BBC drama Lost Boys and Fairies leaves critics divided
Critics are divided over BBC miniseries Lost Boys and Fairies – which tells the tells the story of a gay couple adopting a child.
Gabriel (played by Sion Daniel Young), who adopts seven-year-old Jake (Leo Harris) with his partner Andy (portrayed by Fra Fee) needs to ’embark upon a journey of self-discovery and attempt to repair his relationship with his dad before he can truly begin to parent’ the boy, according to the synopsis.
It adds: ‘The effects of decades of shame having grown up in a society that overwhelmingly treated being gay as a sin have taken their toll – shame which Gabe is still processing.’
The mini-series, which is based on Welsh writer Daf James’s personal experiences, documents the prospective parents going through the adoption process before eventually meeting Jake, the child they will go on to adopt.
However, while viewers praised the drama, which many said left them in ‘tears’, opinion has been divided among critics.
Gabriel (Sion Daniel Young) and Andy (Fra Fee) in the BBC three-part miniseries Lost Boys & Fairies
Leo Harris (pictured) plays seven-year-old Jake in the programme, which has received mixed reviews from critics
While critical opinion was divided, viewers who wrote about the programme on X (formerly Twitter) were largely positive
The Guardian’s Rebecca Nicholson gave Lost Boys and Fairies four stars out of five, saying the programme has a ‘huge heart’.
She described it as a ‘sad, beautiful story about adoption and, crucially, about adopters, with an admirable devotion to the love and the pain involved in each aspect of the process’.
Writing in the Financial Times, Dan Einav – who gave it the same ranking – described the BBC drama as ‘a poignant portrait of queer adoption’.
Giving it three stars out of five, Nick Hilton of The Independent was slightly less glowing in his review, saying some of the themes, including homophobia, sexual assault and addiction among others are ‘bleak’.
However, he added, the three-part drama is infused with ‘a playfulness that offsets the darker tones’.
Also giving the programme three stars, Jasper Rees of the Telegraph summarised it as a ‘heartfelt and enlightening drama about a gay couple who decide to adopt’.
Meanwhile, Christopher Stevens of the MailOnline, was more damning in his one-star write-up of the drama.
He accused the protagonists of radiating ‘naked bigotry’, describing a scene in which one of them flatly refuses considering to adopt a child with any kinds of special needs, including Down’s Syndrome.
MAILONLINE
In his damning write-up of Lost Boys & Fairies, MailOnline’s Christopher Stevens described the programme as ‘truly offensive’.
But, he added: ‘That has nothing at all to do with the fact they’re gay men. Gender and sexuality are irrelevant in adoption now, and I’m delighted that it’s so.’
Instead, he wrote, the offence came from the central couple’s ‘naked bigotry’, which he described as ‘a prejudice so sinister and deep-rooted that I watched in disbelief — waiting for some twist to show me that I’d misunderstood. The twist never came’.
For Stevens, the offence came from the character Gabriel’s attitude towards adopting a child with special needs – which he immediately refuses to consider.
When Gabriel’s partner called him ‘horrible’ for writing off children with disabilities, he responded by saying: ‘Pregnant people get scanned for anomalies all the time.’
According to Stevens: ‘The only possible interpretation of that line is that Gabriel would want to abort any unborn child with an “anomaly” – unaware that his use of the word, instead of “disability”, makes him sound like a 1930s eugenicist.
‘More than that, he sees no difference between aborting a foetus and rejecting a schoolchild with a disability. When the camera zooms in, we see they have also ticked “No” to children with mental illness, physical illness or learning disabilities.’
Referring to a storyline in which the couple refused to adopt a young girl because she was blind, Stevens concluded: ‘These are two people who claim to be desperate to adopt a little girl, yet there’s “no way” blind Ezmie could ever be good enough for them. I wouldn’t let them adopt a gerbil, never mind a child.’
THE GUARDIAN
Writing in the Guardian, Rebecca Nicholson gave the miniseries a high rating of four stars, calling it a ‘sad, beautiful story’.
She added that it is ‘so determined to make you cry that if it were on a more commercial channel, each part would be bookended by a sponsored ad for big-brand tissues’.
For her, it seemed one of the major strengths of the show was its attention on the process of adoption.
When focusing on this, she wrote, it ‘finds something special, and illuminates the details that may not be familiar to everyone watching. It explains the details of how a looked-after child might leave his or her foster family, for example, in a lovely montage that reveals it to be a staggered, gradual and stage-managed process’.
