WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for Fellow Travelers finale.

Summary

• The series finale of Fellow Travelers ends with the heartbreaking death of Tim Laughlin, Hawk's secret romantic partner and the truest love of his life.
• The finale explores the historical context of LGBTQ+ history, including the death of Harvey Milk and the connections between Roy Cohn, David Schine, and Senator Joseph McCarthy.
• The episode delves into Hawk's past actions, such as reporting Tim to the M Unit in 1957, out of fear of being exposed as a gay man. It also highlights the indifference of politicians and society towards the AIDS crisis, which ultimately leads to Tim's death.

The series finale of Fellow Travelers arrives at an unsurprising yet heartbreaking ending with the death of Tim Laughlin (Jonathan Bailey). For the first time since Fellow Travelers episode 5, the acclaimed Showtime series travels back to Washington D.C. set in the 1950s, a few years after the Lavender Scare which was a primary focus of the story altogether. The episode reveals the most egregious offense that Hawk Fuller (Matt Bomer) took against his secret romantic partner Tim, who by the end of the series was the truest love of his life, as Hawk reveals to his daughter.

Fellow Travelers has a slightly different ending for Tim than the original 2007 novel by Thomas Mallon presented, with Tim dying from complications due to AIDS rather than bone cancer. Throughout the series, it was evident that Tim was going to pass away by the story's end, but the details, highlights, and darkest moments between Hawk and Tim's romance make up most of the rich and tragic aspects of their hidden relationship. Fellow Travelers also provides exceptional historical context of LGBTQ+ history such as the death of Harvey Milk, the sanctuary of Fire Island, and the convoluted backdoor connections between Roy Cohn, David Schine, and Senator Joseph McCarthy.

What Happens In The Fellow Travelers Finale

At the beginning of the Fellow Travelers finale, Hawk is alarmed to discover that his wife Lucy has flown to San Francisco to check on his status with Tim, who has been sent to the hospital after experiencing multiple seizures. Lucy visits Tim in the hospital and realizes that Hawk has been sleeping there, which becomes the final straw she needs before telling Hawk she will not be moving to Italy with him and that she wants to separate. A guilt-ridden Hawk scrambles to get Tim a meeting with either Governor George Deukmejian or his associate Howard Lonigan in an attempt to get California Prop 64 signed, which would have classified AIDS as a recognized communicable disease.

Hawk applies serious pressure on his political connection Dave Holm, who is only able to give Hawk an invitation to a gala where Lonigan and the Governor will be in attendance. Hawk gets Tim out of the hospital and tries to get him in front of the Governor but is met with opposition by Holm. Tim, predicting this would happen, reveals that he had used Hawk to get close to the Governor and starts a protest at the gala with Marcus, Frankie, and Jerome. Hawk returns home to discover that Lucy has packed all of her things. Less than a year later, Hawk visits the first AIDS Quilt Memorial on the National Mall in 1987 and mourns Tim's death with his daughter, Kimberly.

Why Hawk Reported Tim To The M Unit In 1957

Much of the Fellow Travelers finale takes place in Washington D.C. in the year 1957, just a few years after the Army-McCarthy hearings and Tim's enlistment in the Army. Tim sends Hawk a telegram telling him to stand up for Hungarian refugees, which prompts Hawk to write him a letter, despite his promise years ago not to. Hawk and Tim reunite at the U.S. State Department Building, where Hawk puts in a good word for Tim to get another job. Hawk invites Tim to his apartment, where they eventually have sex and rekindle their old flame.

Despite Hawk telling Tim to come over whenever he likes, he gets cold feet on the idea of having Tim around so often and the two of them being colleagues. Although the height of the Lavender Scare had ended before McCarthy died in 1957, Hawk was apparently anxious about the threat of being detected as a gay man. Rather than simply telling Tim the job didn't work out, he went straight to the M Unit and reported Tim for suspected "deviant" activity. Hawk effectively ruined Tim's career in the federal government just for the added assurance that he would never be exposed as gay, which was a constant risk with Tim around.

