Looking for Glory: “You’re not what’s wrong in the gay community”
Monday, March 9, 2015 at 4:00PM
Manuel here wishing I could borrow Kevin’s puppy sweater to discuss this week’s Looking episode. “Looking for Glory” begins just as “Looking for Returns” did, with the blissful domesticity of Kevin and Patrick, though the latter’s breakfast in bed disaster lets us know this won’t be a smooth return to normal after the events of the last two episodes.
Thus, in an attempt to begin telling people that they’re now “a thing,” we get to witness the awkwardness that follows during a work meeting when they finally spill the beans. “I just hope it won’t affect our company culture of fairness and that heterosexuals won’t be discriminated against” says Meredith who later went to chat with HR; might this be a sign of more drama for Kevtrick? (Pattin? There really is no good couple portmanteau for them, is there?)
The One Up Him boys ain't having it
Elsewhere, we see Dom’s chicken window slowly coming together and see Agustin grapple with the reality of dating an HIV-positive person and his own inability to get out of his head (Dom, helpful as always: “It’s not 1994, just go on PrEP and get over it”). More aptly, we saw Eddie show his more vulnerable side (and no, I’m not just talking about Daniel Franzese going full frontal; our first Looking full frontal shot?) and spouting some necessary tough words at Agustin about the hypocrisy of a seemingly inclusive LGBT community:
“You have any idea how what it’s like to be a big poz queer in this town? Everyone in San Francisco loves to talk about how well-informed they are and how inclusive they are. But really, when you get to it, they’re just the same self-hating, close-minded racist gays you see prancing at Santa Monica and WeHo”
This is, of course, what fuels the GaymerX pollen which finds Kevin and Patrick getting the word out about their battle game app. Hilariously, they get called out by a charmingly bitchy gay. “Different types of gays? Twinks vs Bears! So you’re game is about stereotypes?” he asks. Patrick suggests it’s actually about subverting stereotypes which elicits the greatest double read in the entire episode:
“It’ll be interesting to see what you and your brother think ‘subverting’ means.”
Thankfully, ginger (if lightweight) Brady, with Richie (in full eye-roll, heartbroken-yet-caring mode) in tow, finds the game “hilarious” and sees in the gay gaming power couple a possible angle for a magazine article. And so we witness the greatest most awkward double date ever between exes which underscores both how well Kevin and Patrick work together while also signaling how it might not all be bliss between Richie and Brady. I particularly enjoyed the palpable tension as Brady said he would have to take back all the bad things they’d said about Patrick.
The episode ends on a double note; Patrick and Kevin refuse to listen to that “bitchy queen” review they get (“Another attempt to label and divide the community. Bullshit. One star”) yet it leads them to bashfully say the ‘L’ word to one another. I hope there’s room for growth (and tension) in this coupling because this seemed all too tidy, no? I worry that all those Richie close-ups means we're headed for more of this gay triangle dynamics, but that's a tad of a retread, no?
Overall, it was a nice bridge episode which touched on prickly issues with enough wit and warmth to further cement my thoughts that this is one of the best shows on the air right now. I want to highlight the amazing work production designer Todd Fjelsted did with GaymerX, particularly with bringing to life “One Up Him.” Check out the full roster of subversive gay stereotypes over at his Instagram.
Best line of the episode I wish I could off-handedly use:
“Guess that makes you Homewrecker Gay.”
Best Doris moment: Slim pickings this week so I’ll just go with her glee as she pictured her weekend trip with Malik.
Best gif-worthy moment: Patrick’s breakfast in bed disaster (coupled with Tovey’s sleepy wtf just happened reaction)
Previously: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7
Did this episode make you feel more for Kevin & Patrick, or are their aw-shuckness cutesy (if scantily-clad) interactions beginning to feel cloying? I would obviously give this episode more than "one star" if only for its meta-commentary; what about everyone else?
Reader Comments (16)
I just don't buy Kevin and Patrick, although I would certainly buy what Kevin is selling.
Agustin finally got in my good graces this week. Dom lost a few points, however.
And I'm gonna call truncated frontal nudity (ouch).
(I think the view that likely made Patrick drop those breakfast items is eminently gif-worthier...)
"The last time someone stood on my stoop, they told me I wasn’t ready, so this time I just, I decided to go for it"
I don't know how Richie manages to remain so chill and mature about this whole thing. Not only would I have thrown Patrick out of the ice-cream truck and made his ass walk home after he confessed to the whole Kevin thing (i probably would have taken his phone and wallet too depending on how angry I was) but that quote up there? I was offended *for* Richie. It's always nice to know that the dude who broke your heart learned from the mistake he made with you and is now using that to commit to another man.
Not just another man, but another man who he cheated with (they were NOT on a break), who also ended up breaking his heart and got back together with and also happens to be his boss. The cherry on top is that he's so ready to jump in after two weeks.
Richie deserves so much better than Pat and Brady.
At least Brady and that awesomely bitchy "homewrecker gay" jab made me laugh.
