#tip toe

Now, at first I knew the show would have some…..questionable choices in it before it came out (aka that Guardian article in which Russell, whilst being interviewed for promotion for the show, said that he has “gender critical friends” and that apparently the violent transphobic GCs “only exist online” and that, I quote, “In real life, you have a chat, and we all kind of sigh and put up with each other. That’s how the world works.”……well I’m sure that how your world works and your GC friends are nice like that, Russell. It doesn’t mean they’re not still transphobic. Transphobia is ugly and violent just as much as Homophobia is ugly and violent, no matter how it’s presented. You wouldn’t act like that if one of your friends was homophobic now, would you Russell? Sorry, that article is just…..just stupid in all honesty like lowkey what was Russell thinking??)

speaking of said Guardian article, it was mentioned that the character Stephanie would be gender critical (read: transphobic), quote, “Leo’s close friend [Stephanie] whom we see throughout the series, is gender-critical – believing that biological sex cannot be changed from birth.” . So I, a trans person, was a bit wary in that I feared that, given this description, Stephanie’s bigotry (or, supposed bigotry in this case, more on that later) would not be given the same nuanced evil that Clive’s bigotry was given (and by “nuanced evil”, I mean as in humanising a homophobic monster such as Clive, showing how an ordinary working person trying to get by can also be capable of doing horrific bigoted shit and believing all sorts of harmful rhetoric).

Well, it turns out that Russell either somehow doesn’t even know what a gender critical person actually is or is just really ignorant, cuz in the actual show Stephanie (who is, again, supposedly gender critical) is more or less ok with being in the same room as trans people such as Zee (the trans character in the show), which is something actual gender critical people would certainly not be doing (that is, without screaming violent transphobic rhetoric at a ordinary trans person when they’re within a few feet away from the average GC person). I mean, yeah, Stephanie makes the odd snarky comment or 2 regarding trans people, but it’s not like she actually has a real problem with trans people. And even then, she and Zee don’t even talk to each other that much, which very much completely contrasts with what the Guardian article described about their dynamic, quote, “As terrifying violence looms towards the end of the series, Stephanie and Zee end up on the same side.”

Honestly, imo, I feel like it was a missed opportunity here for something deep, ya’know? Like, I feel like Stephanie should’ve been gender critical (like properly gender critical (read: transphobic) , not whatever the show was supposedly portraying), showing how Stephanie (similar to Clive) was also radicalised by transphobic gender critical groups online into believing that trans people like Zee are “taking away (cisgender) women’s rights”, only to eventually realise that that harmful rhetoric is, in fact, wrong, after actually talking to an actual trans person like Zee, and not only becoming de-radicalised but also learning to stand up for and support trans people (and especially trans women like Zee). I feel like Stephanie’s de-radicalisation could’ve contrasted with Clive’s adamancy to stay bigoted and radicalised and not learn to change for the better, or at least become more understanding of queer issues (and therefore learning to love his gay son George). Like, idk, there could’ve been smth in this story instead of what we actually got in the show.

Ok, I’ve realised I haven’t talked about the actual show lol, so here it is.

First, the positives. The acting was very very good, all the performances were great all around (and considering what the actors had to deal with in regards to the material they were given, they did it pretty well). Ofc, Alan Cumming & David Morrissey are the GOATs and I loved seeing my fave handsome DILFs uhh I mean actors (who are friends irl) playing fictional enemies on screen, that was really fun and tense to watch (David Morrissey especially like his performance especially was tense and scary fr). The visuals looked very nice too. There were some scenes that I really liked (the scene of Leo texting George to give him a supportive pep talk was quite sweet imo, as well as the scene of Leo talking to Clive about the 3 queer boys who worked in Leo’s bar and who eventually and tragically committed suicide during lockdown was really emotional like I did tear up 🥺😭). Oh and there was some funny moments here and there (some intentionally and unintentionally funny moments ngl)

uhmm I think that’s it ://.

Now onto the negatives. Including my previous complaints stated earlier, I felt like the finale felt…idk…a bit over the top? Dark yes, but ngl the way Leo’s death played out felt like the show just catapulted from being somewhat realistic to extreme levels of dark and tragic out of nowhere. Now, I’m personally not opposed to a darker, tragic ending, but the way it was presented in the finale and everything leading to it felt…idk, it felt like the show probs needed some more episodes to properly build up to the darker, shocking ending. Like, give it that apocalyptic-esque dreadful doom like the show was trying to present. Maybe show riots on the streets, maybe some burnings and brick throwing or smth. Idk, to me the conclusion felt abrupt and out of nowhere but not in a good way, if that makes sense? Like, the transition just happened just like that with no proper, realistic build up to make it make sense.

Overall, I feel like the show had some genuinely interesting ideas to talk about, but the way it was presented made with all seem like it was in first-draft form lol, like imo it really needed the ideas it was trying to communicate to be more thoroughly explored in terms of depth and stuff. It’s obvs that Russell had good intentions in regards to trying to explore the subject of the crackdown on queer rights happening rn, but I feel like he should’ve thought this more carefully and stuff, ngl.

Anyway, to end on a somewhat positive note, I deffo this video by Jen Ives (one of my fave trans creators <33) talking about “Tip Toe”. She lauds out her criticisms of the show really well 👍 (plus it’s quite funny fr 😂)

In the first minute of the very first episode, we see our gay main character hanging from a street light.