One Day At A Time 4×06 “Supermoon” is the kind of episode that reminds you of what makes this how special, why we fought so hard against cancellation, and why Pop TV brought it back, at what feels like especially the right time.
It’s funny, heartwarming, it has a little bit of a twist, it’s heartfelt, and oh yes – it ends with the feeling of contentment. You never feel like you could have done something better than watch the episode of One Day At A Time you just watched.
Which is why it now feels especially sad that we won’t get any more till, well, who knows?
The pandemic has taken a lot of things from us, including our sense of normalcy, and scripted TV is part of that. But we don’t just watch scripted TV for a sense that the world will continue turning, no matter what, we also watch it for a distraction, for entertainment, and yes, sometimes for a lesson.
One Day At A Time excels at that. It always has. But more importantly, it excels at the balance of being all of those things, and somehow still making us laugh.
I’ve said this before, but now, faced with an extended period of time without the show, I’ll say it again: Watching One Day At A Time was the first time I ever saw myself on TV, the first time I ever thought oh, look, my perspective is not just valid, it’s acceptable. And for that the show will always hold a special place in my heart.
But the show is more than that, as this episode proves. Because this episode does the impossible: it gives every couple a moment, and then it ends it on a high, with the whole family together, and their place in the family unit reinforced.
There’s Alex and Nora, who are just starting, but who work mostly because the Alex we see now has grown so much from the Papito we first met. That we like Nora is a testament to the show’s writing, of course, but it’s also a testament to how far Alex has come.
Syd and Elena continue to be a delight – breaking stereotype after stereotype of what we expect a couple of them to be, and do. And yes, college might (try will) make it hard, and they might not make it together. But we’ll definitely be rooting for them, and we will, more importantly, be rooting for both of them, separately.
Max and Penelope, despite earlier setbacks, and despite the fact that it seems like the show just threw them into the deep end without any kind of floatation device in sight, well, they work. They work for what she wants, and they work for what he wants – which is, surprisingly, very in tune with what we, as viewers, want.
Same goes for Schneider and Avery. They were delightful last episode, but they work much better this week, as a compliment to what’s happening with the Alvarez family. The one problem of One Day At A Time being on Pop TV is that is has a few less minutes – anywhere from 3 to 7, and sometimes those minutes hurt. Last week, with no scene with Schneider and the Alvarez’s, they absolutely did.
Finally, there’s Lydia and Leslie, or Lydia and Berto …or both. It seemed like a joke at first, and it still sometimes is, because Rita Moreno is a comedic marvel, but the fact is these two work because they don’t need to conform to our expectations – much less the expectations of society.
Happiness, closure, family …they aren’t things that can be defined by others. We have to define them for ourselves. And One Day At A Time has found their definition. We’re just along for the ride.
Things I think I think:
- It’s OBVIOUSLY Schneider being super cheesy. The fun part is he’s not doing it for himself.
- “You saw me, and you stayed.”
- “I love it when you talk nerdy to me.”
- ONLY Elena and Syd would find the idea of recycled romance, well ….romantic.
- Batwoman fans. It tracks.
- “I guess my mom knows how to get chicks.”
- Moms always know.
- “I can’t forget it, cause it was weird.”
- Oh, yes.
- Alex is my favorite lately. He’s grown so much.
- “This could be her last chance to see a moon.”
- “Not pudding-happy.”
- HA.
- That’s a lot of no’s, Pen.
- “Do I look like the kind of guy who has to work this hard?”
- Valid, Max. VALID.
- She keeps giving him ultimatums. It’s …weird.
- They ARE on the same eye-level when he kneels.
- Awww now that we know why Scheider did all this, it’s even more awwww.
- “Should we just jump off the roof?”
- “There’s nothing we Alvarez’s won’t do for each other.”
- This goodbye broke me.
- I love this show.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of “Supermoon”? Share with us in the comments below!
One Day At A Time airs Tuesdays at 9:30/8:30c on Pop TV.
