Season 2 of Love, Victor is a must-watch this Pride Month. Love, Victor is inspired by the film Love, Simon, which follows a closeted gay teenager who exchanges secret emails with another gay classmate. Love, Victor tells an entirely different side to the story told by the original coming-of-age film, one that’s not often shown in mainstream media.
In contrast to Simon, Victor comes from a very religious and traditional Puerto Rican-Colombian family. Victor has a good relationship with his parents, Isabel and Armando, but he knows that they are not accepting of LGBTQ+ people, and therefore feels like he must hide a vital part of himself from the world. When Victor comes out to his parents, he doesn’t get the support he wanted; there was no satisfying happy ending. His parents are shocked and his entire family dynamic shifts. Season two depicts the implications that follow this as he and his family learn to adjust to his sexuality.
Love, Victor hits all the right notes by portraying the struggles a kid like Victor might face through a natural mode of storytelling. The show takes the audience through the harsh realities many LGBTQ+ people face without making it feel forced. The audience sees three vastly different perspectives of Victor and his parents as they move forward with the news of Victor’s sexuality.
While Victor being gay is new and unusual for him, Armando is able to handle this surprisingly well. He makes noticeable steps to better understand Victor and show his support by attending meetings for Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).
Isabel, on the other hand, struggles greatly with her son being gay. Her entire attitude towards him and his now-boyfriend, Benji, changes. Isabel is visibly uncomfortable by them and turns to her priest for advice. She starts coming around after the priest tells her what a shame it is that her son will go to hell for being gay.
While Victor obviously has it the hardest, suffering through his relationship with his mother, I did appreciate the show’s willingness to show her struggle as well. Isabel loves her son, but she was essentially brainwashed into believing truly awful things about LGBTQ+ people and has to admit that she must unlearn everything she has been taught. This is not easy for a religious person like her, but it is essential that she tries as Armando has.
Love, Victor always remains authentic and explores other stories that audiences may not be accustomed to. The audience also sees how Victor’s ex-girlfriend feels losing someone she was in love with and his best friend’s difficulties living with his mentally ill mother as he struggles to make ends meet. Full of genuine representation and cute moments, Love, Victor is an important show to watch.
All episodes of Love, Victor are streaming now on Hulu.