1x03 Hit Me

Me and Fellow Travellers have such a hot and cold relationship. Aspects of this episode were great. Marcus and Frankie's fraught romance was compelling. As much as this show occasionally feels like a racism 101 I do buy into the angst at the intersection of blackness and queerness that causes turmoil in their relationship. Jelani Alladin's performance throughout this episode was especially compelling. His cowardice in the face of homophobia added such a richness to his character. He especially shined when he demonstrated that quiet desperation to be be with Frankie in the end.

How much more connected I am to Marcus and Frankie I think highlights what doesn't work for me about Hawk and Tim. Last episode I was really excited by the fact that they'd both made the explicit choice to not be together and anticipated how the forces of the plot would bring them back to each other. Unfortunately the show didn't do anything interesting in this regard. They both just kinda decide they wanted to be together again. And of course the same conflict that drove them apart rears its head again. This episode felt like a retread of the conflicts of episode one and two and no new ground was made with Tim or Hawk's characters.

I will say the highlight of this episode was surprisingly the 1980s flash forward. I loved seeing the cynical, angry tired Tim of 1986. That coupled with the the guilt and grief Hawk has made for some really engaging scenes between the two. Bailey and Bomer really sell the shared history between Tim and Hawk well. While we see Tim angry and Hawk guilty in the 50s the actors add character to their dynamic that feels aged and filled with tension.

I'm hoping the show finds new dimensions for Tim and Hawk in future episodes and I'm especially excited to see how their relationship plays out in the 1980s storyline.