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Pans of the Week
Trapped In the Closet
Ryan wants Kyle to leave him alone.
So does Ryan Knight want Kyle Kelly or not? When the twist dropped that Amy Barnes’ short term husband was having a secret affair with a man, I was definitely shocked. Oftentimes openly gay actors don’t necessarily play LGBT characters on screen. I figured that Duncan James had signed onto Hollyoaks to play a straight character but instead he gave us a bisexual shocker! Well… is Ryan bisexual or just a closeted homosexual? It’s all very confusing at this point.
We don’t know anything about Kyle other than that he dated Nancy and Ryan in the past. But now that he’s completely out as a homosexual, he’s all about Ryan. And I mean all about Ryan. When he isn’t interrupting Darren and Nancy Osborne’s romantic moments, he’s dashing after Ryan with his cane trying to remind him of their passionate nights together. The decorated police officer has literally called Kyle every name in the book, told him to leave a thousand different ways and still the man persisted. Now don’t get me wrong, Ryan is incredibly sexy but when a man tells you no, it means no!
Kyle and Ryan played a big part in Scott’s suicide attempt this last week, desperate to keep their secret under wraps. They thought Scott had stumbled upon them arguing about their affair in The Dog’s bathroom but Scott had only seen Ryan in the stall, figuring the man had been talking to his penis instead of another man’s penis. Kyle went out of his way to chat up Scott, taking him out on a date, complimenting him then shooting him out of the sky with harsh words after realizing he had no clue about the affair. I think the words ‘washed up twink’ came into play.
Now it’s clear to see why Kyle loves Ryan so much, they’re both really problematic, repressed homosexuals. This crippling notion of MASC4MASC (masculine men for masculine men) running through the gay community effects more than just those outside of the masculine spectrum, but those that are inside of it as well. Ryan can’t be himself (whoever that is) because he’s a straight man with step-children and dead wife to the world while Kyle enforces his masculine persona to attract these kind of men. The kind he obviously desperately wants and needs in his life. Though I don’t like the characters’ actions, I do think they’re good for the overarching story. Every side of the story has to be presented and unfortunately this is yet another reality in the gay community.
There’s also rampant violence from men on the down low, sleeping with men and acting aggressive if the heat gets too hot. Ryan socked Kyle this last week after the man pressured him into revealing their relationship, spurring the latter to go out and reveal it on his own. We’ll see how that fallout goes for everyone involved next week.
You Give Love a Bad Name
Ste Hay and Harry Thompson are not star-crossed lovers. They’re not cute together, they’re barely sexy and they’re oh so problematic. Ste is a former drug addict, domestic abuser, drug dealer and all around dead beat who plucked his best friend’s teenage son from high school to suck into his twisted world. I don’t even feel bad for Harry for being with Ste anymore.
Harry is a university student now, so dating Ste is actually legal but is it healthy and normal? I’d say definitely not. I’m so upset that Tony Hutchinson hasn’t fully stepped in to tell his son that he’s going to ruin his life being with this man. Ste is locked up in prison still under suspicion of murdering the ex-girlfriend he used to abuse. After an escape attempt and support from Harry, the latter is lucky that he isn’t behind bars with him as well. Tony is too nice sometimes and I think it’s partly because Ste is also his friend or even like another son to him, he can’t fully condemn him.
This last week Harry got a letter from Ste in prison barring him from visiting. I think the entire family and hordes of viewers heaved a sigh of relief. They desperately need time apart to figure out their own lives, relationships and whether or not they should continue seeing each other. The love may be strong but is it right? I think that’s an important question to pose.
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