I wish I could personally thank
every single one of the people involved in making the show and in ending it with this gem of a movie. I just finished a quick re-watch and now I'm craving going back and watching the whole thing from start to finish. I believe I have my weekend therefore planned.
There is so much I want to comment on, the brilliancy of the show and the movie, the build-up in both, the way that everything ties in together in such a way that you can find the ending along every step of the way and I've loved it. I have some things I may have wanted to see done a little differently, but not enough to take away from how incredible an experience this ride has been. The movie summed everything up in a way which was so right, I'm still emotional over it.
SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON
If you've watched the movie and you've read this post, then it's pretty damn obvious that I am team Richie, always have been (well - from episode 102 on, really. I didn't really get who Richie was yet during episode 101). I'm glad it ended with them being together and at peace. They've been through too much pain along the way, maybe necessary pain, but it's still a part of why I really wanted exactly such an ending for them.
I felt like the movie went through a variety of options of how Patrick might have ended up - alone, with a new love interest, with Dom, with Kevin and in each of these scenes we get a little glimpse of why that isn't quite right. And in each of them Richie was present in a way (in some obviously more explicitly than in others, for example in the conversation with the one night stand).
It really built up beautifully to the ending and Richie admitting, as they intensely stare at each other, that just because maybe you shouldn't need something, doesn't mean that you don't.
And to Patrick not being scared and not running away from Richie and his own feelings for him. That's what I think he took from the closure he got with Kevin. The realization that the guy he wants to be with should also be a friend, a real friend. As they both conclude, Patrick and Kevin could never really be that. Heck, their conversation only brings out certain parts in Patrick, while others remain unexpressed, leaving me with the impression that Patrick might have even been freer and more open with the one night stand than with this specific ex. In contrast, we've had all of the second season (particularly episode 205) establishing that Patrick and Richie can't give up on having the other one in their lives and showing us how they actively work, even when it's painful, at still being friends, at still having the other man there. They just can't give the other one up. Not to mention that they start by really knowing each other (episode 105, the first moment of pure brilliancy in the show, though not the last) and even at the very end, Richie is the guy that Patrick seems to be most open, the most honest and most himself with.
In that sense, I'm not just team Richie, I'm also just a part of the audience of people who've responded and embraced the way the show and movie depicted this wonderful love story, as first and foremost being about really getting to know someone else. Really sharing yourself with them. I'm a huge fan of this and the beautiful, raw, open way the show has shown this point of view of a romance (and the friendships surrounding it). So here I wanna end with the statement I started out with - I really, REALLY wish I could personally thank everyone involved in making Looking. It was and will continue to be a really meaningful piece of television art for me.