This recap will have spoilers for Season 2, Episode 4 of The Last of Us, “Day One”
Welcome to this recap of The Last of Us where Nic and I (Valerie Anne) talk about our favorite post-apocalyptic queer drama! Blah blah blah, proper name, place name, backstory stuff, don’t spoil the show by talking about things that happen later in the game, okay LET’S GET RIGHT INTO THIS VERY GAY EPISODE.
We open with a flashback from eleven years ago — some FEDRA agents and a little political lore.
“Hanrahan” is an awfully fun name to say for someone so seemingly…unfun.
Let’s break that down a bit.
Nic: You know, if all we knew about FEDRA was that they were a militia that formed after the Outbreak in place of the government, that would have been enough for me to hate them. But it’s really validating to get these additional moments that show the callousness of most of these soldiers. When Josh Peck (!!) started telling what passes for a humorous story among FEDRA troops, I thought he was calling citizens “bloaters”, but nope! It was way worse. To identify citizens by the fact that you took away their voting rights is heinous and I do not feel bad about them getting blown to bits about it.
And what the heck is going on with Isaac and Hanrahan? I assume she’s the leader of the Seraphites? And she’s welcoming him to the fight? But in what way?
Valerie: The neighborhood they were in had WLF painted on it, so I assumed Hanrahan was recruiting him to the Wolves? Early stages of WLF, and maybe Isaac is how they got some of their military equipment and training? It’s very possible I misunderstood this, anything I attempted to retain about the beginning of this episode is short-circuited like I got Men in Black mind-wiped when I watch the second half of this episode. Every time.
Anyway, I agree with you that I thought I couldn’t hate FEDRA more until I saw those asshats laughing it up in the douche van about killing innocent people for putting up fliers. (Douche van like a douche canoe, but on wheels.) It seems like Seattle has three problems: FEDRA, WLF, and what we now know are called Seraphites. I do wonder why Isaac chose that one sad-faced boy to recruit with him. Is it because he was so soft and new and he thought he could mold him in his image?
Nic: Okay you know what, you’re right that makes a lot of sense. I’m convinced! I really need to be better about listening when male characters talk. :shrug:
Back in the present, Dina and Ellie start off with a little looting and exploring, as well as developing the next stages of their plan.
As East Coast kids, we didn’t know Seattle’s Capitol Hill had a gayborhood and now we want to go!
Time to talk about Seattle: Day One.
Nic: I hope the people won’t get tired of the heaps of praise I have this week, but I absolutely LOVED every single thing about Dina and Ellie getting to Seattle. Like, when “Seattle Day One” popped up on screen, I screamed and clapped alone in my apartment. I loved watching their dynamic and comfort with each other continue to grow, from Ellie immediately noticing that something was off with Dina after the pharmacy, to Dina being able to bring Ellie back to reality before immediately running to the WLF news station base. I loved the setting being a near perfect replica of Game Seattle…down to the rainbows of Seattle’s Capitol Hill LGBTQ district. Heck, I even loved the inclusion of arguably the game’s most frustrating mechanic: opening a drawer to look for supplies and finding ZERO USEFUL ITEMS!!
Valerie: The dialogue while they were looting the drug store was so casual and comfortable, but I bet also useful; they should stay in direct contact with each other when they’re out of each other’s sight. It was such a small scene (until the end of course) but it really did show the “best friend” dynamic that Joel referred to back in episode one. I also loved that when Ellie asked if Dina was okay, she didn’t push when Dina obviously lied and said yes. Also “hit it, people to kill,” made me laugh. These girls can be so unserious, I love them.
Nic: Something I love that this show does, is remind us how culturally frozen in time parts of this world have been since Outbreak Day. This came up for me again later when Dina talks about figuring out her sexuality. It’s hard for me to imagine seeing a rainbow or the word “PRIDE” without immediately connecting it to queerness, but that’s just not the world Ellie and Dina grew up in. Dina genuinely asking “What’s with all the rainbows?” and Ellie just as innocently answering that they must have just been an optimistic group of people warmed my heart, but it also made me sad that their main experience with queerness was the slurs hurled at them.
