‘Boots’ Season 1 review: A solid coming-of-age story lost in the larger context

Coming of age in 1990 at boot camp is tough enough. Coming of age in 1990 at boot camp while you’re gay and closeted is a recipe for disaster. Netflix’s Boots takes a somewhat lighthearted approach to the story of Cameron Cope (Miles Heizer) as he follows his best friend to the Marines to escape a life of monotony and zero prospects. While the show contains great moments and dynamic characters, it can’t shake off its glossy exterior to dive deeper into the military industrial complex, a context that feels disrespectfully forgotten.

Instead, Boots opts for a more feel-good story about the boys at boot camp. And for a coming-of-age story, it works. Cameron and his best friend, Ray McAffrey (Liam Oh), face many obstacles to their friendship, including who gets to be squad leader at boot camp. The fractures in their friendship that occur throughout the season showcase how much an environment like military training can change people.

For Cameron, that change is a good thing. As a closeted gay kid, Cameron’s never learned to stand up for himself. Through marine training, he becomes more hardened and more willing to suppress his inner self, which is externalized by having Heizer play double Cameron on screen. Cameron’s internal self is the voice of reason and a representation of who Cameron truly is. Sometimes, it’s a gimmick, but the conceit works well enough to allow Cameron an internal dialogue to gauge where he’s at mentally.

The dynamics between the recruits are strong.

Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2025

The camaraderie between the campers is a massive highlight of Boots. Not just the way they play off each other, but also in the way the show gives ample time to showcase individual stories, whether through flashbacks or overarching plot beats. The twins, John and Cody, have a particularly tragic backstory and complicated relationship. Even when the episodes don’t fully focus on them, there remains a consistent thread of their rivalry. The dynamics between all of the recruits feel very lived-in.

As the episodes go on, and they’re months deep into their training, there’s a nice rhythm to the interactions between all the characters, built smoothly over the course of eight episodes. Even as they butt heads still, their journey together at boot camp is a well-documented process. Because of this, the catharsis at the end of the season is well-earned and satisfying.

But the most intriguing character comes in the form of Sgt. Sullivan (Max Parker). He appears at boot camp as a replacement for another drill sergeant. Previously stationed in Guam, Sullivan’s presence perplexes the other drill sergeants. It’s clear there’s more to Sullivan’s reassignment, and that mystery and pay-off is one of the more satisfying beats in Boots. Parker is captivating as Sullivan.

The show builds up the mystery for a few episodes, allowing you to draw your conclusions first. But every action Sullivan takes that isn’t screaming and yelling at the recruits, such as his care in helping Cameron during a training exercise, or not turning Cameron in for a prank he witnessed, seems at odds with the mystery surrounding his presence. In those softer moments, Parker creates an incredibly dynamic character.

Boots needed to look harder at the big picture issues.

Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2025

Existing within the backdrop of Boots is the real reason they’re at boot camp in the first place — to go to war. And this particular aspect is at odds with the lighthearted air in which these coming-of-age stories are presented. It’s all well and good that Cameron finds himself at boot camp, and it’s easy to cheer them all on when they complete their training. But this is the U.S. Marines, they’ve just joined.

The season ends on a news broadcast about troops being deployed to the Middle East. The last line, delivered by Cameron, is some sort of quip about summer camp. For a show about training kids to go to the Middle East and kill people, it feels incredibly disrespectful.

Despite the training and the uniforms, Boots doesn’t seem all that concerned with the military aspect. While there are moments that seem to showcase the military’s manipulation in getting people to sign up, and the harsh ways training can be, there’s no actual engagement or critical look at the effects of boot camp, the military, and war on these kids. Even with Cameron and Sullivan’s sexuality playing a role in their positions in the military, it doesn’t go much deeper than “you have to toughen up because you can’t be gay in the Marines.”

As a coming-of-age story, Boots is an entertaining season of interesting characters and dynamics. Still, the tone and execution are at odds with the larger picture of war and U.S. imperialism, a context that is deeply needed.

Boots is available to stream on Netflix. Watch the trailer below. 

Images courtesy of Netflix.

Katey Stoetzel

Katey is co-founder and tv editor for InBetweenDrafts. She hosts the “House of the Dragon After Show” and “Between TV” podcasts and can be read in various other places like Inverse and Screen Speck. She wishes desperately the binge model of tv watching would die, but still gets mad when she runs out of episodes of tv to watch.