The third episode of Apple TV+’s genre-bending anthology series Roar introduces us to Amelia, a beauty queen who was pushed into pageants and modeling by her mother. When she meets her wealthy husband Harry, he convinces her to give up her career to live in his mansion and sit on a shelf so that he can admire her at his leisure. The couple spends months basking in the lavish gifts, parties, and attention they receive from one another until eventually, it all begins to lose its luster. The presents stop coming, the half-arsed blown kisses disappear, and Amelia realizes that she is being ignored.
Betty Gilpin stars as Amelia in this eerie and thought-provoking episode, and she nails the role of a woman being kept on a shelf. The actress also co-wrote the episode along with the show’s creator, Liz Flahive. She spoke with Showbiz Cheat Sheet by Zoom about the episode and her experience working on the series.
This darkest episode of Roar tackles how fighting sexism and internalized misogyny is an ongoing struggle for women. Amelia’s decision to rise from the shelf and launch her own cosmetics line demonstrates her desire to prove that she is as smart as she is beautiful. The fact that she decides to build a new shelf despite smashing the one her husband built shows how she is still trying to climb the ladder and achieve her goals. This is one of the most compelling episodes of Roar and it is worth your time to watch.