I was in the Closet with Detective Vecchio

heaven and earth: we must start with this episode, not because it comes first but because it's like it warps everything around it in terms of this analysis. as andrandriel said to me, it's not just that he has this whole conversation with Frannie at the end (that Fraser witnesses without him knowing) about what one cannot want, which is... specifically about Fraser. it's also the whole jealousy that precedes it, and the acknowledgement that actually if anyone were to date Frannie, it'd be great actually if it was Fraser, but also... he's very obviously glad that it's not. for some reason. because Fraser cannot be wanted. that's not allowed. for Frannie. but it's okay because he'll end up alone for some reason. because he cannot go for what he wants. which is.....

the blue line: ok this one is an episode that follows a string of episodes in which Ray has been concerned about Fraser's wellbeing, but it's the first time he's encountered Fraser spending time with someone who isn't him. and listen. the thing is, Mark Smithbauer is a dick. he uses Fraser (as so many do) for his own gains and he becomes a better person by the end, at least for the moment, but Ray is so very unimpressed with him (and i agree). this comes earlier in the season, so it's more a hindsight thought, but Ray is... not jealous jealous of Smithbauer, but certainly questions his motives and attempts to protect Fraser from him (@gjdraws has a neat headcanon that Ray made him confess without telling Fraser, so that Fraser could maintain some kind of hope in Smithbauer's goodness), and i do think this carries a nugget that we see carrying through of Ray putting Fraser before himself, because Fraser is worth more than him. it's not the biggest "hey what's that all about" but it stacks. my goodness does it stack. and links us to some later thoughts in Letting Go....

the gift of the wheelman / north: the way @commander-kiranerys described vecchio sr. talking to his son as knowing he's calling him a faggot really hit the nail on the head, so putting these episodes under one point of "Ray Vecchio's past behaviours being closely monitored and punished by abusive masculinity, both in the home and in public (school) settings." what it means that he shuts out the voice of his father, that he recognises that he doesn't want to be like him, similar to his disgust in Zuko. it's Fraser's influence on him that allows him this, but without getting too much into it (Ray and trauma is a whole other post), his dead father really has A Vibe to him in the way he tries to get him to stop spending time with Fraser

but that won't stop him!

the deal: speaking of.... marco matroni is not canonically queer (nor is he even ever there, that is a strong haunting!!!) the only thing we really know about him is that he was bad at basketball "couldn't make a basket to save his life". reading "hate crime" into it, and -- more than that -- reading a potential relationship between Ray and Marco definitely does work. it's by far the most visceral violence in this show which allows a read of it being more than just motivated by Zuko's general penchant for violence. the instinct of the savvy viewer is to create those connections of flawed/punishable masculinity (which is already why Marco was violated after all) and to connect Ray to it more intimately. not even, necessarily, through a relationship with him and Marco, but because he witnessed what happened when if you messed up and were overtly queer bad at masculinity basketball and the incident has haunted him. there's a lot to dig into there, but i'll leave it at the surface, combined with his father in the earlier point

letting go: i think this is the one of the most Unspoken episode of the bunch. the tentative, oh-so-delicate coming-back-together of a relationship in Ray treads so carefully the whole time. it's much more about his relationship with Fraser specifically, than placing this relationship within a wider context of Ray's life (like, for example, gift of the wheelman, north, the deal, juliet, one good man, the blue line), so one can argue if it's bisexuality demons or Fraser specifically. but then, Fraser is the object of his affections (no matter which way you square it) so it's possibly all the same. can Ray allow himself attraction to any man or can he allow himself attraction to Fraser, who previously (and also in some cases in future) has been on a pedestal of sorts in which that kind of thinking is totally not allowed (see, heaven and earth, Fraser is just Too Good) and has revealed himself now as... a human being. a human being who also kinda fucked him over, no less. what does it mean to still put his faith in Fraser, not just in terms of Fraser's cause (it was never really about that anyway) but Fraser the man... obvious shout out to the whole "two axes" interaction

