Love, Victor Review: Victor on the Road (Season 1 Episodes 6-8)
The real love story finally begins.
Love, Victor Season 1 Episodes 6-8 begin to delve deeper into Victor’s journey towards sexual identity, moving him closer to his truth and farther away from the people he loves.
As discussed in my review for Love, Victor Season 1 Episodes 3-5, watching Victor’s journey isn’t always easy. Episodes 6-8 do little to lessen that pull on the heartstrings, as Victor becomes increasingly desperate for answers to questions he’s been too afraid to ask.
While society as a whole may be becoming familiar with the concept of “coming out,” we aren’t always aware of the layers that exist within that difficulty.
Yes, Victor has to worry about coming forward to his family — religious people who, from what we’ve seen thus far, are fairly narrow-minded when it comes to sexuality.
However, it isn’t just about letting his parents know the truth. It’s about being honest with his best friend, with his girlfriend, and most especially, with himself.
It’s a bumpy, messy road, and Victor doesn’t always handle things gracefully. He does, however, handle them as any realistic teenager would.
One of the major issues with Love Simon is the film’s desperate desire to pile on the conflict in contrived ways. We are meant to see Simon as culpable in his mistakes, but end up only gaining empathy for him as the movie progresses.
Simon has no girlfriend and is actively being bribed by someone threatening to share his most personal secret. So when he comes out to his friends and they hold his silence against him, it feels viciously unfair — framing them as brutally cold, and Simon as merely a victim.
Simon walking away clean is fine, but attempting to paint him as flawed when he simply does not do anything wrong, only underhands the loyalty and love of his friends — it doesn’t add any actual complexity to the story itself.
Victor, on the other hand, makes some big missteps. Even with Simon’s well-guided advice, he continues to date — and continuously ditch — Mia, in a flailing attempt to hold on to a more heteronormative life blueprint.
All that suppression only leads to an unhinged kiss with true love interest Benji; a boy with his own life, his own agency, and his own romantic relationship. Victor uses Benji as a type of sounding board for acting on his sexual desire, and while that’s understandable, it’s also incredibly selfish.
So yes, Victor’s story is messy, but it’s also complex, and that’s why it works.
Victor is sixteen and navigating through something so intensely personal like this isn’t going to end with him making all the right decisions — especially when you’re living in such a suppressed environment.
This is why Love Victor Season 1 Episode 8, “Boys Trip” is such an imperative episode for the series — and not just because we get to see Simon, Bram, and a ton of other wonderfully queer characters exist on our screens.
Victor briefly escapes his life and dwells in new circumstances that are all too willing to accept him with open arms. He fully lives his truth for the first time, gaining a fresh perspective with Simon and Bram by his side.
If there’s one disappointing aspect to “Boys Trip” it’s being robbed of a Bram and Simon reunion, as Nick Robinson clearly shot his scenes at different times than the rest of the cast.
Of course, this story isn’t about Simon. That being said, this reunion would have been a long-awaited and fulfilling moment for Love, Simon fans, who are a majority of the demographic.
Still those scenes in NYC, with Victor coming alive in ways we have yet to see, are what make the more difficult parts of our protagonist’s story all too worth it.
Michael Cimino deserves all the props here, delivering a wonderfully nuanced shift in performance, allowing everything about wide-eyed and eager Victor — even the way he carries himself — to shift in subtle but poignant ways.
It’s a beautiful thing to witness.
It seems like Victor will be returning home with a new way of looking at things, and an added layer of self-acceptance under his belt.
He’s found a way to come out to himself, but coming out to the people in his life? That’s a whole separate chapter, and I’m ready to see where it takes him.
What did you think of these episodes of Love, Victor? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and keep an eye out for my final review coming soon!
Critic Rating:
User Rating:
Love, Victor Season 1 is now available for streaming on Hulu.
Follow us on Twitter and on 
Instagram!
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
Kat Pettibone
Kat Pettibone is an aspiring TV writer, artist, and poet. As a Pacey Witter Fan Club lifer who never missed a TGIF, she has dreams of becoming your generations small screen Nora Ephron. She's also an avid lover of coffee, dogs and all things spooky.