Valerie: What’s funny about the rainbow thing is that I have to imagine there are some of these post-apocalyptic communities in the country, probably not unlike Jackson, that have thriving queer communities that still rock pride merch and have pride parades and all that jazz. It just so happens that Jackson only apparently had Ellie and Kat before this episode, and they were both too young to remember pre-Outbreak pride. I blame the adults in Jackson for not teaching these kids about rainbows and pride!! BUT it gave us a cute moment so I’ll take it.
This whole episode felt like an early Pride gift to us all!
Valerie: Also the moment in the street when Ellie went to inspect the tank showed me two things: one, how tactical these girls are. They might be young, but they were well-trained. When that tank hatch slammed, they both snapped into action, ready and waiting, no hesitation. And also: Ellie is an adorable nerd who knows all about Apollo 1. Cute!!
Nic: YES! And she was SO excited to share that knowledge with Dina, too. Ugh, I love them.
Valerie: Speaking of tactical, it really is a good thing Dina is here, because Ellie is a “charge first, ask questions later” while Dina keeps her grounded. The thing is, Ellie KNOWS good strategy. When Dina gives her a beat, she fills in the blanks. She’s just so fueled by rage she’s sometimes not thinking straight. Which is why she needs Dina.
Nic: Also probably she’s not thinking straight because of Dina. :rimshot:
Players of the game have been waiting for this moment, and it’s finally here.
Can you believe this ICONIC scene is technically a missable cut scene in the game??? Because I can’t imagine this story without it.
The music store.
Nic: SDF;IJSDFK;JWBEAFK;SDHF;KSJAD;F
Valerie: I totally agree.
When Ellie goes to walk upstairs and Dina calls out, “Shout if something tries to kill you!” and Ellie responds chipperly, “That’s the plan!” I thought it was so cute and then, because I’m me, started to really overthink it and why it stuck out to me as such an important exchange. I feel like seeing Ellie and Dina played by young actors (vs projecting my own grown self on them/knowing it’s Full Adult Ashley Johnson etc while playing the game) really puts it in perspective that these are just teenagers, but they’re teenagers who were raised in the apocalypse. Like I said before, they’re tactical and smart and strong when they need to be, but they’re also so young. They’re not scared of danger around every corner, because they have lived a life such that they KNOW there’s danger around every corner. So no need to be scared, just prepared. And why not do so with a quippy attitude.
AAAANYWAY when Ellie walked upstairs and it looked just like the game and I knew exactly what was coming my heart rate skyrocketed. If you had asked me ten years ago what I thought about the song “Take On Me” I would have had a neutral-to-positive experience with it. But now that both The Last of Us AND The Magicians have weaponized it against me, it FILLS ME WITH EMOTIONS.
Nic: As soon as our gals (including Shimmer) walked into the music store my entire body tensed. I’d seen the promo photos so I knew it would look the way we remembered, but would they do the scene justice? Oh they did AND THEN SOME. Once Ellie gets upstairs and surveys the scene before her, she has this little smile on her face and I couldn’t help but wonder if she was thinking about how much Joel would love this place filled with music they could bond over. I won’t lie, when Ellie started to sing, I lost it. Her little voice, timid at first before settling into the familiarity of the song and the instrument. And when she catches Dina listening in, that youthfulness you talked about sneaks in because she seems almost embarrassed at being caught? It’s so so sweet.
Valerie: I was basically Dina watching this scene, big wide heart-eyes filling with tears. And Isabela Merced goes through every emotion in this scene. You can see a million reasons for the tears in her eyes. The fact that every day she watches Ellie fight and right now she gets to see a soft side of her she doesn’t often get to see, a side of her that’s at peace. The fact that she knows Joel taught her how to play guitar. The fact that Ellie sings, “I’ll be gone in a day or two,” and Dina knows that on this mission that’s a very real possibility. The fact that she’s a little extra hormonal these days, for reasons. And also, of course, because SHE’S SO IN LOVE.
Perfect scene was perfect.
Nic: IT WAS PERFECT, VALERIE!!! Those lingering shots on the records and the bench and the guitar…those were for us gaymers. I, too, had tears in my eyes watching Dina watch Ellie as if she couldn’t believe how amazing the girl in front of her is. How Ellie can be both strong and soft; guarded and open; brave and scared. How lucky Dina feels to know Ellie AND be known by her. Be loved by her. Isabela’s microexpressions blew me away here. We watch whatever unsureness she may have had melt away; we watch her fall deeper in love. And Ellie’s little smirk to Dina while singing “slowly learning that life is okay” because let’s be real, life has been FAR from okay for Ellie’s whole life. But in the three months since they lost Joel, Dina and Ellie have helped each other move forward closer to “okay.” THEY’RE SO IN LOVE IT MAKES MY TUMMY HURT!!!
