Date of airing: May 4, 2020 (ABC)
Nielsen ratings information: 2.823 million viewers, 1.9/4 in Households, 0.53/3 with Adults 18-49, 0.3/3 with Adults 18-34, 0.7/3 with Adults 25-54
There was a literal “roll credits” moment at the end of the episode and I felt like a giggly six-year-old kid that just found out about Hollywood cliches and happily laughs about all of them. Besides that, the show’s title used as a headline for Noa and Daniel’s relationship in the tabloids was a nice way to make it official and level up the narrative. And it was not just a nice thing the episode did, it was also a surprising thing. Usually, when it comes to romantic comedies, it takes a while for the couple to end up together and share their first real kiss, let alone have sex for the first time. In Hallmark movies, it usually happens in the final scene, but THE BAKER AND THE BEAUTY had Noa touch Daniel’s crotch after two episodes, they were very much making out and crushing on each other after three, and the opening montage of this episode very much proved that Noa and Daniel were having fun, both with the treats he brings from the bakery, and the “treats” he brings to Noa in bed. It’s a great way to depict an actual, honest, and down-to-earth relationship in the making here: Daniel and Noa meet, they hang out, they flirt, they touch each other, they have more fun, they start being risky in their relationship, they have sex, they meet the parents, and now they are official. That’s the proper and correct way for any romantic relationship to develop, with the difference that Noa’s and Daniel’s romance took three weeks to get to the point of making it official for everyone.
Besides Daniel and Noa stepping into the flashlight of evil and impatient paparazzi, the Garcia family had a few troubles as well. The dinner date started nicely, but because THE BAKER AND THE BEAUTY is still a television drama, some actual drama ensued and suddenly there were verbal fights, tears, disappointments, and a few broken hearts, albeit in a very cliched tone. But the show became dramatic and emotional for the first time, putting a halt to the sweet and delicious fun it had brought, proving that the writers could also do serious drama, even if all of it is probably gone again by the next episode. After all, Natalie coming out to her parents ended with a glimmer of hope, while Vanessa’s nightmare night ended with a potential realization that she has a mate (and a naughty distraction) in Mateo. The family dinner may have been a disaster on the surface, but the characters came out stronger on the other end. And with “stronger,” I mean storylines that could propel the characters forward without having to stagnate in the same premise.
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| A superstar has just entered their lives. |
That can especially be helpful when it comes to Vanessa, who is currently standing between a rock (Daniel) and a hard place (Mateo). The premise would suggest that she is the third wheel in Daniel and Noa’s relationship, constantly putting it into trouble, but the previous episode teased Vanessa maybe ending up with Mateo, prematurely ending the third-wheel soap opera storyline (which I appreciated). This episode made it clear that Mateo has a little crush on his big bro’s ex-girlfriend, and I can’t wait for Vanessa to remove herself from Daniel’s orbit and be included in a story that makes sense for her and not Daniel. Vanessa started to become her own character by turning into Mateo’s impromptu manager, and this episode continued that development – please, more of that! And now I just realized I’m a Vanessa/Mateo shipper, which I don’t have a problem with.
At the same time, this episode made clear that the show cared about its characters. As the delightful sweetness was put back into the kitchen cupboards to make room for the family drama, it created depth for almost all of the characters (maybe not Mateo who still behaves like nothing can phase him, not even a super ho A-list celebrity having dinner at his family table), turning them into real people for a few minutes. But because the writers tasted the sweetness of the treasure trove of stereotypes, Rafael and Mari had difficulties accepting her daughter being gay, and of course, Rafael would openly worry about his eldest son being in a relationship with a superstar, ruining his dream of Daniel becoming his successor. Especially Rafael may have caught himself in a bit of hypocrisy here, which may or may not be a character mistake overlooked by the writers: Rafael told Natalie that she should give her mother a little time, because Mari getting over 15 years of dreams for Natalie will take more than 12 hours. The same should be the case for Rafael, who should give himself some time to move on from his wishes of Daniel becoming his successor and accepting that his son might not be interested in running the bakery.
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| Romantic relationships in this century are all about looking at their phones. |
Lewis also got a character arc in this episode, which felt a little separated from the rest that was going on throughout these 41 minutes. But because the family dinner brought drama, there was ample room for Noa’s manager to be introduced to his mortality, giving THE BAKER AND THE BEAUTY an even greater chance to turn from a sweet and joyful show into something that resembles real drama. Besides that, he was a good manager this time around. He was not a dick to Noa for wanting to meet her new beau’s family, he wasn’t a dick to his blind date, and he generally was a nice man all around (probably because he was facing his mortality, making him a more emotional person). I almost believed that wouldn’t be the case, judging by the way Lewis was introduced over the course of the first two episodes, but now he has as many issues to deal with as the woman he works for.
