Joe and Terry review the first half of the final season of Hulu/Disney+’s Love, Victor.

Spoilers for the first half below…

TERRY

It’s a bit bitter-sweet this time around, Joe, because while we get answers to the cliffhanger ending of Love, Victor season two, it’s also the final chapter in this short-lived, queer TV show. It’s little consolation that the show also made a full circle journey to air, in its entirety, on Disney+, where it initially began…but hopefully this means more people will get to see it.

It’s also slightly bitter because, at least in these initial episodes, Love, Victor feels like it’s running on empty. Just like the beginning of season two, season three opens where the previous season ended: with Victor (Michael Cimino) standing outside the door of one of his two suitors. The lingering question was whether that suitor would be boyfriend Benji (George Sear) or charismatic Rahim (Anthony Keyvan), who stole a kiss from Victor at the wedding.

Last season you thought Victor would end up at Rahim’s door and were also hoping that Benji wouldn’t go on an alcohol-infused spiral. I’m sad to see your hopes dashed. Not only does Victor end up at Benji’s door, but Benji then goes on an alcohol-infused spiral that causes them to split up. It’s somehow doing the unexpected while also being completely expected.

It’s also indicative of the problems I see in these first four episodes, as the show seems to be treading water. I’d be curious to know when the showrunners were informed this was the last season because it almost feels as if Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger and their crew of writers didn’t want to expand the character roster in the final season. So they kept the action and stories somewhat contained to give closure to the conflict introduced in season two.

For example, Episode 1 “It’s You” finds Andrew (Mason Gooding) taking Mia (Rachel Hilson) to meet her mother. In another inspired piece of casting, Mia’s mother is played by Tracie Thoms (Rent), but she isn’t given much to do in this singular episode except be another person to fail Mia. At this point, Mia’s the person I most feel sorry for…not necessarily because of the teen trope of having to uproot herself and leave her friends and lover behind, but because no one in her life seems to really care about her.

Her father Mr. Brooks (Mekhi Phifer) was given an opportunity to back out of taking the job at Stanford last season and decided to put his career ahead of his daughter. Before that, he was in the picture but never truly there for his daughter. And now we have the former Mrs. Brooks who is too busy jet-setting around the world…but when she returns, maybe they could have a conversation about Mia’s future. Maybe.

It’s so incredibly sad and eclipses most of Mia’s friends’ situations.

Meanwhile, Lake (Bebe Wood) starts to get cold feet around Lucy (Ava Capri) while navigating her breakup with Felix (Anthony Turpel), who is also still dealing with the fallout of his mother’s spiral last season.

What I enjoyed about season two so much was the way it felt like a break from season one: upping the stakes, rounding out the characters and introducing new dynamics. It felt mature, particularly for a show aimed at young adults. And while it felt good to slip back into the characters and the show, so far this final season feels more like a season 2.5 to me. It probably doesn’t help that I started watching this literally a week after consuming Heartbreaker, which feels somehow more mature in its approach to sexuality than this season of Love, Victor.

Am I being overly critical, Joe? What are your initial thoughts about season three and Victor’s continued struggle between Benji and Rahim? Isabel (Ana Ortiz) joins Armando (James Martinez) at her first PFLAG meeting and it doesn’t go quite as planned and I’m curious if you’re still enjoying her journey of acceptance. And what do you make of the relationship between Felix and Pilar (Isabella Ferreira)?

JOE

Sadly I’m in agreement with you, Terry. At the halfway point of S3, something just seems…off. Maybe it’s that essential need to explore this story, but Love, Victor doesn’t appear to have much to say anymore. And while ordinarily sticking to familiar YA tropes wouldn’t be so bad, it is hard not to wind up comparing and contrasting the show with Heartstopper; that show isn’t doing anything particularly revelatory either, but the emotional resonance is so much higher and authentic that it makes Victor feel hollow by comparison.

Perhaps this shallow consideration of more involving storylines didn’t bother us as much in former seasons because Love, Victor felt like a novelty in Disney+/Hulu’s wheelhouse. As queer people we’re still frequently starved for quality entertainment, and Love, Victor was a high profile entry in the queer YA canon. That’s not really the case anymore, and while there’s still a need for wholesome, relationship-oriented teen fare, Love, Victor definitely feels like it’s coasting.

One of my struggles with S3 thus far is that it feels incredibly small scale. Aside from Mia’s “last ditch” party in episode 1, nearly every interaction in these first four episodes is a twofer. It’s as though it was challenging to wrangle the cast for a scene with more than three characters at once. This results in entire episodes wherein characters only hang out in pairs. So Rahim and Benji have an episode together, and Pilar and Felix have an episode together, but never the two shall meet.

