S01.E04: I Think She's Coming Out

[OtterMommy]

Quote

While meeting the Garcias for the first time, Noa accidentally reveals a big secret. Vanessa shows up unannounced and finds herself face to face with her rival for the first time

Air date: May 4, 2020

[mikem]

I like that the plot moves forward pretty quickly on this show.  I didn't think Natalie would come out to her parents in Episode 4.  But Noa spilling the beans like that seemed all wrong for her character.  She's savvy about the world and values her privacy.  She wouldn't have done that.

[WendyCR72]

Damn, I missed this. I'll have to check Hulu. But based on the above post, Noa spilled about Natalie? I don't buy that she would do that, either.

[Court]

I understand why Noa asked. I mean, Natalie and Amy held hands for a minute at the table. She had no idea it was a secret. If she did, she wouldn't have outed her. The brothers did. 

 

 

[bamlou]

I enjoyed this episode a lot - this is the type of escapist content I need these days!

Everything coming to a head at the dinner table with Natalie and Vanessa's unexpected arrival was the sort of cliché you expect from rom coms, but I thought it was executed well, Mateo had me laughing with his faux cough, and the emotional fallout afterwards felt real.

I'm also liking how they're fleshing out Noa's manager and Vanessa into deeper characters. I could actually sympathize with Vanessa - she's still trying to get answers and closure on the relationship while Daniel assumed there was nothing left to say and has already moved on.

I do question how long they can sustain this premise before it gets tiring, especially with the plot moving so quickly, but I'm not gonna get ahead of myself on this when it's still a lot of fun right now.

Edited May 5, 2020 by bamlouie

[mikem]

Part of the problem at the dinner table is that Daniel and Noa don't really know each other that well.  It's implied that Natalie told Daniel at some point off-screen, but Daniel doesn't know Noa well enough at this point to trust her with Natalie's personal life.  And Daniel and Noa haven't known each other for very long, period.  This is one of the few things that Vanessa is right about in terms of their relationship.  Usually, you don't meet the family after 3 weeks of dating.  By the time you finally meet the family, you've heard all about all of their stuff.

Daniel's "eh, I just wasn't feeling it anymore" attitude towards Vanessa doesn't reflect very well on him IMO.  I'm glad he's being very clear and firm about "we are never ever getting back together," but Vanessa seems like a "what you see is what you get" kind of woman.  There's no implication she's different from the way she was two or three years ago.  Daniel shouldn't have stayed in that relationship for so long.

[funnygirl]

Vanessa is so disrespectful. Who is she to just let herself into the Garcia's home uninvited? And then call the family out because they didn't do specific things for her...And then make a mess by dumping soup on Mateo. Psycho. 

Noa didn't intentionally out Natalie. PDA at the table would make anyone think it was public knowledge, and she was just trying to make polite conversation. In any case, I thought it was harmless and don't hold it against her. If anything, Daniel should've given her a heads up.

[tennisgurl]

Normally I would say that three weeks is probably too soon to meet the parents, but with the really intense nature of dating a super famous person and how much Noa even peripherally being in their lives is affecting the family, I can see why they thought it would be good just to have everyone meet everyone. I also dont really blame Noa for commenting on Natalie and her possible soon to be girlfriend. Daniel probably should have said something, and maybe it wasn't the best idea (they did introduce her as Natalie's "friend") but if I was looking at them, I would have assumed they were a couple too. Plus, I assume that in Noa`s world, not only are people pretty open about relationships and their personal life, but also that being in a same sex relationship isn't a big deal. Given Natalie's parents seemed more upset that they found out this way and that Natalie hid this from them than about her being gay in and of itself, maybe this will end up being for the best anyway, even if this isn't an ideal way to come out. 

Nice to see both Vanessa and Noa`s manager getting some more development, it was sweet of Noa to try and fix her manager up with someone nice, the guy seems like he could really use some loosening up. I also felt rather sorry for Vanessa, I can get how hurt she must feel. It seems like Daniel had fallen out of love with her awhile ago but was too comfortable to actually break up with her until she tried to move things along, and that sucks for her. Making it worse, she seems to really want to be close to his family, while they dont like her very much (except for Mateo) and Daniel was just kind of riding along in their relationship, while now he is with someone he is putting effort into and she seems to get along with his family, and is probably wondering what she did so wrong. That all being said, her stomping in and throwing stuff at Mateo was seriously uncalled for, and its not any of her business who Daniel is dating now. He has made the fact that they broke up extremely clear. Well it looks like she and Mateo will end up hooking up, so things will probably work out for her. 

This show is so unapologeticly rom-com and thats why I like it. 

[Trini]

As long as Daniel and Noa continue to be cute, I'm in.

Didn't realize this was all filmed in Puerto Rico!

On 5/5/2020 at 4:28 PM, tennisgurl said:

Well it looks like she and Mateo will end up hooking up, so things will probably work out for her. 

I guess they could go there; but I really don't see them as a good match. For that to work for me, they'd have to change the personalities of one or both of them. And even then, it's iffy dating a sibling's ex, plus the family only seemed to tolerate her because of Daniel. Her being Mateo's manager is a better way to keep her associated with the family, IMO.

Edited May 8, 2020 by Trini

[Guest]

I don’t think Noa was wrong at the dinner. The girls were holding hands so I don’t think she had any reason to think they were closeted. It’s unfortunate, but I don’t think she was wrong.

The Vanessa plots need to go. It was fine at first, but now that she’s acted like that at their home as well while complaining they didn’t treat her right- she kinda proved their point.

[Guest]

Kind of strange that Natalia would invite the girl that she desperately wants to hide the fact that she has a crush on to family dinner and then hold her hand while lovingly staring into her eyes. That seemed like more of a finale scene than a "I'm closeted to my family" scene.

Mateo's actor plays him as a softie and I'm loving it. I thought he was going to kiss Vanessa when he was trying to stop her from blabbing to the paparazzi and telling her she deserved someone better - that was the first little spark between them and both actors played that subconscious realization really well.

Daniel's treatment of Vanessa is...not great and the only unsympathetic aspect of his character. "Having a hot celebrity flirt with me in the bathroom made me realize I wasn't into you anymore and you're going to have to just deal with losing four years and a proposal rejection because I'm now sleeping with said hot celebrity" radiates shallow narcissism.