Now Apocalypse - This is the Beginning of the End

You know, I realized when I started watching the Starz series, “Now Apocalypse” that I hadn’t seen anything from Gregg Araki in quite a while. I read that this would only be one season on Starz, so it would be up to another channel or streaming service to pick it up if it sees any future. Judging by the first episode, “This is the Beginning of the End”, I’m not sure yet what to think. There is a LOT of sex or sexual content in the first episode, and—I  can only assume—the rest of the season. 

Right out of the gate, we are privy to a dream/premonition as lead character, Ulysses (Avan Jogia), hears a seeming request for help, following that plea into an alley where he sees a W and planet logo on a door. He awakens from this fever dream fucking a married gay guy whose husband arrives unannounced. So Ulysses quickly exits out the window, and near some bushes where he slides off the gooey condom before heading back to his apartment, shared with muscled roommate—and wannabe screenplay writer—Ford (Beau Mirchoff), having just recently moved to (I’m assuming) LA. Ford, he discovers, is in the middle of fucking scientist, Severine (Roxane Mesquida). We have a brief scene of Severine arriving to this facility, in lab uniform with glasses and hair put up…she’s a sexpot when she wants to be but a total professional and genius as well. Ulysses mentions that his relationship with Ford in complicated…when they are talking on the beach about a producer who gives Ford his card (seemingly obvious that the intention appears to be of a more prurient interest than professional), he imagines kissing Ford as the two plot to fuck behind some bushes. Meanwhile Ford and Severine have a conversation about exclusivity as opposed to open relationships. She likes his cock while Ford is worried he’s not smart enough for her. She theorizes that it is just impossible to accept the concept of monogamy…it just seems antiquated and unrealistic.

Ulysses’ pal is Carly (Kelli Berglund) is secretly a cam girl, as the two talk about their unusual sexual relationships. Carly is dating a bit actor working on a positivity outlook and meditation while she wants to fuck this guy without him using vernacular in the middle of coitus that isn’t off-putting and strange. Ulysses is currently hoping to date some guy (Tyler Posey; “Teen Wolf” & “Truth or Dare”) he’s been texting on and off, but this Gabriel appears elusive and unpredictable. Carly hosts her cam show to a number of odd ducks with peculiar kinks and quirks (one likes her wiggling feet, another just wants to talk, a third just likes to see her pose a certain way while he jerks off, another is willing to help her study for a part she’s hoping to score the next day), while Ulysses eventually gets a table date (45 minutes late) with Gabriel. Gabriel claims he’s in a band but won’t engage in anything except hand jobs in an alley and some long kissing. So there’s that.

Carly has a friend, Amber (Grace Victoria Cox), trying to find romance, but Tinder keeps providing guys who want to objectify, fondle, and fuck her. Amber is frustrated but her profile pick is cute and innocuous, her at a table with a veggie drink, and Carly believes she needs to be more provocative. This I didn’t quite understand. If Amber wants something more serious than guys just wanting to bang her, then why would she pose in a bikini top and short-shorts? Carly feels she needs to be so Amber does.

The end has Ulysses, excited and exhilarated from the handjob, back alley experience, where in the sky lights up and “explodes” bright, eventually thrown off his bike, locating the voice for help in his dreams, locating some poor soul being rimmed from behind by a reptile alien!

So this is quite sexually charged, almost always focused exclusively on conversations, activities, and fantasies about fucking. Never a time that I don’t recall where characters weren’t discussing hookups or possible hookups. I can see why it might be polarizing for some while others might dig its attention to the culture of relationships in today’s age of sexual exploration. I didn’t mind it, but I feel a bit too old now to truly relate to these characters. I’m of, what I learned, is Generation X, born in ’77, a disco baby, an 80s kid, a 90s teen, and millennial 20s. So at 42, I feel much like Murtaugh; perhaps, I’m “getting too old for this shit”. 2.5/5