Warning: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Nobody Wants This.
While Nobody Wants This season 1 provides a satisfying ending, the story leaves multiple open-ended questions that need to be addressed in season 2. Since the release of the Kristen Bell rom-com, Nobody Wants This has gained praise for exploring the challenges of a relationship in which two partners come from different family backgrounds and religions. Joanne (Kristen Bell) and Noah (Adam Brody) seem perfect for each other in so many ways. They share a similar sense of humor, have incredible chemistry, and express affection in similar ways. However, they also have significant differences that create challenges in their relationship.
The most obvious example is their religious differences, with Joanne being agnostic and Noah being Jewish. Joanne also has a contentious, divorced family of origin, whereas Noah’s parents are happily married immigrants. He’s comfortable with vulnerability, while she deflects with humor. Throughout the season, the couple finds a middle ground on most differences, but religion becomes a sticking point that influences Nobody Wants This season 1’s ending. Nobody Wants This leaves multiple questions unanswered about the couple’s future, friends, and family – all of which must be addressed in season 2.
8 Will Spotify Pick Up Joanne And Morgan’s Nobody Wants This Podcast?
The Spotify Deal Is Up In The Air By The End Of Nobody Wants This Season 1
From the first episode of Nobody Wants This season 1, the show establishes that Joanne and Morgan (Justine Lupe) run a podcast called Nobody Wants This, which Spotify is considering buying. They have a few meetings with company representatives about the possibility, even pitching live shows that could make them more appealing as an acquisition. However, the series doesn’t provide an answer about the status of the podcast, dropping the plotline in the last two episodes of the season.
Additionally, Nobody Wants This introduces a dilemma that could prevent them from getting a business deal. After getting into a relationship with Noah, Joanne starts sharing less about her love life to respect his privacy, but the audience responds poorly. Since Morgan and Joanne’s podcast focuses on sex and relationships in the modern world, Joanne’s decision about what to share could negatively impact the possibility of the Spotify deal. Nobody Wants This season 2 will need to provide clarification about the status of the podcast and whether Spotify takes them on.
7 Will The Board Consider Noah For The Head Rabbi Job?
Nobody Wants This Season 2 Can Show The Divided Opinions On Interfaith Couples
Nobody Wants This season 1 hammers home the point that it’s impossible for Noah to be promoted to head rabbi at the temple if he’s in a relationship with a non-Jewish woman. He believes it’s impossible, and the current head rabbi doesn’t even want to suggest his name to the board if Joanne doesn’t consider converting. However, the show doesn’t introduce anyone on the temple’s board, so nobody in that position of power has actually said Noah can’t get the job.
If the show gets picked up for season 2, Nobody Wants This needs to introduce the board members and show their attitudes on the subject. Over the past ten years, policies on the topic have shifted towards allowing rabbis and rabbinical candidates with non-Jewish partners (via Jewish Telegraphic Agency). Considering this, it would be interesting to see at least one person in a position of power who’s willing to consider having a head rabbi in an interfaith marriage.
Steve Leder, the former senior rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles, served as a consultant on Nobody Wants This. The Wilshire Boulevard Temple is a part of Reform Judaism.
6 Will Sasha Cheat On Esther With Morgan?
The Sasha And Morgan Subplot Threatens To Derail The Show
One of the most uncomfortable subplots within Nobody Wants This is the burgeoning friendship between Sasha (Timothy Simons) and Morgan. These two are considered the “loser siblings,” which brings them together. On a very basic level, there’s nothing wrong with Sasha and Morgan having a friendship. The problem lies in the fact that Sasha is hiding their communication and lying to Esther (Jackie Tohn) about it, which makes his intentions seem more dubious.
Additionally, Morgan tells Joanne that she had a sex dream about Sasha in Nobody Wants This early on. She also admits that she makes poor sexual decisions while shopping in the thrift store. Then, in the finale of season 1, she points out to Sasha that their friendship isn’t normal. Unfortunately, all these factors hint at a storyline where Sasha cheats on Esther with Morgan. This affair could wreck almost every relationship in the show, so hopefully, they don’t go there. However, it feels necessary for Nobody Wants This season 2 to address the subplot in some form.
5 Will Miriam Go On A Date With Caleb?
Miriam’s Role Should Be Expanded In Nobody Wants This Season 2
Miriam is a supporting character with a small amount of character development in Nobody Wants this season 1, but Erin Foster already has a potential direction to take the character in season 2. In Nobody Wants This episode 4, Miriam Roklov rushes home in a crisis because her friend texted her crush, Caleb, saying, “Miriam likes you.” Sasha creates a fake account for a different girl with the same first name and messages Caleb, asking him out to prevent him from knowing about the crush.