Okay one more break in the Ellie and Dina show to talk about Isaac and his prisoner.
We need to talk about the Wolf in the room.
Valerie: I think Westworld trained me to be calm while Jeffrey Wright is talking because it didn’t even occur to me that he could be up to no good until the camera panned to that Seraphite on the ground. I appreciate the man’s dedication to his faith, and all I really took from this conversation is that the Wolves and the Seraphites have been stuck in an endless cycle of violence because they each think the other “broke the truce” and children on both sides keep getting killed. One thing I found interesting was the man saying plenty of Wolves have become Seraphites, but no Seraphites have ever become Wolves. Also that soft, sad-faced boy isn’t so soft anymore…
Nic: Whew, you were right about Isaac molding that rookie in his image. Listen, one thing about Jeffrey Wright, that man is gonna BODY a monologue. The way he casually slid “makes copper the inferior choice for interrogations” into a seemingly random story about cookware was unHINGED in the best way. As for the Seraphite being interrogated, dedicated to his faith sure is one way to put it; even while being tortured, he corrected Isaac’s use of the nickname “Scar” and maintained that She was watching over him. Not to get too personal on main, but it reminded me so much of being at my Baptist elementary school and having a full on panic over the hypothetical situation my teacher posed where someone would ask if I believed in Jesus and if I said no they would k*ll me. Ahem. ANYWAY.
Valerie: That’s funny because in Catholic school they made us read She Said Yes, a book eventually proven to be mostly lies, about a victim of the Columbine shooting, and told us that if someone asked us if we believed in God we should say yes even if we knew it meant they WOULD kill us and that lying to save our own lives would send us straight to hell. Religion is fun!
Dina and Ellie wait until nightfall and make their way to the WLF tower.
Clever girls.
From one kind of station to another, things go to shit fast.
Nic: These two are so good together with their scouting and strategizing, I’m OBSESSED! You know, in a previous recap I joked about the yellow school bus being a cheeky nod to the game, but there was another bus in this episode and I noticed the yellow painted numbers next to the door Ellie and Dina go through in the news station, so I’ve decided they’re doing this on purpose and I love it.
Valerie: I will never get sick of Ellie and Dina plotting and planning. They swiftly make it into the WLF tower and check the WLF bodies they find to see if they’re one of the Jackson Five — though they agree that all Wolves need to be taken down regardless. They’re starting to unlock the mystery of the Wolves vs. the Seraphites, or get caught in the middle. They find the WLF bodies hanged and disemboweled by Seraphites, then get hunted by Wolves, using their silent communication skills to make separate runs for it.
Nic: OMG not the Jackson Five! I’m screaming!
Valerie: I loved seeing Ellie use her training, wrapping her legs around that man’s head. I also loved that Dina saved her from that second man. Because again, not only are these girls tactical, but they’re SKILLED. Dina is so good with that gun!! She knows what she’s doing and it’s so badass to behold.
Nic: Yes! I have in my notes “okay Ellie with that Jiu Jitsu training!” That breath she let out before attacking him?! She was READY. This section in particular showcased the duality of Dina and Ellie’s youth and skill. They’re able to take down and escape from multiple men, but at the same time, there’s this little yelp Bella does when Ellie is surprised or overwhelmed by danger because as Dina knows, she sure is a badass, but she’s also 19 years old and still sometimes gets scared of this world.
It’s also interesting to me the way the show turns our preconceived notions of the Seraphites as victims on its head this week. When we first meet them in the woods, they seem like a peaceful group of people just doing their best with their hammers, but now we’ve heard about them perpetuating the cycle of violence with the WLF and we’ve seen the brutality with which they murder in The Prophet’s name. It’s not as simple as good guys vs. bad guys, I suppose.
While trying to avoid getting caught by the Wolves, a flare touches a mushroom tendril and alerts a horde to their presence so it’s time to RUN FOR OUR LIVES.
A good rule of thumb is, if you run out of fingers on one hand to count on, time to RUN.
How stressful was that???
