Recap: Meet Victor Salazar in ‘Love, Victor’ Episode 1: “Welcome to Creekwood”

Julia
7 Min Read
Courtesy of Hulu

The long-awaited and anticipated new series Love, Victor has finally dropped on Hulu. This new YA series takes place in the Love, Simon universe, following a new Creekwood High student, Victor, as he learns to navigate being in a new city and school, dealing with challenges at home, and exploring his sexual identity. This first episode introduces us to Victor Salazar and his family and soon to be friends. It sets the tone for the rest of the season. Read on to find out what happened in “Welcome to Creekwood.”

The episode opens with Victor penning an Instagram DM to Simon, venting about how Simon has it easy as far as coming out and being quickly accepted by his family and friends. Before we hear more, it flashes back to the previous day as Victor, his siblings (sister Pilar and brother Adrian), and parents (Armando and Isabel) are moving into their new apartment in Atlanta, Pilar less than happy to be away from her life in Texas.

Courtesy of Hulu

Enter Felix, the Salazars’ new neighbor who eagerly welcomes them with an excited and friendly demeanor. He immediately marks Victor as his friend, gifting him a walkie talkie so they can communicate (how old school). He tells Victor he’ll drop by in the morning so they can go to school together.

Victor and Felix arrive at Creekwood High, Felix telling Victor that he should be excited to be the new kid, because no one knows him yet, and he’s like “a blank canvas.” Here, a familiar face from Love, Simon returns, as former Drama teacher Ms. Albright introduces herself to Victor as the Vice-Principal. She leads Victor to his locker, telling him about the Winter carnival and Simon’s triumphant Ferris wheel story with Bram. Victor asks her if people at the school seem “cool with that,” referring to being gay, and surely gauging what his peers’ reactions would be if he also came out.

When Ms. Albright leaves Victor to get settled, he meets Lake, who introduces herself by trying to take a photo of Victor to post on Creek Secrets, the school’s Tumblr page. Shortly after, her friend Mia joins them and introduces herself as well. As Lake is questioning Victor about his life and moving, Mia watches him carefully, forming a fast crush on him. Mia and Lake leave, making way for an excited Felix who points out Mia’s reaction to Victor.

But Victor soon has eyes for someone else when he and Felix reach their first class and spot another student, Benji, down the hall. Benji approaches Victor and Felix, and in a nod to the original film, Benji says, “nice shoes” to Victor. Like Mia, Victor quickly forms a crush on someone he just met.

Courtesy of Hulu

In P.E., Victor shows off his skills on the basketball court. He catches the attention of the coach, who offers him a spot on the school team and introduces him to Andrew, who’s also on the team. Though Victor is flattered, he’s hesitant to accept because of the $500 fee that comes with joining, but he doesn’t voice his concern out loud.

Later during lunch, Victor finds Pilar in battle with the vending machine. Mia approaches them and introduces herself to Pilar. While they’re talking, another student goes up to Victor, boasting that he donated to Victor’s GoFundMe, which Victor knows nothing about. He finds out that Andrew started it and confronts him, telling Andrew to shut it down and refund everyone. Andrew (poorly) tries to mask his actions as goodwill, though it’s obvious he’s trying to humiliate Victor in front of everyone (and succeeds). The argument earns Victor a spot on Creek Secrets as the new kid with a temper. Felix tries to comfort Victor, telling him they should go to the carnival but to no avail.

Already struggling with a less than great first day of school, Victor returns home to find his parents arguing after they learned Pilar got in trouble for fighting at school. Victor is quick to come to his sister’s defense, reminding his parents that she just needs a little more time to adjust to their new life in Georgia. When they settle down, Armando goes to talk to Pilar, and Victor asks Isabel if everything is okay between her and his father. Soon after, we’re back where the opening scene began, as Victor continues his message to Simon. After he sends it, he uses the walkie talkie to apologize to Felix and ask if he’d like to go to the carnival.

Courtesy of Hulu

The episode reaches its end at the Winter carnival. When Felix heads off to grab food, Victor receives a response from Simon. When Victor opens the message, we hear Simon (Nick Robinson) reading in a voiceover. He offers comfort to Victor as best he can, sharing some of his own experience. He tells Victor, “I deserve a great love story, and you deserve one too, Victor.” After reading Simon’s message, Victor asks Mia if she’d like to ride the Ferris wheel with him, ending on a hopeful note.

Love, Victor is now streaming on Hulu.

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By Julia
Julia is a writer/editor/content assistant for Nerds who joined the team in 2019.
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