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 4 “#F*ckDisabledPeople”

TERRY

Well, it’s weird when initially we were led to believe that Queer as Folk would be a weekly series but then it’s all dropped at once, Joe, but, like the troopers we are, we’re pushing through to recap and review each episode since that’s how it started!

Despite the cringely title, “#F*ckDisabledPeople” continues to allow our characters to build and interact with each other. I think as a character study, this episode works better than the previous ones because it mostly focuses its attention on Julian (Ryan O’Connell) and, to a lesser extent, Marvin (Eric Graise). The other characters flit about and have their own storylines, intersecting and crossing each other through long-suffering Noah (Johnny Sibilly)’s house-as-a-make-shift-bar called Ghost Fag.

This week, Ghost Fag turned into, as Marvin calls it, a Crip Rave extravaganza / sex party. I’m not exactly sure how the math works, but it’s also being used to raise donations for the local disabled charities (the ones who aren’t racist, anyway). Is there a door charge, Joe? Does it cost money to line up at the height-appropriate glory holes? (That last bit is a recommendation from Juliette Lewis’ Judy,) who had a friend who hurt his knees once) Does the sex swing cost extra? Enquiring minds want to know!

Regardless, the episode opens with Julian entering the bathroom after Noah leaves, towel around hips. And after spying Brodie (Devin Way) with one, scratch that, two, scratch that, three guys coming out of his infinity room/current home, he picks up Noah’s accidentally discarded briefs. He then sniffs them, because of course he does. And at that moment, Noah barges back into the bathroom to reclaim them, because of course he does.

One of the things “#F*ckDisabledPeople” focuses on is sex work, contrasting the work with Marvin and Julian. Last episode, it was revealed that Marvin has decided to spend his Babyl-Strong money on having a good time. He hired Ali (Sachin Bhatt), a sex worker, to party with him and their sexual conquests continue into episode four. What follows is an incredibly hot sequence between Ali and Marvin, shot by Bruce Francis Cole and centered around consent and intimacy. It’s important to note that this episode was co-written by Ryan O’Connell (with Alyssa Taylor) which brings authenticity to the disabled queer experience.

By the end of the night, Marvin steals a huge wad of cash from the donations they’ve accrued to keep paying Ali because he feels a connection. His reasoning is that, “if you think about it, I’m a disabled charity, too” which goes against the obvious connection they had while Ali was fucking him and touching him all over. Telling Marvin that a sex worker falling for their client is a big no-no, Ali puts the money back in the donation bin and, it’s implied, continues his relationship with Marvin, sans money.

This is contrasted with Julian’s experience with Leo (Nyle DiMarco), a deaf man who seemingly takes interest in Julian even though, in Julian’s words, “I think having CP and being deaf is a bad disability match.” But I want to turn this over to you, Joe, because you wanted Julian to have a bigger storyline and have something more meaningful to do. So let’s unpack Julian’s storyline between Leo, Noah and, to an extent, Brodie. Did this work for you? We also get Mingus starting Drag School and…well, I’m just going to toss this grenade and run, what did you think of the way the episode ended between Mingus and Brodie?

JOE

You’re right, Terry, that this episode is definitely more character focused, to the point where it started to feel more like a collection of slightly interconnected character beats rather than a thematically connected plot. And that’s fine, even if it makes the episode occasionally feel a bit long and adrift.

It’s clear from the outset that something is cooking between Julian and Noah, though it’s unclear whether there are reciprocal feelings or just a yearning on Julian’s part. Sure Noah kissed him, but that could be played as a horny-grief thing.

“#F*ckDisabledPeople” continues their flirtatious relationship as Noah requests to vet Julian’s outfits, then unzips his own clothes to reveal his go-go singlet (rawr). And he’s obviously perturbed when he sees Julian leave with Leo, so much so that Marvin immediately clocks it (which is unsurprising, considering that Marvin is easily the most put-together, astute observer on the show).

So yeah, it seems obvious that something will come to pass between them, though I didn’t expect it to happen this episode, nor for there to be a second sex worker (Leo) in the mix. It’s interesting that, in an incredibly sex positive episode that literally drops the word “consent” a half dozen times, Leo inadvertently winds up duping Julian because Brodie thought he needed to guarantee his brother a good night.

It all stems from their different approaches to relationships, right? For Julian “dating is a complicated intrusion on another person’s life” while for Brodie, it is “a warm sweater for your heart…and penis.” It’s obvious that Brodie’s lovesick perspective, as well as his attempt to fuck away his feelings with a menage a quatre, stems from his experiences with Noah. And it’s similarly clear, in his own narcissistic way, that Brodie truly believed he was doing Julian a solid by expensing a great date night. In true Brodie fashion, it never occurred to him what would happen after the date, but…well his heart was likely in the right place.

Despite not having anything in common with Julian (due to his basic, rich, white gay status), Marvin, on the other hand, immediately understands that Julian has emotional baggage due to his disability. The difference is that Brodie never attempts to understand the source of his brother’s issues, unlike Ali who takes the time to make Marvin comfortable without hand-waving away his concerns when they’re having sex. And that’s why Ali and Marvin are so hot, Terry: it’s not about the disability; it’s about their connection and that’s sexy.

It’s also why Julian’s betrayal stings so badly. He was going to walk away from Leo and let their perfect G-rated date end on a high, but he opened himself up emotionally (and physically) and it got him hurt.

