Love, Victor Season 2 (2021)
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Love, Victor Season 2 Review
The second season of Love, Victor premiered in 2021 and it is quite a solid improvement upon its much less interesting and much safer predecessor.
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“I’ve never felt more connected to someone in my entire life“
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The first season ended on a major cliffhanger where Victor came out to his parents. This successor follows his newly liberated gay life with all the teenage experiences that it entails along with the fraught romantic and familial relationships. Wow, was I surprised that the season really went there in terms of themes and main relationships. Unlike the first overly safe season, this one didn’t hold back any punches, and thus it was all the better for it, though undoubtedly the more controversial audiences would find it overly sexualized for teen audiences, but in my opinion it still should be watched by all the gay teens out there.
Victor is still a likable guy and also quite brave in how he is portrayed in this season. They put quite a lot on his plate here, but the decision to simply follow his heart in the end will make for one truly wonderful third season undoubtedly. I found Benji very unlikable in this season. They are simply too different, so they should end it in my opinion. This season ended on even more cliffhangers than the last one, but to me Victor should choose Rahim obviously. The show explored really well the many travails of one out and one closeted boyfriend, and how these two worlds would collide. The role of the mother in their breakup was also very realistic.
Speaking of her, I adored everything that they did with Isabel. She is incredible. The acting is overall quite strong on the show, but Ana Ortiz should be getting some Emmy buzz for this fantastic turn in such a complex arc. It was a phenomenal choice for the show to show her still believing in God, but simply not believing in her church and her father anymore due to his homophobia. She went on a very long journey of accepting her son, and all of the little details, such as embarrassment, anger, disbelief etc, all of it rang true.
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Armando also got a strong arc where he wants to be with other women, but is also very much still in love with his wife. Their on and off relationship here proved to be one of the many twisty and soapy, but undeniably entertaining storylines. As for Rahim, it was utterly unrealistic to have a Muslim gay teen be accepted by his religious family, but overall this character is wonderful. He is more theatrical and feminine, but also quite charming and a lot of fun. Victor and Rahim together was the highlight of the season as their dynamic is breezy and sweet.
Love, Victor also does justice to all of the supporting characters, though the mileage of their stories’ momentum varied. Pilar gets to be softer and more likable in this season while her crush on Felix was interesting. Felix’s drama with Lake and also his mother was portrayed mostly very well and he is a very nice, endearing guy once again.
Andrew continues to be very likable and charming. I did find that basketball storyline important, but highly unrealistic. Still, his relationship with Mia was well realized and her arc with her father was moving, but overly melodramatic. That is the problem with this entire season – it creates so many problems for its characters and so many relationships get annihilated, but sometimes it felt as if it was done just for the sake of juicy drama instead of natural story progression.
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Overall, the second season of Love, Victor has its overly melodramatic and even soapy elements, but it still is very entertaining in all of the juicy drama that it portrays. Victor and Rahim’s growing relationship was wonderful while his mother’s arc is the heart and soul of the season.
Worst Episodes: There’s No Gay in Team and Gay Gay.
Best Episodes: Perfect Summer Bubble and Table for Four.