Some things are just not right; for example, the Gay Panic Defense.
Yes, it’s a real thing, and while it has been used relatively few times in the last fifty years, it can lead to reduced charges.
Basically, it argues that the existence of a gay person is enough to warrant a perfectly heterosexual man to get caught up in moments of insanity and lead them to commit unspeakable violence.
It’s what Ruben is angling for in Half Man Season 1 Episode 3, and it could have worked if Niall had played along.
One of the most confusing things about this story is the nature of Ruben and Niall’s relationship.
It has felt like a missing piece since Half Man Episode 1, and in Episode 2, I began to suspect it was a deliberate omission.
I don’t want to believe that it’s oversight by the show’s creative team.
Are they brothers or lovers? This episode argues the former, and it ends up being a stronger position for this tumultuous relationship.
We take another small step into the 1980s timeline as it is revealed that Abby indeed survived the assault after spending six months in a coma.
Some things are not right, and stomping on a human being’s head repeatedly until they lose consciousness for months is one of them.
I can think of very few instances where it can be justified, but even then, it’s overkill and would reveal more about the attacker than the victim.
What Ruben did to Alby was not right, and Niall knows it.
But when the show leans into the brotherly aspects of the relationship, lines blur, and things get incredibly complicated.
There are no sexual undertones this hour or violence directed toward Niall.
If Ruben weren’t a complete psycho, he’d actually make a good brother. The show pulls back from the shockers to showcase why Niall might be attached to Ruben.
If he wants, Ruben can be sweet. He can be open. Ruben can be a human being.
But then someone refuses to worship at the altar of Ruben, and the psycho jumps out.
Maura claims that Ruben has anger issues. A sickness she calls it.
My first instinct is to call bullshit, but I know that there are people who suffer from serious anger issues and they can’t control them.
Usually, this needs a medical diagnosis, not Mom’s General Hospital.
And someone could be seeing red from anger for the rest of their life, and it wouldn’t make up for the harm they cause others.
The first half or two-thirds of the hour carries this vibe.
It is incredibly frustrating to see Niall for the emotional manipulation directed at him by everyone close to him.
Oh, Ruben has changed; he’s volunteering at the community center, Maura is dying, he could help, and more.
Despite Niall knowing it’s not okay what happened to Alby and Ruben, he could cut off his right hand in apology, and still it wouldn’t make up for it; he is pulled from all corners.
What especially gets him is the possibility that he could be stuck in this town if Ruben weren’t acquitted.
Small towns are kryptonite for queer people. It feels isolating and incredibly lonely, knowing that your life could waste away in this place when there’s something better out there.
Niall hopes that leaving Scotland for Britain will give him freedom, and when that freedom is threatened, he chooses selfishness.
I just couldn’t get it. I was utterly frustrated seeing him willing to throw another queer person under the bus for his own benefit.
He couldn’t challenge even the most obvious, flawed reasoning presented to him. Maura having cancer or Ruben watching some boys doesn’t erase the fact that he attacked Ruben badly.
The victim should always be the primary consideration.
However, the show knows this is frustrating and has a trick to poke holes in this case.
Enter Joanna — smart, moral, and unapologetic. I’ve never felt a stronger need to kiss someone through the TV than when she just decimates the three at that tense dinner.
She’ll have to settle for an entry in Characters of the Week.
Joanna says, nay dictates, everything the viewer is feeling without mincing her words. She stands on business, and I have to believe that she played a role in changing Niall’s mind.
But the true showdown goes on in that court with Niall on the stand, unable to hide under his mother’s domineering persona, Maura’s weaponized health struggles, or Ruben’s selective warmth.
The prosecutor does a great job poking holes in the story, but the truth once again comes from a selfish place.
See, it’s one thing to say he saw Alby grope Ruben because the mind can be feeble. You can trick yourself into making things up and believe them with good enough motivation.
However, you can lie to everyone else, but you can’t lie to your own soul.
Niall knows that being queer is not deviant. What he and Alby are is not deviant. That’s a truth that comes from deep within him.
Saying anything contrary would be betraying his own soul.
And in that moment, Niall chooses himself — and Alby in the process. And when the psycho in Ruben comes out, the court doesn’t need witnesses to something it just saw.
Like its predecessors, much of this episode takes place in the 1980s, but we do get a glimpse of the wedding.
In a show that can feel like an indulgence of violence, Alby and Niall’s relationship is just so sweet. They have this banter that is almost antagonistic without feeling mean.
And remember that missing or omitted piece I was referring to, I think we might be getting it, folks.
When Ruben stands up to give his toast, it feels like a spill sesh rather than a reminiscing session. What does Ruben want to say about Niall?
It could be the key to this whole thing.
Gut Check
Episode 3 strengthens the show by separating the relationship from the incestuous undertones and violence. It feels like we’re getting closer to the breakthrough moment that contextualizes this story.
Intrusive Thoughts
- STUART CAMPBELL!!!! The actor that you are!
- Ruben: “He could have said ‘masturbation.’”
- Even with a scarred face, Alby looks better than most people.
Over to you, Half Man fanatics. How did you feel about the story this hour? Do you think Niall’s “betrayal’ is why Ruben has dropped by the wedding, or does he just love his brother so much?
Do you think a career in creative writing worked out for Niall? He just seems rich.
Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.
Say something in the comments, share if you’re moved to, and keep reading. Independent voices need readers like you.
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