Each week Joe and Terry discuss the most recent episode of Peacock’s reboot of Queer as Folk, alternating between our respective sites.

Missed a Review? Episode 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5

Spoilers follow for episode 2 “Blocked”

TERRY

It’s funny, Joe, that we ended last week’s recap with you asking me about the way Queer as Folk depicts sex and “Blocked” opens with characters’ attempts to have sex by themselves, framed as if they’re all doing it simultaneously. We have Brodie (Devin Way) lying in bed with a splint/cast on his wounded arm, scrolling through a line of unresponded-to texts to Noah (Johnny Sibilly) before finding porn to jerk off to. Noah listens to one of the many voicemails that Brodie left while smoking drugs and masturbating, which cuts to Ruthie (Jesse James Keitel) attempting to masturbate away her pain before being walked in on by Shar (CG).

And then there’s Mingus (Fin Argus), jerking it to photos of Brodie who saved his life at Babylon. The sequence cuts between all of them before they all climax…save for Ruthie, who drops her dildo dejectedly.

This opening, set six weeks after the shooting, highlights four people’s sexual release (or lack thereof) as evidence that they aren’t coping with the tragedy. It’s also a sexy way of reintroducing the conflicts that exist between these four survivors and their loved ones.

The most intriguing one is Ruthie’s episode-long attempt to get off and Shar’s frustrating inability to be mad at her. Their relationship was already strained in episode one when Ruthie lied to Shar about where she was going, only to be confronted with violence at the bar. Shar doesn’t understand Ruthie’s obsession with getting off right now, confiding to a friend that Ruthie, “won’t go to therapy. She won’t go to the vigil…you know what she will do? Masturbate like she’s thirteen.”

The best part of this storyline is when Shar finally confronts Ruthie about the entire fucked up situation. “I’ve been tiptoeing around but we got to talk about it,” they tell Ruthie. Shar finally unleashes all of their pent up frustration and worry and all of the complicated feelings around what happened. They’re mad that Ruthie snuck out, but sorry that something terrible happened, “but I feel like I can’t talk to you about this. And not being able to talk to you scares me.” They ask Ruthie about the last time shec ried, because she used to cry at gum commercials. And the truth is that Ruthie hasn’t been able to cry just as she hasn’t been able to get off, and the thought brings her back to when she was transitioning.

It’s here that the importance of sex comes full circle, because Ruthie used to live as a “super cute gay boy” (who people wanted to have sex) with to a transwoman who isn’t seen the same way. And while she was transitioning, she couldn’t cum on her own and she wasn’t being pursued like she was when she was living as a man.

Shar’s body language moved me while Ruthie poured her heart out, as they physically got on the floor next to Ruthie, leaned against her and allowed her to really let out the pain she’d been holding onto. A pain that physically brought her back to her time transitioning and those feelings of loneliness, isolation and her inability to feel. It’s moving and powerful, particularly in the way it plays with the importance of intimacy, in all its flavors.

So this was the part of the episode that really resonated with me, but I’m curious about your initial thoughts on “Blocked”, Joe. The narrative opens up a bit and focuses on some side characters, such as Brodie’s brother Julian (Special’s Bryan O’Connell) and the “Mayor Pete Fake Gay Vibes” social media influencer Jack Cole Jordan (Benito Skinner) and I’m curious what you thought of their storylines, and the vigil in general. Finally, what did you think of Brodie’s “allies” speech and the way “Blocked” addresses the fallout from the shooting?

JOE

I’m really happy that you began with that scene, Terry, because it was also my favourite of the episode. There’s a danger about talking and depicting sex so frankly that it simply becomes a narrative crutch (as naysayers will undoubtedly say about opening the episode with four characters masturbating), but the reality is that, for queer people, sexuality is a huge component of our lives. At the very minimum, our sexual tastes define us in opposition to the quote/unquote norm. This means that what we do “in the bedroom” is not just getting off; it’s a key facet of our identities.

This is why Ruthie’s plea to Shar to help her get off is so important: she implicitly understands that it is not just about the sex, but the titular block she’s experiencing as a result of the shooting has moved her back into that transitional state where she no longer recognizes herself. (With that said, I would love to hear from any transgender readers about Ruthie’s claim that the “middle stage” is the hardest because you’re not one gender or the other)

If Ruthie and Shar’s scene is the best of “Blocked,” there are some rockier moments. Let’s begin with the more successful element: the proper introduction - and fleshing out - of Julian.

Now I didn’t watch ‘Special’ (though I heard good things), so this was my first experience with O’Connell. I took note of him in the premiere because he briefly appears when Brodie goes home, but in the cast credits he’s listed as a series regular. This makes more sense after this week’s episode, where Julian is given ample screen time and O’Connell proves to be an absolute delight and a total scene stealer.

My issue isn’t with Julian, per se, but how hard writers Jaclyn Moore & Brontez Purcell have to work to introduce what is essentially a brand new character into this ongoing storyline about grief and trauma. It makes sense to have Julian be the connection that brings Noah and Brodie back together*, but at times it feels as though Queer As Folk can’t dig as deeply into what they’ve gone through because it needs to ensure the audience invests and cares about Julian. That’s not hard to do because O’Connell’s line delivery is absolutely delightful (his glee at announcing he’s been on the apps for a year is perfection), but it does take up a large chunk of screen time. I would have preferred if writer/director Stephen Dunn spent more time with Julian in last week’s supersized premiere, rather than two supporting characters - Marvin and Bussey - that we don’t even see in this episode.