Nic: How stressful was it?!?! I KNEW our girls were more than likely going to be okay AND YET my heart rate was through the dang roof. Those cordyceps tendrils are so terrifying because you never know if they’ll wake 10 infected or 100. Dina’s counting as she hears each infected get activated until there are too many to count remains one of my favorite details though!
Valerie: Yes! I LOVE that they established Dina’s counting thing early in the season as something she always does with Ellie while they’re out together, because it makes it that much more stressful as Dina counts one…two…three…and when she gets to five and still hears more, her and Ellie exchange “oh shit” looks. This whole chase scene was so stressful. Running through what looks like it was once a community of people killed in their subway cars, running on top of the subway cars, just nightmare after nightmare while being chased by another HORDE OF INFECTED. They’re so scary just one or two at a time, WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING.
Nic: These hordes remain TOO FAST and TOO SMART and I hate them SO MUCH! However, I did get a good belly laugh at the infected getting stuck in that turnstile. That laughter was short-lived though because Dina and Ellie are about to put us through the emotional wringer.
Valerie: Ellie stuck her arm in front of Dina to take the bite without even thinking twice. She didn’t plan it, she didn’t hesitate, she just went for it. I know she knows she’s immune, but it was still quick thinking on her part, and she swiftly saved Dina’s life, not unlike Dina saved hers earlier. They’re a good match.
But Dina’s FACE. Isabela isn’t done with her incredible acting moments in this episode, because the look on her face when she looks at Ellie’s proffered arm before taking it so they can run more was devastating.
This is the face of someone who thinks they just watched their favorite person get sentenced to death.
And then it’s time for the gayest 20 minutes I’ve seen on television in a good long time. I’m not going to beat around the bush, and just break these theater scenes into three acts so we can discuss them without too much preamble.
Being a hostage negotiator and a hostage at the same time is no easy feat!
Act I: Dina thinks she has to kill Ellie.
Valerie: First of all, this theater is beautiful. Great place to hide. Second of all, Dina’s deathgrip on that gun broke my whole heart. She doesn’t want to do it, it’s the last thing she wants to do, and she’s furious at Ellie for making her have to do it, but she WILL shoot Ellie if she has to, even through the tears and the shaking.
The QUICKNESS and sureness with which Ellie said, “I would die for you, I would,” before clarifying that this isn’t what this was hit me like a freight train. It was so earnest, so TRUE. Ellie has never said a truer thing in her life! She loves Dina so much.
Nic: The set dec crew on this show deserves all of their damn flowers because they did their big one with this theater. It’s STUNNIN’. It almost distracts from watching Dina slowly and disbelievingly take in Ellie running around to secure their surroundings as if (in her mind) the entire trajectory of their lives didn’t just shift. Both Bella and Isabela are incredible here as Ellie turns around and you can see her genuine shock of having a gun pointed in her face. Her little “the fuck are you doing?” before realizing what this looks like to Dina, whose grip on that gun is strong but shaky. That it looks like her best friend and crush thinks she just sacrificed her life for her. And the way Ellie so quickly explains that she would die for Dina as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world punched me in the gut. It’s like you said, that truth leapt out of her hoping that it would be enough.
Valerie: Again with Bella Ramsey and Isabela Merced acting their asses off. Ellie’s eyes never leave Dina’s as she puts her hands up and tries to convince her, knowing that one wrong move will get her killed by the woman she loves. Dina lowers the gun ever so slightly before raising it again, but with tears in her eyes. Ellie’s face when she says “A lot of times I wish this wasn’t true, but I’m going to wake up exactly as I am right now.” Dina’s fear keeping the gun trained on Ellie but her hope preventing her from pulling the trigger. I hope they both get an Emmy for this season, and this is not my usual hyperbolic award-throwing, I am dead serious when I say that.
Nic: You can go ahead and file “a lot of times I wish this wasn’t true” under “Lines That Knocked the Wind Out of Me.”
We have a little more Hard before we get to the Good but this is the overall vibe of this section of scenes.
Act II: Dina realizes she doesn’t have to kill Ellie, so she does the opposite of that.
Valerie: Talk about emotional whiplash. When this scene first starts, and all you can see is Dina’s interrogation light and her hand still gripping the gun — not the finger-alongside-the-gun move either, Dina’s finger is ON the trigger — and Ellie is just softly reassuring her?? So stressful. When Dina shuts off the light and she looks HARROWED?? Our girl has spent the night SUFFERING.
