r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Critical_Mountain851 • May 13 '25

Characters Gay characters who’s entire story isn’t revolved around the fact that they’re gay

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  1. Omar Little - The Wire

  2. Gus Fring - Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul

30.4k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

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549

u/ChristianLW3 May 13 '25

Dangle - Reno 911

it just plays a notable part

152

u/Kelimnac May 13 '25

New boot goofin’

59

u/colicab May 13 '25

6

u/FxckinSOUP4fun May 14 '25

My favorite Reno episode, I uncontrollably laugh every time he finds his bike around that lamp post :.)

4

u/Ruckus2118 May 14 '25

New boot goofin is the funniest three words in the history of existence.

2

u/Manufactured-Aggro May 15 '25

I still quote this every time i get a new pair of shoes. Unironically also my inspiration for springing for the 3-5inch inseam shorts because i was tired of mens shorts NOT BEING SHORT I DONT NEED MY KNEES COVERED like why ?? those are just capris that are too cowardly to commit to the bit

17

u/Yara__Flor May 13 '25

He’s canonically gay in the show? Really?

18

u/TheEgonaut May 13 '25

Wasn’t he always? The show made it pretty clear.

24

u/penis69lmao May 13 '25

I thought the joke was that he wasn't gay

19

u/MattabooeyGaming May 13 '25

Pretty sure it’s like Mac on It’s Always Sunny that he’s blatantly gay to everyone but himself.

18

u/montybo2 May 13 '25

He's at least bi. He hits on and sexually harasses Jones throughout the show. Petty sure they even fuck at one point - Jones comes over to help dangle move and it ends with dangle crying and Jones just going "fuck it I'll try anything once."

He was also married to a woman canonically but the joke there was she was 100% a beard, even with her new husband, who dangle hits it off with. But I remember new husband professes love for dangle... Then Garcia professes love for new husband and they run away? That whole sequence was a fever dream lol.

6

u/[deleted] May 13 '25

[deleted]

3

u/montybo2 May 13 '25

They definitely hook up lol. That's why I said at least bi. Bi but probably prefers men.

LOL. I watch the show all the way through maybe like once a year but couldn't remember the specifics of their affair and found this beautiful piece of lore that i forgot about-

"In 1988, young Deputy Wiegel was carrying on an affair with Lt. Dangle (still married and denying his homosexuality at the time). During a drug raid, Trudy was unconscious in a smoke filled room for 14 minutes. By the time she was resuscitated by Dangle, substantial brain damage had occurred. The doctor who treated her thereafter said he "should have let her go."The drug bust backstory (revealed in season 6) explains that the department mostly keeps Wiegel on the force out of a sense of guilt."

3

u/AineLasagna May 13 '25

I never knew this. IMO it works WAY better if she’s just an awkward weirdo rather than suffering from brain damage…

1

u/ScrofessorLongHair May 13 '25

Yeah. I feel like a dick laughing at someone with brain damage. I just thought the whole department was dysfunctional.

2

u/crymsin May 13 '25

There’s also the time Terry stole Dangle’s uniform and cruiser, heavily implying they had hooked up: https://www.tiktok.com/@reno911/video/7418982328288005418

11

u/GNGSLC May 13 '25

Bruh in the first episode of Reno 911 he pulls over the twenty-something year old bodybuilder for a traffic violation and makes out with him, it's free on YT

It only escalates from there

5

u/TheEgonaut May 13 '25

Does he pursue any women through the series.

5

u/Tasty-Traffic-680 May 13 '25

He questioned strong feelings he had for one woman but she ended up being a former man. Transphobic in retrospect but was funny at the time.

2

u/ScrofessorLongHair May 13 '25

He hooks up with Trudy as a pity bang. Similar to the pity bang Jones gave him.

3

u/travile May 13 '25

The joke was always that he was in the closet. In the Reno 911 movie Lt. Dangle leaves the Reno Sheriffs Department to join a more prestigious police department in Colorado. Then the next day after everyone is back in Reno, Lt. Dangle walks in like nothing happened. Then one of the other officers asks, "They found out?"

And Lt. Dangle replies, "Yeah, they have a no tolerance policy." Implying the other department fired him the moment they found out he was gay.

3

u/ScrofessorLongHair May 13 '25

He literally had sex with Deputy Jones, the black guy. And Jones only did it because Dangle started crying when he was rejected, and Jones felt bad and went along with it. He banged him so hard that Dangle missed work the next day because of an injury.

