A Look Back at "Hollyoaks"’ remarkable John Paul McQueen

Gay Pothole #2: 'Mos always fall for their bros

Hollyoaks’ Pothole Status: Falls in, but gets out quick

Arbitrary Points Awarded:

For some reason, there seems to be this notion out there in TV land that gay characters will without a doubt, fall in love with their straight male friends. It’s just an inarguable fact, like the principle of gravity, or the willful seduction powers of Anderson Cooper. And yes, John Paul did fall in love with hetero pal Craig, but what Hollyoaks did here was different. They took straight-ish Craig and they queered him, completely turning the cliché upside down. The focus here wasn’t on John Paul pining away over a love that would never be returned, the focus rather was on Craig, a well-established Oaks character dealing with the discovery of homosexual desires. So while yes, the mo still fell for the bro, this time the bro fell back.

Unfortunately we’re going to have to briefly segue back to GP #1, and take one towel off (and not in a good way) for the show’s handling of Craig’s so-called coming out. The identity crisis he went through was a rollercoaster ride written in true soap opera fashion, but his trip of confusion and self-hatred lasted for what seemed like an eternity. For months he back-and-forthed J.P. like a game, and when tuning into the show you were never really sure if Craig was going to love John Paul or hate him. Sure, Craig was dealing with the realization that he might be gay, but it could have been done in a more timely fashion… like they did with J.P., for example, avoiding the ‘clichéd coming out’ stereotype, and thereby suggesting ‘being gay’ isn’t such a big deal after all.

Gay Pothole #3: The inability to explore complex gay relationships

Hollyoaks’ Pothole Status: Dodged

Arbitrary Points Awarded:

So eventually John Paul got fed up with Craig’s back-and-forthing and put a stop to it: “I’m not some kind of toy. You can’t just pick me up and drop me when you feel like it.” Well said J.P. For that, I’ll give you a bath towel. Better yet, here, you can borrow mine.

So after leaving Craig and his drama behind, J.P. got himself a rebound. Remember Spike? Me neither. His stint on Hollyoaks was short, but did serve a valuable purpose: to finally get John Paul and Craig to shag.

You do the math: Months of anticipation and self-loathing go by. Then, Craig sees John Paul with Spike. Craig gets jealous. Craig admits his true feelings for J.P. Craig cries. J.P. cries. They kiss, and… then they do it. Finally.

So, for introducing a third mo into the mix and creating a gay triangle, full of love, lust and jealousy, Hollyoaks successfully dodged a pothole and ventured down the road of exploring complex gay relationships, thus awarding them one more towel. (By the way, it would have been two, but they were deducted one towel for naming a mortal non-vampire character ‘Spike’. Come on Oaks, really now.)

I’ll fast forward through what comes next (Craig’s continued inner rage and unnecessary flinging around of the f-bomb) to when ultimately John Paul and Craig decide to leave for Ireland and start a new life together. And then, the infamous ‘airport scene’ happens…