Looking - Recap: Thirty Minutes is a Quick Haircut

Episode 2 of Season 1 of Looking, “Looking for Uncut,” took what was established during the season premiere to new heights, perhaps pushing the audience slightly out of its comfort zone in order to make honest points about stereotyping, complacency, and honoring a sense of self. Patrick (Jonathan Groff) pursued his budding relationship with Richie (Raúl Castillo) this week, only to find things imploding just as they were kicking off. Augustín (Frankie J. Alvarez) attempted to get used to a life of domestication in Oakland. Dom (Murray Bartlett) reconnected with his ex, Ethan, much to his own subsequent dismay. In the end, it seems each of our three leads has a figure in his life to inspire him to be his true self. Whether they actually choose to do so, only time will tell. Here is the Recap and Review of Season 1 Episode 2 of Looking, “Looking for Uncut”!

First, one thing that I want to point out is that I’ve noticed some detractors around the internet honing in on any semblance of stereotypes addressed during the premiere. Viewers watched Looking open with a cruising scene in a park, saw red, and neglected to truly consider all that was being said. Granted, I’m paid to write this recap and review, so I’m essentially expected to analyze everything presented. Maybe things weren’t executed as clearly as I’d thought, but here’s what I got from that. The point of the opening to Looking, in my perspective, was to turn the biggest gay stereotype there is, that gay men are way oversexed, on its head. Patrick didn’t go cruising out of pure horniness. That was a case of curiosity killing the cat and maybe a little horniness. I almost found it innocent! He giggled through a hand-job situation, a time that was not enjoyable and that was endured almost out of sheer politeness, before bolting to share the absurd story with his friends who understand him. When he attempts to bring up the same story on his date with that oncologist, he opens with a line like, “Do people still do that?” Meaning, the story isn’t brought up to paint himself like some "cool" man-whore who sluts it up with strangers in the park on a regular basis. It was meant to be a light and funny experience shared in casual conversation, yet the oncologist doesn’t take it that way at all. Apparently, a lot of viewers didn’t take it that way either. From my perspective, the intention was to make viewers think twice about the stereotype, and that focus was taken to a whole new level during Episode 2. Patrick willingly experiments with a stereotype, and he's almost befuddled by it. More on this later. Point being, the three leads are flawed; however, they each have figures in their lives who point out the best in them and accentuate that which is their intended future fulfillment.

Augustín: I think Augustín is the least endearing of the three leads, but it’s only Episode 2. It think the reason why he comes off that way is because we’ve only gotten to know him thus far as someone who seems uninvested and detached in his relationship with Frank (O.T. Fagbenle), who seems like a good and honest human being. I don’t feel the chemistry here yet, but I don’t think that we’re supposed to. If I had to guess, I think that Augustín’s central struggle is that he’s allowed his sexual expression to take him away from that which once truly inspired him, his art. During Episode 2, Augustín officially moved in with Frank in Oakland, away from the exhilarating and tempting life of the city in favor of a more domesticated, homey existence. Frank is perfectly fine staying in on the weekend and enjoying that kind of peaceful company. Augustín, it seems, will grow restless of this be Episode 3. There was important symbolism in Frank’s recognition that Augustín’s artwork from his teenage years is worth praising and showcasing. We’ve gotten to know Augustín least out of the three leads, but Frank is clearly the guiding force in his life, even if he doesn't see it that way at all. Last week, I praised Augustín’s sexuality as an extended form of his artistic expression, but after Episode 2, I think it’s clear that this is to a fault. He doesn’t seem nearly as invested in Frank as Frank is in him, yet he closed out his arc during Episode 2 hanging the piece of art that his partner had previously showered with compliments.

I also like that Frank is arguably the most effeminate of the men portrayed on this show, and he also stands as clear indication that masculinity doesn't define manhood. He might not be very macho, but he has a sense of integrity and respect that he carries into his relationship. That's what makes up the moral fiber of a man.

HBO "Looking"

Dom: In many ways, Dom could stand as a foreshadowing of what Augustín will become if he doesn’t address his issues in the present. Both characters seem to have a somewhat negative influence on Patrick’s dating life, mostly because they’ve invested too heavily in their sexual exploits. Now, I don’t think that Looking is the kind of show that displays gay men as sex-crazed. In fact, I think the point in what we’ve seen so far is that Patrick actually has the right moral compass going for him when removed from the advice and judgment of his buddies or others, who seem to have way more issues going on in their personal lives than he does. Dom is someone who maybe selfishly fed into this kind of stereotype for decades out of pure pleasure, only to find himself suffering for it today.

During Episode 2, Dom met with Ethan, his psycho ex turned real estate agent. Ethan is a pretentious drone, to say the least. The two met at Starbucks, and what was intended to be some kind of a rekindling with someone stable and substantial on Dom’s end became something entirely different. Ethan kicked his meth habit, thanks to Dom’s dollars, and has now built a decent life for himself. Dom, on the other hand, is simply out $8,000 and in the same position he was in nearly a decade prior. The only difference is that now he’s older, and he feels trapped by his choices.