HER FACE. HER SWEET, SAD FACE.
Nic: I’m sorry to prolong the moment we’ve all been waiting for, but I have to jump in to talk about that decision to show the barrel of the gun and the flashlight but not Dina’s face. We know Dina’s spent hours staring at Ellie ready to shoot at the first twitch, and Ellie’s barely awake before immediately reassuring her that she’s fine, that it was just the rain and she’s still her. And the fact that she continues to gently ask if she can show Dina the one secret she’s kept from almost everyone in her life, without being able to see her face and trusting that the Dina she knows and loves will hear her out?? YEET ME INTO THE SUN. Christ. Carry on!
Valerie: Dina takes one step toward Ellie, and another, and with it, acceptance of two truths: one, she’s pregnant, and probably should get that secret out there, maybe as an exchange for the secret Ellie was forced to share, maybe as a way to have nothing to hide before what she does next, which is POUNCE. The tension snaps and Dina springs into action and Ellie — who, in a way, has been waiting for this at least since New Year’s, if not several years — reciprocates in kind. Finally, finally, finally. It’s so desperate and raw and full of relief and need and love.
Nic: I really loved that Dina shared her truth with Ellie after Ellie shared her own. So that there would be no secrets between them when Dina finally does the thing she’s been waiting to do for so long. There’s desperation as she launches herself at Ellie, but there’s also an emotional release, on both of their parts to be honest, at finally letting those guards down and being their whole selves together. Just gorgeous, gorgeous work by everyone involved.
Valerie: And then they wake up spooning and smiling and give each other beef jerky kisses and it’s so cute and sweet and pure!! Ellie seems happy to not have to hide this part of her from Dina anymore, Dina seems happy to know it. Ellie asks “Why now?” and Dina says that she thought she lost Ellie, and with it, the future she realized she was hoping for, that always included her.
Nic: This entire episode wrecked me. Not to be dramatic, but there were several moments writing this recap when I had to take a break to have Feelings. This “morning after” scene hit the hardest though because it was SO DAMN CUTE I WANTED TO THROW UP. Ellie wakes up first and immediately smiles and gives Dina a little shoulder kiss once she realizes she wasn’t dreaming.
“With you I see new colors. And I’ll stay today until forever.” 🎶
Nic: They both just look so happy and content and AT EASE for the first time in, well, in probably three months. It’s like they both unclenched their jaw without realizing it was clenched. Or released a breath neither of them knew they were holding. They just…fit. Dina can’t stop smiling with her whole face, they both can’t chew their jerky fast enough so they can get back to smoochin’, it’s all just TOO MUCH for my fragile heart.
There are so many small moments that make their love feel raw and lived in; playing with each other’s hair, absentmindedly setting a hand on the other’s knee; moments that you don’t even think about because it’s so natural with a partner. So much of that is down to Bella Ramsey and Isabela Merced’s insane chemistry. They are giving such layered and nuanced performances, I echo your Emmy wishes.
May love like this find us all and hit us like a freight train.
Valerie: I loved Dina’s speech about coming out to her mother, her mother saying “no,” and being too scared to go against that, even after she died, for too long. I jokingly gave Dina a hard time during the tent scene about there being no place for internalized biphobia in the apocalypse but her speech reminded me, this isn’t THAT far into the future and these teens might not know what Pride is but they do know homophobia. Seth reminded us of that. They were raised by people who lived in the world we know, and it takes longer than that to break these kinds of cycles.
Nic: Dina’s first experience with coming out was her mom shutting her down, so she locked that part of herself away until her feelings got too big to be contained. I also imagine that part of what drew Dina to Ellie was her confidence in who she was. I remember before coming out, feeling drawn to characters on shows who were out and proud. At first there was fear at the feelings those stories gave me, but that soon turned into intrigue and finally hope that one day I would get to live that life too. Dina watched Ellie date Kat, joked about her being “the other one” while probably wishing she could find the courage to tell Ellie how she felt. And it’s not that her feelings for Jesse weren’t real too, they just weren’t It™.
Valerie: I also loved Ellie’s comment, “I’m not brave, just obvious.” Some people don’t have the privilege of choosing when to come out, some people don’t get to choose who they tell and when, because living as their true selves means going outside the societal “norms” and being “clocked” wherever you go.
