Queer Eye Episode 1 Recap

I was in my preteens when the first Queer Eye for the Straight Guy was out. I didn't have cable and frankly I am surprised they let the "peak gay" noughties shows like L Word, Queer as Folk and Queer Eye on local channels.

The catch is that it aired at 11.30pm and being a school student, my brain melts by 10.30pm from studying and homework.

I am very happy that they revived the show with a younger cast and I wasn't really sure how it will turn out.

As much as I loved the previous series, their style is very boxed in to something mainstream. Do you have a full beard? Shave it. Do you have long hair? Cut it all off. You get the idea.

The Straight Guy

Our first "victim" is a 57-year-old man named Tom in Dallas, Georgia. At first glance, I exclaimed to my mum (who also watched the old series with me) "He looks like he should be at a Trump rally!"

I was so wrong. Yes, he smoked outside his house with the TV on. Yes, he wears baseball caps. Yes, he wears jorts (jean shorts).

Tom has a daughter and grandchild. He's been divorced 3 times.

But every thing that has sentimental value to him in his house, the name Abbey comes up.

"Who's Abbey?" they ask. His bright red face lights up and he starts talking about her. He met her 12 years ago and she was currently his ex-wife.

According to Tom, she still loves him and based on how he talks about her with fondness, he clearly loves her too.

What went wrong, you might ask?

He spent too much time locked in the house with his Lay-Z Boy.

The Makeover

First things first, Tom isn't extremely wealthy but he has a decent sized house as well as a love for cars.

The guys chose to throw away the greasy Lay-Z boy, which was one of the many things Abbey got him. You can see how emotional he was when they took him to the landfill to say his goodbyes.

In terms of fashion, they brought him to this quaint boutique that reads very hipster thrift store but isn't a thrift store. The clothes were colour-coded and Tan, the fashionista, told him to avoid reds, oranges and yellows so as to not to bring out his bright face, the side effect of lupus flare ups.

Tan also showed him the world of stylish chinos and slacks, altered to fit him better. Tom was told to try and layer button downs over tees which definitely help make him look younger than his previous style. In order not to hide his baby blue eyes, he switched out his big caps for a newsboy cap, as well as add more blue shirts in his wardrobe. Tan also changed his glasses to a new pair that is not only age appropriate but trendy.

Johnathan, the grooming guru, is such a blessing. I think it's a breath of fresh air to see queer folk unafraid of not being straight passing. He has long hair that would put Pantene models to shame.

He brings Tom to a salon so he could personally trim his 'do so he wouldn't hide his face with his hair. And THANK GOD they allowed him to keep his bushy beard. The only thing he did was trim and shape, as well as teach his to use beard oil. MOISTURIZE THAT THING! Tom was also introduced to a green colour-correcting balm to apply to his face as well as an ice mask to reduce the redness.

Our culture vulture Karamo decides to take a walk with Tom and they have a heart to heart. Tom always says of himself, "I'm butt ugly!" and Karamo tells him to stop that line of thought immediately, especially after the eternal makeover. He has a car show coming up and he calls his ex-wife for a date.

Bobby revamped the house to look more chic. Heck it passes as a high class Airbnb to me. The yard was cleaned up and they added some lovely flowers and a picnic table. While the slimy Lay-Z Boy is no more, they added TWO leather recliners. The hints are there, Tom should go out and date again.

In terms of food, Antoni gave him (and us) some advice on how to make a decent guacamole. Tom had a pantry full of processed foods which I believe has been thrown out for the makeover. I myself learned some good tips on getting the avocado seed out. Looks like all he needed was a pestle and mortar, lime, salt and an avocado.

Notable Moment

Tom was wondering if any of the guys were married. When one of them said that he was with his husband for 15 years and 3 of that married, Tom says the ultimate no-no in the queer community "Who's the husband and who's the wife?".

The guys literally had to stop and say that this is a heteronormative misconception. They are right. There's more to relationships than the submissive and the dominant, the top and the bottom, the breadwinner and the homemaker.

The Happy Ending?

He figured out the skincare pretty quickly, ice mask, balm and beard oil. He did struggle with the wardrobe. Tan suggested slacks for the date but he ditched them for those better fitting chino shorts. At least they aren't jorts, right?

He goes out to the car show, his friends are impressed, he looks very hipster along with his fancy car.

Then Abbey shows up. She's in a gorgeous form fitting yellow dress and she appears to be a classy Southern belle. He smiles widely and they hug like they've never seen each other in years.

After the show, he invites her home, they have some guac while she gets all touchy feely, squeezing his arm. You can see the chemistry. They still do have feelings for each other.

I believe they also had a test run on the "his and hers" recliners and held hands.

Final Thoughts

This episode was moving and I found myself tearing up every time he lights up and talks about his ex. I do like that they took a chance and went to more conservative states for these makeovers. Tom told Abbey "I have never met gay men before and how he feels so attached to them after everything. So I am glad it ended on such a positive note. I don't believe in enforcing faux-inspiring ideas like a woman of colour hugging a Nazi, because such acts are too risky to play out in reality, but Tom and his family welcomed the Fab 5 with open arms, not only due to their talents, they are people too.