| 1 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | '''Season 1 spoilers unmarked''' |
| 5 | |
| 6 | !Penelope's Family |
| 7 | [[folder: Penelope]] |
| 8 | !!Penelope Francesca del Carmen Riera Inclán Ruiz Maribona de Alvarez |
| 9 | |
| 10 | -->'''Played By:''' Creator/JustinaMachado |
| 11 | |
| 12 | [[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/penelope_5.jpg]] |
| 13 | [[caption-width-right:310:''"Life can be tough, so when you get something to celebrate, you take it!"'']] |
| 14 | |
| 15 | ->''"I can assemble a rifle in 13 seconds. I'm a total badass."'' |
| 16 | |
| 17 | The dedicated and loving mother of the Alvarez family. A former soldier that now works as a nurse. |
| 18 | ---- |
| 19 | * AffectionateNickname: Her mother calls her "Lupe" and occasionally "Lupita". Schneider calls her "Pen". |
| 20 | * DeadpanSnarker: She tends to respond to the weirdness and drama of her family with sarcastic quips -- sometimes even when she's ''causing'' the weirdness and drama. |
| 21 | * GoodParents: Penelope's not perfect and makes some well-intentioned blunders, but she gets the job done with a balance of protecting her kids and respecting their independence. |
| 22 | * HeroicBSOD: |
| 23 | ** "Hello, Penelope" is an episode-long B.S.O.D. for her, after she goes off her antidepressants without consulting her doctor. The downward spiral is ''brutal'', and by the end of it, she can't even make herself get out of bed, and asks herself, "What's the point in living if I can't feel anything?" Fortunately, this forces her to accept that she needs help, and she gets back on her meds. |
| 24 | ** A PlayedForLaughs example when she finds out [[spoiler:Syd and Elena have had sex]]. The poor woman looks like her soul is departing her body. She gets over it when she's had a couple hours to process. |
| 25 | * HugeGuyTinyGirl: Dates Max in season 2, who is an extremely tall man that she has to use some sort of support to talk face to face with and even kiss him. |
| 26 | * {{Hypocrite}}: |
| 27 | ** In "One Lie At A Time", she starts calling her mother out for lying to her, as well as calling Elena out. She then is quickly caught lying on where she went, since she was going to therapy, not a date. |
| 28 | ** In season 2, she calls her mother out for [[spoiler:hiding a gun in the house for safekeeping, however, Alex calls her out on the fact that Penelope herself hides a gun in a safe beneath the bathroom.]] |
| 29 | ** When she finds out that [[spoiler:Elena's had sex, she's freaked out, partially because Elena's "only" seventeen. But when Ramona asks, she sheepishly admits that she lost her virginity when she was seventeen, too. This one is justified, though, since Penelope then goes on to explain that she ''thought'' she was ready, but freaked out the next day because she really wasn't. When she realizes that's not what happened with Elena, she's a lot more accepting.]] |
| 30 | * LikeMotherLikeDaughter: Penelope has a few traits she shares with her mother, such as being a bit too overprotective of her kids, and even mimicking some of her mannerisms. |
| 31 | * MamaBear: She is fiercely protective of her children, among the reasons she left Victor was the fact that his PTSD was starting to affect the kids, and she painfully remembers one time where he woke them up to tell them he was going to kill himself. |
| 32 | * NiceGirl: Penelope is a loving, protective, and dedicated mother. She is also a hard-working nurse and a well-intentioned and outgoing person in general. |
| 33 | * PlatonicLifePartners: With Schneider. They're great friends, are each other's confidants, are always willing to help each other out, and Schneider is considered an honorary member of the family, but they're just friends. |
| 34 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Played for all the drama it can. Penelope goes off her meds in "Hello, Penelope", causing her to spiral downwards into her PTSD and depression. She is aggressive with Lydia and Schneider, ignores Max, her children and her work, and spends her day moping in her bed, trying to sleep and failing at it. When she finally makes a recording of herself, it's absolutely harrowing and briefly implies that [[spoiler:she is contemplating ending her own life]]. |
| 35 | * OpenMindedParent: When Elena comes out to her mother, Penelope calmly accepts it although the development sends her reeling. After making efforts to educate herself about gay culture, she decides the best thing she can do is support Elena without walking on eggshells. [[spoiler:When she finds out Elena's had sex, her main concern -- apart from "oh my God, my baby's growing up" -- is that Elena might have ''thought'' she was ready, but in reality wasn't. As she explains to Elena, that's what happened to her, and she just doesn't want Elena hurt. After they talk about it, Penelope is relieved to hear that Elena really ''was'' ready.]] |
| 36 | * ParentalSexualitySquick: |
| 37 | ** She's pretty weirded out when she realizes Dr. Berkowitz has a crush on Lydia. |
| 38 | ** She also gets easily squicked by Lydia's tales of her and Berto's romantic passion -- but, to be fair, Lydia does tend to give ''way'' TooMuchInformation. |
| 39 | ** [[spoiler:In an inversion, she's (rather understandably) thrown for a loop when she finds out Elena's lost her virginity. To her credit, after taking a couple hours to process (and vent to Ramona), she handles it very well, accepting that, as a fairly mature seventeen year old in a happy, committed relationship, Elena's ready to make the decision for herself.]] |
| 40 | --->'''Ramona:''' And what did your mom say [when you first had sex]?\ |
| 41 | '''Penelope:''' ''[scoffs]'' Are you kidding me? She doesn't know. I was sneaky. I didn't put her through the torture of thinking about this. [...] If you're gonna be a sexually active teenager, you need to do it responsibly and make sure your parents never find out. But now I know, and I have to have an opinion. And I don't want to be the mom that's all, "Sex is dirty. You're gonna go to hell." But I also don't want to be the mom that's like, "Use my bed. I'll get you water so you stay hydrated." ''[beat]'' Now I have to talk to her. ''[mock cries]'' I don't want to. |
