Tiny Pretty Things Season 1: How Brennan Clost stole the show as Shane

Brennan Clost as Shane is one of the best parts of Tiny Pretty Things

Watching Tiny Pretty Things Season 1 on Netflix is certainly an experience. There’s friendship and betrayal, love and lust, and so many other fascinating storylines to follow. Who pushed Cassie? And while we’re at it, how did [redacted] wind up [spoilered] by the end?

Thankfully, another part of the series that makes it so entertaining is the way it tackles everything ballet—the good, the bad, the ugly…and the hideous. We’re even more grateful to be able to say that the actors playing the dancers actually know the difference between changements, royales, and entrechat quatres. And let’s not even get started on the pirouette envy because it will be impossible to shut up.

Whether it’s watching the season’s central mystery unfold or just following the characters’ dance stories, one star of Tiny Pretty Things Season 1 really stood out. His name is Brennan Clost, and if you’re not in love with him and his character Shane by the end of the season, were you even paying attention?

Shane pulled at our heartstrings in Tiny Pretty Things Season 1

When Neveah (Kylie Jefferson) first comes to the Archer School of Ballet, one of the first people to be even remotely kind to her is Shane. After she’s forced away from pretty much every barre spot she tries to take, Shane offers her a place.

It’s not exactly like their friendship is all sunshine and rainbows, but Shane is a key part of motivating Neveah to make peace with her past. Hinting, more than once, at not having a great family himself, Shane is one of very few people in the elite ballet world who knows what it’s like to have to claw your way in before ever having to fight your way to the top.

What sets Shane apart in Tiny Pretty Things Season 1 is not just that he’s the kindest of the otherwise terrible people, though. It goes much deeper than that: It’s his devastatingly heartbreaking search for love.

Thanks to stereotypes, you’d think being the gay boy on the ballet school’s campus would be a walk in the park. But it’s not—not at all. Instead, Shane is probably the most lost dancer at the Archer.

Sure, he can get his best friend to hook up with him; but no, that “friend” isn’t much of a friend at all, given that Oren (Barton Cowperthwaite) just uses him to let off some steam. He’s rejected again and again; and every time it happens, Clost makes sure Shane’s pain is the viewer’s. It’s a true punch to the gut.

When Shane meets Dev, it seems like he’s finally found someone who really wants to be with him. But Tiny Pretty Things Season 1 is nothing if not a rollercoaster ride, which means any shred of optimism that comes from their first date is quickly snuffed out. Their relationship is full of moments that make you feel like you’re dying inside, right along with Shane.

"Me? They called a [f**] since before I even knew what the word meant…Ballet dancer. The price you pay."

There’s something genuine in the way Brennan Clost embodies Shane’s pain. It’s like he wears his heart on his sleeve, even as he spends much of Tiny Pretty Things Season 1 seeming like the type of self-assured, fashion-forward guy who’s perfectly comfortable in his own skin.

Clost’s performance includes layers that you might miss from a lesser actor, and you would definitely miss a huge part of Shane’s emotional depth, should a weaker dancer have been cast in the part. Because the character is in such capable hands, you see everything he’s feeling—even when he tries to cover it up. Sometimes, his feelings show up in a brief flash that’s almost immediately hidden away under that sassy persona; others he’s wrapped up in a cloud of agony.

When Shane finally has his moment to stand up to a bully who called him a f** earlier in the season, even as the rest of the dancers are pulling together to stand up to the leadership, no one backs him up. Somehow, he’s alone even when he’s such a vital, vibrant part of the ensemble.

It’s a spotlight of darkness over a character who, somehow, still manages to bring a light to all of Tiny Pretty Things Season 1’s toxicity. Maybe it’s just because the actor who portrays him does it so well, both on and off the dance floor. (Those killer solos don’t hurt—that’s for sure.)

Clost’s beautiful technique, backed up by all the raw emotion his character is obviously fighting through, makes for something you just can’t ignore. He’ll take you on a journey with Shane and highlight something that folks outside of the ballet world may not realize—that all those stereotypes can sometimes make it even harder to fit in here than anywhere else. And all the while, he’ll have you kind of hating him a little bit, even as you’re falling for him, because it’s really not fair for someone to be so talented.

Who’s your favorite character from Tiny Pretty Things Season 1? Stream it on Netflix, and report back!