Photo Credit: Entertainment Tonight

SPOILER WARNING!

Both Love, Victor, and Love, Simon have gotten terrific reviews by both audiences and critics. They both center around two high school boys, Simon Spier and Victor Salazar, figuring out their identities and learning about what they really want.

Love, Simon is a film released in March 2018 and starred actor Nick Robinson among some other well-known names. Love, Victor is a ten-episode Hulu series based on the film and stars actor Michael Cimino and a rising cast (it just released this past June).

Though both works are related to each other and follow a similar storyline, there are some differences and some similarities. Nick Robinson even makes a small appearance in the series along with taking on a narration role in it.

Let’s look at some things the two lead characters have in common (aside from the fact that they attend the same high school in Creekwood):

Great Friends

Throughout the series and film, both Simon and Victor have a terrific group of close friends who are always there for them and provide great support.  Simon has a great friend group, which includes Leah (Katherine Perth), Nick (Jorge Lendeborg Jr.), and Abby (Alexandra Shipp). Though these friends have their ups and downs throughout the film, their bond is quite strong.

In the series, Victor builds a close friendship with a character named Felix (Anthony Turpel) while also getting close to Mia (Rachel Hilson), who becomes his girlfriend. He also builds a close bond with Benji, a student who has already come out that Victor falls for as the season progresses.

In fact, Abby was one of the first people Simon came out to and Felix was one of the first people Victor came out to. Both characters have built strong bonds with peers who they can always count on.

Caring Family

Simon has a loving family, which features little sister Nora (Talitha Bateman) and parents Jack (Josh Duhamel) and Emily (Jennifer Garner). Simon’s parents were accepting of his coming out and the family has a strong bond and love for each other.

Though Victor’s family has turbulence at times, there is no doubt they have a love for each other. Unfortunately, Victor’s parents Armando (James Martinez) and Isabel (Ana Ortiz) deal with some issues throughout Season 1. However, the care they have for their three kids is unquestionable. In addition, the family always tries to eat together and Victor tries to be a great role model for his two younger siblings.

The Messages

Both Simon and Victor are frequently seen sending messages. For Simon, it’s sending messages to another closeted student named Blue. Simon calls himself Jacques when messaging Blue. He keeps his identity under wraps and expresses his feelings and thoughts to Blue.

Meanwhile, while Victor takes time to figure out his identity, he expresses his feelings and thoughts to Simon himself. In return, Simon offers support and advice to Victor. Therefore, both message a stranger about their feelings. Simon does not know the identity of Blue until the end of the movie. Victor does not know Simon all that well. Simon and Victor meet in-person only once towards the end of Season 1.

Photo Credit: Men’s Health

There Was Always a Love Interest

Though Simon and Victor do not come out right away in their respective works, there was always a love interest all along. For Simon, it was the mysterious Blue, who was also a closeted student. Both Simon and Blue exchanged emails and built a connection through that. One of Simon’s goals was to figure out who the person was.

For Victor, he was fortunate to meet a potential love interest named Benji (George Sear) in-person. Benji was a student who had already come out. The two build a friendship through working at a coffee shop together. Their bond becomes stronger as the season progresses and the two take a work trip together where Victor ends up kissing Benji (though he already has a boyfriend).

Eventually, Benji ends his relationship with his boyfriend and Victor and he share a kiss in the Season 1 finale. It remains to be seen how their relationship will be going forward. There has been no indication as of this moment on whether the show has been renewed for Season 2.

Have you watched Love, Simon and Love, Victor?