Trauma (1.05) "Masquerade" Recap: "Boo, I'm gay!"

***SPOILERS*** This recap discusses pivotal plot points in last night's episode of Trauma.

Finally, the cat is out of the bag and we officially know which of Trauma's EMTs is also LGBQT. Assuming you've been watching (not enough folks have as Trauma is on the verge of being canceled) simple deductive reasoning must've told you Tyler Briggs (Kevin Rankin) was our man. After all, he's the only one over the past four episodes to have had no personal life at all, and that's frequently a sign of imminent homosexuality

So it's Halloween in San Francisco which means the city is even kookier than normal — especially for Cameron Boone (Derek Luke), the paramedic Tyler usually works with. We've already had hints that Boone is a fairly religious fellow and when a gay couple who have a child that attends school with Boone's daughter,answer their door dressed as a chef and Julia Child's while handing out Halloween candy, he can't hide his disgust and later tells Boone he hates it when gays "throw it in your face."

At this point I had to wonder how Boone has managed to live in San Francisco for this long without his head exploding.

In fact, pretty much the whole gist of the Tyler/Boone storyline is Boone's subtle and not so subtle homophobia and how Tyler reacts to it. Later they are working the Castro and when an attractive gay man teases Boone about his sexy costume — and dares to too touch his face — Boone freaks and pins the man's arm behind him as he slams him against their EMT rig.

Only Tyler's intervention staves off Boone doing real damage.

A fire in a gay bar leads poor Boone to yet more interaction with actual gay men including the husband of an injured man who pointedly tells Boone the fellow he's working isn't his friend, but his husband.