SKAM season 3 talkback series: episode 7, “Er du homo?”
The SKAM season 3 rewatch talkback series was done in conjunction with a first-time watch for a small group of newbies. I talked to a cross-section of fans about each episode so our newbies could get a varied taste of what the SKAM fandom was about.
Talk back with the excellent @etal-late (aka etal on AO3)
SKAM 3.7: Er du homo? conducted on 24, November 2019
@ghostcat3000: Hello, hello, welcome everyone to our very small, very casual chat about SKAM season 3 episode 7, Er du homo? I'd like to welcome the wonderful @etal-late, who is an excellent writer and amuses me on the regular. I just made myself a cup of tea and am settling into my couch. I planned this very poorly because I forgot that I have to run about five thousand errands for Thanksgiving today. The supermarket is going to be...awful beyond measure. There are pies to be picked up. WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF?
etal: Right, tea is here, I am here. But do you have pies to see to?
Ghostcat: I do, but ignore me.
etal: Let's go hard and then you go and get your pies when you need to except I'm the worst at typing fast.
Ghostcat: Let's start!
etal: Before we begin, may I check something?
Ghostcat: Yes?
etal: Does the fact that I'm here, answering your questions mean...
Ghostcat: ...
etal: That I'm your...
Ghostcat: ...
etal: Episode 7 Guru?
Ghostcat: Where is my “Isak sez fuck it” gif when I need it?
etal: It's ok, we'll take it as read. Anyway, did you have a question?
Ghostcat: Thank you so much for joining us. I would like to kick things off with a question from last week's talk back guest, @delongpaw: “Who is a better Guru? Eskild or Jonas? And why.”
etal: Good question, Delongpaw. Eskild does well in the kitchen convo. He is kind.
Ghostcat: Yes.
etal: But also honest.
Ghostcat: Always kind. From experience, one gathers.
etal: Yes, and I like how he had forgiven Isak for his earlier gaucheness and had moved on.
Ghostcat: SKAM social media game is so strong. Offscreen, we see that Isak reaches out to Eskild to apologize again and to make sure Eskild isn't avoiding being home because of him.
etal: Yep, and they have their little pet name thing.
Ghostcat: It’s one of those nice character touches―Isak is capable of recognizing when he's wrong and makes amends. Eskild is receptive and understands where Isak's coming from.
etal: He and Jonas are different gurus...they can answer different parts of Isak's question.
Ghostcat: They are mom and dad.
etal: Ha ha, yes.
Ghostcat: Jonas is mom. Eskild is dad.
etal: "You're doing fine, son, but that's the way the world is."
Ghostcat: RIGHT. Eskild's advice is practical and comes from his own experience. Whereas Jonas knows Isak and is able to look him in the eye and say I THINK YOU'RE LETTING HIM PLAY YOU because he knows his friend isn't usually so passive.
etal: And deserves better.
Ghostcat: Yes, that too.
etal: I'm interested in how the boys' advice comes from watching how girls deal with their b.s.―like, this is how they boss us. We have observed and learned their ways.
Ghostcat: Ha ha ha, meanwhile the girls seriously just want to know what the fuck is going on. So your answer to delongpaw’s question is BOTH, both are important, two sides of a whole.
etal: Yes, that's my answer. Your answer is my answer.
Ghostcat: A beautiful ending to an otherwise hellish week.
etal: I do want to scream about Jonas in this episode though because even after his bench/kebab heroics, he hits some new highs in this one.
Ghostcat: Those are some heroics. Absolutely. Well, now that Isak's let him in, he can act in the function he was meant to―our resident sage.
etal: Actually, back to Eskild for a sec, the first clip is him giving bad advice to Noora to go on tinder.
Ghostcat: Ha ha ha, you don't think Noora should be on tinder? Can you imagine that profile?
etal: “Enjoys laundry and despairing because she 'always has to do the right thing." But back to Jonas. The pacing in both the boy scenes is really good, Jonas is doing his watchful thing, Isak is clenched in varying states of tension, and the boys are crashing about.
Ghostcat: Continuing the theme of communication...Isak had texted Jonas to tell him the news was spreading about his "thing" with Even and the topic of telling the boys comes up.
etal: So you're holding your breath waiting for the moment of revelation.
Ghostcat: When we go into this scene, with Magnus beatboxing and generally being...himself, those glances Jonas throws Isak's way are reassuring ones―you can do this. I've got your back. It's gonna be fine.
etal: Trust them (even though it's Magnus…)
Ghostcat: Because after all there's a pre-party at the end.
etal: ...who is hilarious in this one. Straight up.
