My Review of Fellow Travelers: "Hit Me"

 

Written by Ron Nyswaner And Brandon K. Hines And Jack Solomon

Directed by Destiny Ekaragha

Tim (to Hawk): "It's not who we sleep with. It's who we love."

Well, this was certainly an episode, wasn't it? Between the past and more recent for Hawk and Tim, this episode really ran the gamut for the two of them.

In the near present day, Hawk got to see for himself how ill Tim had become and it was certainly an eye opener for him. It was so much of an eye opener that Hawk had no choice but to get himself tested by the end of the episode. 

Back in the past, the events from the previous episode had seen Haek and Tim estranged, until the former decided to "forgive" the latter and the two took a trip to San Francisco for the first time. Not only was it a means for Hawk to spend time with Skippy away from prying eyes but he had another motive for the change of scenery.

While Tim almost gave into having sex with an older man in a bathroom stall, Hawk along with an old army buddy, Bill (Craig Arnold) got disgraced soldier, Daniel (Robert Bazzocchi) to open up about enemies of Senator Smith. The ending of this episode certainly gave Hawk an advantage over McCarthy and his cronies.

This episode certainly gave more focus to McCarthy as Jean Kerr challenged his masculinity, resulting in a marriage proposal. Then there was Cohn's scenes with David Schine (Matt Visser). I found them particularly riveting to watch, given their messy dynamic.

Going back to Hawk and Tim though, I did love that Tim's drunken antics at the restaurant resulted in that sexy as fuck "hit me" scene between the two of them in their room. Not to mention the more poignant one on the beach where Tim talked about who we love. You can tell that speech affected Hawk more than he wanted to admit.

As for Marcus, his relationship with Frankie mirrored Hawk and Tim as well. He didn't want to admit that Frankie was a boyfriend and a racist/homophobic encounter outside a bar certainly brought out their differences. Saying that, I did enjoy the focus the two of them had this week.

- In the time that Hawk and Tim fell out, the former embarked on a relationship with Lucy and the latter had a birthday.

- The start of the episode had Hawk photographing Tim.  The latter kept the photo over three decades later.

- Standout music: Freddie Mercury's The Great Pretender and Tim's drunken rendition of Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps.

- Chronology: Four weeks since the events of the previous episode. 

Hit Me was definitely unabashed in the sex scenes with both Hawk/Tim and Marcus/Frankie while examining the horrible hypocrisy of McCarthyism. There was so many fantastic moments throughout this whole episode. 

Rating: 9 out of 10