"The Lake": Sleazy Mayor Jerry O'Connell wants a three-way with Justin and his date. What's a gay guy to do?

I already reviewed the first episode of The Lake, a comedy about a gay guy who returns to the Lake where he spent summers during his childhood, with plots about bonding with the teenage daughter he never met and trying to save his grandfather's beloved cabin.  I want to review Episode 4 because: it features a gay three-way with 1990s heartthrob Jerry O'Connell

Link to NSFW version

Scene 1: Everyone is cheering at the junior lifeguard trials. Justin (Jordan Gavaris, left) and his Daughter watch from a distance and make fun of them.  But they're only being slightly sarcastic today, because they have won a victory: the board voted against the Evil Maisy's scheme to renovate (that is, tear down) the cottage Justin visited in as a child -- he never actually lived there, but he is desperate to keep it the way it was, a sort of anchor to his past.  Most of the plot arcs involve Jason trying to keep the cottage out of Evil Maisy's clutches.  

Speak of the Devil: Evil Maisy drops by to introduce Jason to Gil the Thrill (Jerry O'Connell), who  is running for Mayor.  Gloating, Evil Maisy notes that the Mayor can re-classify the cottage as a farmhouse, which doesn't need Board approval to be...torn down!  

To make matter's worse, he's hot for Jason!  Dude, maybe you could convince him to not-reclassify the cottage by getting on your knees? No, not to beg.

Scene 2: By the way, Daughter's Crush (Jared Scott), who also happens to be Evil Maisy's son, won the lifeguard contest.  The first Chinese-Canadian Junior Lifeguard in Lake history!  He gets his sash and the keys to the legendary Boathouse while Mom, Dad, and his brother Opal (Declan Whaley) watch.  No, Opal is not trans, or nonbinary.  He's a femme gay boy.  

After the boys leave to hang out with Justin's Daughter, Evil Maisy and her Semi-Evil Husband (Terry Chen, left) discuss the evil scheme.  "Remember, Dear, this is Justin's fault.  He sabotaged my previous play to destroy his childhood memories, mwah-ha-ha, so, so stay frosty."

Scene 3: Justin is going through withdrawal from junk food due to Daughter's health consciousness, so he runs into the Tuck Shop, sneaks behind the counter, and grabs some chips. Manager Riley (Travis Nelson, below) appears. Beep! Gil the Thrill (mayoral candidate Jerry O'Connell) is contacing them both on Grindr.  Nice chest, and he's into three-ways, but he's in cahoots with Evil Maisy!  

Scene 4: Cut to Daughter and her Crush discussing the evil scheme.  Even though he's Evil Maisy's son, Crush wants to keep the cabin, for a reason too complicated (and gross) to explain. 

After Crush leaves, Scandinavian Hippie Ulrika comes in with a fish to be tested for herpes.  A big deal --if it tests positive, they have to close down the lake for weeks-- no boating, swimming, waterskiing, or construction.  Hmm -- Daughter has a idea.

Scene 5: Justin talks to Jayne, apparently his only Ally in the cabin plot.  She is upset because Daugher's Crush won Junior Lifeguard instead of her own daughters. "Grr...Evil Maisy and her family ruin every.  The next time I see hre, I'm going to tell her...."  Whoops, at that moment Gil the Thrill appears. "...how excited I am about her cook-out tonight.  I'm bringing crab cakes."

When she leaves, Gil gets down to business: is Justin into hooking up, or what?  "No way -- you're on Evil Maisy's team, trying to destroy my childhood memories!"  But, he says, he might change his mind about the issue while Justin is on his knees. Hey, that's sexual coercion! I know, I thought of it first. 

:"Thanks, but I have a date with Riley tonight." "Bring him along, and it's a done deal.  I'll stick it to Evil Maisy after I stick it to you."

More sticking after the break

Scene 6: Evil Maisy has found out that Gil the Thrill is allowing sex to sway his decision about the cabin, and decides to fight fire with fire: she tells her Semi-Evil Husband, a buffed hockey player, to have sex with Gil.  He's not into guys, but she assures him: "It's no different than a strap-on." Um,..I'm pretty sure that a lady wearing a strap-on is quite different from a guy with a dick. 

Scene 7:  Daughter's parents call (she was adopted after she was born). She explains her plot: she'll find a fish infected with herpes and claim it came from the Lake, so Evil Maisy won't be able to tear down the cabin, regardless of how Gill the Thrill reclassifies it. Hey, Gill is a fish reference.

Scene 8: At a food truck, Justin is going into embarrassing paroxyms of ecstasy over french fries in front of his date, Riley.  They do the standard first date "what do you do?" stuff.  Rile photographs road kill.  He reveals that he almost had a three-way with Gil the Thrill and the husband, but Gil didn't bother to inform hubbie in advance. 

Scene 9: The obligatory Evil Maisy's cook-out.  She bribes Gill the Thrill to reclassify the cabin as a farmhouse, but he's accepting a counter-bribe to keep it classified as a cabin: a three-way with Justin and Riley.  Evil Maisy isn't finished yet: she suggests a three-way with her husband to make it a farm house. but Gil isn't into women. 

Uh-oh, Justin hasn't mentioned the three-way idea to his date yet.  He spins it as an act of charity: he hasn't had sex in a long time, and he has performance anxiety, so he needs a third person as a "buffer."  Dude, a three-way on a first date is a terrible idea. One of you is bound to be left behind.

Scene 10: After some uninteresting stuff happens, it's time for the three-way, interspliced with the herpes-fish scheme falling through.  Wait -- Evil Maisy is Justin's half-sister, so Daughter and her Crush are cousins.  Are they just platonic pals?  But she's giving him Boy-of-my-Dreams gazes. I'm getting uncomfortable.

Back to the awkward three-way. Justin and Riley are standing, shirtless, trying to kiss, while Gil the Thrill stands behind them, complaining that Justin isn't aroused -- our deal was the full flagpole, dude! Uh-oh, Riley catches on that Justin is using him, and kicks him out, staying on to screw with Gill -- wait, Gill is morally bankrupt, too.  

Scene 11:  Evil Maisy is upset over the herpes-fish sceme, and forbids her son from seeing his cousin/girlfriend anymore.  Justin is irate: "Do you ever get tired of being the worst?"  He thinks that the scheme was genius!  This upsets Daughter -- she expects him to promote moral behavior. She calls for her Mom to come and get her.

Suddenly Riley returns, after a very short hookup.  Justin says that he did of this manipulation everything for the meaning of his life, The Cabin, and the end justifies the means, right?  Riley disagree, and vanishes.   Nice work: you just got dumped by the only other single gay guy on the Lake.

Beefcake: a little.

Heterosexism: None.  No hetero-sex or kissing. The gay guys get more action.

Homophobia: None. This is a post-gay world where no one cares.  Opal has a hard time understanding that homophobia once existed.

My Grade: Everyone seems morally bankrupt, but the stakes are so low -- a cabin that Justin spent time in as a kid 20 years ago -- that their scheming comes across as naughty rather than evil.  Besides, they're all Canada nice.  B.

See also: The Lake: Gay gay connects with his daughter on The Lake

Jerry O'Connell butt, bulge, and dick on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends