Netflix‘s Boots is inspired by the true story detailed in Gregory Cope White’s memoir, The Pink Marine. White chronicles his experience as a closeted gay man in the U.S. Marine Corps in the early 1990s. The Netflix adaptation was one of the last projects from the late Norman Lear and stars Miles Heizer as Cameron Cope, who shares a complicated but incredibly watchable relationship with Sgt. Sullivan (Max Parker), one of his commanding officers at boot camp.

Set in the tough, unpredictable world of the 1990s U.S. Marine Corps — when being gay in the military was still illegal — Boots follows directionless, closeted Cameron Cope (Heizer) and his best friend, Ray McAffey (Liam Oh), the son of a decorated Marine, as they join a diverse group of recruits. Together, this ensemble navigates the literal and metaphorical landmines of boot camp, forging unlikely bonds and discovering their true selves in an environment designed to push them to their limits. With sharp wit and plenty of heart, Boots is about friendship, resilience, and finding your place in the world — even when that world seems determined to keep you in line or leave you behind.

Sullivan is assigned to Cameron and Ray’s squad after Sgt. Knox (Zach Roerig) is removed for his racist treatment of Ray. Sullivan almost immediately targets Cope during training. Eventually, you realize it’s because Sullivan is also gay, and he can tell that Cameron is, too. Sullivan is harder on the young recruit than he is on others because he has extra investment in making sure this closeted man can withstand his unique obstacles ahead, but Sullivan is more sympathetic to Cameron in certain moments because of this as well.

There’s an undefined connection between these two throughout Season 1, which ends with the onset of the Gulf War. The recruits are going off to war, and the investigation into Sullivan’s sexuality had a positive ending. TV Insider asked Heizer and Sullivan to define what they think is going on between Cameron and Sullivan in the Boots Season 1 finale.

Sullivan was hard on Cameron because “he was trying to get him to quit,” Parker tells us in the video interview above. “He doesn’t want him to go through what he’s going through,” Parker adds.

But then, Sullivan realizes that Cameron’s committed to this life. “If you’re going to stay in the military, he’s going to make sure that he’s doing it correctly,” Parker says of Sullivan’s motivations. Everything changes at the end, when Sullivan’s future in the Marines is up in the air after the investigation fallout. Parker says that Sullivan may be more like a role model than anything else to Cameron.

“The relationship gets to a point where Sullivan’s broken down, everything’s caught up with him,” Parker says. “It’s almost like Sullivan falls from grace. He’s not really the perfect idol that Cameron thought he was. It’s almost like a perfect example of what not to be. The student becomes the teacher in a way.”

Heizer says that Sullivan is a walking warning for Cameron.

“For Cameron, Sullivan represents this sort of ideal person that’s this strong, confident man that I think Cameron has always wanted to be,” he explains. “As Sullivan starts to crumble, Cameron can see it happening and starts to realize that they’re more similar than he had thought and ultimately realizes that Sullivan is actually an example of what happens when he hides himself and doesn’t truly love himself and have self-acceptance and what that can end up looking like.”

Heizer continues, “It’s this very interesting turn where at the end, Cameron sort of left with this choice of like, do I go on my path, or do I go on Sullivan’s path? It’s left sort of open-ended at the end for Cameron, what that looks like. He’s hoping to find some sort of middle ground, and then he is met with this harsh reality of the situation he’s in. When he’s looking at the TV and sees that we’re going to war, there [are] a lot of things going on in his mind, but mostly it stems from this connection to Sullivan.”

Parker says the radio moment, when Sullivan passes a radio to Cameron, says everything.

“We’re passing the radio and [handing over] the reins and letting him know that he’s made it. He’s going to be fine. He’s a Marine now,” Parker says, “It’s Sullivan’s only point where he succumbs to his fate.”

Learn more about how Boots was made in the full video interview above.

Boots, Season 1, Streaming Now, Netflix