Love, Victor is a Hulu teen drama and spinoff sequel series to the 2018 film Love, Simon, which in turn was based on the novel Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, the writers of Love, Simon, also created the series.
Victor Salazar (Michael Cimino) is a new transfer student at Creekwood High School, previously attended by Simon Spier (Nick Robinson). When Victor starts questioning his place in the world (especially regarding his sexuality) he reaches out to Simon for advice on how to figure things out, but soon realizes that his story isn't going to unfold the exact same way.
The first season premiered on June 2020 during the U.S. LGBTQ+ Pride month, with each season premiering in June thereafter. The third and final season premiered on June 15, 2022, co-distributed by Hulu's sister network Disney+.
Love, Victor contains examples of:
- Ambiguously Bi:
- Lake offhandedly mentions she would hook up with Mia if Victor won't. She eventually dates Lucy in Season 3, though she admits to both Mia and her mother that she isn’t sure if she is bi or lesbian.
- At first Victor dates Mia to fight off his attraction to Benji but finds himself becoming attracted to her as well. As he remarks, he doesn't know his sexuality label yet, just that he's "not straight". By the season finale, he has come to terms that he is gay.
- Almost Kiss: Lake and Lucy have one when Lake panics and pulls away at the last minute, making Lucy think she's not interested in her. She makes up for it the next morning.
- Ambiguous Gender Identity: One of Simon and Bram's friends is gender-nonconforming, which takes Victor by surprise.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Averted by the Salazars. Victor played a big part in raising Pilar and Adrian, especially when their parents were having their issues, so they both have a lot of love and respect for their older brother. Isabel even says that Adrian “loves Victor more than anyone else in the world”.
- This aversion is furthered in season 2; Pilar is the first to hug Victor after he comes out while their parents are at a loss for words, and Adrian happily accepts Victor and Benji after a couple of questions.
- The Artifact: The first season has Victor texting back and forth with Simon several times in each episode, used as narrative exposition for Victor's mindset similar to Simon's e-mails in the movie. These happen less and less frequently throughout season 2, and are dropped altogether at the end of season 2.
- Similarly, the show's status as a spin-off of Love Simon slowly becomes an artifact over time. Characters and events from the movie appear and are referenced throughout the first two seasons, but are all but gone in the third season.
- Bratty Teenage Daughter: Pilar frequently lashes out at her parents for the move, and her attitude towards them only gets worse when she discovers Isabel’s affair. She gets better as the show goes on, and is always shown to be very loving towards her brothers and friends.
- The Beard: Deconstructed. Victor starts dating Mia to fight off his feelings of same-sex attraction to Benji, but things get complicated when he finds himself growing close to her...which doesn't stop Victor from staying interested enough in Benji to make a move on him.
- It’s left ambiguous whether Andrew was this for Lucy in Season 2, who later dates Lake in Season 3.
- Beta Couple: Felix and Lake start hooking up when, ironically, Victor and Mia don't.
- Big Applesauce: Victor takes a spontaneous trip to New York to see Simon after kissing Benji and feeling stressed about it, but ends up spending time with Bram and their roommates instead when he learns Simon won't be there.
- Big Brother Instinct: Victor acts this way towards his younger siblings, especially Adrian as he’s the baby of the family. part of his motivation to come out is to calm Pilar’s nerves when she thinks that he cheated on Mia the same way Isabel cheated on Armando.
- Bittersweet 17: Victor spends his sixteenth birthday party anxious about his growing feelings for Benji, trying to keep the peace between a fighting Isabel and Pilar, and his traditional grandparents expressing their homophobia when Benji brings his boyfriend to the party. Eventually, he calls out his grandpa for making Benji and Derek feel unwelcome.
- Book Ends: The show's first episode revolves around the Winter Carnival, as does the last one. The difference being that Victor is joined on the ferris wheel by Benji, who he was too afraid to even ask in the series pilot. This is also a parallel to the ending of Love Simon, lampshaded twice in the first episode.