(thank you @pigtailedgirl for showing me that this whole bit + the two axes was unscripted, it's just so heckn soft for the camera)

juliet is bleeding / one good man: Ray's (main) exes and the contrast with Fraser. also as a follow-up to the deal in which Ray's past comes back to haunt him. Irene (someone he couldn't save from Zuko) and Fraser (someone he could save from Zuko). Angie (someone he couldn't put first) and Fraser (someone he always puts first). the last of these examples in particular in relation to the car! which one could do a whole general post about. keeping this point short, but argh, argh i say!

body language: listen, yes this one is sillier, yes this is the "get in the closet Ray" episode which is more An Joke but it's fun alongside all the rest of this, but also he simply has a lot of bi swag in this episode. Fraser sees it. the lady at the end sees it. those stupid sunglasses... but really want i want to get at is actually Ray and Luck, which comes up a couple of times in the show but quite strongly in this one as contrasting Fraser (trying to learn "believing in good luck" from Ray while they wait for Ida) and Ida's friend at the end. it's simply another comparison between his relationship with Fraser and his canon flirtations. and also "get in the closet Ray."

red white or blue: this is naturally all about the argument. a lot of the argument is about Fraser, but as is often the case with Ray, a lot of stuff about Fraser is also about himself (ouroborus style or relationship style). When Ray asks Fraser to be more emotionally vulnerable, he's also asking Fraser to be more emotionally vulnerable with him. Fraser's wellbeing (like in Vault, like in Letting Go) matters to him, not because Fraser needs to go save the world, but because he wants Fraser to get closer to him/let him in more. and also Ray offsets so much of that "be more open" feeling onto Fraser, while failing to recognise his own limits on that front..... tsktsk Mr Vecchio. also honourable mention to the discussion about emotional honesty and Saints. i don't know if it's bisexuality as such, but both of those conversations have an element of the What Are We Really Talking About in them (which i re-re-re-reiterate is what the whole thing's about)

flashback: speaking of What Are We Really Talking About, all of this episode is dedicated to how much Ray wants the real Fraser back, with all his idiosyncrasies, and i'll highlight three parts - "we bonded," "apart we're incomplete," and right at the end when he mentions that some things were said... special mention also to "benny I could kiss you" which i actually read as less bisexuality and more just the saying (but the jokes are also important to all this. they wouldn't work on their own, but with all the added elements to it, it's fun to include them)

burning down the house: a single phonecall and a postcard earns this a spot, but let's talk about "as a friend?" "yeah... as a friend." and "it's cold out here. heat me up." and actually, you know what, that whole phonecall really is the Thing about Ray in these more fraught, heavy moments. always going to an edge and then seemingly backing off.

call of the wild: a series of Moments that go all the way back to my main heckn point about The Unsaid that exists about Ray. going undercover feeling like he died and "didn't get everything done." "undercover's lonely... at least you had Fraser." i would mention his getting shot as well, which, if im going a step further (and i will) really does speak to how loving Fraser is something he's willing to die for and of course is in conversation with Letting Go (and The Pilot which could honestly be on this list as well buuut im tryna limit myself). and ALSO needs to be talked about as another Crucial Unsaid Moment comes up as a consequence: Fraser in his hospital room is like there's a whole other conversation happening beneath their conversation. Ray asking if he still talks to himself. if he still gets his man. "go gettem benny." little questions that speak volumes about their intimacy, but never quite give as much as one feels it should considering we know how much Fraser missed him and is scared for him, his face when he got shot, the parallels between that and his mother getting killed, and of course, that he has to leave him, just like he was left. Ray gives him permission to leave. and just as a fun bonus the song playing (for a particular kind of nerdery) is Full of Grace, a song all about a love that can't be........ it's famously played in BTVS after Buffy is forced to kill Angel. just as a like. this song is Very Romantic And Tragic if you look at the lyrics. choices choices.....

BONUS (just for fun):

some like it red: oh if only Fraser had been a woman...... this doubles as my fun "Fraser And Gender" read as well, that is, genderfluid/agender Fraser (his gender is whatever he's being told he is/wearing at the time)