Fellow Travelers: Beyond Measure and Beyond Sex

 Miah Massaro | Writer

It is no surprise that the intimacy scenes Ron Nyswaner and other writers crafted for Fellow Travelers have captivated many people’s attention. Intimacy scenes in gay love stories have shifted profoundly over the last several years, providing representation for LGBTQ+ individuals and showcasing their relationships and experiences on screen in ways that have not been seen before.

By depicting intimate moments between LGBTQ+ couples, scenes such as the ones we see in Fellow Travelers reveal that love and affection are universal, regardless of sexual orientation; challenging stereotypes and prejudices.

Since October of 2023, I have been deeply invested in not only the show, but other’s reactions to it as well. Hearing what people have to say about such a vastly profound series has been moving for a variety of reasons, but I have noticed that there has been heavy discourse, online and in person, specifically centered around the sex we see in Fellow Travelers, and often times not much else.

In a recent FYC Panel, Matt Bomer was asked to speak about the intimacy scenes seen between Tim Laughlin and Hawkins Fuller, the two main characters of the series. Bomer expressed how, “[sex] was a way for the two characters to not only work out that they were a product of their environment, but how they responded to the environment in an oppressive society. The way they connected with each other was almost a therapeutic way to navigate that with each other.” I find it important to mention that both Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey have discussed how neither of their characters were the same after an intimacy scene as they were before, and that Bomer, Bailey, and Nyswaner found it vital for those particular scenes to always move the storyline along. This cast always does an immensely wonderful job with discussing the subject matter with great care, no matter how many times they are seemingly asked to speak about it.

When it comes to the topic of intimacy within this show, I want to mention something Jonathan Bailey briefly spoke about in a Gold Derby interview with Tony Ruiz. Throughout the interview, Ruiz asked Jonny some of the most interesting and insightful questions I’ve heard in an interview thus far, but one that truly stuck with me was in regards to the future public response to LGBTQ+ intimacy scenes. The question was, “do you think we’re reaching a point where [sex] doesn’t become a center piece of it? Where people aren’t commenting ‘Oh, look at how much sex there is’ because it [becomes more] about a love story between people rather than a quote on quote ‘gay love story?’”

Bailey responded with: “Yeah, I mean, I hope so. I think anyone who watches Fellow Travelers and their main take away is ‘Well, what about the sex scenes?’… Yeah, they’re hot and they’re brilliant, but only talk about them in a way that they expand the understanding of the characters and exactly what’s going on.” He then paused for a moment before saying, “Yeah, sure, why not! Let’s get to a point where we don’t have to talk about it!”

The conversation between Bailey and Ruiz about the normalization of gay intimacy was one I agreed with wholeheartedly. Over the course of the last few months, I have found myself to be so deflated by the sex-focused questions that have been directed towards the cast in a time that could be spent discussing a variety of other matters the show handles. Evidently, sex is seen often within the show, so discussions surrounding the act will likely always exist, but it should not be the focal point of all conversation. Fellow Travelers was so beautifully crafted by a powerhouse of a crew, and after watching all eight episodes, if all people have to take away from the series is sex… well then that’s quite sad.

What continues to resonate with me, nearly a year after the finale has aired, is the intimacy shown after sex, and even more so the shared time between the two characters that did not involve sex at all. It was the moments we got between Hawk and Tim where they were pressed together in the security of their apartments within the late hours of the night. It was Tim tracing over the battle scar on Hawk’s back, breaking Hawk open with his fingers in ways that were much deeper than sex; pulling apart pieces of Hawkins that he had been keeping inside. It was the dancing to slow love songs, the gifting of ties and initialed cufflinks, the sneaky dinner date on a road trip, the passing back and forth of a paperweight, and the vulnerability shared between Hawk and Tim for four decades that really wraps around your heart and tugs until it hurts.

While the acts of physical intimacy in Fellow Travelers are vital, necessary, and remarkably stunning, it is the emotional intimacy that truly leaves me sitting there with the screen paused in hopes that I can catch my breath before continuing. Witnessing the love that unfolds between these characters is simultaneously gut-wrenchingly and beautiful, and I feel so lucky to be living in a time where the creation of this show was able to happen.

I hope conversations about this remarkable series continue forever, but I also hope that we can begin to dive deeper into various other important aspects within it.