- But Not Too Gay: The show works hard to try and avoid this, showing a variety of ways gay people can express themselves. This is especially evident in Season 2, where Victor and Benji’s relationship is shown to be just as physical as any of their straight peers.
- Discussed in the episode "Gay Gay"; Andrew unknowingly offends Victor when he calls him the “least gay gay guy ever” when trying to get him to come back to basketball. After not feeling “gay enough” for Benji’s queer friend group, Victor practically name drops the trope when he asks, “What level of gay will make everyone happy?”
- The Bus Came Back: Some of the film's cast returns for the show:
- Simon corresponds with Victor through narration and appears in the New York episode and the Season 2 finale.
- Keiynan Lonsdale also returns as Bram when Victor goes to visit Simon in New York.
- Natasha Rothwell's Ms. Albright returns, and has since been promoted to Vice Principal.
- Jack, Simon's father, returns in Season 2 as the leader of a support group for parents of LGBT+ children.
- Canon Foreigner: Victor, as well as most of the supporting characters, don't exist in the books.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Victor chastises his parents for making their marital troubles so obvious to their family, particularly his younger brother.
- Victor calls out Isabel on her homophobia in season 2, specifically for making Benji feel unwelcome and lying to Adrian about Victor’s sexuality.
- Both Mia and Andrew have separate moments of chastising Mia’s dad for once again putting his job over Mia and making her move.
- The Cameo: Katya appears as herself in season 1's New York episode. Eureka makes a similar cameo in season 3.
- The Cast Show Off: The show loves giving the cast a chance to sing:
- Michael Cimino as Victor and Anthony Keyvan as Rahim show off their singing chops in 2x09.
- George Sear’s Benji is in a band and performs on several occasions throughout the show.
- Isabel’s job as a music teacher offers opportunities for Ana Ortiz to sing and play piano. One notable example is her getting to perform a Selena cover in season one.
- Casting Gag: This isn't the first time James Martinez has dealt with his teenaged child coming out (his character's name was Victor, coincidentally enough), though in Love, Victor, his reaction is markedly different. Likewise, Anna Ortiz played the mother of a gay son on Ugly Betty, but whereas Hilda supported Justin unconditionally, Isabel struggles to accept Victor and makes some serious mistakes in season 2.
- Cliffhanger:
- Season 1 ends with Victor telling his parents and sister that he is gay, but it ends before we can see how they react to it.
- Season 2 ends with Victor racing to declare his love to either Benji or Rahim, but it isn't revealed just who Victor picked.
- Closet Gay: Victor is in the closet at the beginning of the series because of his religious parents. At the end of season 1, he comes out to his best friend and his parents and sister.
- Closet Key: Benji is this for Victor.
- Lucy might be this for Lake at the end of season 2
- Continuity Nod/Ironic Echo: Victor has a dream where he kisses Benji on the ferris wheel like Simon and Bram did in the film, but unlike their positive reception, Victor's turns into a nightmare when the crowd starts booing at them.
- A nonverbal example at the end of season one: After Victor comes out to his family, which is also the first time he actually labels himself as gay, he lets out a giant exhale. This calls back to Simon’s mom’s “you get to exhale now” speech from the movie.
- Coming-Out Story: Much like Simon, this is one for Victor.
- While Season 2 focuses more on what happens after coming out, we still see a subplot featuring Rahim turning to Victor for help coming out, just like Victor did with Simon.
- A subplot in Season 3 features Lake struggling to come out to her mother.
- Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Victor is deliberately one to Simon not so much in personality, but in how their home lives and external circumstances affect their coming outs. Whereas Simon came from a well-off white family who were completely accepting of him being gay, Victor comes from a working class Latino family with more "traditional" cultural values.
- Furthered in season 2; whereas Simon had an immediately supportive family while dealing with issues in his friend group after coming out, Victor experiences the opposite when his parents struggle to accept him in comparison to his very supportive friends and sister.
- Cooldown Hug: While Victor isn’t very emotional when he comes out to Felix, he is still very anxious and can’t even say the word “gay” out loud. Felix offers him this, and you can see the fear leave his body as he hugs him back.
- Isabel offers this to Felix after he breaks down in her arms while telling her that his mom has been committed.
