"Clickbait": Misdirections, hidden agendas, secret alliances, a gay reporter, and Adam Grenier's dick

 The TV series is called Clickbait, which is ironic, because I clicked on the title to see what it was about, without remembering that Netflix tries to trick you: clicking on the icon starts the darn thing playing, instead of linking to more information, like every other streaming service.  

But it showed a birthday party, and a guy who I thought was Faly Rakotohavana of Unprisoned saying "This present is from me and Eric."  Obviously a gay couple.  So I kept watching

Scene 1:  It's an old lady's birthday, so the gift-givers are her adult children.  The only other male at the table is a middle-aged man, so Eric may be Faly's father rather than his boyfriend.  The short-blond-haired Pia gets very upset because the siblings were supposed to go together and buy Mom a bread maker, but they went behind her back and bought her a planter instead.  

Mom says that it's ok, she loves the planter, but Pia starts yelling at Eric and the young lady on the other side of the table, probably her sister: "You always do this!  You try everything in your power to destroy me!  This is the worst night of my life, and it's all your fault!"

"The planter is fine, dear..."

"This isn't about you!  It's about how those two hate me so much that they've sabotaged every plan I've ever made!"   She runs outside and screams in the middle of the street as a car pulls up.  Uh-oh, she's going to be kidnapped.

Cut to Pia walking through downtown Oakland, past a kissing gay couple.  Eric texts to see if she's ok: "Sure, I just need to get drunk and hook up to try to forget this awful night!"  She drops into a nightclub to dance crazily. 

Eric and Faly appear to see if she's ok.  Then they dance together.

Update: according to the IMDB, they are new characters played by Enzo Nazario and Kashmir Sinnamon.  The director just thought it was a good idea to cast lookalikes of Eric and Faly, and have them ask if she's ok minutes after Eric asks if she's ok.

 Scene 2:  Drunkenness accomplished, Pia goes into the nightclub restroom, sits on the toilet, and looks at a dating app -- with both men and women as possible matches.  She chooses Woody, age 36, .6 miles away.  Uh-oh, he's going to stalk her.

They make a date to get a drink right now.  She gets up, and -- splash! 

Scene 3: Home to bury the cell phone in rice.  She then takes some pills, eats yogurt marked "Elli," masturbates to porn, watches cute-cat videos....

Morning: driving to work, more pills, having to take over the phlebotomy for a nurse who can't find a vein: "Pia always gets me the first time," the cute patient Vincent, played by Jack Walton, tells her. I definitely don't want someone as unstable as Pia drawing my blood.  He offers her some crazy youtube videos, like "Ghost Dog Caught on Camera." 

Then a Vlogger shows a video she received of a guy holding a sign, "I Abuse Women."  If it gets 5,000,000 views, he's going to die.  Wait -- it's Eric, the guy from the head of the table last night!  I thought this was going to be about Pia being stalked by a hookup.

Scene 4: Pia tries to call Nick -- who the heck is Nick? -- but he's not picking up.  Then Sophie, either her mother or her sister, but she's in class all morning.  So she drives to the University of Oakland, where Nick works, and shows the video to Matt the Volleyball Coach.  "Did he come in this morning?"  Matt  checks: nope. 

Next stop: the Balfour school, where Sophie works.  Chased by the security guard, into the classroom where Sophie -- who was at the birthday party -- is lecturing on same-sex attraction in Twelfth Night.  

Sophie sees the video. "But I saw him leave for work this morning."  Ok, Nick is the one they were calling Eric last night, married to the sister, Sophie, with the teen or young adult as their son.  

Scene 5: Pia and Wife Sophie go to the police, where they are interviewed by Detective Amiri (Phoenix Raie, who becomes a main character).  More details: Eric/Nick is a physical therapist.  He took his bike to work. About the sign saying "I abuse women"?  "No idea.  Eric/Nick would never abuse anyone." Pia seems fully competent today.  Last night at the birthday party, she was full-on bipolar and probably schizophrenic.

