Notes From the Field
Hello! We’re keeping Poppington relatively short this week. Maybe I’m tired; maybe it’s Maybelline. But in any event, I’ll just be sharing my thoughts on the Lucas Hedges/Tommy Dorfman photo and Love, Victor Season 2.
That said, you can expect to see much more soon as I’ll be starting my recaps of ÉLITE Season 4. I’ll be going episode by episode over the next couple weeks. I didn’t want to nest my first review in this newsletter because I will be going episode by episode. I think it’ll be more accessible and manageable to release them individually, so that’s what I’m doing. (Deal with it).
But without any further ado, read on for the gay ramblings of an unwell man.
The Lucas Hedges (Photo) of it All
The __ of it All is a mainstay of the mixed bag newsletters in which I dive deep into a pop culture story or phenomenon and break it down for those who didn’t do the required reading.
Okay so Lucas Hedges was just caught in the wild with Tommy Dorfman (known for being BachNation Andi Dorfman’s cousin and very small roles in teen TV). Before we discuss the implications, the looks, the everything. Let’s just take a look at the picture.
This picture…it’s just so much. As Natalie Walker once said…
Peep the date. Natalie Walker has been hot on the trail of Lucas Hedges forever and we are forever indebted to her for that.
But if you’re new to the Lucas Hedges scene you might be thinking, “so what? who cares?” And I get it, this is a picture of two people with immense Brooklyn energy just holding hands walking down the street. This is one token Black friend away from a liberal arts college front page photo. But to true heads…it’s so much more.
So who is Lucas Hedges? If only it were so simple as to just give an answer. Lucas Hedges is an actor, a gay heartthrob (at least to me), and above all else, an enigma.
Lucas got his start as a very tiny role in his his father’s movie Dan in Real Life. Then he played a bigger role in Moonrise Kingdom (maybe you’ll remember the Khaki Scout Redford). In the latter he was certainly a stand-out, but was nowhere close to the on-screen gentle giant he’s become in recent years.
But everything changed in 2015 when he starred alongside Casey Affleck in Manchester by the Sea. In it, he was an incredibly angsty teenager with a sort of perplexing sexuality and romantic life. And just like that, he built his brand. Maybe you’ve seen a character with a similar description in Boy Erased or Ben is Back.
He’s also played sweethearts who seem gay or are gay in films like Waves and Lady Bird. In fact, I’d say that Lucas is known for sexual ambiguity on and off screen. His Lady Bird character “respected” Lady Bird too much to have sex with her. He was then found making out with another guy in a diner bathroom after a performance of the school musical. And that’s kind his whole vibe.
Lucas Hedges is ripe for indie success and Oscar buzz because he’s a puppy dog who can emote anger and angst and frustration and overwhelming sadness so easily. He’s an incredible talent who always seems fragile and soft to the core even when playing truly hard and taxing characters, like in Mid90s or Ben is Back.
Being such a prestige actor with two very clear types (sweetheart and baddie) made Lucas a great target for internet attention. But generally speaking, he’s kept to himself. Yeah, he’s a Brooklyn kid and everyone knows it. But like…we can talk all day about him and rarely will we ever see a response. It’s not like he’s playing the game; he’s not even aware the game is going on. Lucas Hedges just wants to act.
Until this most recent photo, Lucas’ sexuality was always a source of online conversation. He plays gay sometimes (and does it well). Even when he doesn’t play gay there’s something that seems queer about him. Maybe it’s the haircut (whether floppy or cropped, it looks very queer). Maybe it’s his soft-spoken voice or the fact that his character often have trouble with authority and parents. The point is: whether he means to be or not, he reads as queer.
But Lucas himself hasn’t been so clear on his sexuality. Like I said, he keeps to himself. But it’s good to remember that he has called himself an ally in the past; he’s also spoken about how fluid his sexuality is. Yet here he is holding hands with nonbinary teen drama scene-stealer legend, Tommy Dorfman.
The orange dress on Dorfman with a mask hanging off their arm…The hat and long hair on Lucas (seriously he looks like a mom in the late 90s). They look like they could be two best friends in a 90s girl power movie. There’s something so friendly yet so softly romantic about the way they look together in this frame. With the right lighting this could be a Sofia Coppola shot.
So what does it all mean? Nothing and everything. Maybe this is Lucas just being a really good friend. Maybe this is how he shows his affection to all friends. (Tommy is married, after all). But maybe this is something else; maybe Lucas Hedges actually is queer. Maybe he’s ready to say it. Maybe we’re in for a Pride Miracle (a coming out that we care about).
If you’re new to Lucas Hedges, you probably haven’t learned too much. Sorry. I’m mostly just trying to organize my thoughts. But please go watch Manchester by the Sea because it’s incredible (obviously). Then you can watch Ben is Back and Lady Bird and Mid90s, but not Honey Boy (Shia LaBeouf is over).
And if you need to learn more, just reach out. I could talk about my sweet Lucas Hedges all the live long day.
