'The Deuce' season 3: Paul's equation with Todd is a beautiful portrayal of a relationship struggling with mortality
'The Deuce' may have its fair share of problems including the casting of James Franco in the lead roles as Frankie and Vincent Martino following a string of sexual harassment allegations, but the show does excel in portraying complicated relationships of all kinds. One of them happens to be that of Chris Coy's Paul Hendrickson and Aaron Dean Eisenberg's Todd Lang. Paul started off as a bartender of a gay bar at the beginning of the show. His friendship with Vince leads him on to bigger things including a club of his own where queer people are welcomed with open arms.
Todd, on the other hand, is a trained but unsuccessful actor. To support himself and fuel his dreams, he gets into prostitution and as a result, comes across Paul. They strike a friendship over the course of the first two seasons which transitions into a romantic relationship. But if you read a happily ever after for them, then you mistaken. Todd has contracted AIDS, and in the third season, we see him get seriously ill. It affects every part of his life, including his prospects as an actor. He is finally doing what he loves, which is acting on stage. This also leads to him getting the attention of producers of a soap opera to play the lead role in a drama, which initially leaves Todd thrilled. The exposure, the resulting fame -- it's everything that Todd had ever hoped for, and with the support of Paul, who is aware of his diagnosis, Todd wants to do everything possible to be able to achieve his dreams.
However, things are not going according to plan because Todd's condition has become worse. Enough to make him forget lines and so Todd quits the show. Just before this, in episode 3 of the show, we saw Todd and Paul have a conversation about what it really means to give up on ambitions and dreams. The conversation begins with Paul and Todd rehearsing the lines of the show. Todd is clearly having trouble, and they have been at it for an hour. He is exhausted and Paul suggests that they take a break. Todd tries to share that things have become difficult since his diagnosis, and even confesses that he passed out during a take. Paul, however, doesn't want to come to terms with how much his lover is struggling to live, and so he asks Todd if he would want some tea. "Chamomile or black?" he asks.
Todd forces him to broach the subject and Paul tells him that it was he who wanted to do the soap. He wanted to get the exposure from it. The argument evolves so beautifully that when Todd confesses that he is thinking of quitting, it is a punch in your solar plexus.
We do not expect him to give up at this point, because so far, he has only worked harder to make his dreams come true. I for one had thought that this conversation would be about the struggle of keeping up with the pace of the job, but when Todd says, "It's not about the exposure anymore, clock is ticking. I am dying Paul." It is not just Paul's heart breaking from watching the man he loves being torn apart by the illness, but you feel it too. Especially since it is delivered without any theatrics. Paul struggles with the fact that Todd may not be with him for too long, but at this point, he turns around and asks, "What you need from me?"
"Your support and a cup of tea," says Todd. Their relationship is that simple yet complicated, and therefore, the portrayal is truly remarkable.
'The Deuce' season 3 episode 4 will air on Monday at 10 pm ET on HBO.
