With Or Without You – As the second episode of Lost Boys & Fairies begins, Jake (Leo Harris) dresses in drag while dancing with Gabriel (Sion Daniel Young) and Andy (Fra Fee). When Gabriel comes to reality, he’s sitting with Andy and Jackie (Elizabeth Berrington). Jackie says Jake has Gabe’s eyes, but he thinks that’s a ridiculous thing to say. They’re introduced to Steve Thompson (Jason May) who will be trailing their matching panel today. Then, they are introduced to social workers and others. Andy admits they’re not under any illusion that this is going to be easy. They know what they’re getting into. Gabe keeps hearing his father say a child needs a mother. He is asked how confident he is that he won’t have a drug relapse. Gabe knows they have concerns. He had concerns when they started the process.

He says Jackie has been totally amazing. She’s made him see how his past experiences are actually useful here. Gabe admits he’s seen some dark days although he is doing okay now. He’s thriving and he believes he can use what he learned when parenting Jake. Gabe goes on to say they have a solid support network in place. Jackie celebrates with them outside. Sheila Perry comes outside to say Jake is a lucky boy because this may be his last chance. Once she leaves, Jackie says Sheila has been with him since the beginning and got him out of there. Later, Andy calls his mom to tell her the good news. They break the news to their friends as well. Gabe calls his dad, Emrys (William Thomas), to tell him. Gabe admits they’re pleased. Emrys doesn’t say much before the call ends.

Gabe goes back to the party for drinks. In the morning, Andy asks if he rimmed Gabe last night. He stopped doing that when he was 16. They look at the pictures for Jake’s book. Andy and Gabe go to Emrys to show him a picture of Jake. Emrys asks if Jake is short for anything and if that’s what they’re going to call him. Gabe reminds him they can’t change his name. Emrys says Gabe changed his. Andy reveals they want Jake to call Emrys Tadcu. Gabe cleans up in the kitchen while Andy takes Emrys outside to get his picture. Emrys tells Andy he’s been struggling with his eyes recently. He asks Andy if he’d mind sewing a hole in his clothes for him. As Gabe comes outside, he hears Andy telling his dad to ask him because Gabe makes all of his own clothes. Emrys would rather Andy did it and there’s no reason to tell Gabriel.

As they leave, Andy suggests giving Jake a Welsh middle name. Gabe doesn’t want to do that just to please his dad. He doesn’t want to send Jake to a Welsh school either. Gabe explains why he struggled with Welsh and how it’s not queer friendly. He didn’t feel like he could be himself in Welsh. Gabe says that made it more difficult to come out to his father so he came out in English. Andy argues that Gabe’s issue is his dad. He goes on to say his dad hasn’t rejected him. When they make it home, they learn that Sandra (Maria Doyle Kennedy) has been through their sex drawer. She thinks they should do something else with them since Jake is coming. Sandra also brought a few things for Jake. Andy reveals he’s already brought Jake a few extra things although Gabriel didn’t know about it.

Sandra and Andy got excited and ended up buying a bit too much. They discuss getting a bed for Jake. They watch a video together later until Gabe leaves to pick up their wages. He goes to the club where Celyn (Shaheen Jafargholi) is performing on stage. Celyn ends up talking about Gabe and Andy convincing social services to trust them with a child. Berwyn (Arwel Gruffydd) asks Gabriel if he wants to go on. He says yes before they go to the back to put on makeup. Gabe wishes he was younger again, Berwyn reminds him he was a mess when he was younger. Berwyn tells Gabriel it’s time he grew up although he’s worried about being crap at it. Berwyn gives him advice. Gabe confesses he can’t stop thinking about Mami. Berwyn promises he will be brilliant. During the next meeting, Claire (Sharon D. Clarke) takes over and welcomes the boys to introductions.

They go to her place where Jake has been waiting for them. They will spend two hours on the first day. The next day, they can stay for lunch. The following day, they’ll be there when Jake wakes up in the morning. Claire warns them that Jake will start testing them as the week goes on. They begin taking him out all day. At one point, it appears they’ve lost him at the playground. When he returns to them, they learn that he’s caused problems. They give Jake a bath later. The day after that, they come to Andy and Gabe’s place for the first time. Jake loves his bedroom. That night, Gabe tells Andy he’s popping into Neverland to sort out his costume for Friday. He goes there and downs several shots while Berwyn watches from nearby. Once he makes it back home, he throws up. Gabe apologizes to Andy and promises it won’t happen again.

In the middle of the night, Andy pours out their alcohol. Andy meets Sandra who learns about Gabe getting drunk. He admits he’s worried Gabe might be having second thoughts. Sandra believes they’re all damaged. She says Andy has abandonment issues and does whatever he can to stop Gabe from leaving. Sandra says his dad was a wanker. In a flashback, Andy tries to take his dad gifts. He sees him inside pretending not to be home. Sandra says it’ll be a disaster unless they both want it. Andy says he wants it more than anything even if Gabe doesn’t. He doesn’t know if he wants it more than Gabriel. During a video chat, Jake says Gabe or Daddy likes to wear dresses and he sounds a bit like Mommy. Gabe calls that heteronormative. Jake says he likes gays. A classmate said gay people are disgusting because they mince all the time. Jake hit him as a result.

