'Special' did something quite risky very comfortably to become a casual revolutionary series

The Netflix series 'Special' ended at its prime and it was just the second season. The show might not be a huge hit across the world but has created the right amount of ripple with its very plain and simple life like treatment of everything that can be made dramatic very easily. The show being semi-autobiographical, Ryan O'Connell (the protagonist and creator of the show) could have gone wrong at multiple points if he tried to do anything else but then rather than treading by the white, sweet, sentimental path always, he treaded on the risky black and grey more often. The protagonist of the show is Ryan Hayes (Ryan O'Connell), who is gay and has mild cerebral palsy. He is a writer and when season one starts, he is staying with his mother and quite dependent on her. His mother Karen Hayes is played by Jessica Hecht with absolute ease. The show is revolutionary but does not make a lot of hype and hoopla about anything at all which makes this casual approach even more impactful and a must-watch.

A character who is gay and at the same time has cerebral palsy which obviously makes him a vulnerable protagonist for a web series, one who would attract all the sighs and sympathies but not in this case. Ryan here is shrewd, rude, harsh, dumb, cunning, happy, sad, irritating, ungrateful, helpful, horny, in love, confused, bad in bed, satisfied with his partner, asking for too much, cute, adorable and about most of the things about all of us are at some point or the other. The show does absolutely great in poking fun even at very sensitive moments without hurting feelings or going overboard. The show in portraying things casually does not really mock disability for once or skip the specific issues that come with cerebral palsy which needs a real empathetic genius to execute. In episode one of the first season, Ryan gets hit by a car on his way to a new office and when the colleagues there assumed that the accident is the reason for his limp, he did not bother to correct it which makes season one a bit serious affair till the time Ryan decides to come out of the disabled closet. In season two, the show gets more casual, more explicit when it comes to sex and relationship and hits the right chords after freeing itself from the high concepts of the first season.

There is a life beyond coming out and this series shows that well. While coming out stories are beautiful, brave and even funny at times but there is a life beyond it and for many viewers that life creates more impact than the coming out, this show takes up that part of life. There are a lot of shows which might act like motivation porn having a gay protagonist or a disabled protagonist but this series is not about that, Ryan does not really achieve some huge feats other than maybe learn how to sweep and have a place of his own in the whole of the first and second season, he just lives life like we all do and things happen. 

The character of Olivia (Marla Mindelle) is wonderful, she pays a boss who is least bothered about anything but work and has no empathy or sympathy whatsoever, a bit of a sociopath too and goes around calling Ryan, diva which might both be taken in a funny or motivational way or just a stereotype attached to most gay men. Then comes the extremely lovable, relatable, cunning, sweet and irritating character of Kim played by Punam Patel. She is Ryan's best friend from work and along with all the insecurities that a brown-skinned plus sized woman can face in America she is the most reliable support besides his mother that Ryan gets. Kim is also stuck between two men, one is too good to be true tech genius Harrison played by Charlie Barnett and her childhood friend with benefits Ravi played by Utkarsh Ambudkar.

While all the main character from Ryan to Karen to Kim develops in the second season given the more time to explore and express, one character introduced in season two really creates a lot of impact and that is Tanner played by Mark Jenkins. Tanner is someone who is in an open relationship with a man much elder to him and falls in love with Ryan only to be snubbed by him in a few months time after he leaves his partner and comes to Ryan to be only with him. The insensitive behaviour of Ryan makes Tanner realise that he has made a mistake and goes back to his partner. The whole confusion is portrayed quite well and the fact that Tanner in this case is the one with whom the audience would empathise more than Ryan is something that is magical in itself. Ryan is the mean guy in this case and not someone helpless and at others' mercy because of his disability which is so much different from most other portrayals of similar characters.

The series has a lot to give and one thing for sure is the portrayal of Ryan's mother, Karen. She is a woman who has given it all to her child but then again she is not just a mother, she is a real human being with feelings and soon realises that taking care of Ryan has taken away a lot from her youth and she never really lived a life beyond Ryan since the time he was born. This realisation is portrayed beautifully and her unsuccessful affair with Phil (Patrick Fabian) brings out the helpless side in her beautifully, while she loves her son and cannot be with a man who does not empathise with Ryan, she at the same time loves being with Phil and is angry with Ryan for being the reason of her breakup with Phil.

Across the series, sometimes Ryan falls for a very good-looking guy and while having sex realises that the guy has a fetish for disability or is confused about whether to date a neurodiverse guy Henry (Buck Andrews) even when he knows that they like each other. Ryan at one point also realises how much not being friends with anyone with a disability has created a vacancy which leads him to join a group, at the same time does not do much to be sensitive towards Tanner when he makes some unintentional mistakes at the party while conversing with his group of newly formed friends. 

Finally, with a mixed bag of feeling, this show is a watch everyone will enjoy, relate and be a bit disappointed that it ended with an expanded second season and at a point which is anything but a conclusion and the story could have picked up creatively in coming seasons. However, Ryan O'Connell in one of his interviews with 'The Hollywood Reporter' that he is not done telling stories about disability and queer characters and we can all hope something equally or more 'Special' is on the cards.