That’s too simplistic, but the show frequently feels like it’s lacking in scale and scope. The stories are all about romance and heartbreak, so even Benji’s battle with sobriety becomes more of a contrivance to keep him and Victor apart until (presumably) the finale. Ditto for Lane’s burgeoning relationship with Lucy, which overshadows Lake’s feelings of inadequacy and bullying when it comes to her successful news anchor mom, Georgina (Leslie Grossman).

The show also has a tendency to resolve all of its conflicts in a single episode or two. Sure Victor and Benji “break up” in episode one and are still separate by episode four “You Up?”, but Mia’s home insecurity goes from exasperated “I guess I’m moving” to “living with Lake for Senior Year” with barely a blip in the road. Ditto Armando and Isabel finding out about Pilar’s relationship with Felix, which blows up in “You Up?” and is also quickly and easily resolved by episode’s end.

I’m not suggesting everything needs to be dragged out for multiple episodes or even the whole season, but after three seasons, Love, Victor’s flippant treatment of some major issues is irksome. In the same episode, Victor suspects that his “casual” fuck buddy Nick (Nico Greetham) has given him an undisclosed STI. This is a really important, serious topic for queer teens who are new to intimate relationships, but rather than explore the ramifications, there’s a brief awkward doctor visit, where it’s revealed to be poison ivy. Shortly thereafter, Victor breaks up with Nick over voice mail. Perhaps there will be more to the situation than that, but it’s another example of the show taking the easy way out instead of doing or saying something more with its storyline.

The same goes for Lake’s coming out: it’s been so easy for her to transition from Felix to Lucy that it hardly acknowledges that Love, Victor has never addressed lesbianism or bisexuality before now. The “freak out in bed” scene in episode three, “The Set-Up” is super cliche (and says more about Mia and Lake’s friendship than the latter’s sexuality) and her coming out to Georgina in “You Up?” is similarly drama-free. I’m all for avoiding tales of queer teen trauma involving parents, but everything to do with teen/adult relationships this season has been laughably easy to overcome. It smacks of weird, rich kid privilege, frankly.

Which brings us to Isabel, whose reluctance to accept Victor was the backbone of S2. I’ll confess that it’s still too early to say, Terry, but I’m afraid that Love, Victor is done letting this character to be messy. Her PFlag blow-up following Nia Vardalos’ perfect mom tale is amusing and reinforces Isabel’s growth, but the series needs more of her confession about not being able to forgive herself. Thus far it’s been the only truly emotional moment of S3 and the show is hurting as a result.

Oof - I’ve been far more critical of the front half than I intended. Do you have any insights into how Rahim and Victor navigated the wedding fall out? Are you glad, like me, that Ferreira is finally getting something to do on the show? And what are your predictions for the back half of this final season?

TERRY

I’m glad we’re on the same page, Joe, because after two seasons of mostly really digging Love, Victor and understanding its importance, I was sad this final season was letting me down and I wondered if it was just me. I’m sad that the show is ending because it presents a non-white experience of coming out as a teen and more queer shows are always needed…but either something was going on behind the scenes or this show is running on fumes.

The way the show has been pairing people is incredibly weird and, as you mentioned, small scale. I actually didn’t realize it was happening until you pointed it out; instead, I kept thinking that this doesn’t feel like Love, Victor and something felt off. But you hit the nail on the head because a lot of what drove the first two seasons was the friend group navigating identity, sexuality, and family drama.

By comparison every episode in season three feels completely contained. We don’t get to see the friends truly leaning on each other for support, outside of the cliched phone call. Instead, it’s, as you mentioned, one-on-one scenes (is this a result of COVID filming protocols?).

That’s not to say it’s all bad, though. Some of these individual scenes are entertaining and showcase some of the quick and snappy writing that initially brought me into the show.

For instance, in “You up?” Armando approaches Isa with his concern about Felix and Pilar. “Do friends cup each other’s faces?” he asks, before using his very large hands to cup and squeeze Isa’s face until her lips are puckered out. “I saw Pilar doing it to Felix in the hallway.”

The conversation that follows, where each of them realizes in their own way that Pilar and Felix are dating made me laugh because it had the energy that drove the previous two seasons. Isa’s gasp when Armando tells her that Pilar told him “good morning” was funny and charming. And Felix’s exuberant excitement to hear all about Victor’s making out sessions and calling him “Wanton!” reminded me why this cast was so good.