- Cool Kid-and-Loser Friendship: Victor and Felix, respectively.
- Cure Your Gays: Most of Father Lawrence’s scenes have him saying some variation of how Victor can be “saved” if everyone prays hard enough. Victor discusses this with Isabel and lets her know how harmful it is for him to hear things like that.
- Benji tells Victor that his dad once took him to a strip club and bought him a lap dance in hopes it would make him think being gay was a phase.
- Dark and Troubled Past:
- Mia claims her mother is an addict to cover up the reality that she left the family while sober.
- Benji wrecked a car while still distraught about his sexuality and hasn't told anyone but Victor. It is later revealed in season two that he’s a recovering alcoholic and was driving drunk the night of his accident.
- Felix never invites Victor over to his apartment; it's later established that his mom suffers from deep depression and became a hoarder because of it.
- Lake has a very strained relationship with her image-conscious mother, and has body issues thanks to a childhood of her mother forcing her on diets and monthly weigh-ins.
- Darker and Edgier: While still a relatively uplifting show, Season 2 explores more adult topics (such as sex, mental illness, and addiction) as Victor becomes more comfortable with being out of the closet. This is also a result of Disney+ no longer producing the series and handing it off to Hulu.
- Dating What Daddy Hates: Mommy, in this case, as Isabel rebuffs Benji’s attempts to win her over in Season 2.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: Unlike Simon, Victor isn't so lucky to have a family who's immediately accepting of his sexuality, which is especially noticeable in "Sweet Sixteen", when Victor is uncomfortable having Benji and his boyfriend around his homophobic grandfather. This is furthered in season 2 when Isabel struggles to accept Victor coming out as a result of her Catholic upbringing.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Pilar really starts warming up to people in Creekwood in season 2, especially Felix.
- While never outright mean, Lake is very superficial and concerned with status at the top of season one. She becomes a lot nicer after dating Felix, and learns to put others before herself in season 2.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Benji training Victor for the cafe job, when he accidentally spills liquid all over his hands.
- Season 2 shows Victor and Rahim eating oysters. After they both make the sucking sounds, they agree that “they don’t see the appeal”.
- Double Standard: Isabel had an affair that resulted in her family being uprooted at the top of the series, but is very judgmental of Victor being in a monogamous gay relationship. This is especially hurtful as Victor was the first family member to forgive her. Victor calls this out in “Perfect Summer Bubble.”
- This gets furthered in “Four Tables”, when she bails on her first PFLAG meeting after seeing Armando be friendly with Shelby, despite them being separated anyway.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Victor goes through a lot of angst and deals with homophobia from outside sources and within his family, but in the final season, he has grown to the point where he doesn't need Simon's advice anymore.
- Easily Forgiven: Discussed. Tensions begin to rise between Victor and Benji when the latter accuses him of constantly making excuses for Isabel’s homophobic behavior throughout Season 2.
- Averted with Isabel’s affair, though. Both Pilar and Armando take a long while to forgive her, and while Victor does offer her grace relatively quickly, he does resent her eventual hypocrisy when she refuses to accept him being gay after everything she put the family through.
- While Isabel does genuinely come around and is very remorseful for her actions, many fans feel that she still has a lot to atone for, especially in regard to her role in Victor and Benji’s relationship issues.
- Four Lines, All Waiting: The first season is very much Victor's story. Almost all scenes feature him, and most subplot scenes relate back to Victor in some way. The second and third seasons, in comparison, are much more of an ensemble piece, jumping around to the various happenings in the lives of each of the main characters. As such, almost all episodes in the last two seasons fall into this trope.
- Freudian Excuse:
- Felix's Drop-In Character tendencies become more justified when it's revealed his mother suffers from depression and has hoarding problems, pushing Felix to spend little time at home.
- Lake’s It's All About Me tendencies become more sympathetic when we see how she was raised by a narcissistic mother who would body-shame her daughter from a young age.
- Isabel’s reluctance to accept Victor’s sexuality is the result of both her Catholic faith and witnessing a lesbian aunt be treated like a shameful secret by her family at a young age, causing her to link being gay with negative connotations.
