Recapping One Day at a Time - Episode 10 - Sex Talk

I am so excited to be doing the tenth episode recap for Recapping One Day at a Time because in my opinion, it is probably one of the best episodes of the whole season!  It's extremely funny with lots of laugh out loud moments and touches on a subject that some shows would find too taboo to talk about.  But since it airs on Netflix where broadcast codes are more lax, they can and will get away with it!

This is Episode 10:  Sex Talk.  I'm thinking this episode must be about sex in some form.  The fact that the show opens with Penelope and Schneider almost has me worried that they will be the ones engaging in coitus, but thankfully I'm wrong!  Penelope's cutting coupons while her mother is out at the opera with Dr. Berkowitz, and Schneider announces that he's given up his cell phone, social media, and laptop to live the unplugged, simple kind of life.

Which lasts for all of thirty seconds as he asks to borrow Penelope's laptop to look up some business that threads eyebrows.  Yeah, because that's what EVERYONE Googles.

So imagine everyone's shock when Schneider opens up the laptop on the table and there in plain view is a pornographic film!  Whoops!

Penelope is outraged that Schneider would watch porn in her apartment, but Schneider reminds her that he was using her laptop - and creepily praises her for her taste in snuff films!  Yeah, not really helping me see you as any less of a creep there, Schneider.  Was Pat Harrington ever like this in the original series?

But Penelope comes to a rather shocking realization.  The laptop with the porno film on it belongs to Alex!  Oh, I think I see where the title comes from now.  It's time for Alex to have "the talk".

Problem is that Penelope is dreading the idea of sitting down with Alex to talk about it.  Creepy Schneider tries to soften the blow by saying that at least Alex was watching normal porn, but given that the movie featured a threesome, I have to wonder what the heck Schneider classifies as "abnormal".  Penelope is stressed because she recalls the talk that she had with Elena being a disaster.  She tells Schneider the story of how Elena asked her what a period was, and Penelope was honest and explained how periods work - only for Elena to then ask what an exclamation mark was!  Schneider once again tries to soften the blow by telling Penelope that at least Elena didn't ask what a colon was.  Oh, seriously, Schneider.  Not helping.

By this time, Lydia and Dr. B. arrive home from the opera and initially start by telling them about what a wonderful performance it was, but Dr. B. wants to find out who the actors were in the opera so he marches towards the computer to Google it.  Penelope and Schneider try to stop him from using it, but it's too late...

...and oh my stars, has Dr. B. ever gotten an eyeful!  He'll be scarred for life.

In fact, he makes such a big deal about it that Lydia asks what Dr. B. was watching and somehow it gets twisted around that Alex was watching a Disney film!  I'll translate it in the funny lines section, but take it from me, it's hilarious!

This opens up a conversation that is filled with some creepy moments about how Schneider gives us too much information about what he did when watching Jane Fonda workout videos - seriously, why is Schneider such a perv in this episode?  But it also involves some candid conversation between Penelope, Dr. B., and Schneider about how the Internet has made pornography easier to access by teenagers - which is a fair point.

Of course, the conversation also sparks curiosity in Lydia who wants to see the video.  The above screenshot kind of illustrates just what she thinks of it.  The additional "burn this" comment after she watches it adds to the hilarity of it all.  Leave it to "One Day at a Time" to infuse lots of humour in the mix.

I suppose that now would be as good a time as any for Alex to come home.  And when he sees Penelope, Lydia, Schneider, and Dr. B. staring at him, he freaks out thinking that a bug is crawling all over him!  But after Penelope sends the two men and her mother away from the living room, she drops the bomb.  She wants to talk to Alex about sex.

Cue the obviously embarrassed and mortified Alex grabbing a blanket to put over his head.  I think that at first Alex is being a little overdramatic but after hearing Penelope try to explain sex to Alex I can see why she is really BAD at giving these talks!  I could probably do a better job explaining the birds and the bees and I don't even have kids!

After the painfully awkward conversation, Penelope talks to Alex about the threesome video on his computer, and it becomes clear that Alex didn't download the video.  For one, Alex doesn't even know what a threesome is!  And for another, he claims that his mother installed software that lets her see what content Alex and Elena are downloading.  Which proves to be a complete fabrication, but Penelope goes with it because she wants Alex to think that she is a responsible parent.  Of course, this leads to a quandary.  If Alex didn't download the porno...and if Penelope and Lydia didn't, who did?

Enter Elena who has just arrived home and said that she's going to bed, and I think we have the bandit in plain sight.

Judging by this screenshot, I think Lydia has discovered the truth too. 

By this time, Penelope is at work discussing the situation with Dr. B., and as it so happens Scott and Lori are there as well.  Though let's face it - Penelope is clearly the one with the common sense in the room.  Penelope mentions very briefly that she knows that Elena is seeing a boy named Josh, but that they've only kissed a couple of times and thinks that this is all that is going on.  To which Scott replies sarcastically that Elena is lucky that she happens to be seeing the one teenage boy in America that likes just kissing.  Yeah, I'm reminded of why Penelope doesn't like Scott very much.  But it does get her thinking about what might happen if Elena decides that she wants more, given that she seems to have developed an interest in watching pornography on Alex's computer.

Oh, and Lori talks about how she was a "virgin" when she got married, and often uses quotation marks to emphasize bullet points in her rather unusual conversation leading to a brilliant face from Penelope.

Yeah.  That's the one!

After that rather weird portion of the episode, Penelope arrives home desperate to talk to Elena.  However, Lydia informs her that Elena is not home.  She has gone over to Josh's place to have a movie night with him and his family.  Seems fairly innocent to me.

