Recently, season 4 of Queer Eye premiered on Netflix, bringing with it new heroes, new “make-betters,” and more buckets of viewers’ tears.
Here are a few of the standout moments from a uniformly excellent, heartwarming season:
Bobby’s remodel of Wesley’s house
“Disabled but Not Really,” the second episode of Queer Eye season 4, is perhaps the best evidence for the fact that Bobby Berk is the most criminally underrated of the Fab Five. Bobby’s home makeovers in other episodes are stylish, finished within the mind-bending span of a week, and usually feature some kind of fake plant — but never before this episode has one of Bobby’s renovations so profoundly changed the life of a hero.
Before Bobby’s mindful adjustments, the wheelchair-bound Wesley couldn’t look at himself in his bathroom’s mirror and constantly burned himself on his outdated stove. Bobby’s makeover not only called to attention the lack of accessibility across many American homes, it changed Wesley’s life for the better. Wesley’s emotional admission that his new home will give him so much more independence is one of the series’s most honest, meaningful moments.
Kenny’s dog adoption
No viewer with a soul will escape crying at episode 5 of Queer Eye’s first season, which follows the journey of lonely bachelor Kenny Yarnevich. There are lots of moments in this episode that deal with Kenny’s lack of companionship, but the most sob-worthy is when Kenny speaks about Beau, his dog that recently passed away.
Once they’re made aware of Kenny’s pain at losing his four-legged friend, the Fab Five take Kenny to the shelter to get a new dog — because the Fab Five always know the right thing to do. What follows is an emotional sequence where Kenny finds a new companion and subsequently names his dog after the Fab Five. Cue the waterworks.
Michelle Kwan’s surprise appearance
The Fab Five always do their best work when they draw upon their unique personalities in order to connect with the heroes and their families, and one of the best examples of this comes in episode 3 of season 4, “Stoner Skates By.” In the episode, known figure skating superfan Jonathan Van Ness gets the opportunity to teach John Stoner, whose daughter Lucy is a figure skater, more about the sport.
Jonathan’s teachings include an adorable scene where he braids Lucy’s hair and quizzes her on Kristi Yamaguchi, as well as a surprise skating lesson from Michelle Kwan herself! Jonathan’s glee combined with the starstruck look on Lucy’s face makes for one of the sweetest moments of the season.
Jonathan and Mrs. Dooley
Would it really be a Queer Eye list if Jonathan didn’t show up on it twice? Jonathan’s earnest exchange with his former teacher, Kathi Dooley, shows the grooming expert at his most vulnerable. Jonathan tells Kathi how grateful he is that she never treated him any differently because of his sexuality, and credits her with saving his life. It’s a tender, personal exchange that perfectly embodies Queer Eye at its best.
So there they are, the most tear-jerking, emotional moments from Queer Eye season 4! If this most recent season proves anything, it’s that Jonathan, Karamo, Antoni, Bobby, and Tan are still at the top of their game — and that the Fab Five will never run out of ways to make us cry.
All episodes of Queer Eye are now streaming on Netflix.