Ghostcat: Magnus is hilarious. he's so stupid but so recognizable as that friend. the one that's super embarrassing and is always just blurting out the first thing in his head
etal: But genuinely curious. Like, pan or bi, please someone explain.
Ghostcat: While, at times, insensitive. It's never malicious. He genuinely doesn't know things and wants to.
etal: I like the way certain words really trip him up.
Ghostcat: He really gets caught up in them. Pan? Dominatrix? He just repeats them to himself. Like little boys who repeat the word ‘poop’ to themselves, over and over again.
etal: Incidentally, I genuinely had to look up 'excretion' to check if it was A or D.
Ghostcat: I had to ask! And I was told, rightly, that it's Isak's season―he would have the right answer in his subject.
etal: Of course! Do we think it is significant? Is 'separation of waste' a metaphor for getting your shit together?
Ghostcat: Lol. I do think it's significant. As significant as Isak's subject. Which we'll get into at the end of this season.
etal: :thumbsup_tone2:
Ghostcat: This season is meticulously put together but it doesn't feel labored.
etal: Gosh, that's a big thumb.
Ghostcat: Ha ha ha.
etal: Yes, not much is accidental.
Ghostcat: I enjoyed this peek at the deepening relationship between Isak and Sana. You know they're closer even though their interactions are about 100% bickering.
etal: Yes, it's lovely―their compromise: you're wrong, but you go ahead and own your wrong answer.
Ghostcat: Right before he gets that text from Vilde, Isak gives Sana a lovely smile. He's playing around with her.
etal: I'll initial my RIGHT ONE. "Iiiisak"
Ghostcat: “What's your name again?”
etal: He's already feeling lighter.
Ghostcat: And then there's Vilde's text which in typical Vilde fashion is wildly tone deaf. I love gay guys! Like she's going to get a new gay bff out of Isak Valtersen.
etal: :rainbow_flag: :heart:
Ghostcat: (Though my headcanon is that, like everyone else, Isak will eventually become close friends with Vilde.)
etal: Not spoilering, but I've forgotten whether Sana has heard the rumour yet?
Ghostcat: She sees the text and Isak sees that she sees but then class is over and she takes off. The news is spreading, has spread and all thanks it seems to Sonja telling Emma and Emma spreading it to everyone else. Luckily, Isak has told Jonas and then he tells his boys.
etal: Yes, so he has back-up now he's in this awful place of having everyone know, but Even awol...until-
Ghostcat: I'm proud of him though.
etal: Yes.
Ghostcat: There's a sense of Isak having already gone through the worst thing and that wasn't being outed or having everyone know―it was losing Even.
etal: Yep.
Ghostcat: That's a massive realization. That everything else pales in comparison and is manageable. But hope isn't entirely lost despite what Eskild says...because there's always those notes that Even is still leaving Isak and this week's note is an interesting one.
etal: He approaches that locker with such trepidation. What does it have in store for him now.
Ghostcat: His nemesis. Isak x Hell Locker. Slow burn, Enemies to Lovers.
etal: I didn't understand the note at first...
Ghostcat: It's a drawing of Isak's text to Even without an answer and one of the parallel universe where Even does answer and tells him he misses him. Of course, Even is telling him and so, for the first time, it's both worlds at once.
etal: Tok.
Ghostcat: And if that isn't hope. What is?
etal: (Tok is the sound of a spoon tapping an eggshell and making the first tiny crack, the eggshell is my heart) His expression when he looks at that note.
Ghostcat: It's with this interesting development that we go into the pre-party and Isak's sitting there in an echo of the previous pre-party, and wearing the same outfit, I think? Looking like he's in two worlds himself. The one where he's trying to figure out what is up with Even and the one where he really is so fucking done with the pre-party ritual.
etal: Poor fellow.
Ghostcat: But then, the save! Your boy.
etal: JONAS. JONAS.
Ghostcat: Jonas. He looks over at him...
etal: Jonas knows.
Ghostcat: ...and sees it all and asks and him asking brings in the rest of the squad with their questions.
etal: All their many questions.
Ghostcat: Including Magnus's cringe-y gay sex question.
etal: Isak in his new confidence can even deal with Magnus' doofustry.
Ghostcat: To be fair, he already did in the earlier conversation. I don't think anything could take away Isak's need to roast Magnus mercilessly.
etal: Haha, yes.
Ghostcat: But again, Magnus seriously doesn't know shit. I do love that he applies his new knowledge. Is he also...pan?
etal: A searcher after knowledge.
Ghostcat: He wants to know. This scene is so brilliantly done. and it's comedy! Shakespearean comedy! The character who doesn't know what to do and his crew of fools providing solutions (which wind up being pretty good).
etal: Speaking of which...
