Favorite “Characters”: Bobby Berk (Queer Eye)

Sooner or later, I may get around to all five, but today, it’s all Bobby.  When I started watching the show, I wouldn’t have anticipated him being the second member of the Fab Five that I highlighted – not that I didn’t like him, but he didn’t make as much of an impact on me at first.  Even though I was consistently wowed by the redesigns he does of people’s homes (and occasionally, other spaces,) I didn’t have quite as much of a handle on him compared to the other guys.  His personality is a little subtler for one thing, but for another, he’s always so busy, as I’ve said, remodeling a house in 3-4 days that he often doesn’t get as much face time with the hero.   But Bobby can be something of a stealth favorite; as I got further into the series, I liked him more and more.

We’ll start with the designs, which are of course the first thing that stood out to me about him.  What Bobby does with people’s homes – or fire stations, or church community centers, or barbecue joints – is always amazing.  The transformations he pulls off are easily as dramatic as what Jonathan and Tan do with the heroes’ looks, and given the state a lot of these spaces are in when the episode starts, that’s really impressive.  Often, when we get that big reveal, it looks like a completely different space, even if his actual changes aren’t as extensive as they first appear (for example, he’s a fan of updating old furniture by painting it and replacing the hardware, making it look like a brand-new, different piece.)  He has an eye for what people need, emphasizing organization and function while still looking really stylish and homey.  I like the little specific notes he brings, like taking care to use cordless blinds for a family with small children or giving the fire station kitchen three refrigerators so each shift can have their own space.

While Bobby has certain preferences and techniques that tend to crop up in a lot of his remodels, he does a ton of individualization in each design, maybe more so than any other member of the Fab Five.  He incorporates whatever means a lot to the hero and/or their family, prominently displaying cherished family photos, important mementos, or stylish nods to their hobbies.  As the show is fond of saying, Bobby creates designs that resonate with who the hero is but gives them an “elevated” version of what they already have.  And just on a side note, we don’t usually see too many scenes of him at work (the better to facilitate that “wow” moment when the hero sees the design for the first time,) but I do enjoy the little snippets we get of Bobby supervising the renovations, and I love that we see him working with female contractors.

As busy as he always is, we do occasionally see him one-on-one with the hero.  There are shopping trips here and there for furniture/decor/etc., and I always like when he enlists the hero to help him with a particular project.  It helps them feel like more of a participant in the remodel, and importantly, it helps them see that they are capable of making or setting up something that looks really nice.  With all of the Fab Five, it’s not about just coming in and fixing everything for the heroes – it’s about showing them tools they can use to maintain it for themselves after the Fab Five leaves, and Bobby gets in on that action, particularly when he recognizes how the hero’s home is manifesting issues they might have (like a graveyard of half-completed projects or one hero’s reluctance to finish packing up his late wife’s things.)

When it comes to connecting with the heroes, Bobby really steps up whenever someone’s experiences resonate with his own.  Not that he can’t connect with those he has less in common with, obviously, but he’s been through some heavy things in his life, and when the hero has gone or is going through something similar, he brings a lot of empathy and understanding to their experience.  He relates deeply to issues surrounding adoption, he knows exactly how it feels to be rejected by his family for being gay, and he’s experienced homelessness.  Several of the heroes have been in similar situations, and in particular, they’re often younger ones for whom it’s all much more recent; Bobby understands where they’re coming from because he’s been in the same place, and what’s more, he can stand as an example of someone who’s gotten through those hardships and come out on the other side a well-adjusted adult with a successful career and loving friends/family.

Another key issue for Bobby is religion, and there have been a few times when he’s gotten real with a hero over their beliefs about homosexuality and his own experience being turned on by his Christian community growing up.  I think many people with intolerant views are able to maintain them in large part because they think of LGBTQ people in the abstract – easier to condemn and/or dehumanize them when they don’t know anyone who’s gay (that they’re aware of, anyway!)  The more someone like that has to reckon with a gay person as an actual human being with goals, desires, and hearts just like theirs, the more irreconcilable those beliefs hopefully become, and Bobby isn’t afraid to broach those difficult subjects with people.