It’s a Sin (2021) is set in 1981, at a time when the world did not yet know the word AIDS, and did not care when it heard it. It tells the denial not only of an illness, but of a generation and a way of life. It tells a group of young homosexuals having to fight with their families, society, fears, and most of all an invisible enemy—HIV—while trying to build a new life in London.
The series is not just a gay love story. It is literally a period narrative, a lament of friendship, and a striking record of suppressed lives. In the series, the LGBT community narrates the struggle they wage not only with homophobia and violence, but also with AIDS, which suddenly erupted and whose nature was unknown. A realistic viewing among period series with a queer narrative will be waiting for you. Not to forget, the series narrates the 10-year process between 1981-1991. The acting performance is very good.
The reason I added the series was both the acting and the intellectual infrastructure in the series. Especially if you are someone who wants to watch something lasting, the series will take place in your memory. The production definitely does not have “adolescent” themes like a coming of age or first love, but heavy and substantial themes.
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It’s a Sin (2021) Plot and Summary
The Beginning of a New Life
Ritchie is an 18-year-old youth who comes from a small town to London to go to university, hides his homosexual identity from his family, and dreams of being free. He feels he can breathe in the city. When he arrives at university, he meets Ash and his life changes. He decides to switch to the acting department. He meets Jill, and over time they form a friend group.
They begin living in the same house, creating their own little free LGBTQ universe. While life overflows with love, music, sex, and dance, there is a darkness slowly approaching in the background.
Roscoe, on the other hand, is the protagonist of a completely different story. When he is wanted to be sent to Nigeria by his religious family to be “cured,” he runs away from home, leaving everything behind. Colin is a quiet, introverted youth living in a different loneliness, trying to gain a place for himself in the shop where he works.
The Silent Rise of the AIDS Epidemic
At first, nobody takes it seriously. Among conspiracy theories like “disease from space” and “a curse affecting only gays,” AIDS slowly spreads. Ritchie believes this is a complete fabrication. According to him, this virus is a rumor put out by pharmaceutical companies to make money. Still, the epidemic grows a bit more every day.
All characters have to confront this reality. But the reflex of society and medicine is very prejudiced and ruthless. The thought that the cause of the disease is “homosexuality” is dominant. And the price of this “crime” is practically “hunting” and excluding homosexuals.
Those who catch the disease lose not only their health, but also their identities, memories, belongings, practically their entire existence. This part will be quite dramatic for the audience, I am sure. Families see not their children, but their shame. They destroy the belongings, photographs, and pasts of their children who died of the disease. They want no trace left behind from them. Of course, later when eyes and minds blackened with hate and malice kick in again, it is understood that the disease spreads regardless of whether one is heterosexual or homosexual. It is also understood that homosexuals were only seen as a “scapegoat”.
The Heaviest Burden for Homosexuals: Lack of Love
While Roscoe’s family tries to throw him off their backs like a burden; Ritchie tries to forget his father’s lack of love and neglect, and his mother’s stubborn denial of reality through sex and a loud life. Colin, on the other hand, is dragged into destruction step by step with the secret relationship he experiences in the boarding house where he stays. These youths struggle not only with the virus, but also with lovelessness and humiliation.
Yet despite all the darkness, Jill is there. She is the only true hero who shoulders everyone’s burden, does not leave her sick friends alone until their final moments, and throws social anger, indifference, and families’ silence into their faces. And the conversation Ritchie has with his mother at the end of the series will actually give you what the series wants to tell. What is truly lethal is not the virus, but lovelessness, denial, and hate.
It’s a Sin, Review and Commentary
It’s a Sin An Unforgettable Story Full of Emotions
It’s a Sin is a series featuring familiar faces like Olly Alexander and Neil Patrick Harris. Especially Olly Alexander adds dynamic movement to the series. The acting in the series is satisfying, realistic. The series will offer a story whose impact you will not be able to get out of for a long time, with its narrative making you feel the period spirit with all its reality. The series of course leaves many questions behind.
As in all queer dramas, something is intended to be given to the audience here. We understand that the problem or all the evils are not in homosexuals or LGBT individuals. The problem is in lovelessness, being excluded, and being constantly marginalized. In this series too, marginalized and blamed homosexuals are seen as responsible for AIDS. They cannot see that AIDS is not tied to any gender role, heterosexuality, or homosexuality. All they see is finding “a scapegoat”.
Especially not the marginality of the characters, but their exclusion should be interpreted well. Not just being kicked out of the family, but abuse, insult, and violence also enter into the matter. Now in the UK, the LGBT+ community has gotten rid of being a plaything of politics. I think period and historical series, especially productions with narratives based on such reality, are a simulation experiment. Countries that made mistakes years ago and turned back from these mistakes have now thrown a great social burden off themselves. But today, we also see that for LGBT+ individuals, practices, hate, and marginalization remaining in the past are being attempted to be revived. This is entirely a political maneuver. It is nothing other than a political conspiracy made for people to harbor malice toward each other and divide on every subject.
As a period series, the 80s’ politics, society, and city life are also reflected well to the audience. In the clothes, there is a complete 80s vibe. Especially the performance of Olly Alexander, one of the successful figures of queer music, is worth watching.
It’s a Sin (2021) Series Information
“It’s a Sin”, the series consisting of 5 episodes in total, covers the years between 1981–1991 and narrates the devastating impact of the HIV/AIDS crisis on society through the personal stories of individuals. The series is not just a drama, it also explains the spirit of the period very well. A series containing harsh reality..
