In the fourth episode of the new season we learn that Patrick was once a fat kid (nickname: Fatrick), Eddie is HIV-positive, and Lynn is never going to want to get serious with Dom. Also: People still line up for Bi-Rite ice cream.
But let's not get too far ahead. Things start with the morning-after breakfast at Patrick's apartment, cooked by Kevin, after what Kevin says was "the fuck of my life" the night before. (See episode three for details.) They sit down for a kind of gross-looking English breakfast but the conversation takes a quick downward turn when Patrick starts asking about the conversation he overheard the night before, after they had sex, when Kevin's boyfriend John called. He asks if they talk on the phone every night when John's away, and obviously they do. And he asks if Kevin feels shitty whenever he has to go back to John, and he says yes.
Fast forward a day or two, and Patrick is with Dom at the Castro farmers' market locals may remember the day they shot there last fall when he sees Kevin and John doing a happy couple thing, shopping for vegetables together, and this sends Patrick into a predictable tailspin. He confronts Kevin at work, they have an intense talk, and instead of Kevin doing what you'd expect whining about how hard it is and how he needs time he promises to have the talk with John that night. "I won't lose you," says Kevin.
But meanwhile Patrick gets together for Bi-Rite ice cream with Richie leading to the biggest, most over-repeated SF cliché of the season thus far: "Isn't it weird how people in San Francisco love to stand in line?" Yes, Looking writers. Way to give us some SF color.
Richie gives Patrick the gut-check he needs when he finds out about Kevin saying, "So what are you a homewrecker now, Patrick?" and thus contributes to Patrick heading for that confrontation.
Doris starts a Kickstarter for Dom's chicken window, saying, "Fuck those phantom investors." But Dom isn't having it, says that Kickstarter is "desperate," and goes off being mopey. Then he shows up at Lynn's house unannounced one night only to find one of his hot rugby buddies wandering around shirtless, and then joins the hot tub party Lynn is having in the backyard. Hot Rugby Guy is obviously hot for Dom (he calls him "daddy" to which Dom bristles), and Lynn is obviously cool with threeways, and they get stoned on Lynn's vape. So, it's on.
Also: naked butts.
But then even though Dom is into Rugby Guy, afterwards he gets weird about it and starts asking Lynn if this is always how it's going to be with them. And he remarks again, going back to the first episode, on how much of a shrine to Lynn's dead ex that Russian River house is, and Lynn says he likes it that way. And he's never going to have another connection like that, so he says, "What we're doing right now, it's all I've got. I never lied to you. And if that's enough, then great." Dom of course says, "No, it's not. And it shouldn't be for you." But, of course, Dom doesn't know what it's like to be on the wrong side of 50 with a great and devastating love behind him and IRL, Scott Bakula needed to exit the show to get on with shooting NCIS: New Orleans.
Augustin "cons his way" into a job at the shelter for trans kids where Eddie works, and where one of the kids asks Augustin if he's trans. He says something fairly offensive in response: "Do I look trans?" So now the trans community can start hating Augustin's character along with the rest of us. So this is now the show's way of finding something to do with Augustin now that he's not an artist anymore and didn't have a plot line. He's an admin at a non-profit working with a character who's funnier, cooler, and smarter than him.
The gang has plans to go to the final night of Esta Noche, shot at the real Esta Noche before it closed last summer under gentrification pressure, which leads to Patrick's second cliché line: "San Francisco is so over." They all go to the bar, along with Doris, and there we get to meet Richie's new redhead boyfriend, Brady and proving the writers aren't too in touch with SF media, or they haven't heard of Craigslist, Brady says he works "at the Weekly" on "classifieds" which I don't even think is a job anymore. Dom shows up but immediately has to leave, because he basically just broke up with Lynn, so Doris takes him home.
Another factcheck issue: Doris says, "You want to ditch all our friends before Peaches Christ goes on?" Pretty sure Peaches never played Esta Noche. But look for a couple cameos in this scene by local queens Juanita More! and Dulce de Leche.
And then Kevin appears, quivering lips and all, and admits to Patrick that he couldn't break the news to John yet. He wussed out. Now, in real life, this would totally be expected, and Patrick and Kevin would both get drunk and hook up again anyway and Patrick would just be annoyed with himself in the morning. But Patrick draws his line in the sand immediately, says "Why did you even come here," and sends Kevin packing. The worst: We get to see zero drag shows.
While both Murray Bartlett (Dom) and Russell Tovey (Kevin) get the chance to do some real acting in this episode, it's another underwhelmer, writing-wise. But the closing-credit music is good! It's a Junior Boys track from a few years ago: "So This Is Goodbye."
Have a listen: