astoryworthtelling - FELLOW TRAVELERS EP 5

Josh.... were you doing an impersonation of Alan Rickman when you repeated "equally" cause that's definitely what I heard. Lol

Emily

2024-09-13 18:26:21 +0000 UTC

Linus Roache makes some interesting choices when it comes to accepting parts! I watch Senator Smith here. His reaction to having a gay son, his relationship with his closeted son-in-law (well nearly), and as he sits there writing that last letter, I can only see him as Tom, finally accepting himself, in My Policeman. Both stories began at a similar time, of course, when being a man attracted to other men was pretty much unspeakable. I also think Hawk's problem is that he was completely unprepared for meeting Tim and falling truly, madly, deeply and completely in love with him. Hawk never reconciled himself with being gay, and as long as he could convince himself that it was "only" sex, just satisfying an urge, scratching an itch, he was fine. He wasn't that young boy on his knees who so disgusted his father, he wasn't one of the "deviants". He treats Tim absolutely shabbily, but he treats himself even more badly, consigning himself to a life of lies and tawdry encounters in toilets. Never having the peace and completeness that he felt with Tim. I think that's why he's so desperate to see Tim in 1986, to spend precious time with him, to be seen with him. Yes, it's about making amends with Tim, but much more, it's about accepting himself, and acknowledging that he has truly loved Tim for over 30 years, not simply f***ed him now & again.

Jacqueline Hahn

2024-03-24 23:25:14 +0000 UTC

1) get Shine drafted by correcting his health status 2) so that Cohn would become a target, because of the favours he called in for Shine 3) Give the evidence about McCarthy to Cohn, so the three of them were stuck together and went down together in the trial before the army committee. And by that hopefully ending the investigations about gay/lesbian government employees.

Petra Franke

2024-02-05 19:32:04 +0000 UTC

I didn‘t read all comments above, so maybe someone already explained Hawks masterplan, concerning McCarthy, Cohn and Shine, but my take on it is, that the plan contained 3 stages:

Petra Franke

2024-02-05 19:22:48 +0000 UTC

You're both too young to fully appreciate the stigma, fear and revulsion A.I.D.S. carried back in 1986. For Hawk to have gone to Tim, to have held him when he was bleeding, to reach out and want to hold a hand showing obvious Karposi, is HUGE! Every touch, every second spent near Tim is him saying he's sorry, saying he cares more about Tim than himself or his reputation. It's him saying I love you, I always have and I wish I could have told you before

Jacqueline Hahn

2024-01-05 18:40:10 +0000 UTC

I too would flee a bathroom with unwashed hands to escape Roy Cohn 🤢

Ivy Yap

2023-12-28 00:22:33 +0000 UTC

OMG totally missed that!

Andrea Kammerer

2023-12-17 18:47:29 +0000 UTC

42:15 only now I’m realising the Smiths all think Hawk is an orphan 😧

Kim Engel

2023-12-16 23:56:06 +0000 UTC

From the Dictionary: Fellow Travelers a person who supports or sympathizes with a political party, especially the Communist Party, but is not an enrolled member. anyone who, although not a member, supports or sympathizes with some organization, movement, or the like.

D.A. Rowley

2023-12-14 02:13:23 +0000 UTC

I agree with many of the thoughts and feelings the two of you express while watching this show. I do want to disagree with one thing Alex said. I don't think Hawk is influenced by anyone other than Hawk. (You mentioned, Alex, that you thought he believed the Conversion Therapy Doctor.) and that he was living in some sort of denial and that is what prompted him to marry Lucy. I don't think Hawk thinks there is anything wrong with his sexuality (He thinks he is just being realistic about what he needs to do to live in the US and be a DC insider.) He also thinks his strength as a person is his ability to lie and compartmentalize his life. Those not like him, won't survive. He says it soo Tim, which provides an opportunity for Tim to mention a similarity between Hawk and Cohen. Where Hawk fails is that he thinks he can compartmentalize his life and have it not harm, or only harm within acceptable-to-him limits, those he loves and himself. He is, of course, very wrong about that.