Ghostcat: Yes?
etal: Although, hang on- First, I enjoy Isak's sudden decisiveness.
Ghostcat: The text?
etal: Blasts that text out. He types faster than me.
Ghostcat: He types it and hits send, no editing.
etal: Phone down.
Ghostcat: I like how he makes fun of Jonas's first draft, like that's a thing I'd say? and Jonas doubles down―something like that but more YOU.
etal: And they're right!
Ghostcat: The text he sends is exactly what Jonas crafts-as-Isak. The response is near-immediate like Even's been staring at his phone.
etal: Yep.
Ghostcat: Jonas really warms to this counselor role.
etal: *Cracks his knuckles* Let's go. Got this.
Ghostcat: Utters the immortal lines: STRAIGHT UP. NO FEELINGS.
etal: Straiddup.
Ghostcat: N O S M I L E Y. He looks so annoyed that Isak doesn't get it. No fucking smiley, Isak.
etal: Imagine getting that text.
Ghostcat: Omg.
etal: Stone-cold.
Ghostcat: I know.
etal: Fuck, no smiley...grabs trainers.
Ghostcat: Chiller hjemme. I don't think Even lives near the Kollektiv. That bitch RAN.
etal: I have timed it.
Ghostcat: Or hopped on that fucked up bike of his.
etal: Or counted it out, you know. Fastest boy in Norway.
Ghostcat: I have to admit. They got me. Andem fully played me when the doorbell rang, I didn't actually think it was Even despite it being OBVIOUSLY him.
etal: Lol.
Ghostcat: I don't know why. I think it might have been the quality of the scene after that last text and how there was no answer. They all start talking about something else and kind of settle into the same energy as before.
etal: Brilliantly done, you're feeling so hard for Isak.
Ghostcat: And I fully expected things to end there, with Isak's sad face looking at his phone.
etal: Meanwhile, Even is fully sprinting. Knocking over old ladies.
Ghostcat: Ha ha ha.
etal: Sparks coming off his tyres.
Ghostcat: Sliding across the hoods of cars. Bike going all E.T.
etal: Hair flowing in the wind.
Ghostcat: Crossing past a full moon though legit his hair looks great when he shows up but before that...
etal: Oh yes, it does.
Ghostcat: ...Isak has to have that moment of-
etal: Yes? Pain.
Ghostcat: Are you expecting someone? No, you guys are the only friends I have.
etal: Lol, great line.
Ghostcat: It's probably Eskild. He's always leaving his keys (which is brilliant because it's completely plausible).
etal: Eskiiild, says Magnus, helpfully.
Ghostcat: But there's Even. and guys, it's Even and Magnus goes WE'RE GONNA MEET EVEN while Jonas, one step ahead of everyone else, starts grabbing the beers.
etal: Now here I have A Point To Make.
Ghostcat: HIT IT.
etal: Where is Even? Down on the pavement.
Ghostcat: He is buzzing from downstairs. At the front entrance, on the street.
etal: Correct. Where is Isak?
Ghostcat: And Isak is at the balcony.
etal: BALCONY.
Ghostcat: You got it. Even is a lazy hoe. He should have climbed up like a proper Romeo.
etal: This is a Romeo and Juliet moment and that is TRUE. He does climb up.
Ghostcat: It is absolutely a Romeo and Juliet moment.
etal: The stairs. Less romantic, but still.
Ghostcat: It's handy for Isak that his apartment has a separate servant's stairwell/exit. SERVANTS!
etal: Lol, out you go, boys.
Ghostcat: Again, Shakespeare. With Magnus as the classic fool, down to the bursts of song.
etal: Yes, the Montague boys in full swing. I love that moment, it was one of the scenes that made me really love this series. Delightful.
Ghostcat: Moment to acknowledge Isak fully sliding into fury in this scene, his GTFO face is the best―NO, YOU CANNOT MEET EVEN, WHAT THE FUCK. *Angry squirrel face* and Jonas slipping beers into every pocket.
etal: Get out get out, throwing shoes after them.
Ghostcat: The song from Luhrmann's Romeo +Juliet to underscore the moment. They exit and the music cuts out.
etal: “Local God.” [by Everclear]
Ghostcat: Isak has a moment to gather himself.
etal: (Wise Jonas, they'll need those beers later.)
Ghostcat: (“He feels like a local god when he's with his boys?” something like that...) Knock at the door, he opens it, and there is Even.
etal: Oh oh OH.
Ghostcat: Oh?
etal: Just oh-ing regarding Even generally. The ice-cream swirl of hair at its best.
Ghostcat: Particularly for someone who just teleported over there. He looks pretty put together, Even is ready to impress.
etal: Breathing a little fast? Not really.