Well, at least that is until Alex lets it slip that Josh's parents aren't home and Penelope freaks out and rushes out to the Flores residence to try and stop Josh and Elena even though she literally has zero idea what is going on.

Naturally, the Flores front door is locked, which makes sense given that as of this moment Josh's parents seem to have more common sense than Penelope does! 

Of course, when you consider Penelope's viewpoint, it's easy to see why she might jump to those conclusions.  After all, when you're looking through the front window and you see Josh, Elena, and an unknown girl sitting on the sofa and you realize that Elena watched a racy movie featuring three people...well...yeah, let's just say that Penelope isn't in her right frame of mind.

Which she proves by crawling through the doggy door of the front door and screeching Elena's name at the top of her lungs, scaring the three people on the couch nearly to death!  

Of course, when one's mind plays tricks on them, they sometimes fail to see the obvious.  Because the three people on the couch were Elena, Josh...and Josh's little sister!  They were sharing a bowl of popcorn, and actually watching a movie!  Shocker, I know.  And to add insult to injury, Josh's parents and the family dog turn on the lights and see Penelope stuck inside the doggy door in front of a clearly embarrassed Elena!  Oh, if I were Elena, I would just want to wish that a bus ran over me at that moment.

Penelope tries to explain herself by claiming that she just came over to give Elena her jacket in case she got cold...which might have worked if Elena wasn't already wearing a jacket.  And on her way out, we learn that Penelope accidentally took out the Flores mailbox with her car!  I'm thinking Penelope must have been a real badass in the service.

When Elena returns home, she is undoubtedly furious at her mother for humiliating her in front of Josh - and to be honest, I can't blame her.  Penelope messed up.  Though part of that is Alex's fault as he realized that he confused Josh B. for Josh F.  Anyway, Penelope realizes that now is the time to sit down with Elena and confront her with what she knows.

Naturally when Penelope tells Elena that she knows that she was watching porn on Alex's computer, Elena's reaction is basically enough to confirm that yes, she was the guilty one.  She even admits to using Alex's laptop because she was worried about her own computer contracting a virus.  Wow, the writers of this episode really did their research with this one - and part of me wonders HOW they conducted this research!  But by this point, Penelope seems to be okay with it and is calmly talking with her about sex when Elena admits that she has had zero interest in having sex whatsoever.

Which causes Penelope to rejoice in relief and grab Elena in a huge hug...which is hilarious for the audience to watch, and creepy for Elena to experience. 

But it's not long after this that we hear the real bombshell of the conversation.  As Penelope prods Elena to open up, Elena reveals that she likes Josh as a friend, but she's not into him that way.  In fact, she reveals that she's not sure if she'll ever fall in love with a man.  Furthermore, she tells Penelope that when she envisions herself in love with someone...she sees the other person as another woman!

Yes.  This is the episode in which Elena comes out.  And at first, Penelope just stares in silence.  Then she curses herself for giving Elena the wrong sex talk again!

But then she does something that makes me applaud her.  She takes Elena by the hand and tells her that she will be there for her no matter what and that she will be by her side through this.  And while Elena happily breathes a sigh of relief at having come out of the closet, I get the feeling that Penelope might have some reservations about it - which I hear is common for parents whose children have come out to them.  

And of course revealing the truth to Lydia could be an even LARGER challenge.  And here's something to look forward to.  In Episode 11, you'll see more of this developing story come to light.  But wow...what a fantastic episode.  As I said before, this one is definitely my favourite episode of the season so far because it allows massive plot development for Elena, and a ton of laugh out loud moments.  So many that I've actually included SEVEN funny dialogues instead of five.  Enjoy!

PENELOPE:  My sweet boy is becoming a gross man!
SCHNEIDER:  But hey, silver lining, it's normal porn.

PENELOPE:  A threesome is not normal.
SCHNEIDER:  Okay, fine.  It's aspirational.

DR. B.:  (After watching the movie on the laptop)  I feel compelled to tell you that this is not my computer.
SCHNEIDER:  No, it's Alex's.  That's what we've been talking about.
LYDIA:  What?  What about Alex?
PENELOPE:  Mami, don't worry.  It's not really a big deal.  Alex was watching a racy movie.
LYDIA:  Cars 2?
SCHNEIDER:  More like Cars 3.

LYDIA:  Okay, show me.
PENELOPE:  Yeah, that's not happening.

DR. B.:  Lydia, you asked me to turn away when you buckled your shoe.  This is not for you.
LYDIA:  Por favor.
PENELOPE:  No, mami.
LYDIA:  Mira, I was married for over 40 years.  If anything, it is a shame that Berto and I went unrecorded.

PENELOPE:  Where's Elena?  I really need to talk to her.
LYDIA:  You should.  She is a porno.
PENELOPE:  I think I know what you're saying, and it's not fair 'cause when you thought it was Alex, you said it was healthy.
LYDIA:  Well, boys are supposed to want the sex.  Girls are supposed to pretend that they don't want the sex.  Read your Bible, for God's sake!

PENELOPE:  Oh, just so you know, some maniac drove over your mailbox.  But they left 50 bucks, so that seems fair, right?

ELENA:  Mom, I'm not having sex.
PENELOPE:  Oh, thank God!  You're way too young.  And guys are really bad at it in the beginning anyway, not that I want you to be with an older guy. 

ELENA:  MOM, STOP TALKING!!!

ELENA:  It was just, I realized that if I was going to be into a boy, it would be Josh.  I mean, he's cute, and he's sweet, and he's such a gentleman, but I feel more when I look at a picture of Kristen Stewart than I do when I kiss him.
PENELOPE:  No wonder you saw those Twilight movies so many times.
ELENA:  Definitely wasn't for the quality storytelling.