Summary
Resolutions come a little too effortlessly in this installment of the teen drama as the show repeats the same standard formula from before. However, there’s still room for some emotional moments and starry-eyed romance.
This recap of the Hulu series Love, Victor season 3, episode 2 contains spoilers.
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It is Christmas time on Love, Victor, the hit Hulu teen drama, so cue the adorable knitted sweaters and corny, family sentiment. We find our love-struck lead bored and forlorn over the holiday season, what with Benji in rehab, Felix and Pilar now joined at the hip and his parents predisposed having rediscovered their love for one another. Poor Victor can’t even get a response from his old flame Rahim anymore. Episode two continues the narrative from the premiere, throwing in your stereotypical high school party and some much-needed closure for certain key characters. It’s a slight downgrade from the opener, but still carries the same bottled magic of earlier seasons.
Love, Victor season 3, episode 2 recap
Mia decides to host a party in preparation for moving away to sunny California. She invites all the regulars in a deliciously awkward exchange when the gang returns to school after the winter break. Felix and Lake both inform each other about their new relationships, agreeing that they rebound fast. Rahim blanks Victor, whilst Mia is declared a fun sponge by all. It’s a fun scene that highlights the show’s quick wit and effortless attention to drama.
At the party, Felix and Lake ooze jealousy, staring at one another from across the crowded room. New love interests Pilar and Lucy are sick of this awkwardness and force the exes into a bedroom together in the hopes of ending this weird tension. This sequence seems very uncharacteristic of the teenage experience, there is no way that teens would be this mature about such a scandalous situation. The couple apologize to each other and find the closure they sought. It feels a little too perfectly formed, like this Disney syndrome where all issues are neatly resolved and everyone lives happily ever after. Love, Victor addresses tricky topics but seems too quick to fix every dilemma.
Meanwhile, Victor and Andrew take drugs and get comically high. Victor tries to wing-man Rahim, although the poor boy was actually talking to a straight stranger, whilst Andrew confesses he’s scared to lose Mia. The series can be sickly sweet, yet every now and then it is heartfelt and cute. Victor apologizes to Rahim afterward, admitting that they did have a connection and he’ll give Rahim the space he needs. They agree to be friends, yet Victor struggles to talk about Benji’s latest trip to rehab.
In another emotional subplot, Victor’s parents attend a PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) meeting. Isabel (Ana Ortiz of Ugly Betty fame) regrets how she dealt with Victor’s coming out and stresses about revealing this to the group. She worries about what the others will say and blurts out these truths in front of the PFLAG attendees. Husband Armando tries to console her, but she can’t forgive herself for her actions. It’s a moment of raw authenticity in a teen drama that tends to focus on a feel-good, almost fantasy tone too often.
The ending
The episode ends with Mia asking to live at Lake’s house for her final year of school and Benji drops in on a shocked Victor. Again, his ecstasy is fleeting as Benji explains that the rehabilitation was successful, but he must stay away from emotional triggers for the foreseeable future. In essence, the couple is splitting up before they’ve even gotten back together. Poor Victor, he has the worst luck. Overall this is a solid installment that continues the narrative from before, yet loses some of its spark. The series follows this pattern of a troubling dilemma being solved in rapid succession, then repeated once more. Love, Victor may suffer from a lack of long-term story arcs and a more realistic portrayal of the teen experience.
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