party and Victor got his a beer or alcoholic beverage? That would have hurt Benji's sobriety and that would also have caused problems. On the other hand, I am a little surprised that Victor didn't think to ask about it since he knew that Benji had been drinking and that it culminated in his driving a car through a Wendy's. The other reason I think Benji should have said something was what Victor said to him, that Benji had been insisting on openness and honesty and hadn't shared this major thing with Victor. I definitely think Victor could have been more understanding about the whole thing, given that Benji had been so patient with him.

And now to the last of their problems, Victor telling Rahim that Benji had a drinking problem and was in AA. I so wanted to smack Victor for that one. He even said that he should not have told Rahim, and he knew that he was betraying Benji's trust. I do get why Victor said something, but it was entirely the wrong thing to do. Victor and Rahim had a fair amount in common. They both have conservative, religious parents (Rahim is Muslim) and they both are people of color (Rahim is Iranian). This gave them something to bond over, so Victor felt comfortable talking to Rahim. But telling him about Benji's being in AA was such a betrayal. And that was the final straw that led to the two of them taking a break.

Speaking of Rahim, I thought he was a great character. I was worried that he was introduced solely to cause problems between Victor and Benji, but he wasn't. He came out to Victor and leaned on him for some help sort of like Victor relied on Simon. I say sort of because their situations were definitely different. Rahim knew he was gay and never denied it the way Victor did. Mainly he just needed support and someone he could count on while he worked up the nerve to tell his parents that he was gay. He did end up being attracted to Victor which led to the finale scene where Victor rung someone's doorbell, but we don't know who. Some thoughts about that later. I definitely enjoyed seeing him and Victor out and about when they skipped school the day after Victor and Benji went on a break. It was nice for Victor to be able to do some things that he wouldn't normally do and it gave him and Rahim a chance to bond. It also led to a lovely scene where Isabel and Victor talked about why he didn't tell her that he and Benji were on a break.

So, now about other characters. Let's do some quick ones first:

Armando- I was really impressed with how quickly he was able to adjust to the new reality. I know it was hard for him at first, but he knew that he had to be supportive of his son and he did so. Seeing him attend PFLAG meetings was great as was his talk with Jack Spier (loved that Josh Duhamel was back!). I also loved that he made it clear to Isabel that she needed to be more supportive of Victor if there was a chance of the two of them reconciling. I was afraid that, given his reactions to things in the first season, he would react very poorly to Victor coming out. Fortunately, he didn't.

Pilar- Her reaction to Victor coming out was the third best reaction (Felix's was first, Adrian's was second). After Victor told her and their parents that he was gay, she paused for a few seconds, then walked right up and gave him a hug. That was great. She was also a lot less whiny than last season, which really helped. She did have a great line when she said, "Damn! Gay Victor has much bigger balls than Straight Victor!" after he confronted Isabel about her not wanting him to go to a cabin with Benji for the weekend. That made me laugh. I'm not sure how I feel about her and Felix together. Partly it's that I really like him and Lake together, but also there is the while fact that the two of them had more of a sibling relationship, so it feels weirdly incestuous.

Adrian- His reaction to Victor coming out was second only to Felix's. He wholly and unquestioningly supported Victor, which was cool enough. But when he asked why Victor had been with Mia (hey, fair question!), Armando compared it to the time that Adrian thought blueberry pancakes were the best only to have that opinion changed when he found French toast. So when he turned to Victor and told him that he was glad "you've found your French toast." I had to swoon a little. It was so adorable and such a great expression of support. And then there was the priest talking to him. I was happy with how Isabel let him know, in no uncertain terms, that Victor would be ok.

Felix- I love him and Lake together. Their main issue revolved around his mom and their life. I get why he didn't want Lake saying anything, but I also totally get why she did. His mom was not taking her new meds and it was obviously hurting Felix, so she wanted to make sure he could get some help. However, she promised not to tell anyone anything but told her mom, which led to her mom letting Felix know of another therapist they could go to, which led to a confrontation between their moms and Felix's mom being placed in a psych ward for a couple of weeks. That was another betrayal, albeit for very good reasons. However, I suspect that her betrayal was a part of the reason he ultimately chose Pilar. As for his attempts at manscaping in the 5th episode, that was just another really funny moment.

Lake- She has really grown since we first met her, She is thinking less about how things impact her and more about how they impact her and Felix as a couple. I do wish Felix was more the same, but I suspect that taking care of his mom was a little overwhelming. And if I was reading things correctly, she has Lucy (Andrew's ex!) interested in her. That could be fun!

Andrew- He is someone else who really astonished me. He has gone from being the obnoxious jock to being a genuinely good person. He does have his failures (his failure to stand up to the guys who refused to change in the locker room with Victor was a glaring one) but he was trying. And he was good with Mia and was actually pretty awesome to Felix. I'm surprised at how much I've come to really enjoy him.

