As a historical drama featuring two male leads, Hawk (Hawkins) and Tim, I have to admit that Fellow Travelers is a much needed show in 2023 given how little the younger generations know of the struggles and persecutions faced by LGBTQIA persons born before the 80s.
However, as much as I wanted to enjoy this show, I find myself cringing every so often with my partner of over 20 years over some of the most vulgar sex scenes on tv, some venturing well into BDSM. I get that Hawkins and Tim were very much in love, and given how difficult it was for gay men to get together at that time, every opportunity for them to be together was condensed into these fierce, pornographic encounters. But, with the short 8-hour run of this limited series, I wonder if more poignant scenes between the two men were unnecessarily sacrificed in order to make room for the gratuitous nudity and sex, just to satisfy Showtime's TV-MA rating.
The show didn't bother spending time developing Hawk and Tim's relationship, or tried to convince anyone just how two men who are such polar opposites could be together. Therefore, all their encounters seem forced and artificial. There was just too much sex and politics, but too little time actually spent on developing them as people. Oddly enough, the story of the other couple, Marcus and Frankie, was so much better written, believable and fleshed out.
When the credits for the last episode started to roll, all I felt was pity for Tim, in that his entire character was basically written as a submissive to Hawk's predatory nature, and to fill in the gaps of Hawk's life (between the man's 30-year marriage to his wife and two children), nothing more. It's almost as if he didn't exist without Hawk.
However, as much as I wanted to enjoy this show, I find myself cringing every so often with my partner of over 20 years over some of the most vulgar sex scenes on tv, some venturing well into BDSM. I get that Hawkins and Tim were very much in love, and given how difficult it was for gay men to get together at that time, every opportunity for them to be together was condensed into these fierce, pornographic encounters. But, with the short 8-hour run of this limited series, I wonder if more poignant scenes between the two men were unnecessarily sacrificed in order to make room for the gratuitous nudity and sex, just to satisfy Showtime's TV-MA rating.
The show didn't bother spending time developing Hawk and Tim's relationship, or tried to convince anyone just how two men who are such polar opposites could be together. Therefore, all their encounters seem forced and artificial. There was just too much sex and politics, but too little time actually spent on developing them as people. Oddly enough, the story of the other couple, Marcus and Frankie, was so much better written, believable and fleshed out.
When the credits for the last episode started to roll, all I felt was pity for Tim, in that his entire character was basically written as a submissive to Hawk's predatory nature, and to fill in the gaps of Hawk's life (between the man's 30-year marriage to his wife and two children), nothing more. It's almost as if he didn't exist without Hawk.