If you have been watching Showtime’s new series Fellow Travelers, you’re bound to have noticed that the episodes can get quite steamy: While Hawk Fuller (Matt Bomer) does whatever he can to stay closeted, he also doesn’t deny his sexual desires, and this results in some pretty unforgettable moments with Jonathan Bailey's Tim Laughlin. In an interview with Collider, the Bridgerton star talked about how the production team approached Hawk and Tim’s sex scenes.
The actor revealed that, much like every other aspect of Fellow Travelers, the sex scenes were also thoroughly discussed so that both he and Bomer knew what they were supposed to convey at the time of filming. For such delicate and intimate scenes, it’s vital that all the production team is on the same page, as Bailey explained
"What we were all on the same page with is the way in which the intimacy was gonna be told and captured on film and how, really, the intimacy lies between the eye contact and the shifting power dynamic. It's a conversation that they're having with their bodies. I think that's really perceptive, and that's so true. Everything was talked through, and as me and Matt got to know each other, those scenes became more easy and clear in how to do it. We were exploring that just as much as the characters were in terms of, yeah, how that intimacy is told."
Bailey also added that he sees Tim and Hawk’s sex scenes as “intrinsic" to the story, as it also shows how the couple’s dynamic evolved throughout their relationship. At the same time, we do have to factor in that the duo lived in an era in which their very lives were at risk, so Bailey underscores that "there was just no chance for them to have a healthy relationship,” especially when Tim was going through an awakening in his activism while Hawk was prioritizing his own safety. For today’s standards, Hawk’s move may seem like cowardice, but Bailey capped it off by stating that "Hawk's decisions and his survival mechanisms are just as valid as Tim’s."
In the next few weeks, Fellow Travelers will air its final episodes, and we’ll finally discover how Tim and Hawk’s relationship continues to evolve throughout the years. We already know that there was a massive shift in their connection due to the HIV outbreak in the 80s, but we’re yet to know how Tim will choose to deal with the 80s and present-day Hawk.