Recapping One Day at a Time - Episode 11 - Pride & Prejudice

Okay, so I am racing against time to post this entry before any potential power outages.  My area is in line to get a major ice storm - in the middle of April - and I don't know how severe it will be in this area.  And since I worked late last night, I'm posting the Recapping One Day At A Time entry a day late.  I'm thinking that maybe choosing Fridays was a bad move on my part.  I might rectify this the next time I do a television review blog.

Anyway, the big news from Episode 10 was Elena finally coming out to Penelope.  In Episode 11 - Pride & Prejudice, we see how she is coming to terms with it. 

And given that she is knocking on Schneider's door in the middle of the night, I'm guessing that Penelope is having issues with it.  After Schneider lets her in, she talks about how Elena came out to her, and is actually shocked to find that Schneider and Alex knew before she did.  But once she gets over the shock, she explains that she is not entirely okay with knowing that Elena is a lesbian.  She doesn't consider herself homophobic, and she doesn't even know why she is having reservations about it.  I am just going to take a wild guess here and say that because she only found out a short time ago and it's taking her brain time to process it.  I mean, having a loved one come out to you is a fairly life-changing event.  It takes time to understand it for some people.

Of course, maybe Schneider isn't the best person to talk about this stuff because it seems as though Schneider uses the opportunity to try and ask Penelope for some friends with benefits action while he has another woman in his bedroom.  Remind me why Penelope and Schneider are friends again?

After the opening credits, we see that it is now the following morning, and while Lydia is listening to music, Penelope is going a little bit too overboard in her acceptance of Elena coming out.  I mean, I get that she's trying to make an effort, but she comes across as being a little bit cartoonish.  Either way, Elena is very happy that everyone in her family has been accepting of her coming out, and for what it's worth, it IS good to see.

However, Elena still hasn't filled Lydia in on her sexuality yet, and given Lydia's religious background and old way of thinking, I'm guessing that it will be very hard for her.  And since Dr. Berkowitz doesn't appear in this episode, there's no buffer for her to hide behind.  And it appears as though she will have to wait to tell her anyway because Lydia has invited Josh over so that she can teach them how to do the special dance at Elena's upcoming quinces.  For what it's worth, Elena happily informs Penelope that Josh is okay with Elena coming out - causing Penelope even more doubt within herself.

Soon after we're introduced to the B-plot of the episode which focuses on Alex and Schneider.  It seems as though Alex has gotten so good on the baseball team that he has been selected to play at away games.  There is a game coming up this weekend in San Diego, and he really wants to go - but Penelope is booked for that weekend and cannot take him.

Schneider makes a suggestion to be the team chaperone for the game, which includes an overnight stay at a hotel, and it's not hard to understand why Penelope would be so against it given Schneider's background in general.  But to Schneider's credit, he manages to craft a solid argument for Alex, and he promises that he will make sure that Alex will be safe under his care which somehow sways Penelope in the other direction.  On one hand, I'm thinking what the hell just happened...but on the other hand, she's had a lot to process over the last few hours.  She's not quite there yet.

Some time later, Lydia is working with Josh and Elena on their quinces dance and it appears that both of them are having a great time learning all of the steps...until Lydia gets a little bit too giddy and starts making both of them dance closer together.  I take it that Elena still hasn't had the important discussion with Lydia yet.  Of course, Lydia's interference sends Elena and Josh collapsing into each other on the couch, making for a rather entertaining scene when Penelope arrives home from work.  But hey...I'm sure by now Penelope is used to it.

But Penelope's mind is actually on something else - or rather someone else.  She is concerned about Alex and disappears into the kitchen to contact Schneider to find out what is going on and if Alex is okay.  

Of course, Schneider is perfectly fine.  After all, he's currently talking to Penelope from the hotel restaurant while simultaneously flirting with Finn's mother.  For what it's worth, Alex, Finn, and the rest of the team seem to be doing well, and Schneider actually impresses Penelope by sharing with her some of the safety features of the hotel including the date in which the elevators were last inspected!  I seriously hope this isn't foreshadowing and Schneider accidentally sets the hotel on fire trying to attract the attention of Finn's mom.  But let's face it.  Finn's mom has got it going on.

