TV Review - The Third (Dekkoo)

Filmmakers Matthew Lynn and Matt McClelland have crafted a short-form, drama series about a gay threesome, which they call a triad and which was almost the title of this series. This is not to be confused with the Triad, a Chinese multinational crime syndicate. Here, a triad is meant to signify a poly-amorous relationship, a relationship where three or more people are involved at the same time and all know about each other. It's not like when people cheat or commit adultery, having mistresses or secret affairs. The so-called extramarital connections are open and even knowingly shared. Tons of movies and TV shows have depicted secret affairs and adultery. Less have explored the idea of polyamory, at least not in English-speaking media.

When it comes to polyamory, the only times I've seen it addressed with any seriousness have been in queer cinema. This past year, Argentinian filmmaker Marcelo Briem Stamm released his film We Are Thr3e, which is about three sexually fluid people of the same age who decide to enter a polyamorous relationship. That film was told in a linear fashion where Stamm provides the backstory for the three people through dialogue and then shows how each of them meet, as well as how they negotiate their threesome. Lynn and McClelland's series isn't linear, at least not totally. The series also doesn't provide enough of a backstory. There are glimpses of things in each of their pasts, but we don't see how the three meet or how they negotiated their threesome. The implication is that they didn't, which probably contributes to the drama of the series.

Sean McBride stars as Jason, an aspiring actor living in Palm Springs, California. He's probably in his early to mid-20's. His father is the pastor of a church. Jason's father knows that Jason is gay, but his father doesn't seem to have a problem with it. There is tension between them that makes things a bit awkward, but Jason seems like an awkward person in general. He's a bit neurotic and anxious about things. He's also not good at holding his drugs and his liquor. Not much else is known about Jason, besides that his roommate is a young black woman who looks like Jessica Williams from The Daily Show.

Corey Page co-stars as Carl, an Australian immigrant or transplant, also living in Palm Springs. He refers to himself as an "old queen," which in gay reference could be anywhere over the age of 30, but he's probably in his late 40's or early 50's. It's not exactly clear what his occupation is or what he does for work. He is married. He and his husband do have a nice home with a huge backyard and in-ground swimming pool, so it's presumed that Carl has somewhat of a good job. What's also revealed is that Carl is on his second marriage. His previous was to a woman, which resulted in a child, a son who is now nine. Oddly though, his son's existence isn't revealed until the end of the series and isn't really a factor or a consideration throughout the series until that point, which feels a little disingenuous.

Ryland Shelton also stars as David, an architect who is the husband of Carl. He's probably in his mid to late 30's. There are hints that David has had substance abuse problems. It's also hinted that these problems are linked to the trauma he experienced from his boyfriend's premature death. He's not going into a second marriage like Carl, but he is going into what could be his second long-term and committed relationship with someone.

The series seems to be an ensemble piece where there really isn't one protagonist but instead three protagonists. The title of the series appears over the image of the back of Jason's head with the hands of multiple people caressing him. This suggests that maybe Jason is the so-called "third" or the guy who is the literal and metaphorical, odd man out. Yet, throughout the series, there is the suggestion that maybe Carl or David is actually the odd man out, which would mean that the end result could be a monogamous relationship between two of the three men here.

Yes, several films in queer cinema have addressed polyamory. The result though is always a monogamous relationship between two of the three. Michael Mayer's A Home at the End of the World (2004), Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland's Quinceñera (2006) and Rodney Evans' The Happy Sad (2013) all addressed polyamory, threesomes or open relationships. None of them though ended with polyamory, a threesome or an open relationship as the conclusion. In the past, five years or so, the media landscape has seen a shift or change in that regard.

The aforementioned We Are Thr3e doesn't break up its threesome by its conclusion. It strengthens the resolve of the three to stay together. Same for Angela Robinson's Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (2017) and Lana Wachowski's finale to Sense8. Those properties reinforce the idea of polyamory and makes the conflict more from external sources, which depending on the time period and geographical area are reasonable.

This series makes the conflict instead more from internal sources. It's not the world that's against them, as it was in Robinson's film about Marston. It's not people outside the relationship that's necessarily causing the problem. Here, it's people inside the relationship, which depending on the people within the relationship would be understandable. Yet, due to the short-form nature of the series, Lynn and McClelland never provide enough in terms of their backstory or dive deep enough into the characters to satisfy or understand the ultimate conflict.

The issue of Carl's son is just one example. I'm not even sure if Jason knew about Carl's son before agreeing to be a part of their so-called triad. Jason states that he's only known them for a couple of weeks prior to the triad forming and him moving in with them. There is a montage that shows the triad's routine of using the bathroom and shower together, spending their free time on the couch and having sex, repeating this routine over and over. In none of it do we see Carl being a father, so it's not clear when or how often he even visits his son.

This series goes further than Rodrigo Guerrero's El Tercero, which is translated as "the third" or "the third one." Guerrero's film was just about culminating in the sexual act of having three men sandwiched together. Lynn and McClelland's series goes further than that and attempts to explore how a relationship between those three might be complicated. Lynn and McClelland just don't go far enough. For example, in Episode 4, Carl says he thought Jason was straight the first time they met and that Jason had a crush on Carl for a while. Unfortunately, the context of that first meeting or that crush are never flushed out. In Episode 5, David tells Carl that they were never a natural fit. It's unclear what that means. Does it mean in terms of their age or their preferences? No more details are provided, so it's difficult to understand what David means.

Anthony Nannini plays Aaron, a waiter at a restaurant that Carl and David like to visit. There is a little bit of confusion when it comes to his character. Aaron is introduced in Episode 1 and the conversation between him and the married guys suggests not that much history. In Episode 6 though, David reveals that there is history between them and Aaron, questionable history. None of that history is apparent at all until that point. That questionable history feels more like a shocking surprise or twist in order to end this series on a cliffhanger rather than be an organic part of the characters' lives.

Not Rated but contains sexual situations and language.
Running Time: 12 to 25 mins. / 6 eps.

Available on Dekkoo on October 24.