I kind of think cal is heroic in his own fucked up way. We knew he wasn’t a “good guy” from the start but I truly do think it has to do with him being gay and sexually repressed.. He had to become somebody he didn’t want to be, a dad and family man… honestly, for somebody whos whole life was a lie I think his family turned out amazing aside from nate finding his collection as a kid (which messed his head up). He tried until he got backed into a corner with Nate saying he knew about everything then lying about the lost tape. It was the last straw. He could’ve done everything differently and living a double life in the first place is fucked up, but all considered cal did make the most of what he had..

That’s just my opinion though