- From the Mouths of Babes: Sweet little Adrian gets a lot of mature jokes in the series.Adrian: [after Pilar lets him watch Hustlers] What’s a lap dance, and why are they expensive?
- This is played seriously when he repeats a pastor saying Victor will go to Hell, which is just the shock Isabel needs to realize how harmful her church’s teachings are to her family.
- Group Hug: Simon’s roommates all offer this to Victor after he reveals how scared he is to come out to his family.
- Gay Guy Seeks Popular Jock: Inverted. Victor is the popular (but closeted) jock who is interested in Benji, a sensitive artist who is the openly gay one.
- Discussed by one of Benji’s bandmates in season 2, who calls Victor Benji’s “perfect straight jock fantasy”.
- Gayngst:
- Victor's struggles with his sexuality are more pronounced here than with Simon in the movie, which is acknowledged by both.
- Benji was so torn up about his sexuality that he almost killed himself in a car accident while drunk.
- Like Victor, Rahim struggles with coming out to his parents due to their conservative Muslim beliefs.
- A minor subplot in Season 3 features another closeted gay kid, whom Victor tries to help but drives away.
- Good Adultery, Bad Adultery: Isabel cheating on Armando is much harder for the show and uninvolved characters to forgive than Victor cheating on Mia, since Victor was not attracted to Mia in the first place. Mia even acknowledges that, while it hurt to see Victor kiss Benji, it wouldn’t be fair for him to stay closeted for her sake.
- Happily Ever After: Most of the show's major pairings end the show still together and in love; Victor/Benji, Lake/Lucy, Mia/Andrew, and Armando/Isabel. The latter two are even starting their own business. The show even has supporting characters Rahim and Nick find love with Connor and Liam, respectively. The only exception is Felix/Pilar, whose relationship status is left more ambiguous after Felix admits that he doesn’t think he can be everything Pilar deserves.
- Hard Truth Aesop: It sometimes takes parents a long time to really accept their queer kids, and even if they do love them very much, there’s going to be times when they make mistakes that can sour their relationship.
- Have I Mentioned I Am Gay?: Felix informs Victor that Benji is gay immediately after meeting him.
- Here We Go Again!: Season 2 ends with Lake seeming to realize she likes girls, setting the stage for yet another emotional Coming-Out Story.
- High-School Sweethearts: Victor's parents were this.
- I Have No Son!: Discussed. Victor’s greatest fear is his parents rejecting him for being gay.
- Thankfully averted in season 2. If anything, Armando tries a little too hard to be cool and accepting towards Victor, but learns how to handle it properly after joining PFLAG.
- Isabel, while much slower to accept it, never threatens Victor with this either.
- Informed Attribute: In the first episode, Mia is said to be an extremely popular student, to the extent that Victor catching her attention on his first day and riding the Ferris wheel with her is notable. The rest of the series? She has one close friend, receives no male attention outside of Andrew, and spends much of her time at home alone, when she’s not with Victor or Lake.
- Informed Poverty: Downplayed. While it's clear that Victor's family isn't as well-off as Simon's, he acknowledges that they're not "Creekwood rich", implying they not exactly poor either.
- Averted further with Felix. He lives in the same building as Victor, and in Season 2 and 3 it is pretty clear how close to the edge he and his mom are financially.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Mia is devastated when she sees Victor kiss Benji at the end of season one. After spending the summer away from Creekwood and taking some time for herself, she tells Victor that he deserves to be his true self, even if it does hurt to not be with him anymore. The two even trade platonic “I Love You’s” as they mend their friendship.
- Both Lake and Felix express this to each other at the end of Season 3, when they finally get closure on their breakup and acknowledge that getting back together wouldn’t be the best thing for them.
- Jerk Jock: Andrew is part of the school basketball team and is also a bully. He starts to get better at the end of the season though.
