S01.E01: You're Wonderful

[AngieBee1]

Quote

In 1950's Washington, Hawkins Fuller is a war hero moving up the ladder at the State Department. Everything changes when Hawk meets religious Tim Laughlin: they begin an affair that puts them in jeopardy.

Air date 10-27-23

Enjoying it so far. I didn't think I would buy Jonathan Bailey as some wide-eyed optimistic neophyte, but he's great in the role.  And it's always great seeing Matt Bomer playing a harder edged role.

[Bill1978]

I admit I was tuning in for the eye candy with worries that the US politics would be too heavy for me to truly get engrossed in the story. But I got to say this episode was fantastic, although it's clear we are heading towards a very sad ending, and I even understood all the political talk. Already thinking I might pick up the book once the show is done, but that does depend on how the story pans out.

 

[Harvey]

The show was made with a lot of care: The light,  the costumes, the camera work, the score. Like if the final scene wasn't heartbreaking enough, the music in the background made it that much more emotional.

But I don't know if I want to watch a sad show like that.

[Snazzy Daisy]

Is this gonna be a political thriller OR a tragic love story?

It’s clearly a toxic relationship in the making with power imbalance from the get go.

Hawk will always put himself first. What he did to Eddie, it shows what kind of person he can be when he’s threatened.

Tim struggles with Catholic guilt and quite green in DC arena. He doesn’t seem to appreciate the gentle warning from Marcus.

I hope we get to see more of Lucy Smith and her perspective. Why she chooses to stay in that marriage.

Ohh man, that foot-sucking scene is quite painful to watch. 😣 

[Bill1978]

8 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

Ohh man, that foot-sucking scene is quite painful to watch.

I feel 'scenes of foot sucking' should be its own category of classification. Probably doesn't help that my default memory for foot sucking is the Duchess of York scandal. 

8 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

Is this gonna be a political thriller OR a tragic love story?

I'm gonna guess tragic love story framed within a political thriller. I'm going to predict the politics will eventually lead to a shift in the power dynamics between Hawk and Tim that we saw in this episode.

[Snazzy Daisy]

1 hour ago, Bill1978 said:

I feel 'scenes of foot sucking' should be its own category of classification. Probably doesn't help that my default memory for foot sucking is the Duchess of York scandal. 

😆😆😆

We have foot-sucking and armpit-licking in first episode. Bring it on, show!

 

1 hour ago, Bill1978 said:

I'm gonna guess tragic love story framed within a political thriller. I'm going to predict the politics will eventually lead to a shift in the power dynamics between Hawk and Tim that we saw in this episode.

Am guessing the political scenes will fade away at some point within the 4 decades of the story’s timeline.

[Fake Jan Brady]

Men in the 1950s with bodies like Hawk and Eddie would be in the running for Mr Universe.

Not that I'm complaining...

[fun fact: that's Sean Connery in the middle]

[xander874]

I tuned in for the hot leads and the promise of hot sex scenes and I enjoyed both (I also did not expect to see peen in this).

But, I also actually enjoy the story. Matt Bomer playing as ass is an adjustment but he's good in the role. I think this first episode was supposed to show his hardness but at the end, he had softened with the request for cuddling. So, I hope moving forward, their relationship is a bit healthier.

And I don't know why, but I was surprised by how much I like Allison Williams in this. I think the fact that I hated her on Girls still is in the back of my mind but in movies like Get Out and The Perfection, she has shown she actually can act so I'm on board.

[PaulE]

I've just begun watching this series and one of the things that struck me, as a gay man, was the real horror of what it must have been like to be gay at that time.  Those guys must have been dying inside, like Tim, yet if they ever gave into their needs and desires they could face criminal charges if caught, not to mention social ostracism and loss of employment.  They'd have lived in a constant state of fear and paranoia.  I honestly started to feel sick halfway through the episode.  I've always known what that period was like, of course, but seeing it acted out like that really brought it home.

And it was chilling to see how Hawk behaved toward Eddie: selfish, cruel, physically and emotionally abusive, and willing to help destroy his life because he was a person of little consequence.  That's how warped some of these men became--and we all know by now that Roy Cohn turned into an absolute monster.  I'm not excusing Hawk's behavior, since he had the agency to make choices, but I'm just saying I can understand how living under such a thick blanket of repression and shame can bring out someone's worst impulses.

It's intriguing to see Matt Bomer playing a character who's not all that nice.  He's doing a good job portraying Hawk's morally ambiguous character.  He's such a handsome guy yet he was able at times to turn his smile into something quite frightening.

I did have to raise my eyebrows at all those six-pack abs.  Funny how all gay men in government service during the 1950s had such perfect bodies!  Not complaining, mind you, but it'd be nice to see a little realism in that area now and then.

To my surprise, I actually found the toe-sucking scene pretty hot.  But I can't imagine the lack of inhibition it must take for actors to do something like that, especially with crew and cameras around.  I think it would be worse to be the actor receiving it--if it were me, I'd be immobilized with embarrassment. Matt and Jonathan deserve credit for making it look realistic.

[fastiller]

17 hours ago, PaulE said:

 

It's intriguing to see Matt Bomer playing a character who's not all that nice.  He's doing a good job portraying Hawk's morally ambiguous character.  He's such a handsome guy yet he was able at times to turn his smile into something quite frightening.

I did have to raise my eyebrows at all those six-pack abs.  Funny how all gay men in government service during the 1950s had such perfect bodies!  Not complaining, mind you, but it'd be nice to see a little realism in that area now and then.

 

I don't recall the role ATM, but I do remember seeing Bomer playing a quite-not-nice character.  Maybe it was The Boys in the Band?  If you haven't yet checked out the 2014 version of The Normal Heart, he's absolutely brilliant in it.

As to the six-pack abs: in this Telegraph interview with Bomer & Bailey, Bailey mentioned the conflict he had because of filming overlap w/ Bridgerton.

Quote

Bailey concedes that Laughlin, who orders milk the first time we meet him, boasts the body of a Greek god for the simple reason that the shoot overlapped with Bridgerton (yes, he confirms, the newly married Anthony is back for the third season). “There’s no way Tim would have had a Bridgerton body, but what can you do if you’re commuting? I was like, I really want to lose weight to tell Tim’s story, but I lost fat and just got really ripped.”

 

[PaulE]

23 hours ago, fastiller said:

I don't recall the role ATM, but I do remember seeing Bomer playing a quite-not-nice character.  Maybe it was The Boys in the Band?  If you haven't yet checked out the 2014 version of The Normal Heart, he's absolutely brilliant in it.

As to the six-pack abs: in this Telegraph interview with Bomer & Bailey, Bailey mentioned the conflict he had because of filming overlap w/ Bridgerton.

Quote

Bailey concedes that Laughlin, who orders milk the first time we meet him, boasts the body of a Greek god for the simple reason that the shoot overlapped with Bridgerton (yes, he confirms, the newly married Anthony is back for the third season). “There’s no way Tim would have had a Bridgerton body, but what can you do if you’re commuting? I was like, I really want to lose weight to tell Tim’s story, but I lost fat and just got really ripped.”

Actually, in The Boys in the Band he played Donald, the one-time boyfriend of Michael, and that character was relatively kind and a voice of reason.  I did see The Normal Heart and agree that he rocked his part. 

As for Bailey's six-pack predicament:  we should all have such problems!