Netflix’s ‘Pulse’ Has The Best Slow-Burn Romance You Probably Missed

Netflix’s first English language medical drama packs a punch with a constant barrage of hard-hitting conflict and suspense that often veers into outlandish territory, but it’s most subtle and realistic storyline flies so low under the radar you might miss it completely. As a queer person, it had me second-guessing my own ‘gaydar’ right up until the very last episode.

Sophie and Camila’s chemistry goes so unnoticed because it’s the most grounded in real life of the series. You may have mistaken it for ‘just a friendship’ because that’s exactly what it starts out as, but for the folks who know how to pick up on the cues, the signs were there from the very first episode. Let me take you through all the best moments of their ‘slow build’ romance.

So you agree? You think you’re really pretty?

It’s no coincidence our first encounter with both of these characters is one of their first with each other. Sophie is a surgical intern, and Camila is a third year medical student doing a rotation in the ER. The juxtaposition of these characters creates a foil that informs us who each of them are as individuals.

Camila is a Florida native sporting a polished and professional outfit with bright feminine colors and patterns that scream ‘Miami’. She’s fresh-faced and optimistic compared to the more seasoned and jaded ER employees like Indiana transplant, Sophie, whose fears she tries to assuage during a hurricane.

Instead of welcoming the gesture, Sophie critiques Camila’s appearance, implying that she must be high-maintenance, explaining that the status quo for Maguire is “a kind of malnourished exhaustion”. On paper, this scene illustrates the price doctors pay as part of their training, but it also creates a tension between the two, setting up a mentor-trainee power dynamic, and establishing Sophie’s recognition of Camila’s conventional attractiveness.

Nothing like a heart-to-heart in a hurricane.

Perhaps the most memorable moment of Sophia and Camila’s relationship is when they venture out into a hurricane looking for a runaway patient with a ruptured appendix. It’s where we first see Camila’s sincere concern for Sophie’s well-being as a hint that there is more than a friendship brewing here.

The two pause their search, in the middle of the torrential rain, to talk about the ways their differences insight insecurity as well as admiration in each other. Sophie thinks Camila’s endless positivity makes her look bad, and tells her she looks like a TV doctor. Meanwhile, Camila confesses she actually wants to be just like Sophie, and wishes she could be as brave when it comes to dealing with Cole.

The look of pure terror on Camila’s face when Sophie runs in front of a truck to find their patient transportation to the hospital is priceless, as is their celebratory and impromptu dance-off when Sophie receives a rare “good job” from Cole.

How tight is that ponytail?

All of that wholesome bonding comes to a screeching halt when Sophie sees Camila talking to Cole sporting a high ponytail that coincides exactly with the description Sophie gave her earlier of his “type”. It’s abundantly clear that Sophie does not have any feelings for Cole, and is actually repulsed by his behavior, so the jealousy and disappointment on Sophie’s face can only be directed towards Camila.

When Sophie later confronts her for using the intel to “get ahead” and tells Camila she’s not “the kind of girl I’m going to get along with”, Camila is stunned and confused, quickly explaining that she simply put her wet hair up after their harrowing excursion.

This isn’t the same kind of girl-on-girl tug of war over Cole we see play out between Cass and Nia. Camila genuinely wants Sophie to believe her, and doesn’t want this to get in the way of their friendship. Sophie’s sensitivity to the situation and quick rebound after Camila apologizes is where we start to see the extent to which they each matter to each other.

It’s called “emotional intimacy”.

Sophie becomes increasingly protective of Camila, first having IT remove computer access that could land her in trouble, and eventually sending her out of the room when she starts to perform CPR on a old woman, cracking her ribs in the process. She knows how painful and traumatic this will be, and wants to spare Camila from the worst of it.

But Camila is pained regardless, watching Sophie lose the patient, questioning whether the choices she was obligated to make were in fact cruel, and then breaking the news to the patient’s family while processing all of these difficult emotions.

