One of my most anticipated shows of the TV season has finally arrived and for the most part HBO’s Looking managed to be what I was hoping for, an interesting look into the lives of gay men living in San Francisco. Idk if I will write up all of the episodes but I figure a recap was at least in order for the premiere.
The best way to go about recapping this it break the episodes down by characters and then give some overall thoughts:
Patrick: Looking opens with Patrick, played by Johnathan Groff, cruising in the woods for a hand job on a dare from his friends. My first thoughts were to be concerned for him given what happens in Stranger by the Lake, but his handy is ruined by a phone call. Throughout the episode we get glimpses of Patrick’s life: he’s a video game developer, lives with Augustin (Frankie J. Alvarez), and is struggling to find love. The latter point is illustrated in two painful, yet awkwardly hilarious ways, with his being invited to the bachelor party of the guy who he was in the longest relationship with (5 months) and a date with a doctor he meets on OK!Cupid. The latter situation provides a chance for a great guess star turn (Matthew Wilkas of Gayby fame) and one of the best scenes of the episode. You could just tell it wasn’t working and then Patrick had the nerve to bring up the cruising situation and I was like
But things were looking up for Patrick at the end of the episode when he gets hit on by a cute guy (Raul Castillo) on the Muni train home and ends up meeting the guy at his place of work.
Augustin: In what is sure to be the most explosive storyline, Augustin asks his boyfriend (O.T. Fagbenle) if they can move in with each other. What should be a big step becomes a wee bit more complicated when after meeting a new coworker and getting drunk with his boyfriend, they end up having a threesome with said coworker. When the two get back home you can tell that all is not well in paradise but Augustin’s boyfriend puts up a good front.
Dom: This was the funniest storyline of the pilot episode. Dom (Murray Bartlett) is the elder statesmen of this group and he’s having a bit of crisis of confidence spurned on by the fact that his maybe violent ex-boyfriend is a successful real estate agent and that he’s turned down by a blond coworker, which he says has never happened. At the end of the episode, we see him making a call to the ex-boyfriend which can only lead to good things, right?
Overall Thoughts:
There’s a lot to like with this show and I’ll definitely be sticking with it for the duration. The pilot was deftly written and all of the characters got something interesting to do. My only concern is that this show seems extremely low key, which is good, but can it sustain itself unless it indulges a bit? We’ll have to wait and see.
Episode Grade: B+
MVP: Murray Bartlett
Best Line: “His name is no.”