*It doesn’t, however, make any sense for Julian to move in with Brodie and Noah. That feels like a major narrative contrivance, possibly because Kim Cattrall and Ed Begley Jr. are only guests and won’t be available each week.

Which brings us to the vigil and the allies speech. The latter worked better, because we know that Brodie is narcissistic and self-centered enough to climb on a chair and make someone else’s event about him, and because his and Ruthie’s frustration with the condescending “brave” remarks are totally relevant.

The vigil, on the other hand, is…not great. Besides what appears to be a very small crowd for a ceremony commemorating a major shooting in the queer community, the mix of comedy and pathos doesn’t work for me. Ruthie, Shar, Noah and Brodie are cracking jokes about JCJ and hiding their faces from Mingus one moment, then tearing up seconds later as the names of the nine victims are read. Throw in Mingus literally yelling Brodie’s name into a crowd and no one reacting, and it all just feels poorly executed. JCJ is very clearly a ridiculous character, and his proud declaration about being cast in the next season of Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story killed me, but overall this mix of tones gave me whiplash.

Terry, how did you feel about these scenes? We haven’t talked much about Mingus, so what are your thoughts on their pining for Brodie? How do you feel about Noah’s grief manifesting in the form of ghost Daddius (Chris Renfro)? And is there a better line than Julian’s “I was sucking dick in a mall bathroom”?

TERRY

First of all, when you have a free moment to binge watch TV (ha ha…), I’d really recommend checking out Special, particularly if you enjoyed O’Connell’s presence and charisma. It’s fantastic. His character here feels almost like a continuation of his more semi-autobiographical self in Special. I think his comedic timing is impeccable so when he delivers lines like “sucking dick in a mall bathroom” or when he finally relents and asks Brodie to be his Aladdin and give him “the GayBCs.” It’s hard not to laugh. When he was introduced in the last episode, I was really hoping we’d spend more time with him, so I was glad when he was central to “Blocked.”

You’re absolutely right that Noah’s decision to have both Brodie and Julian stay with him is a narrative convenience. I assumed Noah suggested it to reduce the temptation to slip up with Brodie…but “Blocked” ends with them hooking up so that’s obviously not the case. It highlights the fact that Brodie’s family situation is a plot point with nowhere to go. It’s literally based around the fact that his mom has chosen dick and wealth over caring for her kid and while I cringe-laughed at the stepdad's response of slipping a note under Brodie’s door that reads “Hi. When are you leaving?”, there’s nowhere for this story to go.

The narrative keeps harping on the fact that Brodie left and that things have changed in the years since, but it’s kind of a boring note to keep going back to. If this is the solution - a narrative device to hand-wave over the story and get away from it - then I’m willing to accept it…as silly as it is.

If there’s another area I’m really not feeling, it’s this Daddius ghost situation. On one hand, ghosts and the supernatural are kind of fitting for New Orleans, but it doesn’t feel genuine to the story. In fact, I’d say that these ghostly…hallucinations?...detract from the very painful and somber story being told. It’s that same whiplash change of tones you commented on at the vigil.

As for Mingus, boy do I feel for that kid. They’re sort of the outlier in Brodie’s friend group, the young’un who desperately wants to have meaningful queer relationships but is out of sync with the group as a whole. Everyone is very dismissive of him right now because of the age gap. He’s tried to DM Brodie to see if he’s okay, and Brodie attempts to shuffle it off with a “I’m not really on social media” before realizing it’s a bullshit statement and that he’s basically been ignoring Mingus. Then, at Ruthie and Shar’s potluck, he’s basically (and understandably) shooed away because he’s Ruthie’s student.

From Mingus’ perspective, it’s very frustrating because, so far, this is the only group of queers he has. They’re unfortunately bound together through a tragedy but Ruthie, Brodie and Noah have each other while Mingus seemingly has no one willing to give him a second of their time. So while it seems a bit petulant and childish, I understand Mingus’s desire to do the titular “Blocked” with Brodie on Instagram.

Back to you to wrap this week’s recap up. You asked me, but I’m curious if you have any other thoughts on the Daddius ghost situation and whether it worked for you or not (particularly as he shows up during Noah and Brodie’s lovemaking). Does this episode seem like a step down from the stellar opener or is it working for you, foibles aside? And what do you hope we’ll see more of in episode three?

JOE

We chatted offline after episode one and I commented that I found the premiere to be highly watchable and easy to write about. I found the same to be true here, but this is definitely a step down. With that said, however, second episodes are notoriously hard: you basically have to reintroduce the characters, their relationships and the existing conflict, while ideally moving the story forward. “Blocked” highlights the perils of this delicate balancing act. Some things worked, while others didn’t (plus Dunn seemed to have a better handle on the characters and tone).

Foibles aside, though, I’m definitely intrigued to see where this will go next. My big hope: get rid of that ghost! I understand that Queer as Folk wanted to establish some stakes in the shooting by killing off what appeared to be a main character, but overall it simply doesn’t fit with what the rest of the show is doing. Renfro is just a guest star, too, so I’m hopeful that Daddius will show up in the occasional flashback, and the ghost will be relegated to the dustbin.

As for episode three, I’m curious to see how the series will continue to explore grief and trauma. We’re in agreement that the show can’t solely be on those topics, but this episode proved they don’t quite have the mix down right. Will Ruthie be fine now that she’s had a good cry? Will Brodie circumvent his panic attacks now that he’s giving Noah the good dicking? And where will Mingus, whose own recovery hasn’t been broached, come into play?

We’ll find out when we hop back to QueerHorrorMovies for episode three, “Welcome to the Hellmouth.”

Queer As Folk airs Thursdays on Peacock.