‘Looking’: Episode 8 in-depth recap
The final episode of Looking‘s first season had two jobs. One: to tie together the storylines that bubbled away over the last several weeks, including the various ‘dramas’ that went off last week. And two: leave enough in Paddy, Agustin and Dom’s lives for people to want to come back next year when the second season fires up again.
In just seven weeks of writing about Looking I’ve learned that quite a lot of people don’t really like it. And that’s perfectly fine: we live in what is arguably one of the most affluent ages of television, where boxset-binging, live streaming and on demand services mean we can watch whatever we watch whenever we want – even season four of Heroes (although I’m not sure why you’d want to).
Even if you don’t have Netflix, Lovefilm or whatever, you could probably find something good on Channel 5 (lolz). Anyway, the point is, if Looking isn’t your cup of tea, more power to you. But some of us are here to write about it, so shall we get on with it?
Paddy is desperately trying to patch things up with Richie, but he isn’t interested; he’s cold, aloof and doesn’t want to know. Paddy knows he’s pushed Richie away, but his earnest, adorkable thing worked in episode four, after CutOrUncutDickGate, so he seems a little confused as to why it isn’t working now. Richie says when he wants to talk, he’ll talk. Burn.
Meanwhile, Agustin and Frank are still broken up. Agustin’s beard has managed to grow substantially considering Paddy’s sister’s wedding was yesterday in the show’s timeline, but his baggy jumper and handy stash of pills are all pointing us to the fact that Agustin Is Not Dealing With Things Very Well.
Frank is pretty frank when he confronts Agustin, who is adamant they don’t give up on their relationship. O.T Fagbenle, the actor who plays Frank, has been under-used in this whole storyline, but he’s brilliant here when he gives Agustin a boiling hot dressing down, calling him a bored rich kid who will never, ever, make art that’s actually interesting.
It’s satisfying not just because Frank finally has something compelling to say, but because Agustin, as the show’s least likeable character, is getting the kind of comeuppance he’s needed for quite a long time. Frank’s carefully-articulated, venomous barbs are simple and effective, and I actually hope he appears at some point next season even if FrankGustin aren’t a thing next year.
Later, Agustin takes some pills and rides the train listening to music, zoning out, sinking further and further. Can you imagine doing that on the Northern Line?
At work, Paddy is having lunch when Kevin comes over to talk about the kiss at the wedding. The kind of cool brush-off Richie dealt earlier has rubbed off on Pad, who, despite clearly wanting to talk about it, suggests they don’t talk about it. Kevin desperately wants to try and broach the subject, but Pad’s made his mind up, and watching him deal with this by, er, not really dealing with it shows remarkable strength on Paddy’s behalf, because it has the desired effect; Kevin looks a little hurt, feels a little silly, and skulks off.
This episode reinforces some of the ideas in episode three, which is that intimacy with colleagues only adds greater complexity to the already complex power struggle at work. Paddy and Kevin have clearly grown as friends, and this kiss – and the way Paddy and Kevin deal with it – adds an interesting spin on the typical boss-colleague power-play.
One thing that’s extremely satisfying in Looking‘s finale is that the three main boys spend a lot of time talking to each other. At the opening of Dom’s pop-up Nandos rip-off (which Lynn is suspiciously absent from, freaking out our moustachioed protagonist) the three boys chat, if briefly, and there’s lots of hugging, congratulating and general support. It’s the little things like Dom advising Paddy on his Richie situ, and Dom comforting Agustin after his break-up, that have been missing.
Agustin even gives advice, quite good advice, really, about Paddy and Richie and Paddy and Kevin. He thinks the Richie thing is dead in the water, but suggests Paddy pursue Kevin, which is less helpful advice when you think about it a little more.
For such an unlikeable, hostile character, Agustin starts to make a bit more sense in the finale, surrounded by his friends. He even asks for his old room back, but Paddy plays that down. It all bodes well for doing something redeeming with Agustin in season two.
Elsewhere, Dom’s peri-peri thing is going down well, and Lynn finally turns up, although he comes with a date that is so hot that front of house, waitress, and hostess-with-the-mostess Doris wants him to sit on her face.
Doris is on fine form throughout the night, especially when she takes Lynn to one side and suggests he stop being so ‘cloak and dagger’ about his feelings with Dom. It’s sweet and big-sisterly but also the right thing to do, because as the episodes go on, I’m starting to feel like Lynn’s shielded nature is more than just a device to protect his own wounds; it’s also really messing Dom up, who has come to rely on Lynn not just for his business savvy (something Dom has none of) but also his emotional support.
Lynn might think Dom needs teaching a lesson after his slight meltdown last week, and he’s playing it cool because he’s older and wiser or whatever, but Dom’s turning into a mushy puddle and Lynn clearly knows that.
Paddy has to leave the night early (more on that later) but at closing time, the whole thing is declared a success. Lynn is leaving with his beardy friend, who will no doubt spend much of the journey home licking peri-peri out of his facial hair, but Dom wants a word with Lynn privately.