Mark Walker

2023-12-13 17:20:24 +0000 UTC

I also wondered if it was uncomfortable for Matt Bomer to film certain scenes in this episode as a queer person. This one was super hard to watch {more so than the others for me but they're all tough). At the same time, I can sort of relate to Hawk because I only came out after I was outed, and I often think about how I was just going to never come out for reasons that had to do with my family. If I hadn't been outed, I don't know if I would've ever said anything to anyone other than my brother (I told him before I was outed). I was just going to take it to my grave and deny it if anyone asked. But then, things didn't work out like that and I didn't have the energy to deny it to everyone anymore and here I am! I'm hoping maybe by the end, Hawk will get to the same space.

Jamie

2023-12-13 00:06:50 +0000 UTC

Definitely possible but the Senator definitely enters the institution prior to writing the letter. I just cant see Hawk getting him out bc he wouldn’t want him to talk and would argue it could provoke people to talk. But obviously we dont know for sure

Samm Daugherty

2023-12-12 05:13:19 +0000 UTC

I know this show is heavy in it’s subject matter, but I love that you’re watching it. I value your opinion a lot!

Justin Kayser

2023-12-12 03:23:13 +0000 UTC

Well put! Totally agree

AK

2023-12-11 23:21:46 +0000 UTC

I don't think that Senator Smith got Leonard out of the institution before he committed suicide. He genuinely believed it was wrong to be gay and that place would 'fix' his son. I think Hawk / the family got Leonard out for the funeral because the Senator's only son not being present at the funeral would cause more questions and speculation than they wanted.

AK

2023-12-11 23:19:43 +0000 UTC

I don't think people literally think Hawk is an orphan since they come from the same community (Hawk knows the Smith family from being friends with Leonard in High School). They probably just know that there was a family rift where Hawk's father disowned him and then the Smiths took him in. We know the reason for it is that his father found out he was gay, but I'm sure Hawk has a lie he tells for the reason (and his father wouldn't contradict it because I'm sure he views having a gay son as a worse thing to be known, especially since he wants Hawk to just decide to not be gay and come back). Also, I think just Leonard is the one that keeps making the passive aggressive orphan comments to Hawk. And that is all about his resentment for Hawk displacing him in the Smith family.

AK

2023-12-11 22:51:20 +0000 UTC

Keara Graves who played Miss Addison is Genderfluid and I think Bisexual. I've been subscribed to their YouTube channel for years and was surprised when they appeared in fellow travelers as I didn't realize they were also an actor.

Ali Laura

2023-12-11 22:31:32 +0000 UTC

Hawk isn't in denial of being gay, he's in survival mode. he doesn't believe in a better world for queer people and he doesn't think he'll ever be able to be himself, it just isn't realistic to him. He considers Tim to be naive because of his youth and inexperience, that he'll eventually become as weathered and worn down as he is when he's eventually confronted with reality. Hawk is a ww2 vetaran who's seen countless of people die, including friends and comrades, he came home from the war with ptsd and had no support from his actual family. Living through a war and coming out on the other end as a stoic pessimist (Hawk would consider himself a realist) is not uncommon. He doesn't believe himself to be different or better than other queer people he just thinks he's better at "playing the game" that he's better at navigating the hetero-fascist society they live in (which he probably thinks makes him smarter). He genuinely loves Tim but doesn't believe that their relationship can ever be more than it is. He's a manipulative, gaslighting and messed up man, but he isn't unfeeling, he has empathy and shows solidarity when he can do it with relative safety, he loves Tim and cares deeply about Senator Smith and Lucy. It's easy to vilify him though our modern perspective. I personally mourn the person he could have been under different circumstances and all of the real people who lived like him, deep in an unfulfilling lie.