Mia- And here is our last character study. I was surprised at how quickly she adapted to everything given how badly Victor hurt her. I get why she felt that she should be angry, but found it hard to be angry because the reason Victor hurt her was a part of his coming out process, which was a great thing for him. I do want to say that I wish he had validated her anger there a bit more. He did great at apologizing and everything and their friendship got back on track, but I wish that there had been something acknowledging that her anger was perfectly valid even as she was happy that Victor was being himself. As for her dad taking that job at Stanford, that was a big betrayal. He asked for her opinion and she gave it (albeit after saying ok), telling him that she didn't want him to take the job and move them because she wanted him to choose her over his job for once. The worst part is that he agreed and then went and accepted the job offer anyway. The season ended with her and Andrew driving to see her mom, who had emailed her in the penultimate episode.

So, now how what I wanted stacked up against what actually happened:

- Seeing Armando and Isabel's immediate reactions - Yes

- Making things right with Mia - Yes

- Seeing how he and Benji navigate his coming out - Yes

- Paring back on his needing advice from Simon- Yes, and the last episode had what looks like the last message to Simon

- Victor growing a backbone - Yes (Qualified, he still has more to grow, but it's a start)

- Tension between Benji and Mia over Victor - Nope

- Bit of time before Mia forgives Victor - Yes, although not as long as I expected

- Mia and Andrew ending up together - Yes, eventually

- Lake continuing her personal growth - Yes

- Felix not becoming shallow and a person affected by popularity- Yes

- Pilar improving her attitude - Yes, in spades

- Armando and Isabel getting their shit together - Sort of, I think

- Armando reacting badly to Victor coming out - Nope (totally off there!)

- Isabel possibly reacting badly to Victor coming out - I underestimated her reaction big time. I figured it would be hard, but it was so much worse than I expected.

So, I really hope they have a third season because I need to know a few things:

[1] Whose doorbell did Victor ring? I assume Benji or Rahim's, but it could have been someone else. I want it to be Benji so the two of them can be back together, but if it is Rahim, I hope both Victor and Benji think about what caused their problems to fix them.

[2] Why did Felix choose Pilar?

[3] Are Armando and Isabel back together or are they just hooking up now?

[4] Is Lucy interested in Lake?

[5] What will Mia and her dad do? And is she planning on just visiting her mom or staying with her?

Hope you enjoyed this! Let me know if you have any thoughts!

TV Schedule for Fall 2021

I haven't done this in a while, but here is my TV schedule for the fall, and it is *A LOT* lighter than in the past:

Sunday- Zip, Zero, and Nada

Monday- 4400 @ 9:00 pm on the CW (NEW)

                Good Doctor @ 10:00 pm on ABC

                Ordinary Joe @ 10:00 pm on NBC (NEW)

Tuesday- La Brea @ 9:00 pm on NBC (NEW)

Wednesday- Legends of Tomorrow @ 8:00 pm on the CW

                     Batwoman @ 9:00 pm on the CW

Thursday- Zip, Zero, and Nada

Friday- Zip, Zero, and Nada

Saturday- Zip, Zero, and Nada

Held until midseason- This Is Us, Superman & Lois, and Stargirl

This doesn't include the cable shows I watch, mainly on Food Network (although there are a couple on Freeform and TBS) nor does it include streaming shows such as Elite or Love, Victor, but this is most of it.

Wish me luck.

Love, Victor Season 2 Trailer

So the Love, Victor season 2 trailer dropped. I didn't see it on Hulu's Youtube page (I did see it in their IG story though) [UPDATE: Hulu put it on their YouTube page, go to https://youtu.be/S7iyAHFoih8], but I did find it here. It looks wonderful.  Here are some of my thoughts:

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[1] Victor and Benji seem to be going strong and Victor is really out. The only issue mentioned were Victor's worries about sex and his worrying about the "right way" to be gay. Apparently the basketball team is uncomfortable around him, but he is not "gay enough" for Benji's friends. I also have to wonder if Benji dumping Derek for Victor might also play into that.

[2] Victor has apparently learned how to stand up for himself, which makes me happy. He spent so much of season 1 worried about making other people happy that he forgot to make sure he was taking care of himself.

[3] Isabel is apparently going to have a harder time dealing with Victor coming out than Armando does. Which isn't a huge surprise given how close Victor and Isabel are. She needs to adjust a lot to this new information. She comes across as not doing well at all and I really hope that what we see here is just the worst, but I fear it isn't.

[4] Lake is totally fine with Victor and Benji, which is a little surprising given how badly Victor hurt Mia. Although she does keep up good relations with Mia, which indicates that Mia is (a) very understanding or (b) not willing to make Lake choose between her and Victor. Either one is light years ahead of where I thought we would be, so that is good.

[5] Speaking of Mia, I found it interesting that Andrew has a girlfriend in the trailer. Not sure how long it took to start dating someone else, but I was not expecting that. It is a good sign for him though. And watching Andrew talk to Felix about grooming "downtown Felix" was a total hoot!

[6] Felix and Pilar are continuing their friendship, which looks awesome. I just really hope they don't try and make her an obstacle of some sort for Felix and Lake. The two of them as friends would be awesome. And seeing Felix and his mom together was heartbreaking. He has to take care of here and given the notice on the fridge, they are having trouble.

I am super excited for the new season and cannot wait for it to start!