After Penelope gets off the phone, she is floored to learn that while she was chatting with Schneider, Elena came out to Lydia.  And even more surprisingly, Lydia appears to be completely accepting of it!  Josh remarks that Elena has a great family to support her in her coming out, and Elena is on cloud nine, exclaiming just how much she loves everyone.  It's such a sweet moment...

...which makes Penelope feel even worse about herself for not being on the same page.  It does make her slightly feel better knowing that Lydia only appeared to accept Elena's coming out when in reality she has a huge problem with it.  And when I say it makes her feel better, I mean in the sense that she isn't the only one with doubts.  But hilariously (and I will recap the whole conversation in the best lines portion of this piece), Lydia literally does a complete 180 in the time span of eighty-three seconds, causing Penelope to look even more exasperated!  It's becoming clear that Penelope is still trying to process the information, but doesn't quite know how to get there - a challenge that I am sure a lot of people have gone through.

Let's leave Penelope and Lydia for now and check back in with Schneider, Alex, Finn, and a couple of their friends at the hotel.  Schneider is really becoming incredibly overprotective, insisting that he check the hotel room for hazards before they go inside.

And then Schneider gets all angry when the kids just want to jump on the beds.  And then he proceeds to throw out an entire coffee maker because he deems it a fire hazard.  Wow...is it just me, or has Schneider become a bit more crazier than he usually is in this episode?

Or, maybe it's all of the adults that have gone crazy because Penelope has decided that if she is to be more accepting of Elena's coming out story, she should familiarize herself more with gay culture.  So as a result, she's sitting in the middle of a gay bar with her gay friend from her veteran support group, Ramona.  On one hand, I'm not sure how this plan of hers is supposed to work (and for that matter, I don't even think Ramona understands).  On the other hand, good on Penelope for trying to understand Elena more.

Of course, Ramona proves to be of no help to Penelope.  Mind you, she really tries...but when her gaze focuses upon a sexy woman across the bar, she abandons Penelope in an effort to get to know the woman better while half-heartedly telling Penelope to watch her in action so that she will get a better idea of what it will be like for Elena while dating.  Um...huh?

Someone else who is having a hard time is Schneider, who is obviously not dealing with being the chaperone of an entire baseball team very well.  It actually takes Finn's mom to get him to sit down and relax.  Also seated at the table is a large, burly man who appears to be Cuban - which makes for a really awkward scene when Schneider talks about how ever since he became the chaperone for Alex, he's become more Cuban as a result.  Seriously, Schneider...just be quiet.  Sometimes silence is golden.  But after a while, Schneider is realizing that Finn's mother is correct and that he should just relax.  After all, the kids are upstairs in the hotel room relaxing, chilling...

...getting arrested by hotel security who brings them to Schneider's table causing Schneider to curse in Spanish.  At least that's what I think he's doing as my Spanish vocabulary only consists of words learned from Sesame Street.

Back at the gay bar, Penelope is looking rather glum.  Granted, I don't think she'll be feeling that way for much longer given how she seems to be sucking back cocktails...but still, she's nowhere near getting any sort of resolution for why she feels the way she feels.  She is so in the dumps that she doesn't initially notice that there is a nice looking young man sitting next to her initiating conversation with her.  It takes a while for Penelope to open up to her new drinking buddy, but we learn that his name is Ben, and that he's at the bar with his brother.  But before we learn this information, Penelope tells him about her daughter Elena and how she came out, and how she feels she is a monster because she's not entirely okay with it.  But to her surprise, Ben understands exactly what she's going through.  When Penelope explains that she only found out a day and a half ago that her daughter was gay, he laughs and says that it's perfectly normal for her to be feeling the way she is.  He then says something very profound about how her heart is ready to accept...but her brain just needs to catch up.  It certainly doesn't make Penelope think of Elena any less...it will just take time.  Just as it took time for him to accept that his brother was gay.

