Television and film continue to blur the lines together. There’s a growing trend out there now where movies are increasingly becoming TV series. It makes a lot of sense. Films that are popular have a built-in audience already so making the jump to television would hopefully give the series a head start in terms of ratings and gives the story a chance to expand either as a continuation of a particular story or as a means to expand the great universe that a film is set in. I’ve seen this done successfully with some movies like From Dusk ‘Til Dawn and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Some of them I’ve seen haven’t fared as well as Zombieland, Clueless, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Recently, Disney tried to capitalize on the success of one of Fox’s movies called Love, Simon and spin it off into a new series called Love, Victor.
Love, Victor, created by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger and set in the universe of Love, Simon, tells the story of Victor Salazer (Michael Cimino) as he and his family move from Texas to Georgia. Victor’s family includes dad Armando (James Martinez), mom Isabel (Ana Ortiz), sister Pilar (Isabella Ferreira), and brother Adrian (Mateo Fernandez). Victor navigates moving to Creekwood, going to a different school, making new friends, and dealing with questions surrounding his sexuality. Love, Victor lasted three seasons with the majority of seasons on Hulu and the most recent season being on Disney+.
Before we get into what actually happens in the final season, let’s try to catch up on what happened in the previous season.
Previously on Love, Victor (spoilers ahead for season two):
Season two picks up right where we left off during season one, with Victor coming out to his parents and sister after the Spring Fling. Pilar accepts Victor but his parents, particularly his mom, struggle a lot with this new revelation. Armando and Isabel have issues of their own as they decide to separate for a little while and struggle to figure out if they want to be together moving forward. They’re both handling Victor coming out to them differently and both cope with everything in different ways. Armando is trying to be supportive by attending PFLAG meetings whereas Isabel is uncomfortable and struggles to accept Victor. Victor must then begin to navigate what it means to declare his sexuality and be public with his boyfriend Benj (George Sear). Felix (Anthony Turpel) and Lake (Bebe Wood) make their relationship official but struggle when Lake betrays his trust when it comes to the mental health issues of his mother Dawn (Betsy Brandt). Mia (Rachel Hilson) is in a state of disarray as her dad Harold (Mekhi Phifer) is getting remarried to Veronica (Sophia Bush) and is newly single after her break up with Victor once she discovers his sexuality. Andrew (Mason Gooding) begins to date Lucy (Ava Capri) but eventually, he reveals his feelings for Mia and they eventually end up together. A student at their school Rahim (Anthony Keyvan) reaches out to Victor asking for advice on how he can come out and the two of them strike up a friendship. With his relationship with Benji on the rocks, Victor must decide whether he wants to try things out with Rahim or make his relationship with Benji work.
Season three picks up right where season two ends with Victor making his choice about who he wants to be with. I’m glad they immediately reveal who he goes to instead of dragging it out for a few episodes. The final season is only eight episodes long so there isn’t a lot of time to let things drag out unnecessarily. Once Victor makes his decision though, it’s almost immediately undone and he has to do damage control with the other immediately.
I wasn’t a huge fan of that, why make a cliffhanger like this and then immediately undo it.
It felt like they were just manufacturing drama in order to create another story for the season.
Since Victor’s decision is at a bit of a crossroads, the showrunners decide to let Victor explore more casual relationships. I did like this aspect because it’s one of the ways people handle his situation. He wanted something casual because he didn’t want to get his heart broken again. It’s a completely legit feeling and I like that the show explored that. Victor is set up with Nick (Nico Greetham) once his mom finds a more LGBTQAI+- friendly church to attend. Nick is a nice guy but he was immediately set up to fail. I like that Victor stood up for himself but he just seemed unnecessary. It would have behooved the showrunners to maybe let Victor be single since for most of the show he has been in a relationship.
In fact, the show wastes no time for anyone to be single for very long. There are two new relationships that are teased at the end of season two. One of these relationships makes sense and is just a natural evolution of an existing friendship. I loved this relationship and it was one of my favorites from the entire series. The other one comes completely out of nowhere and feels really forced. If this is the direction they wanted to go in, they should have laid down more groundwork for this to happen more organically instead. Both relationships have the same problem throughout the season: there is a random drama that happens that creates a chance for them to break up only for them to inevitably get back together by the end. It just felt like a waste and drama for the sake of keeping a story interesting.
