The supermom from One Day at a Time, Penelope Alvarez, is an unstoppable force of nature — she handles multiple jobs simultaneously, including caring for her children, keeping her mother out of trouble, managing domestic finances, maintaining a profession, going to college. There is little that this woman cannot do.
She is as affectionate as she is a disciplinarian, having been brought up by her Cuban mother with a strong life ethic. Then again, there are occasions when Penelope's statements and/or actions fail to match the path her character takes. Further, she sometimes goes against her own logic, regardless of it had been sound in the first place.
10 Why Doesn't She Enlist Schneider's Help More Often?
Given her extremely busy schedule, considering the fact that she offers potential romantic partners 45 minutes a week, it's odd that Penelope doesn't accept help where she can get it. Schneider, being born into wealth and therefore carefree, is constantly around her family, and regularly offers to help with different problems.
It's understandable that the fire of independence burns strong inside her heart, but it seems like this would be a mutually beneficial situation.
9 Isn't Firm Enough With Scott
Penelope's coworker at Dr. Berkowitz's office, Scott, is depicted as a clueless misogynist, who just spouts total nonsense without ever having to suffer the consequences of his actions. For instance, he keeps interrupting her at a meeting which is supposed to reduce the patient's waiting period, to the point that her idea is dropped completely.
When she does confront him, he claims that he's not a sexist person, and has the audacity to blame her for "taking time off." Further, Penelope discovers that he makes more money than she does, she flat out quits. Although often management takes the wrong side in these situations, sometimes making them aware could lead to better outcomes. In this case, it seems like it would be important to flag, even if it is sensical for her to want nothing more than to leave the job.
8 The Husband She Never Wants To Marry
Max and Penelope, having reignited their romance, decide to watch the supermoon together. Before he says anything, she automatically says that she never wants to get married again, calling him "perfect" and "the husband she never wants to marry".
Max is bemused, but reacts well to this information; nevertheless, it seems like it doesn't make much sense, since husband and marriage seem to go hand in hand.
7 Keeps Snapping At Schneider
Alright, so Schneider doesn't make it easy on the Alvarezes when he randomly pops in, or takes a shower without permission, or assumes that he's part of the family. But Penelope does seem to be harsh with him at times, especially considering she sees him as a friend.
It's understandable most of the time, but not when she tells Schneider that he "had to get hooked on drugs just to be interesting." Penelope may have been off her meds at the time, but it's still an extraordinarily uncharacteristic thing to say.
6 Forcing Her Daughter To Have Her Quinceañera
Elena despises the idea of having a Quinceañera, claiming that the entirety of its tradition is steeped in patriarchy. Lydia, obviously, pooh-poohs the notion without giving it a second thought, but one would assume that progressive Penelope might listen to her daughter's points of argument, at least?
Apparently not, because she simply tells Elena that her quinceañera is nothing more than a party for the whole family to get together and celebrate. At the end, her daughter acquiesces, anyway, but it seems like there could have been more done to respect everyone's wishes.
5 Couldn't She Learn How To Date Online?
Returning to Penelope's total lack of time or energy at any given point in the day (ergo, the 45-min/week dating window), it's quite surprising that she hasn't figured out Tinder yet.
Besides, Alex and Elena are always around to help her build and manage a decent profile, and she'd have nothing to do more than swipe. Online dating doesn't necessarily work out, sure, but the probability of a match is almost exactly the same as if one met someone in real life. She should give it more than just a try.
4 Lying About Going To Therapy
Penelope suffers from PTSD and severe shoulder pain from her stint in Afghanistan, which she happily tolerates without complaint. Until, of course, it gets so painful that she has no choice but to take up her new mechanic/friend's offer and take part in a group therapy session with other women vets.
Penelope believes that her family would judge her, or consider her to be weak, if she ever told them about the therapy, so she never does... If only she could see how much of a hero her kids think she is.
3 Threatens Her Mother With Revealing Her Heart Condition
Penelope is fully aware that Lydia hates the idea of anybody thinking she's old and feeble, which is why her mom never told her about the stroke two decades ago. However, after she learns about it, she thinks it's completely fine to use it as a threat.
When Lydia refuses to make amends with her sister, Mirtha, Penelope tells her to either fix their relationship or risk them finding out her secret. This doesn't seem like something Penelope would say, even in jest.
2 Refuses To Allow Privacy
It's not fair for Penelope to keep butting her head in her children's business, especially when her natural state of expression is hyperbole. She doesn't want Alex to go out alone, because he might be robbed, killed, or hurt, but how long can she carry on this state of affairs?
Penelope is furious when she learns that her son has a secret Instagram profile, and does everything in her power to see what he's posting in there. She learns something important about Alex, perhaps, but the breach of privacy isn't great.
1 Her Lack Of Self-Introspection
Penelope is very stern about her opinions regarding firearms and their use and explicitly tells her kids that she doesn't want to see them anywhere close to one. The argument about safe gun practices notwithstanding, it's believable that a mother just wants her babies to be safe.
At the same time, Penelope assumes that she's responsible enough to keep a firearm in her own house because she's been trained to use it. Though there does seem to be some sense in the argument, it could be confusing to her children.
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January 28, 2021 at 04:30AM