He wants to do this again; lots of small pop-ups, different things, different places. I guess the idea is that Lynn funds it and Dom cooks it, which is probably not the most appealing business venture, considering Lynn probably had to pay for his own dinner. I can’t see Deborah Meaden getting behind that, can you? Lynn isn’t keen. He thinks their business relationship should come to an end, and then they kiss. Right, okay then.
I quite liked the idea of Lynn when he was introduced, a guy who had seen a little more than the younger characters and was a little wiser to the hysterical ins and outs of dating in your twenties or thirties. He was calm, didn’t bullshit about, and made his fortune selling flowers in a recession.
He kept his cards close to his chest – and that’s cool, vital, even, especially when you have a bunch of other characters who do the exact opposite – but having him opt to snog Dom and sacrifice their professional working relationship to go down the romantic route seems less interesting because so little of Dom’s story this season has been about him trying to find The One. That’s kind of Paddy’s thing, no? A confused, young, middle class guy trying to figure out how to up his romantic game when he sort of hates himself a little.
Dom’s maybe been in a rut sexually, but his more interesting rut was always more about his identity as a 40-year-old gay man with a shitty job and his attempts to redefine himself. Getting to kiss Lynn after a failed attempt only two weeks ago feels like a pretty tenuous point to end the season on, especially since we still don’t know anything about how Lynn feels.
Anyway, Paddy has gone to his office because Kevin keeps texting him about servers – and a drunk, pilled-up Agustin pushes Paddy into answering his phone.
Kevin’s having a beer in a near-dark office, always a slightly worrying sign, even on a show like Looking, which likes to cover its characters in so much shade you worry they’re all comic book villains.
Unlike Wise Lynn (who might get renamed Cryptic Lynn if he’s still here next season), Kevin spills the beans. He’s obsessed with Paddy. He can’t stop thinking about him. He has to work hard to resist the urge to kiss Paddy all the time. Everyone has wanted someone – Someone – to say those words to them, preferably when they’re not expecting them. But Paddy doesn’t look relieved.
And, like the wedding kiss, it’s up to Kevin to kiss him again. But Paddy doesn’t resist. Next thing you know they’re naked, fucking on the office floor, and Paddy is, surprisingly, doing something about overcoming his ‘bottom shame’ first mentioned in episode five.
As someone who takes his job seriously, I watched this bit a few times, and I still don’t know what I’m supposed to take away from it. Looking can be a frustrating show because its 20-minute episodes are so sparse, yet it is shot, directed and produced so beautifully you can’t help but feel you’re supposed to admire it from a distance, and really dwell on what it’s trying to do, instead of simply sitting through it.
Scenes like this scream for insight and meaning but it’s all over so quickly it’s hard to tell whether Paddy’s bottoming is significant, since it’s implied he hasn’t bottomed for Richie yet, or whether there’s something of a power play in Kevin summoning Paddy to the office, fucking him, then the pair of them just getting dressed again. Maybe it’s both.
Why is Paddy so guarded all of a sudden? Is he waiting for Richie, even after Agustin rather abruptly pointed out that that relationship is flatlining before his eyes? Is his emotional reluctance because Kevin is part of Paddy’s professional life?
For all his nonchalance, Paddy is good at his job, he’s exceptionally bright and it sounds like he earns well for his age. Is Kevin figuring into that part of his reluctance, even though Kevin is the kind of person Paddy’s family want him to eventually marry?
It can feel – and it does feel – like there isn’t time to actually indulge in any of this. Think Paddy and Richie almost-kissing in episode four, before we cut away; Dom’s scenes at the sauna; the fact we barely saw any of CJ fucking people despite that being a pretty big part of Agustin’s storyline all season.
It’s not that sex is necessarily important for these conversations to go ahead, but Looking‘s finale uses intimacy as a catalyst for plot points more fiercely than it’s ever chosen to do before, and it feels particularly unsatisfying with Dom and Lynn.
Still, plenty of things got tied up; Agustin and Frank’s break-up was superbly done, leaving Agustin with some interesting avenues to explore next season. Dom’s got the confidence that seemed to have left him when he broke up with Ethan, even if I’m not sure what to make of the Lynn situation, and Paddy has two hot guys vying for his attention when he previously had zero.
My only suggestion for next year is more Doris. She could kick this lot into shape.
What did you think of the final episode of Looking? Are you satisfied with how the season ended? Leave your thoughts below and I’ll see you next year for season two (hopefully).
> ‘Looking’: Episode 7 in-depth recap
> ‘Looking’: Episode 6 in-depth recap
> ‘Looking’: Episode 5 in-depth recap
> ‘Looking’: Episode 4 in-depth recap
> ‘Looking’: Episode 3 in-depth recap
> ‘Looking’: Episode 2 in-depth recap
> ‘Looking’: Episode 1 in-depth recap