Ghostcat: Just laser beam eyes and an obnoxiously confident hello.
etal: And an eyebrow raise for the gods. THE GODS.
Ghostcat: With a tiny flicker then of insecurity because Isak isn't saying anything, just blinking at him. In soft, soft regard.
etal: So perfect, all in about 5 seconds.
Ghostcat: Well, mostly and then “Mister-you-have-to-play-hard-to-get” Isak Valtersen absolutely does not.
etal: Lol and lol.
Ghostcat: What did you think when you saw this moment for the first time? Where you concerned about this decision to not talk but just act?
etal: "etal is typing"
Ghostcat: Ha ha ha.
etal: So I think...
Ghostcat: I'll post giant gifs of them staring at each other in the meantime.
etal: I was surprised by how fast it went.
Ghostcat: It's very fast but not surprising...
etal: It's the logic of a romantic scene - run, grab, DO IT. And what Isak has earned-
Ghostcat: [post giant gif of Even staring at Isak in that doorway.]
etal: Oh crumbs, hello there, you…
Ghostcat: So Isak has earned this moment?
etal: -what Isak has earned through the episode. It's led up to this and they are done talking, for now. So I guess, I was...not concerned?
Ghostcat: [posts giant gif of Isak blinking back at Even] True, Isak has earned it. But so have we. We've been hanging with this poor kid through this challenging week so his gain is our gain.
etal: Indeed. Kiss the boy please.
Ghostcat: Kiss the boy.
etal: How fast does his top come off though? Pretty fast.
Ghostcat: Ha ha ha, apparently there's some behind-the-scenes stuff we'll get to about this. The hat, the shirt, everything goes.
etal: They are so good at the kissing.
Ghostcat: I like the part where they stop and look at each other for a moment. It might actually be the most romantic moment for me because they do it at the same time, together. A wordless check-in.
etal: Sweet, sweet. You know sometimes men doing passionate kissing can look very rough and like it would hurt? This doesn't.
Ghostcat: It doesn't, it's very intimate without being explicit. Which is one of the things I love about this season. It has a very believable heat without going too far and feeling exploitative of its young actors. I say that as a denizen of the land of going too far, i.e. fanfic.
etal: Heh heh.
Ghostcat: That's where I live. I acknowledge this. There is one more joke of course. Just like in the first episode, a person sinks to their knees in front of Isak and this time, he doesn't stop them. He finally gets that blow job he's been lying about for two seasons.
etal: LOL, go for it Isak. It is the East, and you are the sun.
Ghostcat: Ha ha ha. Arise fair sun (for things have certainly arisen).
etal: And are also going down. It's an episode of ups and downs.
Ghostcat: Yes! Much like everything is this season. Highs and lows with humor and tenderness. SO before I leave to go get the pies TWO important things, if I may.
etal: Yes?
Ghostcat: My questions: One) please share your story of when and how you started watching SKAM. Two) Any final thoughts on this episode that I haven't touched on? SIMPLE QUESTIONS, etal, and then you'll be free of me.
etal: Guru Etal, please.
Ghostcat: (Isak eye roll) Fine. Guru Etal.
etal: OK. For 1. I have something I prepared earlier (like your pies). This is how I started watching SKAM:
Ghostcat: Ha ha ha How I torment thee.
etal: (Some time later):
My origin story.
Ghostcat: Wheezing
etal: But, seriously, once I had been looking at it on tumblr, watched seasons 1 and 2 and really enjoyed the style, which is so fresh and interesting. I love the way the kids talk, the mix of languages and then series 3 is just beautiful really. I'm a sucker for the R&J references and I love the screen time the boys get to talk and―someone said this on an earlier chat, I'm sorry, I forget who it was―to show a side of teenage boys we don't get to see very much in film and tv. I remember talking with you @Ghostcat about how the actors flicker between being really beautiful to a bit scuzzy like real teens...I was properly into it. Watching again, I still get excited by sound of the theme music.
Ghostcat: Beautifully put. Me too.
etal: Final thoughts on this ep: Jonas' IKEA question; Jonas is great; Even's 2 minute dash of pash; Even's hair; Montague boys forever.
Ghostcat: “Dash of pash” :skull: Thank you so much for chatting with me today. And for bearing with my technical difficulties.
etal: My pleasure. Go buy your pies! Run! Run! Raise your eyebrow at them, they're waiting for you.
itsallnoncents: Thank you both! And thank you Jonas for being the bestest best bro.
Ghostcat: To Jonas! [posts gif of Jonas saying *straight up*]
*
Join us next week to read our talkback with @odeto-psyche about my personal fave SKAM episode, 3.8 Mannen i mitt liv aka Even, Even, Even, and the bundle of clothes.
