Date of airing: May 11, 2020 (ABC)
Nielsen ratings information: 2.347 million viewers, 1.6/4 in Households, 0.44/2 with Adults 18-49, 0.2/2 with Adults 18-34, 0.6/2 with Adults 25-54
THE BAKER AND THE BEAUTY becomes more and more a show that also could have found its way onto The CW if that network had not been working towards becoming an outlet for DC television property (which I wouldn’t mind because this Marvel fanboy thinks that DC Universe sucked as a service). I say that because of Michael Rady’s guest appearance and how in this series universe, the people are still sexy as hell and there is never a single fault to be found. Natalie might be considered a little overweight, and while that might be the only issue regarding beauty standards on broadcast television, it’s not like Belissa Escobedo could never work as a model herself. All I want to see in this show is for one average-looking character to come along and stir some things up. Bring a “Karen” into the game, one who might be thinking about calling the cops on one of the Hispanic characters grilling in a backyard, and things could get a lot funnier (in this time and age, it would also ridicule and satirize the “Karen” cliche, which we all might need right now). But I guess THE BAKER AND THE BEAUTY wasn’t interested in comedy, considering the level of soap opera drama the writers were about to reach.
Daniel and Noa are now official to the world, which means the life of the Garcias is about to change. Not only is Daniel getting showered with free gifts and the potential to sponsor certain products and have his own television show (thanks to Noa pushing him into a meeting without his approval), but everyone around Daniel is being scrutinized by the media and everyone interested in Noa and her dirty laundry, creating a premise that could soon bring conflict between Daniel and everyone around him. As Daniel grows distant from his family and friends, they, in turn, might become angry at him for being the center of their troubles with reporters and paparazzi. Imagine your life is getting complicated because of your brother dating a famous woman, and reporters sniffing out your life and revealing a couple of secrets you didn’t want to get released to the world. Daniel is about to learn what it’s like to not think about his family while going on the greatest adventure with Noa. In the meantime, the other Garcia kids are starting to grow up. Mateo becomes his own person by fighting for his dreams, and Natalie steps out of being the youngest kid of the family and into a cliched LGBT storyline that doesn’t focus on her romance with Amy, because it’s only that one plot device leading to the LGBT storyline we have come to watch in so many shows already. And all I want is for Natalie and Amy to hang out and have a simple teenage romance, but it looks like Amy was used as a plot device for Natalie’s big story.
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| Customers are unhappy when not being served by the new "It Guy" of Little Havana. |
The show is growing on me ever so slightly while the characters were starting to become more interesting and develop natural chemistry with one another. I wasn’t seeing a lot of solid chemistry during the first couple of episodes, but Mari and Rafael look like a great (older) couple that still can romance one another, creating a few chances for them to showcase their romance and show that older actors on broadcast network shows can also be love interests like their teenage drama counterparts on The CW. And with Daniel and Noa stepping into a real relationship now, they get the opportunity to grow closer as well, behaving more natural in their romance and letting me believe for a second that they could be real characters. Or at least for as long as it took the writers to create a story of conflict, in which Daniel and Noa fight over issues that deal with the premise of “fame dates average” and vice versa.
Meanwhile, what I was missing in this episode was more time between Vanessa and Mateo. The writers were splitting the characters up for their individual stories (her facing reporters, him facing his father), and while that is a good thing, I was hoping for a little more flirting between the two, as well as seeing them realize that there might be something between them. THE BAKER AND THE BEAUTY is still a big love story, so all the characters better be dating each other like it’s a soap opera.
Because the series can’t be unique in its narrative (because it isn’t
a new premise), it has to follow the standard procedure of long-lasting
romances: At one point the lovebirds fight and they wonder why they got
into this relationship. Daniel starts to wonder because he is about to
notice how Noa is redeveloping Daniel as a person, wanting him to be
away from his family, to be a star of a TV show, to be a man formed by
her own expectations and demands of a man. Noa is as hypocritical as
Rafael was in the previous episode – she says “please don’t change on
me” to Daniel, that she likes him the way he is, yet she is taking one
step after the next to mold him into a part of her life. I assume that
was an intentional part of this episode’s storyline, although Daniel’s
realization of that fact was missing, because I would have loved seeing
him get frustrated about that, even if the only logical outcome of that
realization would be a break-up and therefore the end of the entire
series (or a season cliffhanger). Curiously, Natalie and Mateo are doing
their growing up individually, but Daniel seems to stagnate and just
follow instead of leading his own way. If that continues, I can only
hope the writers will include some funny ways of depicting how Noa is
the boss in their relationship (and not Lewis, who behaves like he is
managing their romance).
Natalie and Mateo’s stories were good enough. Mateo looks good as the middle child of the Garcia turning out to be the most mature one, and while Natalie is following the standard procedure of broadcast network LGBT storylines, her worries about everything are good drama for her. She wants to talk to someone other than her mother about what’s going through her, yet Daniel is far away and unavailable for a talk, while she probably doesn’t trust Mateo a lot, since she doesn’t know him as the brother figure in her life. Then there is Vanessa, whom the writers still try to find a way to keep in the bigger narrative arc. I hoped that it would happen via Mateo, but I guess they rather have her get jealous and angry about Daniel instead – why she would feel betrayed because Daniel and Noa met before the viral failed proposal is beyond me. Why she still thinks she would have a chance with Daniel while he is on another planet right now confuses me.
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| Mateo's excitement is leaking from his face. |
One final note: I’m all in for IDER becoming a famous band. I love them ever since I found “Mirror” in one of my Spotify Discover playlists, and I always think that an unknown band’s song being used as the final one of an episode, to somewhat make a point about the story at hand, can bring visibility to some artists. Besides, the emotions I get when a band I love, but is largely unknown otherwise, turns up in a television show I watch, can be confused for happiness. Weirdly though that THE BAKER AND THE BEAUTY chose an IDER song from their debut album which is largely about break-ups. Foreshadowing much?
