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Everything changes and everything did change more than they already did. In the previous episode, Craig’s (Corey Knight) death rocks the entire friend group, leaving them more fractured than they already were. But Danny (Spence Moore II), who seems to take Craig’s death the hardest, attempts to find solace in his newfound connection with Islam. In this episode — the last and final episode of the series, everything changes once again.
The episode opens with Caitlin (Jordan Kristine Seamón) walking around the base with an interesting editing choice on part of the show’s video editor. As Caitlin makes her way through various places on the base, stills are taken of the base’s residents in the background. When she returns to her house, we realize that Sarah had pulled some strings to reassign the Poythress family to live in Chicago and are set to leave Italy the very next day. Earlier, it was as if Caitlin was taking final snapshots of what has been her home for a while now, savoring the memory. While I initially chalked up the general forlorn mood of the beginning of the episode to the aftermath of Craig’s death, it felt a lot different knowing that we would be spending Caitlin’s last day in Chioggia alongside her.
Britney (Francesca Scorses) pays a visit to the Poythress household while Caitlin is in the middle of packing. She looks as sad as ever with a cigarette now constantly between her fingers. The pair definitely doesn’t seem as close as they used to be, as Caitlin doesn’t respond to Britney’s attempts at conversation. When looking at the grand scheme of things (the introduction of Fraser to the group, Craig’s death, and the Poythress family now leaving), things always seemed to be changing within the blink of an eye. But things were never really meant to go back to what they used to be, and that probably would have been impossible anyway. Now, it doesn’t seem like there’s much of a chance for them to exactly be besties again.
Britney and Caitlin lay beside each other in bed with barely a word being shared between the two, but they seem somewhat friendly again. Before you know it, Britney begins to kiss Caitlin, which lasts for a few passionate moments. Once they stop kissing, she asks Caitlin if she liked it. Caitlin says she only likes Britney as a friend. Britney confesses that she’s always loved Caitlin. I couldn’t help but wonder why she would go after Sam (Ben Taylor) when he broke up with Caitlin and even confess that she’s always loved him. Then I realized that things aren’t so simple; they’re black and white. Maybe she believed that Caitlin could never feel that way about her, especially when she and Fraser (Jack Dylan Grazer) were practically attached at the hip. Maybe she was also just still figuring her feelings, and it took Caitlin’s near-departure to jolt her into action. They don’t say much else afterwards, but a simple goodbye.
Caitlin later meets with Fraser, whom she seems like she’s been avoiding all day, or at least, has been delaying their time to see each other. They make their way down to Bologna to attend a Blood Orange concert, something Fraser’s been looking forward to since he and Caitlin first found out about it. After realizing they don’t have enough money to make the full trip to Bologna by public transportation, they sneak onto a train without tickets. Fraser and Caitlin begin to listen to “Time Will Tell” by Blood Orange to prepare for their first (and probably last for a very long time) concert together. Music has played a fairly big role throughout the show, often mirroring the mood of certain episodes and emotional states of the characters. As we see in this episode, music has become a way for Fraser and Caitlin to deepen their bond within the time they have left together. It’s a way for them to say goodbye, but it seems like their friendship had only just begun and there were so many more memories they were supposed to make together. Where do they go from here, and what will this mean for them? Is it only a temporary separation as we would hope it to be?
Caitlin is then seen busy in the bathroom binding her chest. At this point, it seems much more apparent that Caitlin is starting to embrace this gender identity. Fraser later introduces him as a male to some people they meet along the way to Bologna, which only solidifies the beginning of Caitlin’s gender identity journey. From this point forward, Caitlin will now be referred to as Harper with the appropriate male pronouns.
Fraser notices that a ticket inspector is making his rounds through the train and checking each passenger’s ticket. Fraser runs to the bathroom to hide, interrupting Harper who is in the middle of applying facial hair. Fraser assists him, and Harper asks if he likes him as a guy, to which Fraser matter-of-factly responds “Are you still you?” Fraser asks a very important question here. While Harper struggled with his gender identity and didn’t quite know where he fit in throughout most of the show, he managed to find Fraser. Someone who understands the nature of these kinds of things, and someone who also helped Harper along his gender identity journey. Although, it doesn’t really matter what Harper had going on in the outside. What’s important is that Harper is still just Harper.
