Link to the n*de dudes
I went into the Netflix series Below (2026), about a sea monster plaguing a small fishing village, expecting no more than the Newfoundland accent and maybe some shirtless fishermen. But before I knew it, there was a major gay subtext, a crazy, undeveloped, yet touching "enemies to lovers" story!
First, a prehistoric sea monster that hunts random villager, starts a plague, and has a weird cult with psychic powers.
Josh Hartnett's backside is on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends.
Second, the province wants everyone to relocate. If 90% of the villagers agree to the move, they'll get a stipend of $140,000 for a family, or $60,000 for single people. He and his lesbian sister don't want to move.
Calvin has an on-off girlfriend and three kids. They all have plotlines of their own, plus love interests.
Wade (Charlie Heaton, Jonathan Byers on Stranger Things, n*de on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends), handles the cooking and cleaning for the family's bed-and-breakfast. He keeps wanting to help on the ice fishing boat, but Dad refuses because he has ADHD, is taking psylociben for depression, and is a screw-up.
Love interest: He falls in love with a girl who happens to belong to the paranormal monster-worshipping cult, and wants to sacrifice him.
Mary is visiting from Toronto with her musician boyfriend Noah (Caleb Horn). Their plotline involves a stolen engagement ring.
Jay (Rohan Campbell) has been "working on an oil rig," he claims, and hanging out with the b'yes. Tell me more.
His plotline:
Episode 1: While out ice fishing with his Dad, he gets a text: "You're a dead man!" .
Episode 2: It turns out that he owes $80,000 to a loan shark out west. Two enforcers, the loose cannon Connor (Josh Cruddas, right) and the hesitant Mo (Matthew Worku, center), arrive for the payment. Jay says that he needs another 24 hours.
Episode 3: In 24 hours, Jay delivers proof of residence in the town: when they relocate, he'll get a payout of $60,000. That's not good enough, so they start beating him up. Dad Calvin intervenes.
Jay asks if they have a place to stay, and suggests a b&b (not the one his brother runs). You're being awfully nice to the guys who were just hitting and kicking you.
More after the break.
Left: Shirtless Josh Cruddas.
Episode 4: The town is under quarantine due to the plague. The b&b lady, serving them lunch, treats them as a gay couple: "Too bad you boys had your vacation interrupted by this quarantine."
She turns on Coronation Street.
"It's no problem," Loose Cannon Connor tells her. "Coronation Street is Mo's favorite program."
He agrees that it is.
Likes soap operas, and did you notice the ostentatious earring? Mo is gay!
Episode 5: While they are driving, Jay suggests taking them whale-watching or fishing during their stay. Mo is interested in fishing, as his father was a fisherman back in Somalia.
Some n*de Somali dudes on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends
Loose Cannon Connor tells them to shut up, it's time. Trembling, Mo pulls out a gun. He's going to shoot the guy he was bonding with a moment ago?
In the struggle, the car goes off the road into the ocean, where the sea monster starts chomping on it. Jay escapes and goes to save Mo, but it's too late to save Connor.
They figure out a way to get Jay off the hook: say that Connor took the $90,000 and ran off. They clasp hands.
Episode 6: They return to the village, and instantly Mo is a member of the family, accepted without question. Wait -- why doesn't Mo return to the big city? Why is he accepted so nonchalantly? What happened during those three hours in the woods? (Example on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends).
When they are being evacuated, the family climbs into the helicopter: the sister, Wade, Mary and her boyfriend, Jay and his boyfriend, the parallel relationships very explicitly presented.
Calvin says "I love you all, but I'm going to stay behind to fight the monster." You even love Mo?
Jay decides to stay and help fight the monster. Mo: "I'm with you, so I'm down for whatever." Is it getting hot in here?
In the Epilogue, set a year later, we see what happened to Calvin and each of his children: first Wade (he gets to work on the boat with his Dad), then Mary and Boyfriend Noah, and finally Jay and Mo. They're working at the distillery together, or maybe they own it.
The subtext is so strong that I'm surprised it's not canonical, but woefully undeveloped. How Mo move from mob enforcer to "I'll go where you go" so quickly? Why did the family accept him so quickly? Why does Jay even trust him?
This is one for the ages.
The actor Matthew Worku is actually Ethiopian-Canadian, but Mo is Somali, so I'm including a few Somali guys.
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