Love, Victor Season 3 Episode 7: Victor's unusual award 

It isn't always an honor to receive an award, especially when it is one about embracing one's own identity, like it in this episode of Love, Victor, titled The Gay Award.

The episode was directed by Natalia Leite and written by Alex Freund and Jillian Moreno. It revolved around Victor's unusual award ceremony, Benji's struggle with Victor's decision and Rahim's attempt to stand up for himself.

Note: This article reflects the writer's opinions.

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Love, Victor Season 3 Episode 7 review: An award for being himself

In the penultimate chapter of Love, Victor geared up for the finale with a brilliant episode. The teens contemplated their futures and the complex relationships that the show has developed over time. It was a heartfelt episode that professionally tackled adult decisions and some really important social issues.

Followers of Love, Victor know that the series has done a great job of normalizing s*xuality and highlighting the struggles of the LGBTQ+ community. However, the most painful depiction was that of discrimination in the episode The Gay Award.

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An offensive award

The seventh episode opens with Nick and Victor returning from their official first date together. When Victor asks Nick if he would like to go up to his apartment block, Nick denies the same by stating that he wants to take things slow.

Happy with his date, Victor heads inside only to get all the positivity taken away with a very vague text from his coach. Fans of the show must've observed that basketball has taken a backseat this season.

Later, Victor meets his coach, who wants to offer him a bravery award for basically being gay and confident. While this move could be considered a political one, it was probably an ill-advised one as well, since it was a harmless act, despite being problematic.

With this, Love, Victor tapped into a deeper issue as the award is offensive and sadly very common. So Victor asks for some time to mull it over.

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Standing up

A confused Victor then tells Rahim about the award, expecting the same reaction he had. However, Rahim seems to be all for it as he sees it as a positive thing as it celebrates Victor's identity and confidence.

The two then discussed Rahim's latest catch, Connor, and planned a double date with Nick. The sweet get-together takes a different direction as it set the scene for a rare bit of tension.

Rahim shows up in his shiny blue jacket and notices all the jocks at the restaurant laughing at him. The situation intensifies when Rahim is called a derogatory insult. However, he fought back with a tirade of his own abuse, only to get into a hands-on fight.

Love, Victor yet again provided a timely and real account of what it's like to stand up for one's s*xuality.

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The adolescent life

The series addressed another tricky topic along with "The Gay Award" - Benji and his drinking problem. Benji attends a meeting and openly discusses his worries - how he wishes to be friends with Victor again but fears that it may also trigger his sobriety.

The leader of the AA meeting tells Benji to do what felt right, so he rushes over to Victor’s door. However, when Benji arrived at Victor's, he saw him and Nick sharing a kiss. He later, agreed to attend boarding school to escape this nightmare.

This episode of Love, Victor was yet another stellar one as it dug into some deep and meaningful topics. It presented some of the trickiest topics of adolescence and s*xuality in a brilliant way, which many shows fail to do.

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Catch the brand new season of Love, Victor streaming on Hulu and Disney+. The previous seasons are also available to watch on the platforms.