('Looking' Back): Episode 3, 'Looking At Your Browser History'!

The third episode of a series is often a make-or-break point. While most viewers can forgive an uneven pilot, folks expect a show to find its footing by episode three.

Many folks have been saying the show could have benefited by having one-hour episodes, instead of thirty-minute installments. Would a longer episode necessarily mean better episodes?
Now that you've had a chance to see episode three, are you committed to finishing the season, or have you seen the last of Looking? See what we thought of the third episode, and share your thoughts.

• Cruising and open relationships are the kind of things one would expect to be discussed on a gay-themed television program in our post-Grindr age. However, I was personally surprised by the observation about gay guys playing as female video game characters. It's such an astute observation, something so subtle, that it proves the value this show could have. 

• Tonight we saw the introduction of Patrick (Jonathan Groff)'s new boss, Kevin (Russell Tovey). You may recognize Tovey from BBC's Being Human. Not that every gay character needs to sleep with one another, but it seems unlikely they'd give Patrick a handsome, gay boss if it wasn't going to throw a romantic curveball at him. Call it Chekhov's gay.

• And speaking of Kevin, what a nightmare for him to read over Patrick's browser history. (Also, again, if he spends that much time on Manhunt, how is it he never saw an uncut guy?) Sure, lots of places track your web usage, but wouldn't you be mortified if your boss ever looked at yours?

• We were also introduced to Scott Bakula's character, Lynn, tonight. While we didn't get to spend too much time with him in the steam room, he had that great line about the Gay Men's Chorus: "Everyone likes them in principle, but no one actually wants to hear them sing." (Not to mention, Bakula looked pretty good in that towel.)

• While we're on the topic of the steam room, it felt like another example of the show purposefully shying away from the more graphic sex scenes. Even with Dom (Murray Bartlett) and Lynn soaking up the steam room, that was an awfully sexless bathhouse. When action was about to happen between Dom and his admirer, we cut away.

• It's still early to see the effects of Agustín (Frankie J. Alvarez) meeting that prostitute. We get a bit more development between them next week, and it's the kind of thing that will propel Agustín's story forward for the second half of the season (even if it propel's his personal growth backward).

• Shows shouldn't make you watch half the season to get invested, but next week's episode (finally) sees some storyline development across all three main characters. So, if you're still on the fence, you might want to give it one more try.  

What did you think of the episode?

'Looking' airs Sundays at 10:30 p.m. Eastern on HBO.

Via TOWLEROAD