Anatomy Of A ‘90 Day’ Scene: Larissa Debuts Her New Boobs

- 90 Day Fiancé -
Anatomy Of A ‘90 Day’ Scene: Larissa Debuts Her New Boobs

There are so many great works of art in our world: Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, and TLC’s 90 Day Fiancé. You might be thinking, “Hey, lady, one of those things is not like the others.” But I’m here now to tell you, “Shh. ❤”

Sure, there are those that dismiss reality TV as mindless trash (and I certainly am not here to deny that shows like 90 Day make for perfect “head empty, no thoughts, just vibes” viewing), but there’s value in entertainment, in creating joy, in eliciting laughter — and nothing made me laugh harder this weekend than the scene in 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? where Larissa Dos Santos Lima debuted her new boobs.

During the Season 5 finale on Sept. 20, Larissa proudly showed off her new body and face after she recovered from getting breast implants and a nose job. After boyfriend Eric Nichols helped her get well, she slipped into a pair of jeans shorts and a plunging top (bodysuit? bathing suit? monokini?), did her makeup, and invited over her girls.

It was the first time friends Hannah and Carmen had seen her all done-up since her surgery, and she wanted to do it right. As for the show, well, TLC did the moment justice, too. Let’s break it all the way down as we dissect the anatomy of this scene.

Setting The Scene

We open on Eric, sitting outside, pretending to enjoy himself as the wind throws their plants around the backyard and threatens to knock his water bottle over several times. In a confessional, he can’t help but gush about how worth it the work was to nurse Larissa back to health, emphasizing all the good it did for their relationship. He even calls it a “turning point” — her breast implants are all about the emotional bonding, you guys, he swears.

Cut to a slow motion entry from Larissa as the camera pans from her feet to her head in one long, lingering shot. You know where it lingers. I don’t have to tell you.

“I’ve been in America for almost two years, and finally I feel like things [are] getting better for me,” Larissa says in a confessional. “I feel great about my body, and I’m really [enjoying] the new boobs and the new nose. [They] really make a big difference in my life.”

Larissa plops down next to Eric, and her boyfriend — who paid for her surgeries and is now apparently living at her beck and call — rushes to put up an umbrella to block her and her boobs from the sun. “Throw some shade on ya,” he teases, and Larissa’s lackluster chuckle at his wordplay has me cackling. Eric is the king of corny jokes, and he never seems to let anyone’s complete lack of enthusiasm for them get him down.

The Big Reveal

Soon enough, Carmen and Hannah arrive, and Larissa spins around her chair to face them like a diabolical James Bond villain. Hannah’s eyes visibly pop out of her head when she lays eyes on Larissa’s new figure, but Carmen keeps her reaction quiet until she’s sitting herself. “Wow,” she eventually says — and not much else.

Hannah is doing her best to be sweet and congratulatory, assuring the producers in a confessional that Larissa “pulls it off” despite admitting she’s “mind-blown” by the Brazilian beauty’s new look. Carmen is, well, less enthusiastic. “You look like a total different person to me,” she says, visibly uncomfortable in front of the cameras. “Yeah.”

Hannah, still eager to smooth things over, asks, “Can I touch them?” As soon as Larissa gives her consent, Hannah is leaning over the table, hand outstretched. “Mine!” Eric chimes in. “Ah ah ah! Just kidding.” Everyone ignores him, except for Hannah, who shoots him a quick glance with her mouth all the way open in surprise.

The Constructive Feedback

Larissa dubs her own boobs “very soft,” and Carmen reaches out to confirm that with a single finger. “My God, you look like a porno actress,” she says, and they all laugh. So far, Carmen hasn’t paid Larissa’s new boobs a single compliment, and it’s starting to become clear, so she quickly tacks on, “Looks beautiful, though. I love it.”

Sure you do, Carmen.

The real question, however, is apparently whether or not Eric likes them. When Carmen asks, he answers, “Of course.” The moment wouldn’t be noteworthy except for the long-simmering tension between them. Last time Larissa and Eric broke up, she moved in with Carmen. Now that the couple is back together, Carmen has yet to completely come around. Taking care of Larissa during her surgery was something of a trial by fire for Eric, and Carmen is waiting to see what was forged in the flames.

Thankfully, Hannah breaks the moment. “Do you feel like you’re a different person, or do you feel like this is more who you are?” she asks Larissa.

“I feel like it’s more who I am,” Larissa answers, declaring that her truest inner self, her soul, is someone with massive tits. Good for you, boo.

But Carmen remains unconvinced. “It’s good, but are you done now?” she asks. “Do you want to do any more?”

Can we all join hands real quickly and just say a brief blessing for Carmen? Hannah is the friend you want after getting plastic surgery but, right now, Carmen is being the friend you need. The friend who cautiously supports you doing what makes you happy, but also tries to remind you that you’re great as you are. You don’t need another tummy tuck just because your ex-husband was a jerk and people are mean in Instagram comments. You might need therapy! But you don’t need a tummy tuck. Larissa’s still gonna get one, though.

