Queer Eye Season 5
TV Show Review
Queer Eye and the Fab 5 are back again with all of the heart, the feels, the laughs, and most importantly, the incredible heroes. Season 5 was a solid season, and I liked the subtle tweaks that were made to keep the format fresh. For instance, I really liked how they had the hero of each episode join the Fab 5 in a short dance sequence in the studio towards the end of every episode. There is also a lot of diversity this season, especially when it comes to featuring people of color. I also think there are more females this season than in previous seasons? And all of them are absolutely incredible! Some especially memorable heroes I want to give a shout-out to are the pastor from Episode 1, the do-it-all mom with her streaks of white hair, and the pediatrician in the second to last episode!
My absolute favorite episode was the one with Lilly Yi, the pediatrician. Lilly is a first generation Korean American woman who recently finished med school and is starting her first official day as a pediatrician. I think she is the first East Asian person on the show (don’t hate me if I’m wrong), but I’m definitely sure she’s the first East Asian woman on the show. Call me biased, but I loved watching her because I felt like I could relate to her insecurities and her soft-spoken nature (but maybe not her brains). She was also incredibly sweet and articulate with her words. I’m not sure if I should be grateful or a bit irked that the show-runners basically chose the perfect person to be the first Asian American woman hero. It’s basically reinforcing the model minority stereotype! But hey progress has to start somewhere, and it’s undeniable that I loved watching Lilly’s episode!
Dr. Lilly Yi!
I think that there was also an effort to give all the hosts more equal air time with the heroes, and make each of their segments meaningful. In Season 1, there seemed to be a lot of commentary about how Bobby would do so much work and get so little air time. Now, it really feels like Bobby is getting the time to go into furniture stores with the heroes, and allowing them to be a part of the process of choosing pieces that they would want in their homes. I also wanted to add on that Jonathan really grew on me this season. There was one particular scene where he started chomping on chocolate in someone’s house and Tan exclaimed something along the lines of, “HEY! We usually ask permission to eat someone’s food before eating it!” And Jonathan, mid-chomp, just gave a guilty look and kept munching away anyway. That scene absolutely killed me, and I could relate so much to his love for sweets and eating LOL. Jonathan provided some of the absolute best comedic moments. I’m reminded again and again just how amazing these 5 hosts are as a team, because they balance each other out with their energy and their quirks.
Overall, I thought Queer Eye Season 5 was a very enjoyable time. There’s nothing really that groundbreaking or new to it - if you’re watching Season 5, you’ve probably been a fan since Season 1. I would assume you have already made up your mind about whether or not you love this show or not. All I can say is, Season 5 adds to the joy, so the fans out there can know they’ll be in it for a good time.