- The rest of the basketball team plays this trope when they complain about Victor being in the locker room after he comes out. Like Andrew, they come around, save for one player who’d rather quit then play with a gay kid.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Pilar has a very bad attitude following the move, and disrespects Isabel at every turn after finding out about her affair. That being said, she is also a good friend to Felix and Rahim, and loves her brothers very much. When Victor finally comes out to the family, she is the first to hug him and tell him she loves him.
- Jerkass Realization: After Felix calls out Andrew for his bullying and Mia makes a point about how being a good guy deep down doesn't matter if you're a jerk on the outside, Andrew really takes a step back to check himself and try to be better.
- Seeing Adrian accept Victor without a second thought makes Isabel realize how horrible she has been to Victor and Benji and needs to put in more effort to change.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Pilar has a very poor attitude towards Isabel and can be disrespectful, but when you consider that she had to leave her friends and boyfriend behind in Texas all because of her mother’s affair, it can be easy to sympathize with her.
- While Isabel had been incredibly rude to Benji throughout his relationship with Victor, she had a point when she tells them it was stupid to be having sex with the door unlocked while Victor was supposed to be babysitting Adrian.
- Jobless Parent Drama: Isabel wants to go back to work as a piano teacher to bring in more income, but Armando refuses out of fear that she’ll use this as an excuse to have another affair. This causes problems in the back half of season one.
- "Just Joking" Justification: Andrew tries to justify his bullying by saying he's just joking. Felix calls him out by saying that people only laugh, because they are afraid they will be his next victim, not because it is funny.
- Last Het Romance: Mia was this for Victor before he came out and started dating Benji. After some initial awkwardness in season 2, the two resolve to still be friends.
- It is ambiguous as to whether Felix was this for Lake.
- Little Miss Snarker: Pilar is this in spades.
- Longing Look: Victor makes one at Benji on his first day of school. It must run in the family, because Pilar gives one of these to Felix when she starts to fall for him in Season 2.
- Love Dodecahedron: As mentioned below, Season 2 alone has 4 love trianglesnote . Taking into account relationship dynamics from season 1 such as Victor/Mia/Andrew and Victor/Benji/Derek, and Lake and Lucy getting together in Season 3, and the show is rapidly heading towards one of these.
- By the end of the series, every major teenage character is entangled in the relationship network, with the vast majority of characters having been the centre of love triangles at some point. Of the major characters, only Pilar, Rahim, Derek, and Lucy haven’t been the centre of a love triangle by the end of the series.
- Love Triangle:
- Season 1 focusses mostly on the Victor/Benji/Derek love triangle, although the Victor/Mia/Andrew love triangle is also present.
- Season 2 gives us a whopping four love triangles. This is intentionally done to highlight how couples often face the same issues, whether gay or straight, young or old.
- Benji/Victor/Rahim
- Lake/Felix/Pilar
- Isabel/Armando/Shelby
- Mia/Andrew/Lucy
- Season 3 makes the relationship map messier still, reviving love triangles from the previous season and adding more besides:
- Benji/Victor/Rahim continues from the Season 2 finale, with the first two also being involved in a Benji/Victor/Nick triangle.
- Lake/Felix/Pilar comes back a couple of times in the season, with a new Felix/Lake/Lucy triangle added to the dynamic.
- Mama Bear: For all her missteps, Isabel loves her children more than anything and always tries to do right by them. This is especially prominent in season 2, where she tells off a homophobic priest for scaring Adrian into thinking Victor was going to Hell for having a boyfriend.
- In a more tragic example, the reason Felix’s mom gets committed is that she has a manic episode and confronted Lake’s mom out of fear that she was trying to take Felix away from her.
- Meaningful Name: "Victor" means winner, befitting the protagonist of a story about overcoming adversity.
- Mentor in Queerness: Simon fills this role for Victor. In "Boy's Trip", Bram and the rest of his & Simon's friend group step in to help out as well. In season 2, Victor becomes this to Pilar’s friend, Rahim. In season 3, Victor tries to once again be this for another teen, but it doesn’t go as well.
- Mid-Season Twist: Victor kisses Benji in the exact seventh episode after dating Mia for most of the first season, which marks the first major development in him exploring same-sex attraction.
