Love, Victor

[Frogki]

Didn't see a dedicated thread for it so I figured I'd start one with my thoughts so far (currently binging and am on episode 6).

I'm going to avoid spoilers in this post so if anyone has thoughts on specific scenes or episodes please put them in a spoiler tag!

Overall it's fairly good! I can see why Disney+ moved it to Hulu - it's a little mature for some of that demographic, at least at this point in time (avoiding the politics of that, I really adored the movie Love Simon and that was a bit more innocent than the series). With all that out of the way, so far it's definitely keeping my attention!

I like that the series is delving into how confusing it can be trying to figure out your feelings in high school.
Excited to see the ending and hoping they continue with it! And I hope more films and shows like Love Simon come out in the future!

 

[ChristopherSE]

I just finished it and I have a lot of the same feelings about it as Love, Simon. I’m happy for the representation, it kept my interest, and I’m glad it exists... But, the writing is just not great. Moreso, with this show. If you’re particularly adversed to the tropes and dialogue of freeform’s many teen dramas, Love, Victor might not be for you lol.

That said, Love, Victor tackled more interesting and realistic topics, which I really appreciated, and in that way it complements Love, Simon really well.

It’s still a little wild to me though that the actors that play Simon, Victor, Benji, (and possibly Derek? TBD) aren’t queer. As far as I’ve seen, Bram’s actor is the only primary, secondary, or tertiary out actor in both projects. It’s still better than not having these projects at all, but LGBT+ actors are historically typecast as queer characters, and then they don’t even get booked for those? And it’s not like they brought in a big name for the roles either. It’s whatever, I just wish they would’ve done a little
better.

Honesty, my biggest issue is that they underutilized Katya. Girl gets three bland lines at the end of the episode??? Justice for Katya lmao.

 

[rageofthegods]

Saw the pilot and not really sure if I'm planning on plowing ahead.

I'm glad it's there, but this really should've been on Disney+ lol. I think being on Hulu changed my expectations too much. Glad that it reportedly tackles some broader topics, I hear the episode with Nick Robinson is a standout. I'm not very excited for the idea of this series tackling homophobia in immigrant cultures, I feel like that's a fraught topic that people don't generally see as fraught, it's very easy to be unintentionally super-paternalistic.

 

[Frogki]

Having finished the whole series I agree with most of what you said Chris - dialogue is definitely cheesy, along with some of the plot concepts. But I agree with rage in that I think I expected more from the show due to the switch to Hulu. But obviously the writing style was already where it was so that wasn't changing.

It's funny because in some respects I did feel like it belonged on Hulu due to some of more mature content - there were a (very) few moments where it would have felt out of place on Disney+. But by the final episode I kinda thought to myself "This was too intense for the Disney crowd?".

I enjoyed watching this because of the representation and I was happy to see an exploration of more complex issues with identity and coming out but I did find myself wishing for more content that focuses on LGBT+ characters in adult life and dealing with typical life issues along with being LGBT+ but I'm glad that shows like this exist for teens today because it seemed like Glee was the only show that really brought in queer characters, and that seemed ridiculously campy in comparison to this. Biggest complaint would be the lack of actual queer actors, which I didn't realize until you pointed it out Chris - I hope more networks start hiring LGBT actors for LGBT roles...

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

I still think this could've been on D+. Was this more egregious than, Boy Meets World? I know a different timeline but that dealt with MANY mature topics. I wish this was on D+ so kids would actually see it, and learn from it. Still can't help but feel if this was a straight show that there may just be a brief warning on D+, but because its an LGBT character we're on Hulu. Idk, I'm biased cause I'm gay and want more gay culture in younger minds and I feel this would've been that. Perfect for families and easy to digest in my opinion. Got one more episode to go and its well done but should be on D+, sorry. Wont change that mindset and I think it'd gain more traction if it were so.

That being said, I have no clue how much of the demographic of people who have D+ also got the Hulu bundles.

 

[Frogki]

I still think this could've been on D+. Was this more egregious than, Boy Meets World? I know a different timeline but that dealt with MANY mature topics. I wish this was on D+ so kids would actually see it, and learn from it. Still can't help but feel if this was a straight show that there may just be a brief warning on D+, but because its an LGBT character we're on Hulu. Idk, I'm biased cause I'm gay and want more gay culture in younger minds and I feel this would've been that. Perfect for families and easy to digest in my opinion. Got one more episode to go and its well done but should be on D+, sorry. Wont change that mindset and I think it'd gain more traction if it were so.

That being said, I have no clue how much of the demographic of people who have D+ also got the Hulu bundles.