--
Sidenote: I get to see Groff and Castillo tonight in Brooklyn! I hope I can get a picture with at least one of them.
Richie's holier-than-thou shtick is just so tired. I have to wonder why he's still around, if we're not going to retread the love triangle. #teamkevin
This show is SO infuriating! Every time I am ready to quit it, it slams me with a perfect episode (last week) & then gets back to is laziness. I don't think Patrick & Kevin work as a couple. I always taught it would have been way more interesting if this season would have about Kevin just be into sex with Patrick, not love (Patrick is WAY more interesting when is miserable & Kevin when his mean). That way we would have seen something rarely seen on tv as oppose to this plot strait out of "Friends".
Random thoughts:
1. This show is on a roll. Let the haters fade away so the rest of us can enjoy this reliably solid ensemble.
2. Second PrEP reference in three weeks. Good for them!
3. Groff is doing such honest work -- so much truth (and humor) in his portrayal of the frustrating, still-somehow-endearing Patrick.
3. Ditto for Frankie Alvarez, resident hOtter, who's given Augustin a range of emotions week after week.
4. Chris Perfetti is killing it as Brady. Best addition to the show since Franzese.
5. I found it hard to erase Tovey's anti-effeminacy IRL comments as I watched him play the all too butch Kevin this week. Wanted to rise above the Twitter outrage but couldn't shake it.
5. Anyone want to place bets about how long before Patrick and Kevin are calling themselves financés?
Thanks for the weekly updates!
PS. That screencap of Tovey and Groff is too adorable.
i have to admit that the conversation about stereotypes I've always found disturbing because as much as people think they're bad for us and no one should be reduced that way, there is something of value in belonging to one: people have immediate feelings about and sometimes attractions toward stereotypes. but for those of us who don't see ourselves in any of them you can feel invisible.
All the talk about how terrible Patrick is for being the other guy to a cheater, for the way he treated Ritchie and for going back with Kevin is just so bizarre. I imagine everybody who is chastising the writing of this character (character!) have never hurt anybody or been hurt or done things for the sake of love/hapiness that is perhaps against their better judgement. Hmmm.
Glenn: I can't speak for anyone else but I wrote what I wrote BECAUSE I've been hurt before. I don't know if it makes me sanctimonious but I just don't support anything about Patrick and Kevin. Personally, I don't think (but who knows what the future holds?) I would ever do anything like Pat and Kevin did with each other and their respective mates. I don't like to hurt people I love and I would hope the one that i'm with will feel the same way.
It's a show and they are characters, yes, but it's presented as being grounded and real as possible. Is it unrealistic what happened with Pat and Kevin? Not at all. But it doesn't mean that I have to like it and that doesn't mean that I can't bristle at what is happening.
People make mistakes, yes, but that doesn't mean they get a free pass either.
Glenn -- i kinda feel the same way as you. it strikes me as very realistic and when you're first falling for someone you're not always in a rational head space.
Ugh. This episode made me cringe so hard. I just hate Kevin and Patrick together. Probably because they're the exact kind of couple that the "self-hating, close-minded racist gays you see prancing at Santa Monica and WeHo" want to worship, even on this show, where the problematic nature of their relationship is fully exposed. And I'm with whoever else said it, I can't shake Tovey's real life comments so it's made me like his character even less than I already did.
I'm still team Richie. He's just such a good guy. Which is also a fault of his. But he's so caring and sweet.
I'm also wondering how this season is going to end, considering there's only two episodes left. I'm expecting some kind of cliffhanger hinting at a love triangle. But then isn't that tired at this point? I don't know.
All the talk about how terrible Patrick is for being the other guy to a cheater, for the way he treated Ritchie and for going back with Kevin is just so bizarre. I imagine everybody who is chastising the writing of this character (character!) have never hurt anybody or been hurt or done things for the sake of love/hapiness that is perhaps against their better judgement. Hmmm.
That's how I feel about the Kevin hate. Hmm.
That said, I've never had a problem with the way Patrick is written, directed and (least of all) acted. I just find the character basically annoying/"uninteresting" and wish that either Dom, Kevin or Richie were the main protagonist of Looking.
I definitely think the way Patrick/Kevin have acted with the whole situation is realistic, but that doesn't make the behavior any less unlikeable. I don't think just because we can relate to it means we should excuse it or anything like that. But I don't know, I haven't chastised the writing of the characters, just the way the characters behave haha. (Although I'm not sure Kevin is fully three-dimensional, I admit).
Paul, I agree with you...but at the same time, I think sometimes the protagonist has to be kind of bland in ensemble pieces as to act as a catalyst for the supporting players. Like Piper in OITNB. I do think Richie as the protagonist would be really interesting tho. :p
I am enyoing this "blissful domesticity" maybe because you are not able to see in a gay couple on TV that frequently, Why cant Patrick have a tray?
The Gay Prom was well done, and I really like how the preparation for it showed the differences between Kevin and Patrick, but when the moment actually came they were both just as into it, as evidenced by the insane enthusiasm that they both dance to Diplo's "Barely Standing" at the prom.