- Episode 2x07 reveals that Benji is in Alcoholics Anonymous and has been keeping his sobriety from Victor. This revelation begins to spark tension between the two.
- Misaimed Stereotyping: While imitating Victor's mother, Rahim claims that Victor has to miss school due to food poisoning from chimichangas. Chimichangas are a Mexican dish, and Victor's family are Puerto Rican. Lampshaded by Isabel when she finds out about the lie later.Isabel: We're not even Mexican!
- Several students think that because Victor is out it gives them an excuse to think he’s a camp stereotype now, shouting “Yas Queen” at him in the halls and asking for the skin care routine he doesn’t have.
- Missing Mom:
- Mia's mom left when she was young.
- Felix’s mom’s depression becomes so bad that she has to be committed in season 2.
- Moral Guardian: Season 2 introduces us to Father Lawrence, a priest at Isabel’s church who suggests that Victor can “come back to God” (i.e. be straight) if his family prays hard enough. He goes too far when he scares Adrian into thinking that Victor is going to Hell, resulting in Isabel pulling her family out of his congregation.
- More Diverse Sequel: While Love, Simon had a fairly diverse supporting cast, it being centered on a white male lead from a privileged, supportive family drew some criticism, especially since another gay character in the film (the camp gay Ethan) bore the brunt of in-universe homophobia. While Victor is more like Simon than Ethan in terms of personality and gender expression, he still comes from a different cultural and economic background where his security isn't quite as guaranteed as Simon's was.
- This is furthered in Season 2 with the introduction of Rahim, an Iranian Muslim student who is more camp in the vein of Ethan, but whose story and struggles we get to see more of by comparison.
- My Greatest Failure: By the end of season 2, Isabel admits how guilty she feels for how she’s handled Victor coming out and his relationship with Benji. She flat out says she’ll never forgive herself for it.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Two nonverbal examples:
- When Victor kisses Benji, who is still dating Derek, he immediately runs out of the room they are sharing and has a panic attack in the hallway.
- Isabel looks deeply ashamed of herself when Victor says that he was too scared to tell her that he and Benji were breaking up because he thought she’d be happy about it.
- Lake also has this reaction after telling her mom about Felix’s home life sets off a chain events that ends with his mother being committed.
- Never My Fault: Benji, while justified in his anger towards Isabel for her treatment of him throughout season 2, never seems to comprehend that any parent would be upset walking in on their teenage kid having sex, regardless of orientation. This is furthered when he outs Victor to his little brother and doesn’t apologize when Victor calls him out on that.
- Also, him being upset at Victor for dancing with Rahim isn’t as sympathetic when Benji was the one who initiated the break and left Victor dateless to Harold’s wedding.
- Nice Guy: Victor. He was described as nice, kind, funny and a overall good person.
- No Bisexuals: Discussed. Victor isn't quite sure if he's gay or bisexual, he just knows he's not straight. Jossed by season 2, where Lake shows attraction to Lucy after breaking up with Felix. The two start dating in season 3.
- Oblivious Guilt Slinging: In an attempt to psych Victor up to come out to Mia, Felix says "it's not like you cheated on her..." After which Victor reveals that he kissed Benji.
- Papa Wolf: Armando, while far from perfect (see below), loves his family very much and works hard to provide for them. He also makes a real effort to accept Victor’s sexuality and isn’t afraid to call out Isabel for not doing the same at first.Armando: He’s my son, and it’s who he is. I have to accept it.
- Parents as People: While they love their children, Armando and Isabel are definitely not perfect and are dealing with their own marital issues throughout the show, exasperated when Isabel had an affair with Armando's boss before the events of the series. Armando assaulted his boss, leading to him getting fired and the family having to move to Georgia. They later separate though as of the season two finale, it looks like they will reunite. This is furthered in season 2, in which Isabel’s reluctance to accept Victor’s sexuality as a result of her Catholic faith causes her to make some choices that unintentionally hurt her son in the process. Armando, on the flip side, comes off a little too strong in his support, but he gets better after joining PFLAG.