Oh, and for the record, Ben asks Penelope out on a date since he's straight.  Only Penelope can go to a gay bar and find a date.  But what a pivotal scene.  I really enjoy this show and its ability to tackle tough subjects with compassion and kindness.  Not too many shows on nowadays are successful in this.

Later that night, Schneider and Alex arrive home way before they were supposed to which causes Penelope and Lydia to wonder what happened.  Come to think of it, we never did find out why Alex and Finn were busted by hotel security.  It seems as though when Schneider was downstairs at the hotel lobby, Alex and Finn thought it great fun to take a couple of the chambermaid's carts and have races with them through the hallways.  I mean, come on...the first time I stayed in a hotel, I was fourteen and I totally considered doing that too.  But the difference was that when I was fourteen, I didn't have a chaperone like Schneider.

Schneider is being a real drama queen about how much he failed Alex, and how much he failed the Alvarez family, and how he feels like a failure.  I almost wish we had Yo-Yo Ma in the background playing music over this scene because this is over the top even for Schneider.  So imagine Schneider's surprise when Penelope hugs him and actually celebrates the fact that her overprotective nature left an indelible impression on Schneider and that she trusts him to look after Alex again because of it.  This cheers Schneider up, but leaves me feeling way confused.  I almost kind of wish that Schneider took this episode off and Dr. Berkowitz was in it because this episode kind of makes Schneider look like an inept fool that was rewarded for being an inept fool.  More inept than usual.

The end scene takes place in Elena's room where she's Skyping with Carmen with her laptop.  It's nice to see her again, even though she's still very strange.  But she seems to be adjusting to her new life in Texas and has amusingly started adding the word "y'all" in random conversation.  And it's also cool to see that when Penelope comes into the room to chat she's friendly with her.  I get the feeling that no matter how far away they are, Carmen will always be an honorary member of the Alvarez family.

And in the last few moments of the show, Elena and Penelope share a real bonding moment and I think Penelope has finally come to terms with the fact that Elena is gay - a very positive end to an otherwise strange show.  Penelope even mentions that she met a man and they are going on a date, which may signify a brand new story arc for her.  I'm kind of excited to see where this is going...though looking at the preview for Episode #12, it may pose a challenge when Penelope's ex re-enters the picture. 

And now we shall laugh at the most humourous lines from the eleventh episode.  Enjoy!

ALEX:  No one wants their mom around when they're dating models.  Just being real with you.
PENELOPE:  You still have Spider-Man sheets.  Just being real with you.

PENELOPE:  All right.  You think you got what it takes?  Bedtime?
SCHNEIDER:  9:00 p.m. weekdays. 10:00 p.m. weekends.
PENELOPE:  Blood type?
SCHNEIDER:  O positive.
LYDIA:  Wrong.  Red.

PENELOPE:  Thank God that you're so honest with your feelings.
LYDIA:  Yeah, I know you don't agree with them because you are so liberal...and I'm just a narrow-minded homofallopian.

PENELOPE:  You mean you're homophobic?
LYDIA:  Ha!  There is the judgment.  Look...I know you are cool with this, but you have to understand.  I am a religious woman.

PENELOPE:  I know, Mami.

LYDIA:  And, I'm sorry.  I'm sorry, but I have a problem with Elena being gay.  It goes against God!  Although, God did make us in his image.  And God doesn't make mistakes.  Clearly.  And when it comes to the gays, the pope did say, "Who am I to judge?"  And the pope represents God.  So what, am I going to go against the pope and God?  Who the hell do I think I am?  Okay.  Okay, I'm good.

PENELOPE:  What?  You just worked that out in ten seconds?
LYDIA:  Si.  Because she is my granddaughter and I love her no matter what.  Ya.  So, tell me, when is the parade?

PENELOPE:  I want her to have the most perfect coming-out story.  You know, where I'm cool and supportive and we high-five and ride unicorns down a rainbow together.
BEN:  Okay, so, gay people aren't magic.  But it's a common misconception, so...

CARMEN:  I'm going to the rodeo tomorrow.  Hopefully one of the clowns will get gored.
PENELOPE:  I love that little weirdo.