Crashing show poster (Image Source)

Recently, I’ve been on a bit of a TV show kick, and I’ve ended up watching some pretty great stuff. Now, did I start off my last post by admitting to not really watching TV shows? Yes I did, and I stand by that. However, that same dear friend who recommended that I watch Killing Eve has recommended other shows and I simply can’t tell her no. To her credit, though she has gotten me to watch some lovely TV shows (and I’m not just saying that because most of them were queer in some way). One of these shows was Crashing which is on Netflix. In case anyone reading this has never heard of the show (and to be honest I hadn’t heard of it either), I’ll give a quick rundown of the plot. Basically, Crashing is about a group of adults living in an abandoned hospital (not squatting, actually paying to live there) and the show kind of just explores all of their relationships and stories. I know that wasn’t a very helpful description, but if you want to know more about the show check it out here.

From my wonderful description alone I’m sure most of you are wondering how the show fits with the theme of queer representation, and fret not for I will tell you now. One of the main storylines in the show is that two of the people living in the hospital (Sam and Fred) become good friends but then Sam realizes that the reason he doesn’t like Fred’s boyfriend is because he likes Fred. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: falling in love with your best friend is a quintessential queer experience. However, before I go any further, I would like to clarify that statement a bit. Am I saying that only gay people fall in love with their best friend? No, I understand that straight people also develop feelings for their friends. Am I saying that all gay people eventually have a crush on their best friend? Yes. That is exactly what I’m saying, and I’m 100% correct about that. It’s the whole all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares kind of thing. All queer people fall in love with their best friend but not all people who fall in love with their best friend are queer. Simple as that.

They’re so in love, just look at them (Image Source)

Okay, so I’ve established that there is a queer element to this show. What about that borderline stereotypical representation makes it good representation? That’s a great question, I’m so glad you asked. In my professional opinion, what really pushed this representation over the top was how the show depicted Sam realizing that he liked Fred. At the beginning of the show, Sam is a bit of a womanizer and is definitely not open to the possibility of liking men. However, as he and Fred become closer friends it becomes clear to the audience that Sam is head over heels in love with Fred but is just in denial about it. This is both heartwarming and gut-wrenching as an audience member because it’s beautiful to watch as someone falls in love but it’s also painful to see someone struggling to come out to themselves. This is resolved, though, at the end of the show when Sam realizes his feelings and admits them both to himself and Fred. It’s such a cute moment and storyline and it made me so happy to watch.

This is good representation because it is one of the few times that the audience was shown the difficult process of coming out to yourself. A lot of movies and TV shows focus their coming out storylines on queer characters telling other people, but Crashing took a different approach. I think this was a great move because often it’s a lot harder to be honest with yourself than it is to be honest with other people. I think that’s something that a lot of people don’t realize unless they have actually gone through it, and I think it’s wonderful that Crashing is showing people the reality of what it means to realize you like people of the same gender. It’s a lot of denial and convincing yourself it’s not true before breaking down and realizing that you can’t keep lying to yourself. Not that I would know anything about that, I’m as straight as an arrow. (I know sarcasm isn’t something you can write into words, but please just know that that was sarcasm)

Adorable little baby trying to walk (Image Source)

Overall, Crashing was a surprisingly great show with a lot of heart and fantastic queer representation. I would recommend watching it if you enjoy cute gay people trying to navigate their feelings for each other. It’s a bit like watching a baby deer learning to walk. A little awkward but you have a smile on your face the entire time because it’s just so darn adorable. Very that.