- Felix’s mom loves her son very much, but her mental illness often puts a financial and emotional strain on him, to the point that Felix seems to be raising her rather than the other way around. Once she seems to find a medication that works for her, she vows to do better for him.
- Mia’s dad is an ambitious man who works very hard in a field that has disproportionately few black men in leadership roles. Clearly he’s doing this to provide a good life for Mia, but it comes at her expense when he constantly chooses the next advancement opportunity over being present in her life. Mia feels very neglected as a result.
- Passing the Torch: Almost literally occurs in the New York episode, when Simon gives Victor his iconic jacket with the fur trimming seen on the Love, Simon poster and in the movie, signifying his role as the new protagonist in this universe. This is made even clearer in the season two finale, in which Victor realizes that he no longer needs Simon's help as he's grown into his own person and accepted his sexuality.
- In Season 2, Simon takes up the torch by being Rahim’s confidante. He tries this again in Season 3, with less successful results.
- Pen Pals: Victor and Simon grow close through online correspondence.
- Platonic Life-Partners: Felix and Victor are very close friends, and Michael Cimino and Anthony Turpel have an amazing rapport with each other. It’s a refreshing depiction of friendship between gay and straight boys that avoids the Incompatible Orientation trope that is often depicted in media. They’re just really good besties.
- Promotion to Parent: Felix is only sixteen, but has to be his mother’s caretaker when her bipolar disorder makes it too hard for her to function. He’s already having to worry about bills being paid and making sure his mom is fed and taking her medication before Lake finally intervenes.
- Put on a Bus: It's revealed that Vice Principal Worth is no longer at Creekwood after a medical emergency outside the country.
- After Simon became Out of Focus during the second season compared to the first, season 2 ends with Victor telling Simon he needs to decide his own path at Creekwood and won't be contacting Simon as much, effectively writing him out of the show. Lampshaded by Felix during season 3.
Victor: I could be his Simon!Felix: Oh yeah, Simon. Whatever happened to that guy? - Putting the "Pal" in Principal: Ms. Albright comes off this way in her first interaction with Victor.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
- Felix gives one to Andrew for not realizing how much of a bully he's being. A bit of Truth in Television here, as the same "just a joke" attitude is how many bullies see themselves in real life.
- Both Mia and Andrew give Mia’s father one after he once again chooses his career over Mia, specifically for uprooting the family to Stanford after he promised he wouldn’t.
- Road Trip Plot: The seventh episode has Victor and Benji traveling to fix their work's espresso machine. Victor takes the opportunity to grow closer to Benji and ultimately kiss him, which Benji (who has a boyfriend) doesn't receive well.
- Season 2 ends with a cliffhanger where Mia and Andrew hit the road to meet Mia’s estranged mother.
- Romantic False Lead: Although more visibly interested in Benji, Victor starts pursuing Mia to keep himself from having to come out, but starts forming a connection with her which leaves him with even more confusion.
- Satellite Love Interest:
- Benji's boyfriend doesn't get much development compared to the other characters.
- Andrew’s girlfriend, Lucy, comes off this way in most of Season 2. She becomes a more focal character in Season 3 when she starts dating Lake.
- Secret Relationship
- Felix and Lake start a relationship, which the latter is reticent to acknowledge publicly.
- Jossed with Victor and Benji. Benji offers to do this when Victor is scared to come out to the school, but Victor steps up and publicly calls Benji his boyfriend to the student body
- Pilar pushes Felix to accept this, as she knows that her parents will be overprotective if they learn she’s dating him.
- Sequel Series/Spinoff: Follows Love, Simon chronologically, but features an entirely different cast aside a few returning cast members.
- Sexiness Score: In "Creekwood Nights", Lake is affronted when someone rates her a "6" online, and thinks she's at least a "low 9". She asks Felix to rate her and warns him not to give her a "10" because she won't believe it, but he simply refuses to do it.
- Stepford Smiler:
- Mia admits to being this, as a result of her mother abandoning the family when she was young.
- Victor is so used to being the glue for his family (doing things like making pancakes to stop Isabel and Pilar from fighting) that he suppressed his sexuality just to keep peace in his house. He almost walks back coming out after his parents announce their separation at the end of season one.
