So “looksism” in Aiden’s tale or “intergenerational connection” in Henry’s flat, sure, but these were always approached in a way that felt appropriately messy and open-ended-and thus, real. Lowder: Yeah, I often found myself realizing that while a given episode or plot point was “about” an “issue,” I never felt like I was watching a PSA. Indeed, in Henry, Freddie, and Dean’s grand chase of Aiden’s profile in the paired Cucumber episode, Grindr functions as both fodder for madcap comedy and poignant revelation: These men will go to great lengths to track down a trick, when what they really need (right then, at least) is to connect with the guys who are only a foot or two away. One example of this among many is the way Grindr (or something like it) becomes an incredibly potent narrative force across the episodes: Think of the psychological detail and intense desire contained in Lance’s texts to Daniel or, in episode 7 of Banana, the way the possibility of a hookup (made physical in Aiden’s phone on the table) wields so much gravity during his bittersweet post-threesome day-long date with nerdy boy Frank.
Lowder: You’ve hit on a key quality there-I am still trying to sort out how Davies and his team managed to take themes and scenarios that are deeply familiar to me as an urban gay man (I’m thinking in particular about Cucumber’s main storyline here) and yet render them-or maybe even better, gently and cleverly light them-in ways that revealed completely novel stories and fresh emotional texture.
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