Why Hawk Blows His Cover To His Associate Dave Holm

Later in 1986, Hawk risks it all when his plan to do one last favor for Tim doesn't work out like he had hoped. Dave Holm explains to Hawk that the Governor doesn't want to address the AIDS crisis and that Prop 64 was already considered a deal bill with no shot of passing. A disappointed Tim leaves the room as Hawk completely breaks his professional persona to tell Holm how it really is. Hawk reveals to a stunned Holm that Tim was his lover in a moment that finally demonstrates Hawk's inner rage at the government's total indifference toward the AIDS crisis and of the LGBTQ+ community.

Lucy's Hospital Visit & Decision To Leave Hawk Explained

Lucy had visited Tim at the hospital in San Francisco for the mostly selfish reason of figuring out what she was going to do with Hawk. She even admits to Tim that she was there to acquire a true picture of how much Tim meant to Hawk, leaving with the impression that she could no longer look the other way about her husband's years of infidelity. The truth finally comes to a head for Hawk when Lucy says she's leaving him after 30 years of marriage and won't be joining him in Italy. Based on the fact that Hawk is in Washington D.C. the following year, it's unclear whether Hawk turned down the job in Italy or was only visiting for the AIDS Memorial Quilt event.

How Marcus, Frankie, & Tim's Protest Displays "Dying From Indifference"

Tim's final stand at the Governor's gala in the Fellow Travelers finale highlights the true tragic nature of the AIDS crisis which many American politicians chose to ignore. The message that Tim, Frankie, Jerome, and Marcus send during the protest is that people aren't dying from AIDs, but from the overall indifference of their elected leaders. This powerful truth is reflected in the real-life failure of the California Prop 64 bill that sought to classify AIDS as a disease that all hospitals in the state would treat with the same level of care as any other illness. Governmental and societal indifference toward the AIDS crisis plays a major part in Tim's death.

Tim's "Beyond Measure" AIDS Memorial Quilt Explained

Tim's death from AIDS in either 1986 or 1987 allowed him to be featured on the first display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt on the National Mall in 1987. Tim had struggled most of his life to find peace and understanding of God and love, especially because he carried so much guilt for his sexual identity in the eyes of the Catholic church. Tim explains in Fellow Travelers episode 6 that he had come to understand the concepts of God and love as something "beyond measure", implying an abundance and infinite quality to the love Tim carried for Hawk despite everything they had been through.

The Real Meaning Of Fellow Travelers' Ending

The ending of Fellow Travelers series finale "Make It Easy" fittingly makes Tim's inevitable death easy on its audience. Tim is last seen courageously fighting for his place in the world, and for everyone affected by the AIDS crisis, despite knowing that he will not have much more time in it. Lucy leaving Hawk finally gives him a consequence for his decades of being "bulletproof" and gives him a taste of his own cruel medicine. Hawk kissing Tim in public outside the gala demonstrates that Hawk accepts his love for Tim as finally being enough to break through his professional persona that kept them apart most of their lives.

Hawk's off-and-on poor treatment of Tim throughout the decades reveals more than just a protective instinct for his career, especially as sentiments towards the LGBTQ+ community started to lighten up. Tim knew that Hawk was no good for him but allowed him to be the "great, consuming love" of his life despite his awareness that Hawk would continue to hurt him again and again. Hawk's love for Tim is certainly palpable even though there was often an overtly sexual and possessive condition to it, while Tim represents a more altruistic, unconditional type of love for Hawk.

The source from which Tim contracted AIDS is never revealed in Fellow Travelers, but it is at least made known that it was not from Hawk, who tested negative. This creative omission actually serves the story's central message better, as the enemy isn't any particular person that Tim had sexual relations with but rather the politicians, government, and society whose collective indifference was the nail in the coffin. Hawk and Tim may have had different concepts of love throughout Fellow Travelers, but the finale proves that the magnitude of their passionate bond was truly beyond measure.