- Felix uses his jokester persona to undermine the toll being his mentally ill mom’s caregiver is taking on him.
- Straight Gay: Victor isn't outwardly flamboyant. He becomes self-conscious about this label in season 2, worrying over not being “gay enough” for Benji’s more flamboyant friends while still dealing with being “too gay” for the basketball team and his mother.
- Title Drop: Finally happens at the end of 2x03.
- Their First Time: The episode "Sex Cabin" features the two main couples (Benji/Victor and Lake/Felix) contemplating having sex. Victor, Lake, and Felix are virgins, while Benji has had sex before.
- The Un-Reveal: Season 2 ends with the Cliffhanger of Mia and Andrew driving off to meet Mia's mother. They meet her in the first episode of season 3, and after a few conversations where it becomes apparent that she's still not ready to act like a mother to Mia, the two are back in Creekwood by the end of the episode.
- Think of the Children!: Isabel forbids Victor from coming out to Adrian because “he’s just a little kid”. Discussed when he tells Isabel that she’s comparing him being gay to something that Adrian needs “protecting” from.
- This is later subverted, in that Adrian already knows what gay means and happily supports Victor when he finally comes out to him.
- Took a Level in Badass: Simon isn’t the same anxious kid with a lot to hide from the film; he has a great life as a student in NYC with a loving boyfriend and chosen queer family. He also gives Victor very helpful advice throughout the season, showing that he’s grown a lot since coming out.
- Likewise, Season 2 shows Victor growing more confident and willing to stand up for himself after being disrespected, regardless of how much he loves the person he is calling out.
Pilar: Damn, Gay Victor’s got bigger balls than Straight Victor. - Took a Level in Kindness: Andrew grows from a Jerk Jock to a kind young man who actually tries to be a good friend and ally to Victor after he comes out. He also makes peace with his former victim, Felix, even giving him surprisingly mature sex advice.
- Lake stops caring so much about popularity and status after dating Felix, and is quick to put aside her chance at a college party to help Felix with his family problems. This continues with attempts to help Felix throughout Season 2, and to help Lucy at the end of Season 3.
- Troubled Teen: Felix, Mia, and Benji are the straightest examples. Felix's mother is bipolar and deals with bouts of mania and depressive episodes as well as hoarding, leading Felix to deal with many of the household affairs including making sure rent is paid. Mia is emotionally neglected by her father and was abandoned by her mother and deals with feelings of loneliness. Benji is a recovering alcoholic who used alcohol to deal with his angst about being gay. Lake is a downplayed version of this, as she is relatively well-adjusted but has self-esteem issues due to her narcissistic mother.
- Twofer Token Minority:
- Victor is Latino and gay.
- We are introduced to Pilar’s friend Rahim in Season 2, who is gay, Iranian, and Muslim. He and Victor bond over the extra troubles that queer POC have to deal with.
- The Voice: Simon is only heard through his correspondence with Victor until "Boys' Trip".
- Weight Woe: Lake reveals to Felix that she has body issues stemming from her mom forcing her on diets and micromanaging her weight at a young age.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The season 1 finale introduces Wendy, a girl who seems to share a lot of Felix's odd loves and who asks Felix to the Spring Fling after he broke up with Lake. The episode ends with Felix reconciling with Lake after Wendy gives him permission to go with her, and Wendy is never heard from again aside from a cameo in the third episode of season two.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Subverted with Victor's reaction to learning Simon shared the details of their messages with Bram and their friends, which he quickly walks back when Simon explains he wanted to pool all their life experiences to give Victor good advice.
- Played straight when Benji discovers that Victor told Rahim about Benji’s sobriety. This leads to them taking a break.
- Where Everybody Knows Your Flame: Victor's trip to New York has him visiting a gay bar for the first time. He pays this forward this in season 2 by taking Rahim to his first gay bar in Creekwood.Victor: Why do I keep having life-changing moments outside of gay bars?
Isabel: Wait, how many gay bars have you been to?
