Love, Victor (Season 1)

Talk about a perfect timing. Love, Victor came around during Pride month and was available to me during my vacation. I binged it in one sitting while puzzling in the yard (yes, I’m that b*tch). I loved the movie Love, Simon (review HERE) which this show is a spin-off for. So yes, I went in with certain expectations. Some were met, others not. Here are my thoughts on Love, Victor – a show that is not just about finding yourself but realising that others might be finding themselves as well.

This is a spoiler free zone.

The first season of Love, Victor was like a very long set up. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t fully love it. By the time the season ends I felt like I could have watched more. In ways, it felt like the first season didn’t have enough substance to fill my entertainment needs. Was it bad!? No, it was not bad nor was it shallow but it simply progressed in a way where I was left needing more and not in a good way.

Sometimes a season ends and you grave more because you need to over-consume. Other times, like this time around, you want more because you’re still hungry. Love, Victor isn’t full to the brim and it will probably be easy to forget what even happened. Even though the show has a lot of heart, emotion and love to give.

With that in mind, here are some of my other thoughts. Love, Victor stars a latino actor Michael Cimino who plays Victor, a well behaved teen boy whose family has just moved from Texas to Atlanta. The move happens while Victor himself is starting to question his sexuality and he mostly fears that being gay will break, what he feels like, is his perfect family. Cimino is great in the role. He has to balance a lot of emotions all while stepping into Nick Robinson’s shoes. Not just as an actor but also as Victor who now walks the halls of Creakwood High School instead of Simon.

To make his transition feel less stressful I guess, Victor writes to Simon (voiced by Nick Robinson) and asks for his advice. Those emails or message chats I guess, were a nice way to connect Victor and Simon. Hearing Robinson’s voice is also a comforting element because you instantly know he cares for this project, just as he did for Love, Simon. Plus, it connects the two mediums in a very easy way and adds an element of familiarity.

There are a lot of supporting characters in this and it would take me too much time to go through them all. First of all there’s Victor’s family, he has a sister and a brother. Plus his parents have a whole thing going on. Anyway, there’s a lot. So I’ll mention  just two of my favourites. First up, Rachel Hilson as Mia is wonderful. Hilson is probably a name This Is Us fans know and love because she plays the teen version of Beth Clarke. Just as to Beth, Hilson brings a certain sophistication to Mia that makes her stand out from the cast.

Another name I will try to remember from now on is Anthony Turpel who plays Felix. Man, what a perfectly cast young man and not to mention an exciting character. Even though I liked Victor, Felix literally stole every scene he was in. I was very invested in his emotional journey and his character arc. Also, I can’t believe he was just recently in The Bold and the Beautiful – that soap is still on!?!? Oh man, I’m so old…

There are a few surprises during the first season and I won’t spoil them. But let’s just say I was very-very happy for one particular episode. Few romances going around as well, some more in the center of the season, others on the sideline. Come to think of it, there’s a lot going on…

But as I said in the beginning, the ending left me wanting for more. A lot of storylines finally reached a boiling point by the final episode and it felt like some could have happened sooner. I also feel like with so much happening, not everything got as much attention as it needed. Maybe season 2 will help to balance out the other important conversations this show introduced because I for one need more clarity.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Finally, since I planned to make this review short(er), I need to talk about the overall message. LGBTQIA representation is important! Having a latino actor as a lead of an LGBTQIA teen show – important! I’ve been a fan of shows and movies for a long time and in terms of representation, I know, we have come a long way. But also, this should not be something that stands out as special. Yet it does. And I’m grateful that it exists and hopefully it paves the way for other shows and movies in terms of representation.