They eventually book it out of the train with the ticket inspector hot on their trails, but they successfully evade capture. However, they’re far, that is, far from their destination. They attempt to make the rest of the journey on foot. Nightfall hits, and they seem out of ideas as to how to get to the concert venue in time. They stop in a random, deserted neighborhood with Harper’s dad constantly calling him. Harper didn’t care to mention where he planned on going for the evening, which would be excused a lot easier if it wasn’t for the fact that he’s supposed to board a plane in just a matter of hours. Fraser takes this time to share a rare moment of vulnerability. He expresses that he hates his mother “with every cell of my being, of my body. I hate her,” which isn’t necessarily news. It’s safe to say that the problems of that relationship dynamic probably won’t be resolved anytime soon.
Fraser also reveals to Harper that “Mark isn’t real” and he never was. When Fraser first moves to Chioggia, he sends a voice message to Mark that alludes to them being romantically involved. In reality, Fraser and Mark were never lovers. Not friends. Not even acquaintances. While Mark is an actual person, Fraser never talked to him. He would only stare at Mark, which caught the attention of one of Mark’s friends, earning Fraser the reputation of being a “lunatic.” It started out the same way when Fraser and Harper first met. Harper’s friend group was initially put off by Fraser’s eccentricity, always keeping him at arm’s length and considering him as an outsider even when his friendship with Harper grew. It’s a sad thought that Fraser has had trouble fitting in just about…anywhere; back home and even halfway across the globe. However, being able to share something with Harper that Fraser has obviously never talked to anyone about before is a big step. It really boils down to the imminence of losing someone you love that drives Fraser to be a little more honest than usual.
Fraser and Harper walk to a gas station and happen upon a couple of people that are also on their way to see Blood Orange. They invite the pair to join them on the road, which Fraser and Harper happily accept. On the way to the venue, Fraser becomes fast friends with Luca (Arturo Gabbriellini), a boy around the same age as Harper and Fraser. He happens to share many of the same interests as Fraser—music and fashion-wise, much to his delight –, but I quickly noticed how much more attention Fraser was paying to Luca than to Harper by the second. This was supposed to be the last opportunity that Fraser and Harper would be together in the same place, but Fraser almost seemed like he was squandering it all. I suppose it goes to show that Fraser might be able to make other friends once Harper is gone. Fraser’s been an outcast for what seems like a very long time, but he might be perfectly okay in the end. It still irked me that Fraser was starting to ignore Harper, and it only got worse once the episode went on.
They all successfully make it to the show, but Fraser goes ahead with Luca and leaves Harper behind. Harper quickly loses Fraser and struggles through the crowd to look for him to no avail. The concert begins, and Fraser and Luca are obviously having the time of their lives, but the same can’t be said for Harper. In previous episodes, Fraser seemed way more excited to see Blood Orange live than Harper ever did. Combined with Fraser’s genuine love for Blood Orange, fashion, and how he’s quick to leave Harper behind for a new friend shows just how flawed Fraser can be as a person. Of course, every character in this show is deeply flawed, but this moment in the episode really brought Fraser’s character to my attention. While Fraser has always exuded the idea that he’s different and not like everybody else, I think he got way too wrapped up in that idea about himself. Whether it was fashion, music, poetry, or anything that allowed him to stray from the norm, it was easy for him to ironically become narrow-sighted. It was because Fraser had already known that he was different from everyone else that it was easy for him to become attached to anyone who shared this sense of otherness. Hence, his intense interest in Harper in the beginning and now, Luca. But it’s the idea that he’s able to practically abandon Harper straight away just to cling to some other person who shares this sentiment of being different that makes Fraser seem a bit exclusionary himself. Just like he said earlier in the car, “The irregularity is the essence of it,” and the same idea can be applied to Fraser to a fault.