But these little pockets of the show we both fell in love with are, unfortunately, intermixed with an overarching storyline that either feels redundant (Mia still struggling with where to live, Isa and Armando still struggling with being overbearing parents, Georgina still struggling with being the bully, Benji still being mad about Rahim and Victor) or listless. There’s nothing really propelling the season.

I was excited about the show introducing Nick and allowing Victor a chance to be single…but that ended almost as quickly as it started. Ditto with the lingering tension between Victor and Rahim. It all feels too accelerated and while that isn’t necessarily a bad thing (did I really want Victor and Rahim to be upset all season long? Hell no), it only highlights that there’s nothing really going on.

Another plus side, though, is Ferreira’s Pilar. Like you, I’m glad she’s finally been given something substantial to work through. I think we both were upset with how little she was utilized last season, so to see her have something to work with that’s on par with the rest of the cast made me happy.

This leads me to the back half of the season and your question. I’m wondering if the show will address the way in which Isa and Armando (specifically Armando) have different parenting styles for their two kids. Victor has been “U up?”ing a whole lot in episode 4 while Pilar has been trying to keep her relationship with Felix secret. And while Pilar and Felix are spending time making out, Victor and Nick have done a lot more and have, so far, gotten away with it. But Isa finding the birth control pills in Pilar’s room is an ominous way to end the first half of the season.

The show quietly contrasts the two, with Isa trying to hook Victor up with Nick while Armando tries to keep Pilar away from having any male attention. But it doesn’t critique or explore that dichotomy and I’m wondering if that’ll happen in the final four episodes.

I expect that the triangle between Rahim, Benji and Victor will also get explored somewhat in the final four episodes. As Rahim says, they’re the only openly gay students at school and “You Up?” ends with Rahim slicking back Benji’s hair and hugging him over his grades. Of course Victor sees this without the context.

But right now, all roads seemingly lead to Benji. I’d really like the show to subvert that expectation, but nothing this season suggests any subversion to tropes.

I agree that we’ve both been harder this season than the previous two, but I also think it’s just coasting where it should have continued to thrive like the first two seasons. Hopefully these last four episodes right the ship and give us an ending to remember.

Because Love, Victor deserves it. And so do its fans.

I’ll toss it back to you, Joe, for the final words on this first half. I feel like we’ve had a lot of negative things to say, so I’m curious what parts of it you enjoyed? The parents have always been a part of the show and sometimes the writers rely heavily on them, but I’m curious if it’s striking the right balance this season?

And since we both think that Benji and Victor are going to end up together, do you have any thoughts on the other pairings, particularly Felix/Pilar and Lake/Lucy and whether that will change by the end of the show? Finally, Victor has gone from monogamy to casual sex to downloading that totally-not-Grindr app…any thoughts on where that will lead on his rocky journey of (maybe) self-actualization?

JOE

Alright, so I cheated and watched several more episodes in the interim, which means that I have more than a casual idea of where we’re going. Alas, your claim (accusation?) that tropes are not being subverted appear to be spot on. There aren’t a lot of surprises in the way these relationships are shaking up, and perhaps it’s just because we’re so familiar with queer storylines, as well as the conventions of romantic comedies, that we’re becoming frustrated with the “been there, done that” vibe of this season.

But for things that I like: I have appreciated the introduction of bisexuality in this season. Even if Lake and Lucy’s storyline has - like nearly every S03 plot - been hyper-accelerated, I think it’s valuable to include a broader spectrum of queer perspectives on the show besides just gay men. We wrapped our S02 coverage hoping for trans representation and while that doesn’t appear to be on the agenda, having queer women is the next best thing, and Ava Capri’s not so subtle Kristen Stewart-esque look fits right in.

While I’m not in love with the exclusive focus on romantic relationships, Love, Victor does have a decent grasp on just how much of its adult characters to use. Isabel and Armando are obviously core members of the cast, but the show wisely gives us just enough Mekhi Phifer and Leslie Grossman to remind us who they are, what they’re up to and (in Grossman’s case) deliver a zinger or two. I’m still hopeful Thoms will show up again to pay-off Mia’s dangling family storyline, though that plot does appear to have gone mostly cold.

Heading into the back half, it does seem like the series will finally bet on Victor being gay and single for a chance, which could provide an interesting contrast to everyone else shacking up. While Benji obviously will remain end game, perhaps Love, Victor will let its main character do something other than pine? What does being single look like on this show? We’ve got a full half-season to play around with!

We’ll find out when we tackle the back half of the season over on QueerHorrorMovies in a few days.

Love, Victor is now available in its entirety on Disney+ and Hulu.