“I’m going to do my belly,” she answers, grinning. Carmen keeps her mouth shut (at least until the cameras leave).

But Back To Eric

Eric takes the opportunity to bring the attention to him, mentioning that he’s not planning to play nurse for round two of surgery even though round one was “good” and he “likes the outcome.” He admits they’re not arguing as much now that Larissa is happier with herself and her body, and Carmen is taking some mental notes, but now it’s Hannah’s turn to throw a wrench in the whole conversation.

“So are you having sex because of the new body?” she asks, and I would just like to take a quick moment to be horrified about how they all keep saying “the” new body as if it is a separate entity from Larissa. But anyway! Moment’s over!

“Definitely,” Larissa says, laughing again. “Not enough,” Eric says, and, while I'm pretty sure he’s joking, his tone is completely serious, and the camera takes a minute to linger on each different person’s face. Hannah smiles. Eric smiles. Carmen scowls. Eric’s smile wilts. His chair squeaks as he rocks back and forth. The conversation moves forward.

“Things are good,” he says. “I think they’re better than they’ve been.” He jokes that he’s earned his keep by taking care of Larissa and cleaning up after her when she vomited blood the first night after her surgery, and Carmen’s face is just Kim-Kardashian-It’s-What-She-Deserves-Dot-Gif. She’s glad Eric finally had to put some elbow grease into this relationship, and she’s got absolutely no problem letting him know.

“[It] was a good opportunity to make it up for all [you’ve] done,” she shoots back, lightning fast. “To her?” Eric asks, bewildered. “For all I’ve done?” Carmen nods eagerly. You tell him, girl. And then you tell the audience exactly what you meant by that in a confessional, please.

Saint Carmen

She reveals she was happy when the couple split earlier in their relationship, calling their romance “toxic.” After all, she was the one who picked up the pieces in the aftermath, and she wasn’t eager to see Larissa go back to her ex. She hasn’t written Eric off entirely. She’s willing to let him prove himself. But she’s not exactly giving him the benefit out of the doubt, either. Thankfully, he seems to be coming through, hanging on by the skin of his teeth.

“I think he did a good job,” she says eventually, mustering up as much enthusiasm as she can. “Relationships are not perfect.” As long as they stop breaking up and getting back together every day and just tackle their problems like mature adults, she’s willing to be supportive.

The Next Steps

But let’s not pretend all the weirdness between Larissa and Eric has been put to bed. After gushing about how good the surgery and aftercare has been for their relationship, they reveal they’ve even taken the next step in living together: Sharing a bedroom! They’re still not sharing a bed, though.

“It looks like a hotel room!” Eric clarifies helpfully, as Hannah offers a very polite, “Ohhhhh, OK,” and Carmen looks on skeptically. “It’s normal,” Eric tells them. “It’s super weird,” Hannah says in a confessional. Ever positive, she adds, “I guess if it works for them?”

It does (at least for now), but they’ve also got more pressing issues than boobs and beds, and that’s the legality of Larissa’s life in the States. After obtaining a K-1 fiancé visa, which allowed her to come to America for up to 90 days in order to get married to an American citizen, she tied the knot with ex-husband Colt Johnson. Their marriage fell apart, leaving her in immigration limbo. She’s still on track to get her green card, but there’s no guarantee. Carmen wants to know what the couple is planning to do if her application is denied.

“Are you guys considering getting married one day?” she asks, eyebrows raised in challenge. Eric shrugs. He waffles. Larissa tries to smile and squints in the wind. In a confessional, standing next to her boyfriend, she posits that a wedding wouldn’t be the craziest thing to happen. Eric looks at her like she’s nuts. “Are you proposing?” he asks, expression somewhere between teasing and terrified. “Yes,” she says, laughing. “I do.”

The Conclusion

Would you believe me if I told you that face was just about the last we saw of Eric and Larissa for the series? Oh, sure, we'll get another chance to check in on them during the tell-all reunion (and find out just how real Larissa thought that spur-of-the-moment, potential proposal actually was, and also if it counts if you're the one asking and the one saying "I do"), but as for the actual Season 5 storyline, it's a wrap. That's the culmination of Larissa's character arc, which is just such a chef's kiss moment for the show.

If you want to get all film major about it, I'm willing to argue the point that Season 5 saw Larissa grow in her relationships, in herself, become the person that she wants to be with her boyfriend back by her side. After her divorce from Colt, it was a long path back to finding herself, but she emerged from her plastic surgery chrysalis a whole new woman.

But let's be real, here. Yes, Eric and Larissa have come a long way, as proven by their (probably) matching twin beds like an old-timey sitcom couple. But the real accomplishment, the true pièce de résistance of her plot, is her transformation from a big boobed beauty to a woman who earns this reaction. And that's growth that anyone can be proud of.

Images: TLC Screenshots

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