For Your Viewing Pleasure: Love, Victor Season 2
For Your Viewing Pleasure is a segment where I review and recommend movies and tv shows.
Yes, we just talked about Love, Victor last week but I devoured Season 2 and I have some thoughts. And yes, this is your official spoiler warning!
First, Jesus did they take my suggestion of becoming gayer really well. Things were HOT. We saw on-cam lube! We saw extreme amounts of making out and (medium) petting! We talked about bottoming and topping in really coy, barely breeching the subject ways! Take a look at the pics below!
These straight boys are so horny! Justice for my dying of secondhand embarrassment 24 year old self, my 14 year old self who would’ve loved this, and my 11 year old self who might’ve come out then and there had he seen this.
I mean, yes, these are still presumably straight men playing gay (read my diatribe on that subject in Poppington 11). However, they were convincing. Honestly, if you’re gonna play gay, the least you can do is put on a show and boy howdy did they ever.
With that out of the way, we can delve into some plot. On the whole, I found this season to be much better written than the first. It primarily deals with the aftermath of Victor cheating on Mia with Benji; Lake and Felix’s relationship (and their respective mother issues); and the very distinct ways that Victor’s parents handle his coming out.
While I do hope to one day leave behind coming out stories altogether, or at least focus more on other types of queer stories, this particular coming out story is well done. For starters, we don’t spend the entire season dealing with it in large strokes. Rather, we see the small ways it affects Victor’s daily life. We also see the effect that Victor’s mishandling of his sexuality affects his friends. This is certainly an interesting layer to consider. But again, we’ve seen it.
Now onto specific characters and storylines. First of all, justice for Mia! Mia continues to be the most disrespected character on television. Her dad doesn’t give a shit about her; her short-term college boyfriend sucked; even Lake and Andrew don’t really get her all the way. Nobody’s listening or keeping an eye on her. If this were a different show I’d be very worried about her mental health and safety, but I don’t quite think Love, Victor is ready to move in that direction.
So let’s talk about her new romance with Andrew. On the one hand, I’m happy! They keep saying that they want to be together and they definitely have chemistry. But…I’m unconvinced that it’s really what Mia wants. I worry so much about her, but yet she continues to maintain her composure and show others so much compassion. Please, please let her get what she wants in Season 3.
Now for Lake and Felix. Wow. First of all, when they confessed their own body confidence issues and skinny-dipped at the lake (just go with it), I was floored. This was a really mature and tender moment. Perhaps much more interesting and realistic than any other romantic moment in the entire season. Felix really showed up for Lake in a big way. I mean, he needed her in that moment too, but I think she really, really needed him. I don’t think she’d been told how beautiful she was before, much less believed it. (I cried).
Now Felix’s mother’s battle with manic depression was another really candid, valuable addition to Love, Victor. It didn’t ever feel exaggerated or melodramatic. It was tonally quite different than a lot of intense moments in Love, Victor for that reason. That said, I think this storyline was on the whole quite well done.
Now as for their breakup…I’m broken. Felix and Lake work for so many reasons. They complement one another so beautifully and share this overwhelmingly sweet desire to help others. I’m so sad that the broke up and I’m sad that it was because Lake was simply trying to help Felix’s mom. (Yes, this resulted in hold in a psych ward but like…what would you do if your boyfriend’s mom was trying to give you her family heirloom plates and throwing them on the ground when you didn’t accept?)
I think that the writers want me to be on board with Pilar and Felix but I’m not. I get it; Pilar is great. She deserves so much. But I just can’t believe that I’m supposed to get behind a new relationship for Felix when Lake is right there.
Finally, let’s talk about Victor. I found the Victor/Benji romance so relatable and realistic for so long. And then Benji became so cold and dismissive of Victor’s parents. Who talks like that? I don’t really understand why such a respectful character turned so sour so suddenly. I understand that he and Victor are in “different stages” of their gayness or whatever, but this manifested in a really ugly way. I’m not quite sure I buy it. Maybe there’s more to it that we’ll see in the next season.
Now as for Rahim…wow. What a stunner. He’s a great guy and I think he has the potential to make Victor very happy. But…Victor has expressed countless times how uncomfortable he is with some sides of gayness. And like obviously the point is that he shouldn’t feel this way and that he’s learning but still…I can’t imagine that I’m supposed to buy him all of a sudden being so supportive of his, err, flamboyant boyfriend. Don’t get me wrong, Rahim is incredible. But will Victor do right by him? I don’t know.
Now I guess ultimately we don’t know if Victor’s even trying to be with Rahim. In the last moment of the season, we see Victor show up on someone’s doorstep. I guess it could be Benji for all we know. Is that who Victor really loves? Does he want to make things work? I guess we’ll have to wait for season 3 to find out.
A farewell
If you liked this, laughed at this, hated this, whatever, please subscribe and read on in the future. I put out long mixed-bag pop culture newsletters like this twice a month and other content ranging from deep-dives to personal essays, playlists, and TV recaps on the off-weeks.
Thank you so much for reading!
I love you (allegedly).
✓