Then they go back to joyful kisses and it remains so cute and sweet and lovely.
The fact that they didn’t even have a chemistry read before Isabela was cast is wild because THE CHEMISTRY IS CHEMISTRY-ING.
Valerie: They talk about how Dina knows she’s pregnant, When she’s sure that Dina is sure, Ellie says, “I’m gonna be a dad!’ and looks as proud as can be.
Nic: Yes! I loved that too. So many of the lines from this episode are still rattling around in my brain, but the two that made me laugh the hardest were from this scene right here: the aforementioned “I’m gonna be a dad!” and Dina’s “I don’t just piss on stuff.” I CAN’T with these two!
Valerie: Yes!! That whole conversation was SO good. I’m just obsessed with the fact that the way Ellie and Dina talk to each other didn’t change at all after they slept together, just the way they touch each other did. They were already so comfortable with each other, this was just a natural next step they’d been putting off too long.
“We carry on through the storm, tired soldiers in this war. Remember what we’re fighting for. Meet me on the battlefield. Even on the darkest night, I will be your sword and shield, your camouflage, and you will be mine.” 🎶
Act III: The stolen WLF walkie goes off and Ellie and Dina hear sounds of explosions so they head to the roof to see what’s what.
Nic: Ah yes, that’s right. We’re still on a mission! That walkie jolted Dina and Ellie (and me, if I’m being honest) right out of their romantic bubble and back onto the search for Abby. Because among the garbled updates they make out the name Nora, one of the names Dina clocked from That Day. When they get up to the roof and see the explosions in the distance, I won’t lie, I was concerned. But I also loved that while Ellie gave Dina the option to stay, she didn’t fight her when Dina insisted on continuing on together.
Valerie: Hey, don’t love that it looks like they have to cross a battlefield to get to the building that Nora is supposedly in! But at least they have a lead and a plan and a stolen walkie. They’re on their way to finding Abby & Co. The scene on the roof was so great. Ellie giving Dina an out, not telling her what to do, not begging her to stay, not infantilizing her now that she’s pregnant. Just acknowledging that she knows things are different, asking her to just consider the possibility of staying behind. And Dina genuinely considering it, but ultimately deciding to stay by Ellie’s side. So good, and SO GAY.
One thing I’ve noticed in my decade-plus of writing about queer television is that VERY often on TV shows where the premise of the show isn’t queer, a queer love scene is often butted up against or in a montage with or sandwiched between hetero love scenes. A queer kiss will cut to a straight kiss, a queer date will cut to post-coital straights. It’s almost like the show going “don’t worry audience, we’re not a GAY SHOW, we just have these two gay characters LOOK AT THE STRAIGHTS NOW!” It doesn’t happen in every show, or with every kiss, but it happens often enough that I noticed the pattern. Not The Last of Us, though! Ellie and Dina spend the entire second half of this episode alone together, and there are no other romantic pairings present in this episode at all. This episode was still vital to the plot of the season; it wasn’t a one-off or a Very Special Gay Episode, it built on what was already there and set us on our way forward. And also it was very gay. And I love that for us! And for them! In a show where happiness is fleeting because there are so many (SO MANY) dangers afoot, it’s nice to see the queer gals being silly and flirty and HAPPY for a little while. They’ve always been on the same page, fighting the same fight, but now that everything is out in the open, they can go forward hand in hand. Together.
I just wanna remind you that the series timeline is different from the game. The outbreak happens in 2003. Don’t ask, dont tell was in effect and Netherlands was the sole country in the whole wide world where same sex marriages were legal (yes even Canada waited until 2005). They didn’t have any of that progress. they didn’t have internet and social media where they can meet other queer people. And both Dina and Ellie born years after the outbreak. It’s not that they were too young to remember pride parades, they don’t even know what it is. Personally, I love they really try to show us what would have happened if we didn’t have any of that progress
That’s a great point – Nic actually brought that up to me right before we submitted this but we had already written so much we didn’t think we should add more haha but it’s so true!! I love these added details.
I totally agree with you! It’s something Neil and Craig have talked on the official podcast as well about showing what society would look like had progress not been made. It’s fascinating!
there was something so idk, authentically queer with the morning after scene and ik there’s a lot of debate about the queer vs straight actors playing queer characters but i rly do think that having two queer actors added something that rly elevated those scene.