Firefly Lane How Richard Died (& The Real Reason Sean Stayed In The Closet)

Firefly Lane: How Richard Died (& The Real Reason Sean Stayed In The Closet)

Firefly Lane mentions that Richard died young in the midst of Sean’s wedding. The unseen boyfriend’s fate hints at the real-life AIDS epidemic.

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Firefly Lane How Richard Died (& The Real Reason Sean Stayed In The Closet)

Throughout the entirety of Firefly Lane Sean Mularkey (Jason McKinnon) kept his sexuality a secret from everyone except for Tully (Katherine Heigl), but why did he choose to remain in the closet up until the series finale? And what exactly happened to his partner Richard? There are several reasons why he remained in the closet. The biggest reason being fear of his family’s reaction, especially when Richard’s death was so symbolic of societal perceptions of homosexuality as dangerous, immoral, and deadly.

Firefly Lane marked Katherine Heigl’s comeback in a monumental way. When she was largely blacklisted in Hollywood following her role as Izzie Stevens in Grey’s Anatomy, the actress struggled to find her footing in the industry. With Firefly Lane, she has made a roaring and impressive comeback in one of Netflix’s newest original series. But she wasn’t alone in her skills as an actor or poignant storyline. Among other storylines of sexual assault, misogyny, miscarriage, and infidelity, Sean’s resonated as one of the most complex and devastating, even up until Firefly Lane’s season 1 finale. Along the way, audiences were met with brief glimpses of his life as a closeted gay man serving in the military and loving Richard during one of the most tumultuous times for LGBTQIA+ people.

Firefly Lane encompasses three dominant eras/years: the 1970s, 1980s, and 2003. During his teenage years, Sean was romantically involved with a childhood friend who went on to marry a woman. With this harsh realization that the world may not be prepared to accept gay people for who they are, he was drawn to the military. Once he began serving, Sean was able to explore his sexuality in adulthood, leading him to fall in love with Richard who supposedly died of a “rare cancer.” But this was not entirely the truth and it is largely indicative of why Sean chose to stay in the closet. It is likely that Richard died due to complications with AIDS, which disproportionately affected gay men during the 1980s and led to social and political demonization of them. Sean remained in the closet to keep himself safe from scrutiny at home and in society.

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When Sean speaks to Tully about Richard in episode 8, “Mawaige,” he states that there is a “plague out there.” Due to the fact that he is deeply expressive of his love for Richard and how he must leave his old life behind because of this plague, he is likely speaking about the HIV/AIDS epidemic that took place in the 1980s. Sean no longer feels safe loving who he desires because of the new and, at the time, unpredictable and deadly disease. When he chooses to remain in the closet, he does so for several reasons: fear of his family’s disapproval, being discharged from the military, and being socially stigmatized.

Sean’s sister Kate Mularkey (Sarah Chalke) states that their parents are worried he’ll never meet the right girl. She overemphasizes it throughout the majority of their conversations about relationships in Firefly Lane. This instills in Sean that his parents will not accept him if he does not marry a woman, leading him to wed Julia by episode 8. Prior to their marriage, he tells Tully that, if he were to come out, he could be kicked out of the military – until 1993 when then-President bill Clinton instated the “don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT) policy, all gay men and women were barred from serving in the military. Therefore, Sean believed he would lose his family and job if he were to come out to them.

The social stigma of gay people during the 1980s was that they were all perceived as deviant sexual predators that were the primary carriers of HIV and AIDS, thus, Sean had to remain closeted to keep himself physically and emotionally safe from public scrutiny. When he comes out by the end of Firefly Lane season 1, it is winter of 2003 and he feels more secure in doing so knowing his sister and Tully are there for him.

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Link Source : https://screenrant.com/firefly-lane-richard-sean-boyfriend-died-aids-80s/

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