Love, Victor Review: Sweet Sixteen Makes The Truth Hurt (Season 1 Episodes 3-5)

This show may have originated at Disney Plus, but it is no High School Musical. 

While many shows geared towards younger audiences opt for a more sugar-coated, watered-down version of reality, Love, Victor Season 1 Episodes 3-5 prove the show’s dedication to depicting teenagers — and the world around them — in authentic and real ways. 

Besides a single “Getcha Head In The Game” reference, there’s fairly little traceable evidence Love, Victor was ever meant for Disney at all. 

While Hulu is arguably a better fit for the series and a platform that will undoubtedly reach more viewers, Disney Plus had an opportunity to finally push their brand into a new era — one where representation, diversity, and honesty take a front seat in storytelling. 

For any network, showcasing a Latino male and Black female lead is so rare it’s almost nonexistent, and it’s unbelievably refreshing to see white characters take on the “quirky/sassy best friend” roles. They are clearly placed in secondary positions to Victor and Mia, who are given the proper amount of screen time to develop into fully fleshed-out individuals. 

There are also various mentions of drinking, drugs, and sex by the season’s halfway mark; 16-year-old Mia dares to question her dad’s girlfriend on how many sexual partners she’s been with, and a consistent dialogue revolves around the teenagers own sexual activity. 

Perhaps most surprising to me, Victor screams the word “bullshit!”  during an outburst at a basketball game, and the Salazars openly discuss their marital problems after Victor’s mother has an affair with her husband’s boss. 

Salacious stuff! 

I’m not claiming Love, Victor is Hulu’s version of Euphoria, but for a show originally conceived for an under 18 audience, it does an excellent job at not shying away from the things that matter; including, but not limited to, Victor’s exploration into his own sexual identity. 

That story is a wonderfully told standout, though, exploring every facet the coming out process — even when it’s hard to sit with. 

Some of it is great fun, of course. Watching Victor and Benji dance to “Call Me Maybe,” only for Benji to serenade him with the same song a few scenes later is young love at it’s finest, and experiencing those moments with Victor is a highlight of the series. 

There are other moments, however, that are uncomfortable to be a part of — a purposeful maneuver by the series, no doubt. Victor’s birthday party, in particular, is borderline unwatchable, as his family’s externalized — and his own internalized — homophobia comes to light after Benji kisses his boyfriend in public. 

At this point in the series, Victor has researched every sexuality under the sun but has yet to mutter the word “gay” out loud. His discomfort with homosexuality, and willingness to lie about Benji’s sexuality is so awkward, it’s almost unbearable to witness. 

It’s a necessary evil on the path to discovering himself, though, and allows the audience a peek into the environment Victor has grown up in. Merely overcoming his family’s unwillingness to accept same-sex couples in society feels insurmountable to him at times. 

The party itself ends with a small glimmer of hope, as the Salazar’s give in to little brother Adrian and play with his previously deemed “girlish” toys,  but the growth feels minuscule and performative at best.

And while it’s fulfilling to watch Victor stand up his Abuelo about a human’s right to love, almost all of that progress is wiped clean when his father admits he shouldn’t judge people he doesn’t know, but prays his son will never turn out to be gay himself. 

Beyond just the familial ties, Episodes 3-5 of Love, Victor cement some of the most central friendships of the show, and allow them to blossom in impressive ways.

Mostly, I’m talking about Lake and Mia, who have already curated one of the strongest female/female teen friendships I’ve seen on TV, and we’re only five episodes into this series. 

The girls constantly pull for one another, appreciate one another, and listen to one another’s needs. While we’ve yet to really see Lake break off into her own story arc, there’s no doubt that when conflict does arise for her character, Mia will be around to pick up the pieces, just as Lake continuously does for her. 

Lake was number one of my list of worries walking into Love, Victor, as the first two episodes portrayed her as little more than the ditzy best friend whose clueless about the world around her.

Episodes 3-5 course-correct those issues almost immediately, allowing her to stand up for herself against Andrew, claim her badassery, and display how much of a ride-or-die friend she truly is for the people she cares about. 

There’s also the budding potential romance between her and Felix, and while I’m not super impressed with how she treats him due to his low level “social status,” I am enjoying her being constantly surprised at how sometimes, people are a lot more than what you label them to be. 

There isn’t a single character on Love, Victor whose story doesn’t seem to have more than meets the eye, and with five episodes left, I’m thoroughly invested in finding out where things will go from here. 

What did you think of these episodes of Love, Victor? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Love, Victor Season 1 is now available for streaming on Hulu. 

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