Summary
The series continues to be both feel-good and formulaic, as secrets are revealed, and Victor tries to harness his Mr. Casual persona in a totally foreign side of the dating world.
This recap of the Hulu series Love, Victor season 3, episode 4 contains spoilers.
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In chapter four, Victor tries casual dating with rather unfortunate consequences, whilst the rest of the cast continue onwards with their own mini storylines in this addictive teen drama from Hulu. You have Felix and Pilar’s blossoming relationship being tested to its limits, best friends Mia and Lake have an unprecedented falling out, then finally, Rahim and Benji’s unusual work dynamics drift into scary new grounds. There’s a lot to unpack in this instalment, so let’s not waste any time at all in getting started.
Love, Victor season 3, episode 4 recap
The episode title pings onto Victor’s phone screen as his latest fling, Nick, sends him a private message. “You up?” here indicating more than an innocent conversation starter, the two subsequently meeting up for another casual make out session. A montage repeats this procedure again and again, with Nick eventually just texting a question mark to save time. There’s definitely a stolen How I Met Your Mother joke in there somewhere. This all plays out as completely foreign to Victor, who wishes to wine and dine his new partner, yet Nick just wants to keep things casual. This new acquaintance insinuates that he has multiple other partners and Victor tries to go with the flow, accepting these hook-ups for what they are, hesitantly referring to himself as Mr. Casual.
As our ever likeable lead struggles to adjust to his new dating life, other cast members trudge through their own story arcs. Lake manages to escape a shopping spree with her mother and persuades Mia to go in her place. Her friend happily taking a bullet for Lake here, who still hasn’t told her mother that she’s dating someone of the same sex. A super sassy Rahim tells Victor about his new student, then Felix and Pilar are caught discussing their “fake” study sessions (we all know what that means) by the overprotective Armando. It’s a fast paced episode with many subplots interlinking throughout.
The show has a habit of mirroring and replicating similar threads, which is no clearer than in episode four. Pilar’s parents have grown highly suspicious of their daughter, who is unseasonably happy. Meanwhile Lake’s mother is also suspecting her child of irregular behavior. She asks Mia how Lake is doing, adding that she wished they were closer. Mia has had her own issues in the mother department and finds it quite comforting to spend time with a new, caring maternal figure. Pilar’s overbearing father flies off the handle and berates Pilar. They have clearly learnt nothing from their previous mistakes, where they poorly handled Victor’s relationships and his coming out.
The ending
Victor’s casual rendezvous’ with Nick, scored to the beautiful LCD Soundsystem song “Oh Baby”, lead to the most awkward of teen topics: STDs. Although this subject matter is quickly brushed aside in favor of a humorous twist. The rash is in fact poison ivy, which Victor acquired from one of his outdoor meetings with the naughty Nick. The embarrassment allows Victor a chance to reconsider his romantic life and he decides to strive for something more meaningful. Whilst at the doctors, Pilar video calls Felix about her parent’s latest outburst and their sordid secret now being out in the open. During this conversation she blurts out her love for Felix and the lovable teen reciprocates. It’s a real feel-good moment that you can’t help but smile at. Felix is such a pure spirit, my highlight of the series.
As always, Love, Victor concludes with resolution, following its usual formulaic structure. There’s plenty of apologies and then time for a shocking revelation at the closing credits. The series has reached its halfway point now, with no blatant end goals in sight. It’ll be interesting to see how the show concludes Victor’s teen story, but I’m all in from here on out.
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