Date of airing: April 27, 2020 (ABC)
Nielsen ratings information: 2.461 million viewers, 1.6/4 in Households, 0.46/2 with Adults 18-49, 0.3/2 with Adults 18-34, 0.6/3 with Adults 25-54
I have no idea what it is with the show and why I’m so fascinated with it. Wanting something light and funny and sweet during a never-ending pandemic that has me thinking sometimes about how this could be the end of the world may have something to do with it, but a premise like THE BAKER AND THE BEAUTY has is usually not my thing when it goes on for longer than two hours. NOTTING HILL is a fine movie because it has that British charm, an even more charming Julia Roberts, and the whole thing is over after 120 minutes, but THE BAKER AND THE BEAUTY has been going for more than that and I’m still captivated. At one point I expect to have been satisfied and fed with the sugary sweetness of the show, and at one point there has to be a problem between me and the narrative when the latter can’t deliver any dramatic conflicts between the characters. But here I am, after three episodes I still want to watch the next one, preferably immediately. The shows that are being released to binge I can’t bring myself to watch more than one episode every few days, but THE BAKER AND THE BEAUTY, having been released on a weekly rhythm in 2020, I really could have watched all the way through immediately. What is it with this romantic ABC comedy-drama that makes me feel so damn happy at the end of every hour?
Puerto Rico is the setting for hour three of THE BAKER AND THE BEAUTY, as Noa Hamilton has to run a charity foundation to get schools built for children, and Daniel has to come to the rescue when things, as expected, get problematic, like a burst water main at the hotel, ruining Noa’s charity gala. In the meantime, Noa and Daniel’s relationship is blossoming, despite him having to sign a non-disclosure agreement, as well as the two lovebirds constantly being warned by Noa’s manager Lewis not to be so romantic and sexy to each other in front of cameras and people, because that's illegal for her public persona. In addition, Daniel meets Colin, Noa’s manipulative ex looking to be with his girl again by giving her a role in his new movie, and that talk does not end up in a fight. Noa may have made the right decision to leave the bearded douche and instead flirt with the charming baker from Cuba. Back home, Natalie has her first hangout with Amy, which is the perfect opportunity for her family to ruin it. And for some reason, Vanessa is friendly towards Mateo and gets him hired for b'nai mitzvah. As if the writers intended to let the viewers forget all about Vanessa and Daniel, and have her hook up with his younger brother in the very near future. Now that they are business partners of sorts and she sees herself as Mateo’s manager...
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| It's a beautiful and romantic day at the beach. |
There isn’t a lot to say about this episode, as the summarizing paragraph (I should write more of these, but I’m back and forth about their usefulness in these walls of texts) made the stakes and the character “conflicts” pretty much clear. You could have no problem summarizing the entire show and its events in one or two paragraphs, which usually means the writers didn’t care a lot about depth or creating surprising story developments. At this point, I’m even questioning if the writers had conflicts and drama in mind, since the first three hours were very sweet and delightful in almost anything. Daniel and Noa seemed to be in a happy summer romance, Vanessa may have gotten the opportunity of getting over her four-year-long relationship with Daniel and exchange him for his brother (it’s like a soap opera, the romance stays within familiar borders), Natalie was smelling her first love, Mateo was close to wooing a record producer, and Rafael and Mari have a solid business going and were thinking about expanding it. Usually, in shows like these, characters are up to the wazoo with conflicts with each other, but THE BAKER AND THE BEAUTY hasn’t even thought about doing any of it. This can only be on purpose, which means the show is here to just brighten your day. Thank you, ABC, for doing that, because it’s necessary, considering my Twitter feed which sometimes is full of bigoted assholes declaring their love for Putin and Nazis trying to organize another insurrection.
With the bright and sweet summer entertainment comes expected storytelling though. After Piper came with bad news of burst water mains, I instantly knew that Daniel would come up with the idea to use his new friendship with Puerto Rico’s food makers to save Noa’s gala, so here we are: a successful gala, Noa having done her job beautifully, and giving herself a sexy night off to hook up with Daniel. And of course, a paparazzo could not have been missing, especially since the episode made it obvious for the viewers to notice that amateur Instagram users were already directing their phone cameras toward Noa and Colin during their conversation. That there would be a professional TMZ’er waiting for Noa to find her new guy is part of the business, especially when said professional already knew that Colin was history for the most famous woman in this series universe (I assume Michelle Obama went back to obscurity after her husband left his high-profile job?), which means she must have been on the hunt for new meat. Besides that, Daniel was not invisible to Noa’s surroundings these past few days, so it seemed quite predictable that their secret romantic relationship was about to become knowledge to the entire world. Except of course the photograph is working for Colin, which means we are about to get some conflict in the show. Yay?
Three episodes in, and the show hasn’t managed to get proper LGBTQ+
representation on screen though. It’s evident that Natalie likes girls
and that her crush likes Natalie, but interrupting the two sharing their
first kiss because Mari had to burst in and offer food to the girls
meant two things. One, this show wasn’t particularly bothered looking a
little stereotypical when it comes to a gay character slowly figuring
out they are gay by hanging out with another gay character. I was indeed
wondering whether or not Natalie would say that she swims both ways,
just to still have an exit strategy in case homophobia was starting to
fight her and the ABC executives won’t bitch about having too much LGBTQ+
representation on their shows. And two, Mari could not read between the
lines. Not only would I be super disappointed that she doesn’t know her
daughter is gay, but she behaved like a terrible mother by pushing
herself onto her daughter’s new friend, when all Natalie needed was some
alone time to turn her new friend into a best friend. What I hate about
parents and their parenting styles is when they constantly feel the
urge to check in on their kids when they have friends over. Folks, this
is how you ruin friendships in the making. This is also how you ruin your relationship with your kids.
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| One more inch and the second-greatest love story of the series has begun. |
At least Vanessa and Mateo were about to probably fall in love, which I would appreciate, because it would remove Vanessa from Daniel’s story, and give him the time he needs to develop feelings for Noa, all while Vanessa gives herself a proper reason to stick with the Garcia family. And with Vanessa becoming Mateo’s impromptu manager, she could quickly become a business ally for the entire family. Let her figure a way out to be involved in the bakery, and let Daniel become the host of his own cooking show (Noa mentioning his natural ability in front of a camera, Amy mentioning the Anthony Bourdain vibes – I can see where this is going) so Vanessa can become a producer. I would pitch that to the writers’ room and I would champion that development. This way, Vanessa can be her own character while also logically remaining in the lives of her two love interests and therefore creating herself a soap opera narrative. THE BAKER AND THE BEAUTY, as predictable as it tastes sweet.
