TV Romance
‘Boots’: A Deep Dive Into Sullivan Love Life & Secret Past
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Boots Season 1.]
In Boots, Marine Sergeant Sullivan (Max Parker) seems to have it out for Cameron Cope (Miles Heizer) throughout boot camp. Cope, who’s already on edge keeping his sexuality a secret in the era before “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” doesn’t understand Sullivan’s actions at first. Eventually, he comes to realize that the instructor is actually trying to help him: Sullivan is putting Cope through his paces to ensure that he has what it takes to be a Marine.
It isn’t until towards the end of Season 1 that viewers find out it’s because Sullivan sees his younger self in Cope. Hints were placed throughout the show that Sullivan was hiding something: At the end of Episode 3, the sergeant receives a mysterious letter. “Looks like you left Guam just in time. NCIS is poking around, watch your six,” it says, and its sender signed off with “W.”
It doesn’t take long for Sullivan to meet with a lawyer preemptively, and though he mentions that he has to decide whether or not to reenlist, viewers still don’t find out why he’s so conflicted. So, what happened to Sullivan in Guam? Why is the Naval Criminal Investigative Service looking into him? If you can’t wait to find out, we have the full rundown on Sullivan’s mysterious past below.
Is Sullivan gay in Boots?
As you might’ve already guessed, Sullivan and Cope have their sexuality in common. When a NCIS representative questions Sullivan in Episode 4, she makes him take off his shirt, revealing a “Semper Fi” tattoo on his chest. It takes two episodes to finally get Sullivan’s Guam backstory, which explains the significance of the tattoo. It matches Major Wilkinson’s (Sachin Bhatt).
In flashbacks, viewers find out that Sullivan and Wilkinson had a relationship, meeting up in motel rooms once a week. During one of their meetups, the two talk about leaving the Marines behind. Wilkinson is ready to do it, but he doesn’t believe that Sullivan is totally on board. The latter tries to convince him otherwise, though he admits that it’ll take him longer because he’s not an officer. To reassure him, Sullivan ends the conversation by saying, “I love you.”
What happens to Wilkinson in Boots?
Sullivan’s fellow soldier, Maitra (Beau Mirchoff), says that he heard a rumor. The other guys have noticed that Sullivan and Wilkinson have been spending time together, and Maitra warns Sullivan that he should steer clear of him, since everyone suspects that he’s gay. Afterward, as Wilkinson sets up a date in their motel room, a spooked Sullivan stands him up and runs through the forest to the beach.
Sullivan and Wilkinson don’t meet again. Instead, Sullivan informs Maitra that he’s going home. He says it’s time to move on — and that Wilkinson came onto him. Maitra, viewers later find out, reported the Major. As a result, Wilkinson was arrested. A guilt-ridden Sullivan self-destructs from there on out, ultimately getting into a bar fight that puts a man into a coma.
What happens to Sullivan in the Boots finale?
Knowing that he’s going to be discharged and arrested for the bar fight, Sullivan asks Captain Fajardo (Ana Ayora) for permission to go on one last mission: to find recruit Jones (Jack Cameron Kay), who went missing in the woods. With Cope in tow, he does find him but decides to escape the consequences of his actions. Cope and Sullivan have one last heart-to-heart, with the latter telling his mentee that he’s ready to be a Marine, before leaving.
Will we see Sullivan again in a potential Season 2? Only time will tell. What do you think of Sullivan’s Season 1 ending? Let us know in the comments below!
Boots, Season 1, Streaming Now, Netflix