Lonely_viking

2023-12-11 22:21:23 +0000 UTC

Im watching this with your reaction videos first. Wow! So I believe Senator Smith goes into the institution his son was put into before writing the letter in those final scenes. Maybe he saw the wrong his ways and got him out which is why he is at the funeral. Also my take on his suicide is that he didn’t want to give into the black mail knowing they could hold it over his head forever but also didn’t want the truth to forever “ruin” his wife, daughter, and son’s lives. He did seem to love them. So he chose death knowing they would be unlikely to release the information as his opponents would no longer gain anything politically and it would seem callous after his suicide. Thereby “saving” his family…. It is so dark and sad that two consenting adults’ sexual encounter resulted in anyone’s death let alone an individuals parent

Samm Daugherty

2023-12-11 22:13:00 +0000 UTC

Senator Smith of Pennsylvania is a fictional character created for this dramatization. However, this is based on a real life incident: Senator Lester C Hunt -- a Democrat from Wyoming -- did take his life by gunshot in June 1954. He was indeed facing political attacks related to allegations of his son's homosexuality. Check out Senator Hunt's wikipedia for the full, sordid tale about what McCarthy and his supporters did. It's brutal.

Darrin Bodner

2023-12-11 21:48:23 +0000 UTC

So very harsh disturbed times, and the terrible McCarthy, so sad and emotional, but I do find Hawks behaviour, actions and attitude too selfish and self centered and cold, he's contributed to keeping things bad, let's see how this all goes

Gina Lipkin

2023-12-11 20:57:35 +0000 UTC

wow, well i was in tears at the end of this episode! having to be very british and make a cup of tea before i watch the next one!

ser brienne

2023-12-11 20:00:17 +0000 UTC

I think when Tim said "it's funny, Cohn said more or less the same thing", he was intimating that Hawk/Smith view themselves as the good guys when their behaviours and methods look an awful lot like those of the folks they would consider to be the bad guys.

Jacqui Chesterton

2023-12-11 19:26:26 +0000 UTC

Also, not-fun fact, conversion therapy was developed using the techniques/system and assistance of Ivar Lovaas, who developed Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), which is still the standard for "treating" autistic children in the USA and UK. He didn't even consider autistic children to be people and ran a bunch of poor quality 'studies' that can't be replicated but we still use his system to train autistic kids to be compliant and well behaved by removing their agency to meet their needs as it best suits them. Many US parents have no choice of other therapies for their children as ABA is all that many insurance providers will cover, and it's what is used in schools. Anyway, off my soapbox.

Rowan Cannell

2023-12-11 19:14:42 +0000 UTC

Senator Smith's suicide & son's arrest was based on Senator Lester Hunt. There's no indication that I've seen that Hunt was in any way trying to make a point about the persecution of LGBTQ folks, rather he was very angry that he was being blackmailed by the opposition to resign & not seek reelection, or they would publicize his son's arrest, which he worried would cause stress for his wife. The use of blackmail in order to gain control of the chamber was the apparent issue for him.

Rowan Cannell

2023-12-11 19:01:59 +0000 UTC

Thanks for your reaction guys. Senator Smith is just a character but there was a senator who took his own life for the same reason ( his son being gay) in that era . As has been said many times , it’s hard to watch but it’s so well written and acted .

Lynn0816

2023-12-11 18:55:47 +0000 UTC

Hawk is all about self-preservation. He can empathize but his actions are strictly about saving himself… and obviously he marries Lucy so not even his “adopted father figure” can change that. I had no idea Sen Smith would commit suicide. I thought for sure it would be Lucys brother in several years.

Shari

2023-12-11 18:21:59 +0000 UTC

Love your videos and reactions! I do think you need to re-watch two bits in this episode that you seemed to miss because they're sweet and funny! First when Hawk gets home late at night and him and Skippy are in bed Skippy calls Hawk sweet. That entire dialogue is so sweet. And then when they leave Skippy's room at the end there is a funny line I think you missed:) Worth a re-watch! Thank you for uploading your reactions, love watching this series with you two!

