Queer as Folk Marathon - Season 1 - Episode 2

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When Brian takes a definitive bite of the green apple, I believe he is sending a seductive message to the married client... Temptation, temptation, temptation.... And voila- Brian takes the client into his "Garden Of Eden" and sin is born in the series...

The second part of the pilot takes place not long after the end of pt1, and deals with the next 36 hours or so in all the pricipals lives. All of the male cast in their normal work environment during the day, and what they do for fun in the evening. Through this we learn more about the characters, and how they relate to each other as well as their surroundings.

Ted works in an office. He is bored with his job and spends what seems to be a lot of time on porn websites. It's not clear if he is "out" at work, but he seems to be keeping his head down. It's here that Ted'd crush on Michael is revealed due to a picture he keeps in his desk. This could explain some of his earlier attentiveness to Michael for anyone paying attention.

Don't really learn much about Emmett at this point. So far he works in a clothing store and is "out and proud" to everyone. Although Ted points out that due to Emmett being so obvious, he really might not have had a choice. Emmett dissagrees.

We learn a bit more about Michael. He works at a big department store along the lines of Kmart. He is not the boss, but he does have some authority as assistant manager. But he wants to move up in a workplace that secretly discriminates against gays, and openly tolerates jokes against them. So Michael, while out everywhere else, is extremely closeted at work. So much so that he allows himself to be coerced into a date with a female co-worker.

Michael is a very devoted friend to Brian, leaving an outing he was beginning to enjoy simply because Brian insisted on it. Then later, when Brian suddenly decides to take off, leaving Michael on the sidewalk, he is neither surprized nor angry. Brian tells a story of an interupted hand job he have Michael when they were teenagers. Justin speculates that this is why Michael puts up with Brian's crap. But while Michael would indeed like Brian to finish j*rking him off, as evidenced by his recreating the event later that night, there is more to Michael's friendship with Brian than that. And Michael's charitable nature is not exclusively for Brian. When Justin begins his campaign of stalking Brian as well as his friends, Michael takes it upon himself to take Justin out to eat and explain to him a little bit about Brian's aversion to romantic attachments. Since Michael's interest in Brian goes beyond the platonic, the fact that he would bother helping a potential rival such as Justin says a lot about Michael's sympathetic nature. Actually, I don't think Michael shows such good sense here.

Debbie is introduced in this episode. We don't learn much about her except that she is Michael's mother and is very proud of his being gay. Irritatingly so in fact. She works at a local diner so you already know she will be a fixture due to location alone.

Brian works at an advertizing agency. He is giving a presentation and flirting with everyone in the room. But he reserves more of his attention to a married man, who Brian has identified as a closet case. Later Brian has some memorable bathroom stall sex with the client. It's clear that they have both done this before. It's an entertaining scene, and further demonstates Brian's love of casual sexual encounters.

Brian's only close friends seem to be Lindsay and Michael, with Michael the closer of the two. But the relationship seems to be mostly as one sided, with Michael driving Brian home when he is unable, and Brian leaving Michael in the street when Brian comes across an exceptional trick he badly wants, or later wants to get away from. Brian is also shown expecting and getting Michael to drop whatever he is doing to be with Brian with no other explanation than "I need you.". Lindsay appears to be more into Brian than he is into her. She talks him into having a child with her presumabley due to his superior genes, and is way too misty eyed about their not half bad sexual history together. This is not lost on Melanie, Lindsay's lover/partner of many years. She is extremely hostile to Brian, even having the affrontery to push for a life insurance policy for Gus in case Brian should get sick. Not even trying to be subtle, Melanie elaborates on this, making digs at Brian's personal life.

Justin is at school, hanging out at the boys locker room and clandestingly enjoying the view. Later he brags to his friend Daphne about his first sex with Brian Kinney. In typical teenage fashion he overromantizes things. He goes to a private school and has a walkin closet at home. So Justin must be from a well off family. Which is why one wonders why Justin doesn't have "A little Beemer" of his own. His one night stand with Brian has left Justin wanting more and he takes steps to get it, hanging out at places Brian might frequent in order to see him again. His efforts are rewarded when Brian and Justin both end up at a local bar. Brian soon leaves, but Justin is persistent, making motions to tail Brian's friends. Even after Michael takes pity on him and tells Justin about Brian's no boyfriend policy, Justin soldiers on, actually making an surprize visit to the man himself. Here Brian himself tells the boy that their one night fling was just that. Justin is finally dissuaded, at least for the night.



..........Favorite Scenes..........


The opening scene with the split screen showing Michal, Ted, and Emmett all at work while talking together on the phone. It is so seldom that we are reminded that most people spend a good deal of their time at a mundane job to support themselves. The connecting scene shows that even Brian has to work, although his job has a few extra perks.


Brian helping "to please the client" after the presentation. It's a short but fun sex scene, and very well done, especially the not so subtle overtures that led up to it.

The scene with Ted, Michael and Emmett together working out and talking at the gym. Admire Emmett's ability to hold simultaneous conversations over the lack of quality tops and Michael's closeted status. Or maybe I just like anything where these three get together and talk.

Justin's slo-mo spying on the nude and semi-nude boys. It's clear that they haven't a clue how they are being admired.

Michael recreating the unfinished hand job in his old room. The show might be trying to hard with the strange lighting and blowing curtains, but I like it anyway. Was a little annoyed at having Harold and Sparks play themselves at fourteen yet looking almost the same as they do today. But the mood, the lighting, the music and the semi-comical ending made up for it.



........Other things of note......


About the man who asked Michael where the jokey shorts were. Not totally sure about this, but believe that he and Michael get to know each other a bit better
later in the series.

Ted has some of the best lines in the episode. His humor is something you learn to appreciate more with repeated viewings.


One of the as of now unknown football players Justin is watching will be a big factor in the first season and beyond. But for those watching qaf for the first time, he may be slipping in unnoticed.

During the sex scene with the client, Brian pulls the man's belt completly out. This is highly unlikely, but it gives such an interesting visual and audible effect that you don't care. At least two more belts will be pulled out in this fashion, and they will be used to even greater effect.

Justin is still a brat at this point, but even so, he is more intelligent than your average teenager. I think what attracts Brian is his wholesomeness, a certain innocence, a breath of fresh air.



"I'm not antisocial, I just can't stand people." Justin Taylor

Being in the closet is one thing- nobody else is getting hurt. but when you have a wife and kids- more then just you are being affected.

Thanks for commenting, mhenderson22! 

Well, Brian is not known for his respect for marriage and monogamy institutions.

In my opinion, if there's someone who has to worry about the sanctity of marriage is married people. I know married couples who have their own agreement about what is considered appropriate or not in their marriage (and that may include sex with other people; a couple's marriage is no one else's business). No one is forced to have gay or straight extra-marital sex; if someone does it, it's because he or she wants to.

I didn't know there was a stereotype about gay men "stealing" women's husbands. However, if that happens, it means that the husband is homosexual or bisexual; if he weren't, he wouldn't get involved with another man. He was probably not forced into the affair. I don't think the gay man should be blamed.

About sleeping with married men, sometimes you just don't know, the guy may be lying. I agree that if you're looking for someone to get married, you shouldn't get involved with married men, of course. But there are people who are not concerned with a person's marital status when it's only a one-night stand.

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