I’m pretty excited for the return of Netflix's One Day At A Time on February 8th. This show, for those who haven’t seen it, follows the Alvarez family through their daily lives; covering all matters of things from immigration, racism, homophobia, and PTSD to more light-hearted themes of first loves, friendship, and family. All of this is within amazing, hilarity -filled 30 minute episodes.
The Alvarez's are made up of Lydia (Rita Moreno), the proud Cuban matriarch who is never seen without her perfect makeup; her daughter Penelope (Justina Machado), an ex-army doctor dealing with the struggles of raising her children post-war and post-marriage; and her two teenage children, cocky yet loveable Alex (Marcel Ruiz) and social justice nerd and proud lesbian Elena (Isabella Gomez). Each character in the family unit is unique and they are, in a way, tools used to portray certain social issues. Lydia gives the audience an insight into the life of a Cuban immigrant fleeing Castro's regime, whilst the rest of the gang show how the reverberations from that can still be felt today; especially in Trump’s America, where racist anti latinx rhetoric appears to be at a high. Penelope deals with depression and PTSD in one of One Day At A Time's most powerful episodes and Alex deals with emboldened racists post-election.
With all that being said, the character and story I want to focus on (because this is an LGBT blog) is Elena. Throughout the 2 seasons that are currently available we've followed her as she has come to terms with her sexuality, come out, and ultimately embraced who she is. One Day At A Time tells this story far more accurately than most. We have a supportive mother who is riddled with guilt because she doesn’t feel 100% okay with Elena's sexuality at first, not through homophobia or bigotry but through fear of them. We have Lydia, the devout catholic who rationalises Elena's sexuality in about 15 seconds after a monologue involving the pope (you have to see it to understand). Then we have Elena's father, who is far from accepting. Differing reactions from family is unfortunately the realities of coming out, and it is something we never really stop doing. Every new person is someone new we may one day have to come out to. Every family member you haven’t seen in however many years is potentially the same, and sometimes these people don’t react the way we want them too and that is heart-breaking. One Day At A Time doesn’t shy away from this; instead it embraces it in all its authenticity, and its partly what makes the show so amazing
I can not praise the writers enough for how well they have told Elena's story thus far. We as an audience have seen her evolve and accept herself, we've seen her fall in love for the first time, and we've seen her navigate life and what it means to be a queer Latina. Her story is played out in real time with a family who adore her and each other; it’s a beautiful thing to witness against the backdrop of a hilarious comedy series.
One Day At A Time is ultimately about family, whether they be blood or chosen. It's sweet and powerful, but it's also really really funny. It's authentic and it provides representation to a vastly underrepresented community - latinx people, of all sexualities. I honestly love every single thing about this show and, whether you can relate to the characters on a cultural level or not, there will be aspects of one of them or the family unit as a whole that will remind you of someone or something in your life. I honestly can not recommend it enough. Bring on Season 3.
-S
Season 3 drops on Netflix on Friday, February 8th.
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