Trauma (1.05) "Masquerade" Recap: "Boo, I'm gay!"

As Boone and Tyler walk back to their vehicle, Boone remarks the two men had acted like a married gay couple to which Tyler "maybe that's because they are on old married couple."

But they are two dudes! That's just freaky.

When Boone later compares the Castro to Sodom and Gomorrah, Tyler has finally had enough and explains to his partner exactly what he thinks of the Castro:

I just see people trying to live their lives and the Castro is filled with people who were beat up when they were a kid for being gay, kicked out of their house and disowned by their parents at age fourteen and just knowing there is a place like this even existed is a better alternative than offing yourself because you can't change who are, is why the come here.

He then pauses and says "That's why I came here."

Here is the scene:

Boone reacts by saying nothing, just staring off into the distance.

Later Tyler points out that they've been riding together for three years and asks if Boone hadn't ever wondered if Tyler might not be gay. Boone admits he had but that he's never seen a straight guy with sideburns like Tyler's (clearly, Boone has not been paying attention while driving around San Francisco).

The episode ends without Boone making any heartfelt speeches of acceptance or making any apologies, and it's not clear exactly where things stand between the two men.

Overall, I thought the show handled the topic quite well. Frankly, I thought it interesting that even though Boone had suspected his co-worker might be gay, that knowledge hadn't kept him from throwing around homophobic comments. That seems very real. (Imagine how homophobic he would've been if he hadn't suspected.)

Like Southland did with Officer Cooper, Trauma took a slow approach to revealing Tyler's being gay. Folks working at both shows told me that was because they wanted viewers to get to know the characters first before learning they were gay. Which translates to: our viewers are mostly straight men and we don't want to spook them off. Given how the show has struggled in the ratings, I can't say I blame them for taking their time.

The show also had a couple of very funny lines to leaven the heavy emotional scenes, not to mention all the bloody, injured folks we keep encountering. The first came when a woman dressed as a Playboy bunny runs up to Tyler and Boone's rig and declares "Sarah Palin's all messed up" to which a laughing Tyler replies "You're preaching to the choir."

The second best line comes right after when Boone tells the African-American man dressed as Sarah Palin that he looks nothing like the failed VP nominee to which the man replies "And you don't like anything like the firefighters on my calendar, but you don't see me being disrespcctful." Ha.

I actually interviewed Kevin Rankin yesterday and will have that interview next week. Rankin answered some of my questions about the episode and about Tyler including why he hadn't told his partner he was gay after three years. Of course, that's assuming the show isn't canceled this week.