Camila checks on Sophie when their shift ends, offering her a ride home, and comforting her in a tight embrace while Sophie cries. When compared to their reserved co-workers who don’t share their heartaches even with their closest friends, the emotional depth developing between these two clearly stands out.

It’s not really a crush if you don’t stalk their socials.

We all pay closer attention to our crushes, noticing the slightest fluctuations in their mood and picking up on all their little mannerisms, so when Camila calls out Sophie for crossing her ankles like a quinceañera, it’s far more than just playful teasing-it’s proof of how well they are getting to know each other.

After an online search reveals Sophie’s successful run as a midwestern pageant queen, Camila and two co-workers confront her with the discovery. Instead of being ashamed, Sophie embraces her background, boasting about choreographed routines she did wearing five hundred bobby-pins while strutting sultrily up to Camila, until their faces are only inches apart.

Camila is bringing out a flirtier, more confident version of Sophie she’s kept hidden from the rest of the staff at Maguire, and also discovering how much more there might be to Sophie than meets the eye.

I’m not a hugger.

Sophie, in turn, is bringing out a different type of confidence in Camila. When Sam snaps at her in a moment of impatience, Camila is visibly upset, and Sophie coaches her to ignore the criticism and keep trying.

Sam apologizes to Camila, and together they save a girl with toxic shock syndrome. Afterwards, Camila shares the good news with Sophie, and gives her a big hug, thanking her for the encouragement. Sophie shrinks away and makes an awkward face, before briefly grabbing Camila’s wrist and shooing her away. Only once she’s left does Sophie let herself crack a smile.

Her hesitancy with physical affection shows there is something unexpected and uncomfortable for her in these moments of heightened closeness. It’s not merely a casual embrace between friends for her.

Time for some conflict.

Every slow build eventually reaches a tipping point, so of course it’s only fitting that Sophie is completely blindsided by news that Camila has requested to transfer to another hospital for her surgical rotation. When Sophie confronts her and tells her she can’t leave, Camila shares some harsh truths about how toxic working with Cole is, and how she worries Sophie is a bit of a masochist and actually enjoys his abuses. Where Sophie has been trained to see her circumstances as an unavoidable requirement of her medical training, Camila is challenging the status quo, and in the process, Sophie’s sense of self.

No, I wasn’t eavesdropping.

At this point, the two are so close, that Camila’s words immediate start to sink in for Sophie. When Cole gives her attitude and takes her off the surgical schedule, she confronts him, telling him they are about to lose Camila because of his inappropriate behavior. Of course, Camila’s right around the corner, listening to every word as Sophie proclaims just how amazing she is for everyone to hear, but slips away unnoticed before anyone can notice.

If you’re going to say it, say it to my face.

But a big romantic speech made in secret is never as good as one face to face, which is exactly what we get when Sophie returns Camila’s missing earring. She details her exhaustive trek across the hospital to all of the places Camila usually frequents, displaying how intimately she knows her friend’s habits and how dedicated she was in her search. But she quickly takes the earring back, telling Camila she’ll hold it hostage until she agrees not to transfer to another hospital. Luckily for Sophie, Camila already cancelled the request, and the two make the kind of erratic up and down eye contact people only make in TV and movies right before they kiss…until they are abruptly interrupted by the bombshell arrival of Camila’s fiancé.

Time for a dramatic cliffhanger.

Honestly, up until this moment, I was fully prepared to face the fact that I had been reading way too closely into these characters’ interactions. Maybe it was all a predictive bias of what I wanted to see play out between them. But there is literally no other reason for Rodrigo to exist, let alone to step onto the screen right at this moment, except as a plot device built to create more tension within this budding romance, and honestly it’s done masterfully.

Beyond this interaction, there hasn’t been any blatant discussion of either character’s sexuality, only the context of the attention they give to each other, and their growing investment in each other’s emotions. It’s deep. It’s complex. It’s how people actually fall in love in the real world, and just the kind of queer love story modern viewers want to see on screen. Let’s just pray Pulse gets picked up for a second season so we can see it come to fruition.