[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Étoile Season 1.]
While dance may have taken center stage in Étoile‘s first season, it was difficult not to get swept up in the relationship between American choreographer Tobias (Gideon Glick) and French ballet dancer Gabin (Ivan du Pontavice).
When they first met, Gabin was an eager star on the rise, wanting his moment in the spotlight by teaming with the company’s newest recruit. Meanwhile, Tobias was merely getting by, doing his best to survive in an environment he wasn’t used to and attempting to create an exceptional routine for Gabin and others to perform.
Their chemistry was almost immediate, even if Tobias didn’t recognize it right away. The real shift when Tobias began to catch onto the romantically charged aspect of their relationship? Glick said when he stopped by TV Insider, “I think you see the end of Episode 4 when [Tobias] comes back [to France after returning to New York] and Gabon’s upset and all of a sudden… he’s being held responsible for that. And that’s something he’s not used to, and he’s very uncomfortable with it.”
Glick referenced the instance in which Tobias ditched an important photoshoot with Gabin in France to return to New York so he could watch his ballet choreography performed by the company there. Gabin was understandably upset, and Glick acknowledged that this was a point in which Tobias needed to understand that his approach to certain situations had an impact on Gabin.
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“There’s a line where [Gabin] goes, ‘You know, your messaging was clear.’ And then Tobias goes, ‘My messaging is never clear.’ And I think it’s like an epiphany for him,” he explained. “There’s a sadness about it because he’s realizing in past relationships this is something that has interfered, but he’s also realizing… he needs to start to change.”
Ultimately, the duo had their ups and downs throughout the season, but after a session of live choreographing onstage mid-show, Tobias was overcome with awe over Gabin and finally gave in to his feelings by initiating a kiss. “I love that there’s a big gay kiss in the Palladino universe,” Glick mused. “As a gay man, it’s the very, very thrilling. I remember reading it. I got chills. And I love that it’s a moment for Tobias to kind of take action… By the time we get to the eighth episode, Gabin is pining for [Tobias], he wants that validation, but also the realization that there is a connection there. And so I think it’s funny that it takes so long for him to fully realize it, and obviously for it to materialize on stage as he’s creating his great piece.”
Before Tobias was able to fully commit himself to pursuing a relationship with Gabin, though, he returned to New York to break things off with a man with whom he believed he was in a relationship, played by Glick’s Spring Awakening costar Jonathan Groff. “I think it’s one of my favorite scenes,” Glick gushed about the reunion.
Ultimately, Tobias learned that his former beau was already well into his next relationship, quickly approaching the altar as an engaged man. It further reiterated the way in which Tobias lived in his own head, as he sincerely believed he was in a relationship with someone he hadn’t spoken to in several months.
While that relationship ultimately wasn’t played out onscreen, Glick opened up more about that scene and several others, including Season 2 hopes, in the full video interview above. Stay tuned for more on Étoile as we gear up for the next chapter, and let us know what you thought of Tobias and Gabin’s relationship in Season 1 below.
Étoile, Season 2 Premiere, TBA, Prime Video
