Fellow Travelers Season 1 Episode 4 Review: Your Nuts Roasting on an Open Fire

Tackling the Christmas spirit, Fellow Travelers Season 1 Episode 4, “Your Nuts Roasting on an Open Fire,” follows the trials and tribulations of Hawkins and Tim’s secret love affair during the holidays in both timelines.

Directed by James Kent and written by Anya Leta and Brandon K. Hines, “Your Nuts Roasting on an Open Fire” centers around Christmas time in both timelines, but the holiday spirit is sorely lacking as the lives of Hawkins and Tim get prominently more intense due to increased investigations.

In the 50s, Hawkins’ front desk clerk, Miss Addison, reports him to the M Unit, which is cracking down on homosexuals within the state department heavily. Due to this turn of events, he’s forced to undergo strict questioning about his personal life, from how he walks to how he talks.

Nonetheless, Hawkins makes it his duty to ensure he’ll pass all tests with flying colors, even going as far as practicing how to cheat a lie detector test. Ultimately, it works out in his favor as he passes with ease.

During a work event, Hawkins eventually learns the truth: that Miss Addison is the one who reported him. After overhearing his conversation with Mary, she fervently interjects and reveals what she’s done, clearly happy with herself.

It’s no surprise Miss Addison is the one who eventually reports Hawkins to the M unit. Since episode 1, “You’re Wonderful,” it’s been apparent that, like most others in the State Department, she’s homophobic and on the hunt to get rid of anyone she can. The face she gives upon reading Tim’s note in the book he leaves for Hawkins clearly indicates that she would eventually come for his job.

The episode effortlessly dictates how stupidity and ill-timed conversations can act as a self-inflicted knife in the back. Mary willingly discussing Hawkins’ relationship with Tim out in the open, surrounded by all of their coworkers, makes little sense.

After just being investigated herself and having to say goodbye to her significant other, Mary understands the severity of the situation, which is why her interactions in that instance don’t make sense for her character.

Despite the severity of the situation and it being a stressful moment because of Hawkins’ inability to respond as freely as he’d like, his interactions with Miss Addison and the State Department interviewer are some of my favorite moments due to Hawkins’ gall. Even in the face of downright evil individuals, he makes it known that he’s no pushover, even with someone having the upper hand on him.

Hawkins Fuller to the State Department Interviewer: You ever worry that someone might kill you instead?

My all-time favorite moment, however, is when Tim and Hawkins exchange gifts. It’s apparent that Tim is the one in the relationship that cares more deeply, but Hawkins gifting him cufflinks with his initials is a big move. It’s a small moment in time, but it truly paints a picture of how hard he’s falling in love with Tim.

In the 80s, Hawkins enjoys his time with Tim as much as he can before politics ruin his focus on the bigger picture, leading him to storm out of Tim’s apartment in search of a way to blow off steam. Although he’s been married for close to thirty years and has grandchildren, Hawkins’s true nature has never strayed off course, which is why it’s no surprise when he turns to a bathhouse to get his mind off things.

Upon returning to Tim’s apartment, he finds the place deserted and a mess, unsure of what’s transpired until Tim’s friend returns and reveals he’s had a stroke.

The series hasn’t been shy about the atrocities of the McCarthy age and how detrimental it was to the LGBTQ community, but “Your Nuts Roasting on an Open Fire” takes it just a step further by highlighting the number of suicides and deaths from AIDS that stemmed from the government’s doing and their inability to care about inadvertently killing working Americans.

Fellow Travelers is also one of the few series that consistently and successfully focuses on two different timelines within one episode with ease. We’re halfway through the season, and there’s yet to be a dull moment in either timeline that makes me wish the series would make another time jump for storyline purposes.

The scenarios in each timeline are meticulously crafted to keep the audience on the edge of their seat and constantly wondering what’s next.

It’s heartbreaking to know Hawkins never overcomes the debilitating fear of being outed so he can enjoy a happy life with Tim in public.

My hope is that the series is slowly getting closer and closer to the point where Hawkins can be comfortable in his sexuality in the 80s and profess his undying love for Tim, spending what little time he has focused on nothing but their love for one another.

It won’t make up for the time the two have lost being with one another, but it would finally allow Hawkins to be free and no longer have to hide the part of himself that makes him whole.

Stray Thoughts:

• I love the details and time dedication to Marcus’ storyline and his screen time with Frankie, making sure the story of black queer people in the 50s is told with care and not only used as a plot device to further Hawkins and Tim’s storyline.
• Even with Lucy knowing about Hawkins and Tim’s past, there’s a moment during their phone call where, despite the awkwardness of their situation, it feels as if there’s a moment of mutual empathy between the two for each other’s situations.

What did you think of this episode of Fellow Travelers? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Fellow Travelers airs Sundays at 9/8c on Showtime.

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