I think they were shying away from the inuendos (Lone Stone anyone?) But I agree that overall it really doesn't have anything that warranted it not being on Disney+ - but I think that the removal really had to do with not wanting queer characters on Disney's main streaming service, which sucks... I hope someday Disney isn't afraid to put LGBT stories out for the younger crowd on it's own network. I know I would have appreciated more shows that featured characters like me growing up.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

I think they were shying away from the inuendos (Lone Stone anyone?) But I agree that overall it really doesn't have anything that warranted it not being on Disney+ - but I think that the removal really had to do with not wanting queer characters on Disney's main streaming service, which sucks... I hope someday Disney isn't afraid to put LGBT stories out for the younger crowd on it's own network. I know I would have appreciated more shows that featured characters like me growing up.

Ya, its a move like this that 100% will make me not re-sub to D+. Pretty crappy on their end and I think its shameful if I'm being honest. Could've been a major show for the service if you ask me. Well done enough but nope he's gay, so way too much for kids to understand. Very disappointed in Disney here but guess I cant be surprised.

 

[WaterToWade]

Well i wanna mention they’re expanding their lgbt rep, not just in movies (eternals looks promising), but in disney channel shows already (from major characters like Cyrus/TJ from andi mack and Josh from the lodge, to minor characters like the lgbt parents in Ducktales, Doc Mcstuffins etc). They also put up their first pride month segment on disney channel ever recently (thought it seemingly avoided the actual words specifying lgbt people). Also i believe on disney plus Diary of a Future President and the High School Musical show have lgbt characters? I’m unhappy about this going to hulu and not disney plus, but i’d say disney is treading towards more rep overall.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

Well i wanna mention they’re expanding their lgbt rep, not just in movies (eternals looks promising), but in disney channel shows already (from major characters like Cyrus/TJ from andi mack and Josh from the lodge, to minor characters like the lgbt parents in Ducktales, Doc Mcstuffins etc). They also put up their first pride month segment on disney channel ever recently (thought it seemingly avoided the actual words specifying lgbt people). Also i believe on disney plus Diary of a Future President and the High School Musical show have lgbt characters? I’m unhappy about this going to hulu and not disney plus, but i’d say disney is treading towards more rep overall.

I dont disagree on the obvious facts of their representation, but they are rarely leading characters and are rarely played by LGBT actors themselves. This not being on D+ is like nail in the coffin for me maybe I'm a bit overreactive but like come on its almost offensive to me that this is an "adult show". Its not, or the writing at least doesn't try to be. Its just frustrating and they had this show to make it mainstream and put it in the forefront.

 

[WaterToWade]

I dont disagree on the obvious facts of their representation, but they are rarely leading characters and are rarely played by LGBT actors themselves. This not being on D+ is like nail in the coffin for me maybe I'm a bit overreactive but like come on its almost offensive to me that this is an "adult show". Its not, or the writing at least doesn't try to be. Its just frustrating and they had this show to make it mainstream and put it in the forefront.

I agree! (BTW, id keep an eye out for The Owl House on disney channel, it’s a great animated show and some believe the protagonist might be building up to an lgbt relationship )

 

[Magic Feather]

I just got done watching this show with my family (all teenagers at this point), and I can see the lines that were crossed causing it to move. To me, it seems like a scenario where the showrunners were given the option to either cut that small handful of things (which IMO added barely anything and easily could have been cut) or have it move, and they chose the latter. I still wish that they would have gone a little deeper into the topics that put it over the edge once they got the freedom from Hulu to do so, but they didn’t.

To me, an interesting comparison is Diary of a Future President On Disney+ because it also deals with some coming of age topics (and even has one of its characters grappling with their sexuality), but it does so in a slightly less gritty and more happy-go-lucky manner. I think that is the core difference is that with all stories (that weren’t legacy added into the program like some Marvel shows and The Simpson’s) on Disney+ is they are slightly more idealized. Sure a character is going to feel nervous about their sexuality or they might go through a rough patch emotionally, but you aren’t going to hear about how they lost their relationship with their father and turned to alcohol, or about people’s first time.

 

[quinnmac000]

I didn't really enjoy this show....the movie did it better.

 

[Frogki]

I liked the show but I definitely liked the movie a lot more, but I think that might be a pacing issue along with some of the more over dramatic plot points...

Edited to say that I do think one cool thing the show did was using a lot of LGBTQ+ artists in the soundtrack, many of the songs are from queer musicians.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

I liked the show but I definitely liked the movie a lot more, but I think that might be a pacing issue along with some of the more over dramatic plot points...

Edited to say that I do think one cool thing the show did was using a lot of LGBTQ+ artists in the soundtrack, many of the songs are from queer musicians.

I noticed this as well! Nice touch!

In the Love, Simon movie, when he mentioned “I realized I liked Panic! At The Disco for more than their music” I felt personally attacked hahaha.