Caleb replies to Sasha and Miriam, saying that he likes a different Miriam. They take it to mean Miriam Roklov, which she gets excited about, and that’s where the storyline ends. The interaction could simply be a foundation for the relationship between Miriam and her dad, furthering his character development. However, there’s potential for this storyline to continue in Nobody Wants This season 2. It would be interesting to see how Miriam acts outside her family, since she seems like a foil for Joanne in many ways. They both don’t fit in with the image of the Roklovs.
4 What Type Of Judaism Does Noah Roklov And Temple Chai Practice?
There’s Ambiguity Surrounding The Type Of Judaism Practiced In Nobody Wants This
One of the biggest mistakes that Nobody Wants This made throughout season 1 is never establishing what type of Judaism Noah and Temple Chai practice. Rules, attitudes, and cultural practices can vary greatly depending on the branch of the religion. Because they don’t clarify what Jewish movement they’re part of, it’s unclear whether Noah’s statements about what’s acceptable and not come from personal values, the congregation’s attitudes, or rules.
Each of these explanations is equally plausible. His parents seem to have stricter ideas about the religion than people like Rabbi Shirah, which could point to it being family-taught. His specific congregation could be more traditional. Alternatively, Temple Chai could be part of a more conservative Jewish movement. Ultimately, Nobody Wants This season 2 needs to answer this question. It will become particularly important since the branches have different rules about interfaith marriage for both the congregation and the rabbis.
3 Are There Other Interfaith Couples At Temple Chai?
Interfaith Marriages Are Fairly Common In Judaism
Piggybacking off the type of Judaism practiced, Nobody Wants This season 2 needs to clarify whether interfaith couples exist at Temple Chai. In season 1, Noah states that it would be an issue to marry a Jewish person and a non-Jewish person. According to an article by Evelyn Frick on Hey Alma, a Conservative Jewish rabbi wouldn’t be allowed to perform an interfaith wedding, and Reform rabbis are discouraged from doing so but not disallowed.
While the rules about performing may be restricted, this doesn’t mean that interfaith couples aren’t allowed at a Conservative temple. Even if Temple Chai in Nobody Wants This is a part of Conservative Judaism, the Rabbinical Assembly encourages the welcoming of non-Jewish spouses. With the prevalence of interfaith marriages, the probability of Temple Chai having zero interfaith couples seems low. Since Noah and Joanne stay together at the end of season 1, the second season could introduce an interfaith couple to the Nobody Wants This’ characters, offering the lead characters external support.
2 How Will Others React To Joanne Changing Her Mind About Converting?
Joanne’s Decision Could Impact Noah’s Relationships With His Family And Colleagues
In the final episode of Nobody Wants This season 1, Joanne decides somewhat haphazardly to convert to Judaism because she loves Noah. While her choice comes from a place of good intentions, she doesn’t realize the full implications and requirements. After telling Noah the news, he tells some people at the bat mitzvah. He also tells the head rabbi to give the board his nomination with the implication that Joanne’s converting. If Noah were the only person who knew about the possible conversion, there wouldn’t have been so big of a fallout for her to change her mind.
However, the fact that Noah tells people means that others will have opinions about her backing out, which needs to be explored in Nobody Wants This season 2. Since Bina disapproves of Noah and Joanne’s relationship, she probably will be happy about the news that Joanne isn’t converting. The head rabbi will probably be upset at the news. Other than those two individuals, it’s up in the air how others will react to the news.
1 Will Bina Come Around To Joanne In Nobody Wants This Season 2?
Nobody Wants This Season 2 Should Move Away From The Overbearing Jewish Mom Stereotype
Before the release of Nobody Wants This, many Jewish people expressed concern on social media that the series would lean into stereotypes. As a non-Jewish writer, I’ll direct focus to Jewish writers at Glamour, Kveller, and TIME for their opinions on how the series portrayed Judaism. However, a common complaint that popped up among Jewish writers and viewers was the use of the overbearing Jewish mom stereotype, which needs to be addressed in Nobody Wants This season 2.
Unfortunately, since Nobody Wants This already established Bina as having this personality, the show can’t completely retcon the character to be kind and welcoming. However, it would be nice to see Nobody Wants This season 2 develop her past the hostile, mean caricature. She doesn’t need to fully accept Joanne by the end of the second season, as even that seems like a stretch from Bina’s current opinion of her son’s girlfriend. However, Nobody Wants This could insert more nuance into the character if the rom-com gets picked up for season 2.
Sources:Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Hey Alma, Rabbinical Assembly, Glamour, Kveller, and TIME