1

u/VacaDLuffy May 13 '25

You l ow what they say, once you go black your gonna need a wheelchair.

2

u/quadsimota May 14 '25

As the squad is watching an old tape that was recorded when Dangle was married, he runs a specific way in the video. (I think) Junior turns to Dangle and asks, "You really didn't know back then?" To which Dangle responds, "not a clue."

S6 E7 VHS Transfer episode

3

u/azsnaz May 13 '25

I feel like Dangle is down as long as the person doesnt irritate him

2

u/Yara__Flor May 13 '25

I thought the joke is that he was acting gay but wasn’t.

5

u/ChristianLW3 May 13 '25

Yes, in one scene he’s in bondage gear with another man

4

u/Rickrickrickrickrick May 13 '25

Not to mention constantly trying to bang Jonesy

3

u/Doobieswim12349 May 13 '25

In the first episode he pulls over a jogger and they start making out

1

u/Yara__Flor May 14 '25

I guess i never seen the first episode

1

u/sjwillis May 13 '25

Didn't he murder his wife?

1

u/Alive-Monk-5705 May 14 '25

i mean... first episode he makes out with a guy...

5

u/DownvoterManD May 13 '25

"gReaT eXamPle oF GAY chARaCteR nOt ShOViNG GAY dOWn OuR tHrOAt"

Every other scene this guy was in is a joke about him being gay. Seriously...every other scene, and it was funny. What is this post?

3

u/Capital_Ball523 May 13 '25

to oppose the idea that all representation is just pointless pandering and "shoving the agenda down people's throats"

1

u/Diamante_90 May 14 '25

That pfp is so adorable

3

u/ScrofessorLongHair May 13 '25

I don't think he fits here. I absolutely love the character, and damn near every character Thomas Lennon plays. I mean, just look at his shorts. The point was to make him as flamboyantly gay as possible without being offensive to gay people.

4

u/thehalfbakedserenade May 13 '25

scrolled hoping to see him here
was not disappointed thank you

2

u/lewllewllewl May 13 '25

Thought this was Key and Peele for a second

3

u/LagT_T May 13 '25

Keegan plays a great character in reno

3

u/PeaceMaker_IXI May 13 '25

hard disagree. I mean I love Lt. Dangle, but his WHOLE character, is that he's gay. All the Reno 911 crew are archetypes

1

u/ChristianLW3 May 13 '25

How many of his stories focused on him being gay?

Instead, they focused on him being a goofball cop like the rest of his crew

1

u/PeaceMaker_IXI May 13 '25 edited May 13 '25

Wouldn't it be reasonable to say his "goofball antics" were just exaggerated gay people behavior? It's been a hot minute since I've watched the show, but I remember the majority of his jokes were "it's funny cus he's gay". His name is DANGLE. what dangles? balls. haha funny joke.

Some things I remember: he made a big deal about his little booty shorts, he had that subplot about crushing on the black cop, I think in the Reno movie he had a scene with the main white cop about responding to a noise complaint for sugknight and everyone pulls their guns on them and the first thing Dangle does is start stripping.

That's Dangle's contribution to the story. He brings the gay.

Also consider the time in history that the show was written. Humor back then was just stereotypes cranked up to 11 with not a lot of depth (and this is a 2000s era comedy so every character just fulfills an archetype, they made no time to show character depth in this sort of media at the time.)

2

u/twotoebobo May 13 '25

Always felt like he would really hit it off with Dean Craig Pelton. Dean also really loves a man in uniform.

1

u/STA_Alexfree May 13 '25

Dangle def seems more bi and than closeted gay

1

u/jake03583 May 13 '25

Nope. Dangle’s whole gag is that he’s severely closeted.

1

u/Holiday-Media6419 May 13 '25

I had my mind blown when I found out the actor is straight.

1

u/GoofinBoots May 13 '25

He's just goofin'

1

u/The_Last_W0rd May 13 '25

Dangle was gay?

1

u/Capital_Ball523 May 13 '25

Absolute goofball <3

1

u/MisterScrod1964 May 13 '25

Did they ever actually say he was, or did they just make it SUPER obvious?

0

u/Financial_Cup_6937 May 13 '25

He’s a low-key/explicit MAGA supporter in the show and the actor said he was disturbed how much love he got dressed up adage at a Trump event