Harper makes his way to the bar, garnering the interest of the attractive bartender, to which Harper slightly returns. They flirt for a bit, and the bartender manages to get Harper a backstage pass to meet Blood Orange. Harper gets a picture with Dev Hynes and tells him that his favorite song is “Time Will Tell.” After the band leaves the green room to regroup on stage, the bartender stays behind and invites Harper to join her on the couch. She notes that Harper is transgender—FTM, or at least that’s what she thinks it’s called. Harper responds with, “I think so.” It seems as if Harper is not necessarily too certain about his gender identity after all, and he gave the impression that he was having second thoughts about being a transgender man. The bartender kisses Harper, but Harper doesn’t seem to enjoy it at all and is even a bit distracted. Harper quickly leaves the venue on his own and rips his fake facial hair off. What’s interesting is that Harper never seems satisfied with the women he’s had brief trysts with and even seems upset afterward, despite showing initial interest in them. It’s not necessarily wrong, but it seems his subsequent anger comes from a place of uncertainty about his gender identity as a man. However, he never seemed to fully enjoy kissing Sam either, so perhaps it was just a matter of finding the right person. Period. Fraser has been nothing but supportive when it comes to Harper’s genderqueer journey, but perhaps he pushed certain labels onto Harper even though Harper was content with just…being. No labels.
Once the concert is completely over, Fraser explores Bologna deserted in the middle of the night with Luca. They had fun the entire time during the concert, but the night isn’t yet over for them. After a while of running around, they stop for a moment and share a kiss—the fact that Luca has a girlfriend is seemingly forgotten. Fraser asks if Luca liked kissing a boy considering that it was Luca’s first time. Luca responds that he doesn’t really enjoy it, but he likes tongue action. It was a bit obvious that Luca and Fraser had chemistry, but it doesn’t feel like something that’s actually meant to last. Luca asks Fraser if he would like to see “the most beautiful place in the world” with him, but Fraser gives him a final goodbye hug and runs off to find Harper, suddenly remembering his missing companion. It’s interesting to note here that immediately after Fraser left, the scene was edited so that it would appear as if Luca vanished within the blink of an eye. It gave the impression that Luca was perhaps never real in the first place, which hearkens back to the idea of Mark having never been a part of Fraser’s world. While Luca was fun company for a brief while, he was only just an idea of a person that Fraser liked. However, Fraser’s true companion is Harper—someone who may not necessarily share the same interests and views of Fraser but is someone who is real, tangible, and truly cares for Fraser.
Fraser spends what seems like close to an hour sprinting to the train station in time and manages to find Harper. He manages to convince Harper to get off the train and join him at the place where he was last with Luca. While Luca may have claimed that it was the most beautiful place in the world, Fraser wanted to see that very place with Harper instead. It is early morning at that point, close to when Harper must leave Italy for good. They spend their final moments together in peaceful silence, but Fraser gets closer to Harper and kisses him. Harper happily returns his kiss, and they passionately kiss for a few moments longer. I’ll admit at this moment, I immediately yelled out “it’s been you all along” and then proceeded to cry. However, I was surprised, yet, funnily enough, not surprised to see that this would be how the show ends. I never considered Fraser and Harper to be more than anything purely platonic. I loved the deep bond that they shared and how inseparable they were, but I didn’t necessarily root for them to become a couple in the end. However, it’s undeniable that they understood each other on a level that nobody else has before. While the kiss was certainly romantic, I think it came more so from a place of complete joy at having found someone who could finally understand them. While they may still be young and have the world in front of them, the bond they have doesn’t seem like it will ever go away. The two then run off to who knows where to do who knows what, but that’s the beauty of it. As Dev Hynes beautifully sings it, “Time will tell if you can figure this and work it out.”
In the end, whether it’s as Caitlin or Harper, or a “fashion victim from New York,” the two have found love that will last. The final message that the show seems to impart is that labels don’t have to be permanent, and they don’t necessarily capture the full experience of what it means to be a human either. We all cry, laugh, get angry, and we all love. No matter what, We Are Who We Are.
Thank you to Luca Guadagnino, the cast, and everyone else who helped make this show come together. The show was beautifully made, from the cinematography, to the musical score, to the acting. All of it. The ride was short but definitely worth it. Thank you.
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