I am not much of a series-watcher myself as I have always preferred movies. But then I began seeing edits of Skippy and Hawk over on Instagram and for days, the show piqued my interest despite my initial disregard. Finally, I gave in and decided to give it a try and boy was this show quite a tear-jerker.

I initially expected this show to be just one of those fetishized gay themes but no. It wasn't afraid to show the intimacy of two men: the rough texture of skin, the manly noises in a confined space, the longing stares between two colliding words. Skippy alone was already one of the best well-acted and well-written queer characters on screen. And no, Skippy wasn't written off as a stereotypical feminine gay bottom. He's actually his own person: A believer, someone who drowns in determination, a person whose faith in everything exceeds his own kindness. There is so much gravity to be felt with Skippy. He wasn't perfect, no. He did make some mistakes but he owned up to them, he was truthful to his ideologies and accepting of change in his way. Despite his undying love to Hawker, he pretty much still believed in the man who-- in countless occasions, have hurt him. Hell, even reporting him to the M unit as a suspected homosexual.

Hawker on the other hand, was pretty much a man. A man whose life has almost always been in secret. No, I'm not talking about his politics, but his personal life. And the only person who knew of his life and accepted him as is was Skippy. And just like Skippy, Hawk wasn't perfect. Though he was a bomb of mistakes, there were moments where he tried his best to be a good person. His story is extremely tragic, though. A man whose sexuality has been sandwiched between pleasing the crowd and himself. He's a mere product of societal expectations and pressure, a man between his ego and unconscious. His love towards Skippy is real despite his infidelity throughout the years. He yearns for something. The taste of freedom, the warmth of skin, and the flare in one's eyes. He may have gotten those in repeated periods, but he never fully had them. Just like with Skippy.

Overall, the show is good. I had problem with the constant shifts between the time periods between episodes 5-8 but it was good. Though, the only complain I have is Mary should have gotten a side role much like Frankie. Not a storyline but a purpose. She's the only lesbian character we only got formally introduced to and it was a shame that she stayed in the 1950s scenes and only really got little screentime during the 1960s scenes. Mary could have been the lesbian representation along with the other representations we were introduced to such as POC representation with Marcus and Drag representation with Frankie. Stormie could've been her new love interest. Again, they don't need a storyline as it would make the entire show complex than it already is. We just need to see them.

With regards to the pacing, I was kinda bummed how the 1950s politics storyline was suddenly tossed out in came the 1960s storyline came out. David Schine and Roy Cohn had so much screentime and it led to nothing. And we only really got something when Cohn passed away in the final episode. Though, the politics storyline was somehow relevant, instead of the Schine storyline, we could've further witnessed more world building and character relationships. I'm not saying that the politics storyline isnt important, It's just that the Schine storyline hyped us up only for it to be dropped a few episodes later. We could have had more scenes for Mary or Lucy quite honestly.

Fellow Travellers is honestly a good 9/10 show. It's well acted and well represented despite the lack of lesbian representation. It spoils itself in maturity and does not shy away from the explicit nature of human relationships at all aspects. It makes itself comfortable with the idea of themes that other directors would be afraid to explore.