Nobody Wants This: The Prophet and The Sexy Gentile
If Nobody Wants This, then why push it further in the first place? Or why assume that it has no chance of success just because no one wants it? What's the harm in testing your chances?
Joanne, starring Kristen Bell, started a podcast with her sister Morgan, played by Justine Lupe, and their latest topic is of course Joanne’s daring interest in an open and boyfriend-worthy Rabbi, starring Adam Brody. Although the show plays on many mainstream conceptions of Judaism and the caution in cultural appropriation, it made for a comedic, binge-worthy performance.
Having finished the show in one sitting, I realize how each episode further proves the inevitable outcome of their relationship; the wrong person in every way… or so we think. Even the titles of the episodes summarize everything wrong with Noah and Joanne’s relationship, starting with “A Shiksa Walks Into a Temple.”
It’s hard to tell who had more to lose when pursuing this semi-niche relationship: the rabbi, his podcast name being “The Prophet,” or our beloved victim host, Joanne. Noah risks his image as a Rabbi to be with Joanne, who makes an effort to learn Jewish customs but is haunted by the dooming possibility of their relationship. It doesn’t help that Joanne has a history of self-sabotaging herself to the extreme.
Although this show has many funny moments, the portrayal of Joanne gets a little too real in the eyes of viewers in relationships. Ever gotten “the ick” about someone you cared about? Joanne takes it a step further as she allows the “ick”, or as Morgan likes to call it, a “Chinese Finger Trap”, to cloud her judgment in past relationships. How do you get over that? Does the ick go away or can it be tolerated purely by how much you like the person?
In episode six, officially titled “The Ick,” Joanne’s parents visit her and her sister without warning. For the first time, Noah has lost his chill and created a new persona that results in a major turnoff. When he was introduced to Joanne’s parents, he spoke in an Italian accent to impress them. He winked at her while biting his lip. Not cool Noah. Even I felt secondhand ick as I watched Green Flag Noah turn into a two-faced parents-pleaser.
The show gushes over Noah’s ability to console Joanne, who is discouraged by the ick and finds flaws that define her relationship with Noah. It is hard to live waiting for the other shoe to drop and not consider other possibilities of understanding, patience, and deserved happiness. We as an audience can see Joanne’s overthinking as unreasonable at times and something controllable that she hasn’t exercised her ability to overcome; however, it is a hard truth in partners that have yet to feel safe in a healthy relationship.
Noah and Joanne’s challenges don’t stop there. Despite Noah’s mother’s disapproval of Joanne, or rather any non-jew whose life is an open book through podcasting, and Joanne’s obsession with the remnants of Rebecca in Noah’s life, Joanne takes the chance on her “prophet” until reality catches up and her willingness to convert comes into question. How do you delay the inevitable?
“Nobody Wants This” has done it for the plot, and so has Joanne. The inevitable doesn’t have to be accepted right away, and Joanne knew the work she would have to put in to be with Noah. Even if the show had a happy ending for entertainment, I was still left thinking about their relationship.
If Rebecca wasn’t controlling and monotonous about her relationship with Noah and showed the most emotion when she and Noah broke up, would they still be together? Why was Joanne the clear option for Noah, even though she went against everything he believed in?
I’m also left questioning Joanne’s success in getting what she wanted and if it was worth it. And at what cost? Joanne considers conversion, but do Jewish values fit into her life? What does it mean for the podcast that is on the road to stardom? Sure, I am rooting for Noah and Joanne, but the show left me feeling sad for the inevitable coming.