Mia and Andrew might be the most stable relationship of the bunch. They made great strides throughout season two and ended the season by making the trip to go see Mia’s mom (Tracy Thoms) after Harold decides to take the job as President of Stanford University. The encounter doesn’t go well and it helped reinforce Mia’s relationship with her dad. The natural conflict that arises between Mia and Andrew makes the most sense and shows just how far Andrew as a character has evolved since the beginning of the show. I really liked his character for season three and he has to learn that there are some things he has no control over. Mia as a character continues to flounder a little but I found once she makes a decision about what she’s going to do moving forward, she has a little more agency. I just wish she had enough agency that involved not being in a relationship that defined her as a character.
The other character that I really liked this season was Rahim. Something happens in the later parts of the season where Rahim showcases who he is and how he stands up for himself. Given the current state of the world, I’m a little surprised it took the show this long to address discrimination. They address discomfort among friends, family, church, and teammates but what happens to Rahim is straight-up hate. I applaud the show for handling the situation the way they did with Rahim standing up for himself, even if it was way too late in the show to address it properly.
In the final episodes of Love, Victor tries his best to wrap up everything in a nice bow with the happiest of endings he can think of. It even calls back to the end of Love, Simon, which I thought was a nice touch. Everything wraps up with a happy ending and even the cynic in me found ways to be happy for everyone. It’s hard to believe the events from this series span only ONE YEAR but Felix put it the best way when he said look how far everyone has come. Everyone on the show evolves for the better. Some characters do a minimal amount of evolving by no fault of their own but what it’s important to note is that the characters in Creekwood find ways to become a family and love one another. I can’t help but be moved by that. Does the show create unnecessary drama that has a lot of sitcom tropes that can be solved with simple communication? Sure. This show is charming and has some really moving moments. I like the different perspectives it takes from Love, Simon. A religious, centralist, Hispanic family that has to learn to accept their gay son. It takes time and effort, something I did like about the show. Shout out to including PFLAG meetings and LGBTAQI+ friendly churches as safe spaces. I also did like the callbacks to Love, Simon, particularly with cast members of the original movie showing up, even Simon (Nick Robinson) himself! Shame on Disney for not putting this on Disney+ from the start of the series. It would have been a great and important addition to their lineup, particularly for younger audiences. It also tackles a lot of the same issues that most high school dramedies talk about: love, consent, sex, dating, being true to yourself, being brave, and figuring out who you are.
Disney should take notice that LGBTAQI+ audience members could use more shows like this on their platform.
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As a goodbye to Love, Victor, here are the top ten moments from the show (spoilers ahead):
10) Victor’s speech about bravery (Season 3, Episode 8)
Victor accepts an award for bravery that deep down he knows he’s only getting for being gay. He takes this chance to talk about bravery and how he’s come so far from where he was a year ago. It was a great moment for Victor, who had gone from a shy new kid in the closet to being a proud and out gay student. He acknowledged that he couldn’t have done all of this by himself and acknowledged how hard it was. It was a great way to inspire others to be brave, which is what happened the rest of the episode.
9) Felix shows Lake his apartment (Season 1, Episode 9)
Felix might be the MVP of the entire series. Felix could have been just the nerdy best friend but he became so much more than that. In an episode that includes a lot of different things happening for Victor, the opportunity for Felix to show Lake his messy life and how he can be vulnerable with her was a sweet moment for this cute couple. This story eventually progresses but it was a necessary step to give Felix some needed context and showcase a little more of his family life.
8) Victor tells Simon to thank you for everything but he’s got it from here (Season 2, Episode 10)
Throughout the course of the show, Simon loomed large as someone who offered sage wisdom to Victor while discovering his sexuality. He was a great mentor and when they met, it was a great moment to see how Victor felt like he had a community to himself. I really liked how eventually Victor does figure out that he needs to do the rest of the journey on his own and realizes that Simon doesn’t have all the answers. This is where their relationship turns from a mentor to a friend and it was a great way to sign-off Simon’s role in the story.
