What is Sullivan’s orientation in Netflix’s Boots? Details explored

Boots on Netflix takes us back to the U.S. Marine Corps of the 1990s but through the lens of secrecy, fear, and sexual orientation.

Fans of the show who are curious about Sergeant Liam Robert Sullivan’s orientation can put the debate to rest as Sullivan is gay. However, as a character, his journey is tangled with guilt repression, and regret.

His story runs in a parallel arc to Cameron Cope’s, another closeted marine, and both face the suffocating military policies of the era. What happens on the show is much less about “coming out” and more about how silence can destroy a man from the inside out.

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The coded pain of Sergeant Sullivan: Guilt, secrecy, and the scars of survival

When Sullivan (played by Max Parker) is seen on Boots as a strict drill instructor, his roughness toward Cameron Cope feels personal. By episode five, we get to learn more. We learn that during his posting in Guam, Sullivan was investigated for his relationship with Major Aaron Wilkinson.

The interrogation scene reveals just how terrified Sullivan is of being found out. When asked if Wilkinson was homosexual, he replies, “I wouldn’t know,” before being asked the same of himself. He denies it, visibly shaken, as the investigators make him remove his uniform blouse, revealing the “Semper Fi” tattoo over his heart.

Think of the tattoo as a memory to remember. Sullivan and Wilkinson got matching ones while secretly seeing each other in Guam. Their relationship was tender but doomed. When rumors about Wilkinson’s sexuality began spreading, Sullivan panicked and chose his career over love, claiming Wilkinson made an advance on him.

It was an act of betrayal that haunted him long after. His coldness in the boot camp could be seen as projection. A way to punish himself through Cameron, who reminds him of the freedom he once abandoned.

Actor Max Parker told Queerty;

“I think the whole reason why he becomes a drill instructor is to run away from his life, to get away from this thing that’s now chasing him.”

He explained that seeing Cameron;

“Brings him back to the thing he’s running away from.”

This only shows how Sullivan isn’t just a character living in denial but he’s also a man trying to erase his own reflection.

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Boots and the burden of silence: How the show reframes queer identity in the military

In Boots, Sullivan’s sexuality isn’t a twist for shock value; but it’s a lens through which the series critiques military masculinity and systemic erasure. The show’s tone shifts when a letter from “W” arrives for Sullivan in episode three. The letter reads,

“Looks like you left Guam just in time. NCIS is poking around, watch your six. - W”

The very same letter that sends Sullivan spiraling, forcing him to confront the very truth he buried.

By episode six, we finally learn what happened in Guam: Sullivan and Wilkinson had fallen in love. They even talked about a life “after the Corps.” As homosexuality was criminalized under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, it pushed Sullivan to end it in the worst way possible.

He reported Wilkinson, effectively ruining the man who loved him. His guilt festers throughout Boots, especially when he sees the same vulnerability in Cameron.

In an interview with BBC Radio Manchester, Parker explained,

“I wanted to do a queer role. As a gay man, I wanted to explore that story.”

He also noted how relevant it still feels today:

“There’s still a lot going on in the world, especially with acceptance, and times haven’t changed that much in certain ways.”

That’s exactly what Boots captures so beautifully. The very ache of a time when silence meant being safe, and truth was a luxury that only a few could afford. Sullivan’s story isn’t just about being labled as gay in the military; it’s about how shame weaponized by institutions can turn love into a battlefield.

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Sullivan’s orientation in Boots isn’t a secret meant to shock the viewers but it’s a mirror reflecting decades of repression and fear. His love for Wilkinson, his denial, and his guilt all tie into the show’s wider conversation about identity and survival.

By the end, when he disappears into the night, it isn’t cowardice but freedom. Boots leaves that silence echoing.

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