They go home. Faly's character, Kai, and a teenager named Ethan are watching the video.  They say that everybody at their high school knows about it.  It's at 300,000 views!  Pia tells them "Under no circumstances click on the link." A few won't make a difference in five million, lady.

Left: Ethan is played by Camaron Engels

Scene 6: Pia goes back to her apartment and retrieves her cell phone from the rice.  Um...a message from Eric/Nick at 1:25 am. He's sorry about blowing up at the party, and there's something going on that they should talk about.  Wait -- Pia is the one who blew up, unless she's an unreliable narrator.

She flashes back to a few days ago, asking Eric/Nick if something is wrong: he's all quiet and brooding. 

More misdirection and some butts after the break

Scene 7: Wife Sophie calls.  There's a new video on the internet, with Eric/Nick holding a sign saying "I killed a woman." 

She and Pia are interviewed by a homicide detective. Nope, no idea what he is referring to.  "The video is not a confession, it's a death threat!" Pia yells.  The detectives aren't so sure.

Scene 8: Pia goes to work. Every person getting blood drawn is watching the video, or a news report about the video, giving Eric/Nick's name and address. She asks her patient Vince to "hack into google or something," and find out where Eric/Nick is being held.  He's started a subport to get other people involved in the search.

Scene 9: Pia goes to Eric/Nick's house, where there are reporters asking nasty questions, and his son Kai has decreased in age from around 20 to around ten.

I checked the IMDB: Eric/Nick is actually Nick, played by Adrian Grenier, left, and his son Kai by Jaylin Fletcher, who was fifteen at filming,  identifies as queer, and is not Faly Rakotohavana

There is no Eric listed.  I have no idea who Faly/Kai was referring to when he said "This present is from me and Eric." 

Left: Grenier's penis. Ugly hands, but apparently he's hung

Scene 10: Mom finds out about the kidnapping, and yells at Pia: "Why didn't you tell me?" 

Pia talks to Nick's other kid, Ethan, who appears to be a hacker and is talking to someone mysterious named Al.  Maybe he's gay, in a subplot that has nothing to do with the kidnappoing?

Wife Sofie hacks into her husband's computer, and finds a file of photos of him with Pia, walking hand in hand, head on shoulder, laughing.  OMG, they were in love.  There was brother-sister incest going on!  Sofie stares suspiciously at Pia. 

Scene 11: The high school boy Vincent and his scoobies discovered that the videos were filmed in a certain type of delivery van. She thanks him; he tries to kiss her.   Matt the Volleyball Coach, who was Eric/Nick's best friend, helps Pia rush the information to the police.  On the way, he mentions that he's always been in love with her, but Eric/Nick wouldn't let him ask her out.  Why not?  He's married to Sofie now.  Who cares if his buddy dates his ex-girlfriend/sister? 

Pia flashes back to yelling "You abuse women!" at Eric/Nick -- the same phrase is on his sign!  What if she arranged everything?

Detective Amiri has a lot of pictures of Wife Sofie on his phone!  Then Pia explains: "My phone was broken.  That's why I didn't call you back."  OMG, they're both in on it!  He wants Nick out of the way so he can move in on Sofie, and....

It goes on and on like that.  Everyone is lying, everyone has a hidden agenda.  Future episodes take the POV of Detective Amiri, Wife Sofie, Nick's mistress Emily, reporter Ben Park, Nick's son Ethan, and Simon, brother of a woman who committed suicide due to Nick.

Left: Daniel Henshall, who plays Simon.  

Setting: San Francisco.  I don't think it's gay-free, though.

Heterosexism:  Everybody seems to be in love with Pia.  In a later episode, Mom gets a boyfriend.  Eric/Nick is/was, of course, a horndog.

 

Gay Characters: Bisexual allusion in Pia's dating app selections.  Reporter Ben appears in six episodes, but we only see his boyfriend, played by Jake Speer, in one. 

Will I Keep Watching:  I suspect that the hints are far more interesting that what is actually going on.  Decider calls it a "fairly standard whodunit." But probably.

See also: My Life with the Walter Boys, which says that Cameron Engels is actually named Colton Stewart