7) Benji’s Backstory (Season 3, Episode 5)
Benji has a tough backstory between his parents not being the most supportive of his sexuality at first to his drinking. Looking back on these points in his life was a great way for the audience to see why Benji is the way that he is. Benji as a whole seemed like a perfect character at first but by peeling the onion layers back a little, we see his anxieties, traumas, and struggles. It makes him human and shows why Victor is so good to him.
6) Pilar tells Felix she loves him (Season 3, Episode 4)
Pilar and Felix had such a wonderful love story and I’m glad they got together. When she’s struggling with her parents not wanting them to be together, Felix tells her that this is something they’ll get through together. It’s another great way to show just how awesome Felix is throughout the show. Pilar lets it slip that she loves him during the call and Felix then tells her he loves her too. It was a nice moment for the couple but it was just nice to have Pilar get a story other than being pissed off about moving away from her friends in Texas.
5) Armando’s first PFLAG Meeting (Season 2, Episode 3)
Armando made a big step by attending a PFLAG meeting. I love how Jack (Josh Duhamel) was the one leading the meeting that day and he talked about Simon a little. Armando showed his vulnerabilities and struggles with Victor coming out but going to the PFLAG meeting was a big step to accepting Victor for who he is.
4) Victor comes out to his parents and Pilar (Season 1, Episode 10)
It had been building to this moment all season. I was wondering if he was going to not say it, especially considering the news of their parent’s separation had just come up. He wouldn’t come out to Adrian until later on but I like the range of reactions to this. It was a pivot moment for Victor, who had been trying to figure out his sexuality all season. To now have it figured out and then have the bravery to tell his parents was a big step and one we were waiting for all season.
3) Andrew gets Victor to rejoin the basketball team (Season 2, Episode 3)
Andrew could have been a one-note jock who could have been an antagonist the entire series. Instead, Andrew evolves and becomes supportive of Victor. He gets called out for not being supportive enough before Victor quits the team, but then he steps up in a big way to show that Victor is supported on the basketball team. I really liked how Andrew became a leader in this respect, and it was the start of a wonderful friendship.
2) Rahim stands up for himself (Season 3, Episode 7)
It took almost the entire series to show someone being truly cruel to someone for their sexuality. Yes, there’s high school bullying and there’s a family being passive-aggressive and uncomfortable but the guy outside the restaurant used a slur and was being a little threatening. Rahim clapped back and stood up for himself. I was so proud of him for his bravery and how that inspired Victor. It was definitely a highlight and showed the good that came out of an ugly situation.
1) Victor comes out to Felix (Season 1, Episode 9)
As the first person who steps up to be Victor’s friend when he’s new in town, it seemed like a logical choice that he would be the first for Victor to come out to. What happens next is a touching moment where after Victor comes out, Felix gives him a hug and proceeds to tell him (even after acknowledging he doesn’t know the perfect thing to say in this situation) that he’s really glad he told him and nothing changes. This is the moment that I became a big fan of Felix and this signaled a huge step for Victor.
Honorable Mention: Mia gives Veronica a hug (Season 1, Episode 10)
Mia and Veronica didn’t get off to a great start. Their relationship wasn’t great most of the first season but when Mia needed someone maternal the most, she went to Veronica and gave her one of those hugs that someone needs when they’ve had a bad day. It was an important step for accepting Veronica into the family but a big step for Veronica to be Mia’s stepmom down the road. Mia’s life was crashing down at that moment, and for her to go to Veronica first versus her dad was a touching moment.
Honorable Mention: Victor finally says he’s like the people in New York (Season 1, Episode 8)
That group hug just felt like something where the weight of the world is finally off your shoulders. Victor telling everyone in New York that he’s “like them” was a huge step to actually vocalizing it to someone else that he’s gay. This episode had a lot of great moments like Victor finally meeting Simon and Bram but the moment that was so nice to see was Victor hearing some stories about how other people have struggled to come to terms with who they are. Simon telling Victor he has a community of support around him was a beautiful sentiment.
Season Grade: 7/10