Naturally because this is TV, the result is that Julian and Noah hook up. So, too, do Mingus and Brodie. Because, as you’ve said, of course they do.

Sadly Terry, we also talked last week about wanting more for Mingus and even hoping Drag Camp would play a part in that, but this character still isn’t quite working for me. From Judy’s cringe worthy (by design) out of character “Cool Mom” act to Mingus rebelling during the “trauma dick measuring contest” (the only real reference to Babylon in the episode), Mingus remains an incomplete character. Perhaps it’s that the character feels like an unformed blob (to borrow Brodie’s term for the twins) imported from other versions of the series, or that Queer As Folks’ other characters are just more interesting, but Mingus isn’t popping for me.

Terry, I’ll turn it over to you: are we just jaded because a Mingus/Brodie hook-up felt inevitable? Is Brodie’s struggle to please everyone working for you? What did you think of Ruthie (Jesse James Keitel) and Shar (CG)’s anniversary meal at the Plantation restaurant? And can other food be described as a thick cock or a tight pussy or is it just bread pudding?

TERRY

I wouldn’t say I’m jaded about the Mingus/Brodie relationship because it’s a classic romantic love story setup, right? We have a meet-cute. We have an incredibly horrendous event bring them together and tying them up in love and trauma.

The thing that I’m curious about is the age difference between the characters. Even Cool Mom Judy clocks it the first time she meets Brodie, telling him how much Mingus has talked about him (i.e., been cagey) but that she wasn’t aware there was an age difference between the two of them. It opens up another messy story that could lead down a road to troubleville. Mingus continues to insert himself in Brodie’s friend group, a group that includes Mingus’ own teacher. The age of consent in New Orleans is 17, so it might not lead down the road to legal trouble, but it is undeniably a powder keg situation.

While you’re understandably not vibing with Mingus (your comparison of an amorphous blob is very apt), I’m not personally feeling Brodie, either. The two are ostensibly the main characters, it seems, since the series opened with Brodie and focused a lot on Mingus’s foray into queerdom. But neither of them are particularly interesting and I find myself gravitating more towards the other characters. Brodie’s attempts to please everyone is a perfect example of this because while, yes, he is trying to please everyone and we see him trying to make everyone happy, it seems to come from a more selfish place.

Right now, Brodie comes across as someone who wants to be the center of attention and will do things purely so that people will fawn over him and tell him how amazing he is. It doesn’t feel genuine. And “#F*ckDisabledPeople” partially addresses it when Julian asks him “what the fuck is wrong with you?” This is then followed up with Brodie asking Mingus–the one person who fawns over him the most–whether he thinks Brodie is a fuck up. Of course Mingus is going to say no. And it’s that bit of attention that finally makes Brodie give in and kiss him.

As for Shar and Ruthie, I was surprised at Shar’s choice of a restaurant. If these were real people, I’m not sure that they would have reserved a table at the Plantation restaurant. As characters, however, I somewhat admire them for going into a restaurant that is decidedly very rich and white and decidedly not queer. It played out almost as I expected it would: uncomfortableness, misgendering, and a microcosm of microaggressions.

I’ll confess that I wasn’t expecting a discussion of the bread pudding’s genital situation. I also sat there afterwards and pondered if the lasagna I had earlier was thick cock or tight pussy…

So we’re now heading into the back half of the show, Joe, and I’m wondering what you hope these final four episodes will bring us? We had an episode mostly devoted to Julian (with an assist from Marvin) and I’m curious if there are other characters you’d like to see brought to the front…or given an entire episode to dig into their character/history? And how do you think Brodie’s going to react the day after hooking up with Mingus?

JOE

Knowing what a mess Brodie is, he’ll either try to lord it over Noah as proof that he’s matured and moving on, or he’ll cower and hide from Mingus out of fear for what he’s opened up between them. That boy is truly a mess.

I do understand why Brodie isn’t your fave, Terry, and I can’t help but wonder if - between him and Mingus - we’re getting too much of a familiar “been there, done that” vibe? You mentioned rom-com meet-cute tropes and I can’t help but wonder if their arcs thus far are too classically defined? Since the audience already knows where it’s going, does that mean we find it less engaging and exciting?

Aside from Marvin and Julian, who are the most interesting characters on the series for me, the person I want more of is Noah. And I’m surprised to say that…because there’s not much to him, either.

We know Noah is missing Daddius, and we know their secret relationship will have to come out eventually. But when I considered your prompt and took a step back, I found myself gravitating to Sibilly’s performance, which feels like pathos wrapped in barbed wire as he tries to project resilience (the looks don’t hurt, admittedly). More than anything, though, Noah’s interest in Julian was unexpected, and I would love to see the series explore a relationship between the pair because it could be really sweet and maybe even therapeutic.

As for where we go next, I inadvertently spoiled myself reading this Hollywood Reporter interview with the showrunners of the three versions, so I know we’re going to address HIV, as well as do some flashbacks, both of which could be intriguing. The reality is that there’s both four full episodes left…but also only four episodes left. The sky’s the limit in terms of storytelling for the show; showrunner Stephen Dunn could take us anywhere in what is both a lot of time and hardly any at all.

All I’ll say as we move into the back half is that I hope he doesn’t hold back! I’m already confident that the creative direction of the series is strong enough that Peacock will order up another season, but we’ve been burned before <cough Genera+ion cough> so I really want Dunn and his team to leave everything on the floor.

We’ll find out next time when we jump back over to QueerHorrorMovies for episode 5.