Apr 17, 2023

"The Righteous Gemstones": Kelvin and Keefe Have Sex, So Why Can't They Kiss?

 


I admit, I'm obsessed with the relationship between Kelvin and Keefe on The Righteous Gemstones, about a family of rich, famous, glitzy televangelists (Season 2 ended in February 2022, but I just signed up for HBO Max, so I just watched.  Season 3 will drop this summer.)

Kelvin (Adam DeVine) is the youngest son, a muscle enthusiast, generally responsible for the youth ministry at the anchor church.  Keefe (Tony Cavalero) is his sweet , slightly-muddled mansion-mate, a former Satanist whom Kelvin saved.  I read reddits and reviews and interviews, watch youtube clips, re-watch episodes, accumulating evidence that they are gay and romantic partners:


Season 1:

1. Neither express any heterosexual interest, nor does anyone ever suggest that they should.  If an event calls for a date, Kelvin always brings Keefe.  

Keefe states that he "never dated (girls) much, saw no need to," and that "Baywatch didn't affect me."  At the Satanist Club, he recoils in literal disgust at the sight of a naked lady (you can see him saying "Ewwww"), but naked men are fine.

2. Keefe used to dance naked in a cage at the Satanist Club.

3. They break up after an argument, and Keefe returns to the Satanist Club.  He is heartily greeted and hugged, but only by men.

4. Kelvin is distraught.  One of the teens surmises that he is upset about his "boyfriend," and helpfully uses social media to find out where Keefe is.  Kelvin stutters: "No...um...we're not gay...we're just two guys who like to hang out...and stuff."  Maybe he didn't want to come out to a teenager? 

5. But he rushes to save Keefe from the Satanists, and finds him in a sensory deprivation tank (with a probably prosthetic arousal).  He jumps in, pulls out the wires, and hugs and holds Keefe, crying, kissing his forehead.  Keefe: "Hold me."  Kelvin: "Hush!  I'm here now."  

The full post is on Righteous Gemstones Beefcake and Boyfriends

19 comments:

  1. They might be doing for comedy reasons- if they did kiss or better yet were shown having sense it might lessen the satirical potential of are they gay or are the close Christian friends

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    1. Probably the producer thinks that the suspense of "Are they or aren't they" is more interesting than a flat "Yep, they are."

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    2. They just kissed in a recent episode S3E8 I think

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    3. I noticed . The fan boards are going crazy . They are calling it a triumph in gay reipresentation

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  2. I don't have anymore patience for queerbait when it comes to queer male characters. Either have your obviously gay/bi characters be openly gay/bi and display PDA with their same sex partners (yes that includes kissing on the lips NOT obscured), and stop with this "are they or are they not" nonsense, or don't put queer characters in your s*** period. I'm just so fed up with media and writers treating queer men like it's still the 90s and 00s. Also writing us to be three dimensional and multifaceted, instead of just being tokens for diversity brownie points wouldn't kill ya either.

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    1. I just rewatched the Keefe-helping-on-with his underwear scene. Keefe kneels in front of Kelvin. Kelvin grimaces, groans, and says "Nice." Finished, he caresses Keefe's head. These reactions make no sense if all Keefe is doing down there is lifting up underwear -- they are obviously having sex. I don't know why I missed it the first time.

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    2. Yeah, this isn't bait, there is a romantic relationship, and there is sex

      Queer baiting is overused, TBH. Worst case I've heard is a gay couple but not the one the speaker wanted. Ship drama is the worst.

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    3. its not queer bait. theyre leaders in an evangelical church where they arent allowed to be gay.

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  3. It's so obvious that they are a couple that you can even tell which is a top and which is a bottom.

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    1. Now you made me want to watch it LOL

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  4. I revised this post after rewatching the "Is this about your boyfriend?" scene and the "slip into your Tommy Johns" scene.

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  5. In the first episode, Kelvin's older brother Jesse hears his son using a homophobic slur, and upbraids him: "I have gay friends." No such gay friends appear; maybe he means "You have a gay uncle," but doesn't want to out Kelvin.

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    Replies
    1. That's a definite step back. Back in the 80s, Degrassi showed the gay brother.

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    2. Or maybe they hadn't decided that Kelvin was gay yet. His relationship with Keefe changed dramatically between Season 1 and Season 2, becoming far less "sexual tension and sublimated desire" and far more "yes, we're boyfriends."

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  6. The thing is, everyone knows the hypocrisy of televangelists over sex issues. That's the other side of "love the sinner, hate the sin", besides being patronizing as hell, pardon the pun.

    They can forgive any scandal from their leaders because they never claimed to be perfect.

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    1. These aren't your grandmother's televangelists. The snippets of sermons we hear are about acceptance and forgiveness. They have no problem with gay people.

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  7. I just re-watched the last three episodes of Season 2, and they are definitely being presented as a gay couple. The writers have burned too many bridges to back down and claim that they were straight all along. I was bit confused when Keefe called Kelvin "Brother" instead of a more romantic term of endearment, and when, on vacation, the family is lounging around, but Keefe is not present -- he's in line at the portapotties, but still, there's not even an empty chair that he just vacated. But these are minor quibbles.

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    Replies
    1. He said Brother when their young nephews were there . Maybe he didn’t want to come out to them

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  8. So people in comedies can never be in a romantic relationship? Have you evefr seen a comedy? There are romances everywhere.

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