According to Nicholson, while the drama has ‘undertones of quiet melancholy’, she said, in the end, it is ‘an extravagant drama’
‘For those watching weekly, hold on to those tissues, and for those putting themselves through the binge-watch, get them ready, because you’re going to need them,’ Nicholson advised.
THE FINANCIAL TIMES
Dan Einav, who reviewed the miniseries for the Financial Times – described it as ‘a poignant portrait of queer adoption’ in his four-star write-up.
He praised the drama for looking at the question of why people choose to have children, and ‘how that momentous decision reshapes relationships’, describing this as a central theme of Lost Boys and Fairies.
According to Dan, the depiction of the two protagonists – who are deeply different characters – are well written, with ‘a keen appreciation for the depths of human feeling’.
He also praised the performances for having a ‘rare authenticity and emotional eloquence’.
His only real criticism was of the last of the three episodes. According to Dan: ‘The series thoughtfully layers its themes and emotions over the first two episodes, only to then allow contrived plot development and maudlin sentiment to dominate the final chapter.
‘Instead of delicate poignancy, we get punishing tragedy; instead of natural interactions, we get big moments of despair, closure and a mawkish montage set to “Mad World”. If this ultimately leaves the viewer more weary than teary, it’s not enough to undermine the bittersweet brilliance that comes before.’
THE TELEGRAPH
Jasper Rees of the Telegraph gave the series three stars, summarising it as ‘an affecting take on adoption [and] sexuality’.
In his review, he praised the drama for tackling the adoption process, noting that there are ‘precious few dramas’ about it.
Rees added that making the both of the prospective parents men added ‘an extra layer of fascination and jeopardy’.
He also noted that the series, whose protagonists are from Cardiff, offered ‘a knotty bilingual exploration of Welsh identity’, describing this as the show’s ‘true rarity value’.
Rees wrote: ‘It’s a wonderful fillip to encounter reams of modern Welsh dialogue so very far from S4C. Ardderchog!’
However, for Rees, he described weakest point of the show as ‘the gratuitous swing of an axe that concludes the middle episode of three, yanking the plot in a random new direction’.
Praising the ‘heartfelt performances’ of the actors, Rees noted that it ‘feels like an act of mistrust not to allow the original premise to play out on its own terms’.
He concluded: ‘Rather than end with the moment of adoption, a more confident version of the script might have devoted the last act to exploring what happens after happily ever after.’
THE INDEPENDENT
Giving the series a three-star rating, Nick Hilton of the Independent praised it for tackling ‘some of the biggest issues facing the gay community’.
He noted how the ‘core question of dealing with the heteronormativity of long-term monogamy and parenting’, is contrasted with issues more specific to the gay community, including homophobia, HIV, sexual assault, addiction, grief, and depression among others.
However, Hilton noted, if that ‘sounds bleak, [writer] James manages to infuse it with a playfulness that offsets the darker tones’.
His main criticism was that show failed to avoid falling into the realm of melodrama.
Describing its premise (‘a gay couple adopting, set against the backdrop of queer nightlife in Cardiff’) as promising, he critiqued the programme for ‘overdoing its attempt to illustrate the challenges of modern life’.
However, overall, Hilton concluded that the charisma of the miniseries, alongside the compelling performances mean it is tempting to forgive moments of melodrama.
He finished his review writing: ‘James has crafted a show that is a gut punch – albeit a deliberate, rather than instinctive one – and one that deserves to be seen, and reflected on, by primetime audiences.’
Less mixed was the audience response: viewers were not completely universal in their praise, but feedback online was overwhelmingly positive.
The show received almost universal praise from viewers on X, with the overwhelming majority praising it
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), one viewer wrote: ‘What a perfect series. Every character was magnificent and an amazing soundtrack. It is flawless, faultless, a beautifully written piece that tugs at the heartstrings. An award winner for sure. Awesome. #lostboysandfairies.’
Another added: ‘Cannot recommend this highly enough. Beautifully written, multilayered script that has a lot to say about how the traumas of recent queer history continue to affect the lives of gay men today. And a great cast to boot. Wonderful. #lostboysandfairies.’
In a similar vein, a third said: ‘Beautiful, heartbreaking, joyous, funny, tear-enducing, class drama! Fantastic writing, music and cast, great performances, massive congratulations all.’
A fourth concurred, writing: ‘Just binged watched all episodes…. couldn’t switch it off. Beautifully written and acted, cried theoughout. #LostBoysAndFairies.’
And another also praised the series, adding: ‘I have just watched ALL three episodes of #LostBoysandFairies tonight and I could not recommend it enough. A beautiful but heartbreaking AND heartwarming story and exceptional performances all round. To say I wept is like saying the UK has the occasional drizzle shower.’