Dom’s roommate, Doris (Lauren Weedman), serves as his moral compass of sorts. She knows who he really is and what he actually needs. When Dom uses Grindr for a booty call, inviting over a twenty-something “gumdrop” (Andrew Keenan-Bolger) to grind with for a while, she’s the one to inevitably point out how embarrassing the truth of the situation is. Now, you might say that Looking is feeding into stereotypes by already going into Grindr territory, but, I feel that the point was to, like in the cruising situation from the premiere, mock and poke more than anything. The young man who shows up is a bizarre, loopy fellow, and the ordeal stands to represent Dom’s inner sense of worthlessness. Do you think that's the kind of guy Dom truly covets? He turns to sex with whoever is ready, willing, able, and young to feed his ego, and he totally (using that word loosely) regrets it afterwards. At least he had Doris to laugh along with him rather than at him.

HBO "Looking"

Patrick: In the anticipation of a continuing romance with Richie, Patrick foolishly allowed Augustín and Dom to get inside his head and screw around with his priorities. His friends know him, love him, and support him, but they neglect to realize that they could be imposing the same mistakes they’ve made, and are currently making, in their own love lives on him. Patrick isn’t the kind of guy to sleep around or hone in on the penis of the dude he’s seeing. That was never what enticed him about Richie, yet after Augustín’s mention that a Mexican American man would likely not be circumcised, it was all Patrick could focus on. During the premiere, we learned that Patrick’s mother negatively influenced his dating game by convincing him that he’s meant to be with some sort of traditional, conservative type, like an oncologist. His friends have the reverse effect on him. They drive him to be way too liberal and superficial in his quest to find something real.

During his date with Richie, I think we were intended to focus on the man who initially charmed Patrick on his train ride home from a bad date. Richie has a sense of personal faith, as exhibited by his religious necklace featuring Jesus and Mary. It's also important to note that as a gay man sporting a Christian token, he clearly won't allow others to dictate that faith. He has a strong bond with his family, as he explained by filling Patrick in on his relationship with his droves of little nieces and nephews. Patrick, meanwhile, spent their entire date neglecting their emotional and mental chemistry in favor of getting tanked and rushing the sex game. He’d previously googled “uncut latin cocks” to get a taste of what was to come. Funny enough, he didn't actually get a taste of anything.

After a significant amount of partying, shot after shot, the two meandered their way back to Patrick’s place. Eventually, a steamy kiss led to the introduction of bedroom action, but everything came to a screeching halt as soon as Richie realized that Patrick had spent a significant portion of his week fixated on what his penis might look like. Richie is, indeed, circumcised, but the principal of the matter drove him from Patrick’s bed anyway. Patrick was a bit devastated to lose Richie, if only for a moment, but he eventually comforted himself with a bowl of mac and cheese and phone call with Augustín.

I actually like what Looking is doing here. There are characters that represent everything that viewers, gay or otherwise, want to see depicted on a progressive and intelligent show about gay men, but they aren’t necessarily the characters at the forefront all the time. I like that Dom’s conversation with Doris led him to contact Ethan once more in order to get out all of his animosity. The rage is real. In the end, Dom met with Ethan outside of one of his client conversations and demanded to be refunded the $8,000 he’d loaned Ethan years back, money he would have spent on someday opening a restaurant. Would that money actually have been invested that way? Probably not, but the fact that the allegedly affluent Ethan refused to sign a check is standing proof that he hasn’t really changed and is no better off than Dom. I like the idea of following this man who’s pushing forty as he comes to the realization that he squandered his youth on sex. It’s like he keeps himself going by continuing that which got him into this rut in the first place, screwing younger guys, but he recognizes the fact that it’s gotten desperate and he’s unfulfilled.

Patrick, on the other hand, is probably relationship oriented at his core. His inquisitive nature in the fight for something real seems to consistently bite him in the ass. To go back once more to the opening of last week’s premiere, I think the statement Looking was making was to point the finger at that strange character in the woods, the hairy guy with the cold hands, and to say, “This is who our stereotypes are based on? This isn’t us.” That’s not to say that this person doesn’t exist or deserve to be respected, but this wasn’t a case of a show about gay men opening with a gay cruising scene to feed into stereotypes, as if the audience of this show would ever want to watch that. Having said that, Patrick’s flaw is that he feeds into that which he feels is expected of him and ends up sabotaging the good in his life. When you behave like that, people get hurt, whether it's Richie or some stranger in the woods. Richie was exactly what Patrick needs. He had a lot of flair and spice to him, but he had a sense of earnest wholesomeness that would have laid the groundwork for a perfect relationship. The chemistry was totally there, but Patrick screwed everything up by choosing to focus on something trivial against his own instincts.

What did you think of Looking Season 1 Episode 2, “Looking for Uncut”? Do you like how the show is addressing stereotypes, or do you feel like it’s simply playing into them for shock value? Is Patrick relationship oriented, or is he actually looking for something purely pleasurable? Do you like that the supporting cast serves as a moral compass for the three leads?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Looking Season 1 Episode 2, “Looking for Uncut”!