At the video call, Gabe claims Andy laughed at him although Andy denies it. Gabe complains he doesn’t have any useful skills. Andy tells him he’s behaving like a child. They argue for a while. Andy insists this isn’t a competition, but Gabe thinks it will be. Andy asks if he wants this to stop. Gabe doesn’t think they can do this because they can’t let Jake down. Andy thinks they should stop if this isn’t working for him. He says he’s going to adopt Jake with or without Gabe. Later, Gabe apologizes and says he wants to adopt Jake. He asks Andy if he would’ve chosen Jake over him. Andy claims they don’t need to worry about that anymore. Gabe goes to Neverland where Celyn is performing again. Celyn speaks to him backstage and does drugs. They talk about Welsh and whether it is queer friendly. Celyn alleges Gabe has a chip on his shoulder for not sending Jake to a Welsh language school.

He thinks Gabe should move on. Gabe tells him he needs to let other people make mistakes. Celyn asks why when their dad never tolerated them. Celyn says Gabe used to be radical, but he’s turned straight at one sniff of parenthood. Gabe speaks to Berwyn about that conversation later. He feels like he doesn’t belong anymore. Berwyn says it’s all LGBTW extra large with a Whopper. Gabe wonders how he can guide Jake through all of this when he doesn’t understand it. He complains that everyone loves Andy. Berwyn urges Gabe not to throw all this away on old insecurities or let them win again. He’s not a bullied boy anymore. Celyn apologizes to Gabe and blames the coke. Celyn asks Gabe if he’s going to sag them. Gabe leaves moments later. At home, Andy is upset because he phoned and Gabe didn’t get back to him. Gabe says his phone died.

Andy mentions his mom said he has abandonment issues. He says he can’t keep forgiving Gabe over and over again. Andy doesn’t want to lose Gabe who insists he won’t. They agree they need to be themselves. Andy tells Gabe he needs to stop hating himself. Jake arrives for a sleepover. Claire tells Andy and Gabe not to put up with any crap. Jake gets rough and throws the ball at Gabe. He keeps doing it until Gabe finally lashes out at him. Jake says he wants to go home to Claire’s. Andy tries to cheer Jake up once they get home. He says he made a cake with Jake’s name on it and it was Gabe’s idea. Jake walks away from the table so Gabe goes after him. He sits in front of the mirror and talks about Jake’s emotions. Gabe puts on makeup to make himself feel better. Jake watches and eventually comes out of his hiding spot. Gabe puts makeup on him.

Once Jake has makeup on, he asks if he’s a girl now. Gabe asks what he thinks he is. Jake says a Daddy. Gabe still thinks he’s Jake. He puts Jake to bed and sings to him. When he comes out of the bedroom, Andy asks about the song. Gabe says it’s one his parents used to sing to him. He thinks they might want to check out some Welsh schools. Later, Claire tells the others it needs to happen sooner. If they wait until Monday, Jake will start shifting back to her. Gabe says his last performance is tonight. Claire tells him to make it a good one and Jake can move in tomorrow. In the car, Gabe tells Andy they should go out on a date before the show tonight. He says Andy doesn’t have to come to Neverland. Andy asks if he’ll miss his late performance although Gabe claims there will be more.

Andy relents and agrees to enjoy their last night of freedom. They go out and have fun while Claire checks in on Jake. Andy leaves Gabe who goes inside and does his makeup for the performance. Andy tries to break up a fight. He ends up getting attacked and possibly stabbed. Police officers enter Neverland and speak to Berwyn who points out Gabriel.

 

Lost Boys & Fairies Review

The second episode Lost Boys & Fairies had some strong moments as Jake gets closer to moving in with Gabe and Andy. Some performances during the initial meeting were strange, but everyone settled in and did well throughout the episode. Certain parts felt a little rushed, especially the scenes in which Jake was introduced to Gabriel and Andy’s residence.

The personal dramas will likely connect with some viewers more than others, but there isn’t much originality there. In particular, Gabriel’s past seems to be a stereotypical portrayal of gay men in television. In terms of their relationship, it’s pretty much the same as well. One partner is fully committed while the other seems to be half-in and half-out.

Some of the dialogue is a little vulgar so it may be considered off-putting to some. There are genuine moments when the show’s moodiness takes over and it’s hard not to feel the emotions. The first episode did that a little more, but there were moments in episode two as well. The last five minutes or so were very predictable.

From the moment Gabe invited Andy out for one more night of freedom, it was easy to see that something bad was going to happen. In that sense, the series is really formulaic. Everything reaches near perfection before a big shocking moment at the end of the episode to prevent viewers from turning away. Nevertheless, this did build tremendous intrigue for the final episode.

Thanks to the ending, this was a very strong way to set up the finale. The episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of Lost Boys & Fairies can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. Discuss this show and others at the Reel Mockery Forum.