Andrea Kammerer

2023-12-11 18:09:10 +0000 UTC

This is such a hard episode to watch. All of these episodes have been hard to watch, but this one in particular. I feel so bad for Leonard. Here we were thinking that he was just some bratty rich boy who gets a little mouthy when drunk, but deep inside, he was hurting so badly. Honestly, him being gay wasn't his main issue. It was that Hawk had taken his place in his family that seemed to bother him most. One odd thing I picked up in this scene, and I've heard it mentioned before, is, does everyone believe Hawk is an orphan? Has Hawk told them that he is? When Hawk got back from the War, why was it Senator Smith who cared for him? We know that Hawk's Dad knew about him being gay before the war, but why wouldn't his mother care for him still? Maybe that's when the lying all began. Marcus and Frankie are gems. Marcus wants to be free with Frankie, but I think he feels like he can only handle the obvious issue of his race since that can't be hidden, whereas his sexuality can be. I know Tim really believes that if he can just get away from Hawk, that will be enough to help him get over him. Of course he's just fooling himself.

Chris Metzger

2023-12-11 16:20:18 +0000 UTC

All four of the main actors (Hawk, Tim, Frankie, and Marcus) are actually gay. 😊 I’m not sure about the actors who portray David and Roy.

Dennis Roberts

2023-12-11 16:16:52 +0000 UTC

The term “fellow traveler” in this context means someone who is not a member of a particular political party but sympathizes with their cause. In this context it means people who support the goals of the Communist party but aren’t directly members. That’s what Eisenhower meant in his speech at the beginning of the season when he said “members of the Communist party and fellow travelers.” You could also infer that they mean anyone who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community or who supports them, based on what’s happening politically in the context of the show

Charlie

2023-12-11 16:11:07 +0000 UTC

Just finished watching! We all have so many layers in our lives. Hopefully not as extreme as these characters. Alex and Josh, I wanted to reach through the screen and give each of you a Hug. Great reaction! Thanks Guys!

Diane Furlong

2023-12-11 15:40:01 +0000 UTC

Ughh... I hate the younger Hawk in this episode. He is all about appearance and saving his own skin. How he has the front to then turn up at Tims door, after dumping him, with his cute smile pisses me off ! I like the older Hawk at the beginning where he shows true concern for Tim in the hospital. Love Tim through all the decades, just wait till you see hime in the 70s.... sublime !

Amelia Jane

2023-12-11 15:18:38 +0000 UTC

Oh my god...my heart literally broke, ached and all the stuff inbetween! The layers of this show is in such depth, that it just pulls you all over the place! I need a break now 🫠🫠

Nikki Hearn

2023-12-11 14:32:23 +0000 UTC

Thank F*** we’ve left the fifties. Not much more anger, just trauma and tears to look forward to. Can you review “Thomas the tank engine” next, I need a break, there can’t be any gay trauma in that (I think).

Pip

2023-12-11 14:29:21 +0000 UTC

I think we know what he meant; it’s Hawk. 😀

Pip

2023-12-11 14:19:58 +0000 UTC

The “toilet guy “ is Leonard Smith. Lucy’s brother, Senator Smith’s son

Diane Furlong

2023-12-11 14:16:29 +0000 UTC

This episode was rather disturbing… it made me upset!

Frances

2023-12-11 13:52:47 +0000 UTC

Not Alex reading Josh for filth right in the beginning of the video 😂🙈

Frances

2023-12-11 13:27:00 +0000 UTC

Tim: "Promise not to write." Hawk: "I won't." Did Hawk mean he won't promise or he won't write?

Jose Matutina

2023-12-11 13:09:40 +0000 UTC

I’m one minute in and I love the bickering like you’re a married couple. A sign of true friends. 😊

Jennifer Thompson

2023-12-11 12:55:38 +0000 UTC

Uh that's gonna make my Monday 😁 And also a random suggestion: Have you guys ever seen the movie G.B.F. from 2013? It's an LGBTQ comedy, I watched it last night, and I didn't know if I should laugh or be offended by it 😅 It's got some good bits of representation in it but is also full of stereotypes and cringe :D Might even be a bad example of content, since you usually review pretty good stuff. Would love to know your thoughts on this one 😅

Lou

2023-12-11 12:54:27 +0000 UTC

I hope you had tissues ready, I definitely needed them for episode 5 🥹 Looking forward to watching this later.