Love, Victor (2020-2022) is one of the LGBT-themed youth series. If you have watched the movie Love, Simon, this series takes place in the same universe. The same school, the same environment… The same homophobic environment… This is a youth romance; of course, there is no heavy drama. Victor, who asks for Simon’s help in the series, encounters the same problems in the same high school as a young gay guy. It is Simon, with whom he corresponds, who gives him strength.
Simon does not exist physically in the series, but his presence is felt step-by-step in Victor’s life: through messages, advice, and encouraging anecdotes, he becomes a good companion. Generally, I can say that the social messages and socio-psychological readings in the series are the same as 👉 “Love, Simon.” Love, Victor has a depth beyond a simple coming-of-age story. Details are below.
🏳️🌈👉 Curator’s Suggestion: LGBT series worth watching
What Does the Love, Victor Series Tell?
Plot and Summary
While trying to appear heterosexual at his new school, Victor actually becomes someone who hides his own identity. Despite his own feelings, he begins a relationship with the school’s popular girl, Mia. This fake relationship becomes a source of psychological pressure and stress for him. But the real voice inside him draws him to Benji.
His interest in Benji, who is openly gay, starts a process full of both hope and fear for him. Because this is not just love, but also a struggle to accept and live his own truth, and a struggle against homophobia. These are not easy tasks.
On the other hand, one of the most beautiful surprises of the series is Victor’s upstairs neighbor, Felix. Felix, who is one of those types society sees as “weird,” becomes Victor’s closest friend over time. The friendship between them allows them to overcome many difficulties together. Since Felix is also someone found weird by people because of his character, he knows exclusion and summary judgment very well; therefore, he does not make a problem out of Victor being gay.
The series is not just a love story. Although it softens heavy themes such as intra-family conflicts, social environment pressure, and identity confusion with humor, these themes may feel quite familiar. The main issue, as in every LGBT production, begins with the question: What is the price of being yourself?
Series Review and Commentary
We saw the themes of Society, Sexuality, and Acceptance in the main story, Love, Simon. I wrote quite a lot in the commentary of the movie. If you wish, you can look there. A brief commentary will be sufficient here. It is astonishing that even today, LGBT individuals are not wanted to be understood. While we are moving towards the middle of the 21st century where human thought structure, neurology, and bounded reality have undergone transformation in the era of artificial intelligence, the hatred towards LGBT individuals is astonishing. It would not be wrong if I say it is just as political. I have written about these topics extensively; there is no need for repetition.
Love, Victor has a bit of a cliché aspect as a high school series where everything is colorful. It stands like a kind of copy of the movie. In many societies where homosexuality is still considered a taboo or even seen as a crime, these kinds of series might be, perhaps, educational. However, unless human beings want to change and to understand and accept the lives of others, this change is impossible. The pressures Victor experiences, his effort to hide himself, and people’s prejudices actually make the audience ask the question: “Where do we stand?”
Why should the life of LGBT individuals be a problem for a heterosexual, for a politician, or for a conservative religious person! In the end, everyone lives in their own reality and in the world they have constructed themselves. I think Love, Victor shows exactly this. How can Victor, a student minding his own business, be guilty just because he is gay!
The series clearly demonstrates that sexual orientation is not a disease but an existence; the problem is not in being homosexual but in the cracks within our value judgments. At the same time, it reminds us that those who live this orientation lead ordinary lives, can fall in love, can experience heartbreak—meaning, they are ‘human’. Actually, if we focus well, this is a very valuable theme. In this sense, Love, Victor is not just a series; I can say it is also a calling out that becomes the voice of those who are made invisible and silenced.
Is the Series Worth Watching?
Yes, if you are coming from Love, Simon, you are on the right track. It is a quality drama that you should add to your watch list. Especially the fact that the movie and the series take place in the same universe is a distinct beauty. While Victor’s process of finding his own identity is treated through societal pressure and family relationships, the series inspires feelings of hope, love, and serenity. Of course, one also needs to read the social messages well.
Again, you do not need to be gay to watch the series. It is also a good series to empathize with, to step out of the universe you construct in your mind, and to see other lives. Especially his best friend accepting and embracing Victor without excluding him is a societal example. Instead of excluding, we must learn to accept; instead of hatred, we must learn to approach with mercy and love.
The only reality, the only way of life, and the only right in the world is not ours. And our truths are special to us; they cannot invalidate someone else’s truths and way of life. If we have our belief, our conservative mental world, and our sacred, that is special to us; it is not superior to someone else’s way of life. Sexual orientations are also not superior to one another. Everything is actually about the quality of the patterns and thoughts we produce in our minds or brains. I must also state clearly that thinking the world belongs only to us and not granting the right to life to someone else is not a healthy thought. Before forgetting, the 3-season series is on air on Hulu and Disney+ with dubbing options in various languages.
