okay actually let's talk about lovro and how sram differentiates from skam in season 3. i feel like i'm just pointing the obvious things here and everyone is entitled to their opinion but i also feel like a lot of takes on here misunderstand what they're actually doing.
yes lovro was using a gay app in season 1. yes he knows he is gay just like isak. but season 3 trailer literally starts with him going back into the closet which sets the central theme of this season. the trailer also shows how everyone goes from faking being serious to playful as soon as the picture is taken. everyone except him because he has to continue to fake it.
seasons 1-2 lovro also had blue hair. episode 1 of season 3 starts with him dying it brown to appear more normal and be more straight passing. i saw some people take the whole “i’m dying it because i’m tired of cops stopping me for it” too literal. it was a joke and he was trying to deflect the question. you can hear it in jakov’s voice that he can tell lovro doesn’t wanna tell him the real reason but he didn’t want to push him. this is also a ~not so subtle~ version of the locker metaphor from skam.
in the first episode there is already a strong contrast in the way isak and lovro approach emma. sram established that lovro was seen as a player by his friends and that he often gets with girls only to drop them right after. in skam isak kisses emma in front of his friends. there is actually no scenes where him and emma are fully alone or not in the public space. in sram lovro is alone with ema. there is no audience to “perform for” yet he does it anyway because he is lying to himself. he is trying to convince himself. every ema interaction is literally painful because he doesn’t show any interest in her yet they added the scene in which he tries to sleep with her because he thinks that's what he needs to do. in skam emma isn't as perceptive and she can't tell something is wrong. in sram she can tell from the first episode.
adding the scene of lovro seeing vito with his boyfriend is such a specific choice because you can tell it on his face that he sees “oh this is something that is possible. but it's not possible for me”. it's such a clear indicator of the level of denial and repression he is going through right now because he literally sees someone be open and happy but he also doesn’t think that can ever be him because he would have to accept something about himself that he doesn't want to.
now let’s talk about ivan and how everything they did with him so far is on purpose. he shows up as a somewhat enigma. ivan is drawing attention to himself, he doesn’t care what people think of him. he literally wears the type of bag that’s called fa***t bag here. he is unfiltered and unapologetic about the way he is. lovro is drawn to him right away because ivan represents everything he is afraid to be right now.
the dream sequence is such a good indicator of what's going on in lovro's head. subconsciously he understand it. when he wakes up he thinks he hears the scooter and rushes to see is it him. but he doesn't really address what it means. despite being in lovro's pov we as viewers feel certain distance from him. in skam at this point isak, although he would not say it out loud, he knows there is something there and he allows himself to feel it. lovro refuses to define what he actually feels. at the same time he is slowly getting intertwined with ivan. when lovro sees him in the school the sound gets muted. when ivan enters the room lovro doesn't hear anyone or anything.
once again you can interpret those friday clips any way you want. no buzz no chemistry whatever. but i also think you're looking for buzz in the wrong place. at this point in the show this still isn't about "croevak". this is about lovro. he is trying to place these feelings without directly confronting them. like this is still a queer boy in croatia and he is scared. he is not at the same point or in the state of mind isak was and there is a different type of fear present here that wasn't there in skam. in those clips we finally see lovro light up after constantly being depressed. the buzz is there because he is the one who experiences it when he looks at ivan and we are experiencining that "click" with him.
there is actually so much blink and you'll miss it body language acting in that last clip. ivan who keeps getting closer and lovro who keeps backing away. ivan who touches him and lovro who smiles but immediately drops it as if he wasn't allowed to feel that way. there doesn't need to be music. there doesn't need to be montage. there doesn't need to be camera movement that tells you what to focus on. i said it in my tags but lovro is absolutely endorsed with ivan but right now it just feels like something he can't have.
you can't keep comparing their buzz to og or even other remakes without taking into account that lovro is currently not only in a totally different place and mindset than any of his counterparts but that there is also a certain complexity which comes from being queer in a country like croatia that actually frames all these scenes in a totally different light and adds certain heaviness to them.
theartofmadeline
janainaart
vaporwave
kianamaiart
