The new Netflix show The Residence generated a lot of laughs, but there was one unexpected scene that brought me to tears as a plus-size woman.
The show is described as “a screwball whodunnit set in the upstairs, downstairs, and backstairs of the White House, among the eclectic staff of the world’s most famous mansion.” As a Shondaland production, I knew before even starting the show that body positivity was guaranteed, and that Shonda Rhimes would likely shatter yet another plus-size representation ceiling. What I didn’t know was the who and the how.
Let me take a moment to tell you that spoilers are coming.
The Residence welcomes the viewer into several intricately interwoven stories. The show gave us Detective Cordelia Cupp, played by Uzo Aduba, for whom we will all be eternally grateful. It gave us a steamy outdoor over-the-clothes sexy scene between Marvella the cook, played by Mary Wiseman, and the Australian Foreign Minister, played by Brett Tucker.
Most notably for me and my tear ducts, The Residence gave us a sweet and tender romance between Bruce Geller, played by Mel Rodriguez, and Elsyie Chayle, played by Julieth Restrepo.
The love between Bruce and Elsyie is forbidden, as they are colleagues working under a tyrannical boss, A.B. Wynter, played by Giancarlo Esposito. They exchange gifts and glances, but their affections culminate in the seventh episode during a close-up scene that moved me to tears. In the scene, Elsyie locks eyes with Bruce, and her hand reaches up gently and lovingly to caress his face. They share a sweet first kiss, not passionate but full of affection.
Watching this, I felt tears well up unexpectedly. I didn’t know how much I needed to see this scene. As a person in a big body, I’ve always gotten the message that tender, innocent romance is not for people who look like me. I looked over at my husband, who was bullied for his weight as a kid just as I was, and he was tearing up too. Watching that scene felt cathartic; it felt medicinal.
The Residence isn’t the first time Rodriguez has played a romantic interest. His performance alongside January Jones on The Last Man on Earth was groundbreaking, but it didn’t bring up the emotion for me that his characterization of Bruce did. This is due, in part, to the end-of-the-world setting of the show, rendering his romantic desirability as a sort of gag.
Rodriguez’ role in The Residence shows us that people in larger bodies can be appealing partner choices in real life, non-apocalyptic settings.
Often actors in big bodies are rendered as asexual or undesirable, perverse or hyper-sexualized. Their role is typically one of villainy or comic relief. Rarely do audiences get the opportunity to see humanity and complexity for plus-size people on-screen. Typically it is only thin characters who get to experience the full breadth of human experience. A thin character can be anything – demure, aggressive, mysterious, or awkward. No matter what, we are meant to relate to them.
Despite the fact that most people in the United States are plus-size, thin actors are still meant to to be stand-ins for the average American viewer. This isn’t a consequence-free situation. It promotes the feeling that thinness is the only way to be seen and to matter.
The romance between Bruce and Elysie upended that paradigm, offering a refreshing and hopeful way to see ourselves and our world. As plus-size actresses have made more strides in recent years thanks to body positivity and fat activism, it was exciting to see Mel Rodriguez steal the show.