| 42 | * PopCulturalOsmosisFailure: Penelope has even less knowledge of current culture than her mother. She thinks that ''Series/DoctorWho'' is a medical show, for example, when even Lydia can say that he is a JustForFun/TimeLord. |
| 43 | * SecretRelationship: In season 2, she starts a relationship with Max, but in order to keep her family from intruding in her life or embarrassing her, she avoids introducing him for a long while. |
| 44 | * SharedFamilyQuirks: After eating a bag of cheetos, she likes to rip it open so she can lick off the remaining dust on the inside, something her mother and Elena do as well. |
| 45 | * ShellShockedVeteran: Still shaken from her time at the army, Penelope is dealing with PTSD and a bad shoulder from an accident. Different than Victor however, she is seeking help by taking anti-depressants and participating in group therapy for former army women. |
| 46 | * StrugglingSingleMother: Downplayed since their apartment is fine and she has Lydia to help out, but Penelope continuously stresses that it's difficult to make ends meet and Victor isn't the most useful of ex-husbands. |
| 47 | [[/folder]] |
| 48 | |
| 49 | [[folder: Lydia]] |
| 50 | !!Lydia Margarita Del Carmen Inclan Maribona Leytevidal de Riera |
| 51 | |
| 52 | [[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lydia_0.jpg]] |
| 53 | [[caption-width-right:310:''"My shade is 'Scarlet Sunrise'."'']] |
| 54 | |
| 55 | ->'''Played By:''' Creator/RitaMoreno |
| 56 | |
| 57 | ->''"We are Cuban. We don't get divorced. We die!" '' |
| 58 | |
| 59 | Penelope's mother, who ran away from Cuba in the 50s and has since build roots there. She plays up the SpicyLatina to the extreme, loves to dance (being a former dance teacher) and is quite intrusive in her daughter's life. |
| 60 | ---- |
| 61 | * CharacterDevelopment: Over the course of the show, Lydia shows signs of becoming more accepting of her family when they disagree with her, be it in how they behave or decide to act. She allows Penelope to stop going to church, but insists for her to go every now and then, accepts Elena's sexuality and finally accepts that Penelope needs the anti-depressants and therapy to deal with her mental issues. |
| 62 | * {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Lydia is a very upbeat and odd old lady, with some outlandish and/or outdated ideas. |
| 63 | -->'''Lydia:''' A curtain is just a wall with no self-respect! |
| 64 | * CompassionateCritic: Deconstructed. She really does mean well with her constant harping on Penelope and Elena, and loves them both deeply. However, her well-intentioned criticism comes off in a way that Penelope frequently feels like she'll ''never'' be good enough for Lydia, and Elena, as a kid, got so sick of it that she faked not being able to speak Spanish to avoid talking to her (though she did later come to regret this). |
| 65 | * DarkAndTroubledPast: Lydia lived in Cuba when Castro rose to power, was forced to flee to America in Operation Pedro Pan at ''fifteen'' to try to start a new life with Berto and her three younger sisters, and faced prejudice and racism in the states. |
| 66 | * DecemberDecemberRomance: Strikes up a "romance" with the similarly-aged Dr. Berkowitz. |
| 67 | * DeliberateValuesDissonance: Although she loves her family, she's still a product of her time in many ways, and her ways of thinking are often contrasted with her daughter's and grandchildren's more modern views. |
| 68 | ** Her views on mental illnesses are outdated at best even downright damaging at worst, which she finally learns in "Hello, Penelope". |
| 69 | ** Her idea of romance can have dark implications. She encourages Alex to "woo" a girl who rejected him by hounding her until she agrees to a date, and the love story she told about her sister Mimi involved home invasion and kidnapping. Everyone, including Alex, was horrified by the story. |
| 70 | ** She fawns over Alex and Tito and will defend them even when they are clearly in the wrong, but is critical of Elena and Penelope, sometimes overly-so. Penelope calls out the sexism pretty frequently. |
| 71 | ** When Penelope sarcastically exclaims that a woman's purpose is to please her husband, Lydia (sincerely) responds, "Damn right!" This also reflects in her attitudes towards Penelope's divorce -- she thinks Penelope should've stuck it out, despite the fact that Victor was a drunk and a danger to Penelope and the children. To be fair, she did come around on that point when she realized Victor wasn't taking any steps to improve himself. |
| 72 | * DotingGrandparent: She ''adores'' Alex, and frequently fawns over him. To a lesser extent, she does the same with Elena, though they butt heads more often and Alex is blatantly her favorite. |
| 73 | * DramaQueen: Oh yes! If Lydia isn't being dramatic about something, she's asleep or praying. |
| 74 | * TheExile: Escaped Cuba and the dictatorship at age fifteen with her three younger sisters, leaving her parents, eldest sister and future husband behind to an unknown fate. During Alex's project about Cuba, it becomes obvious she still grieves for her country and herself. |
| 75 | %%* FailedAttemptAtDrama: ''All the freaking time''. |
| 76 | * {{Foil}}: To Elena. Each of them stand by opposite values as they were born in wildly different places and times, but they are both proud of their heritage, stubborn, loud and hotblooded. Elena even points it out to a comatose Lydia. |
| 77 | * HiddenDepths: Her past as an immigrant. She was forced to leave her country, family and love behind when she was fifteen years old to live in the United States, where she knew no one, didn't understand the language and had to raise her three youngest sisters all by herself without knowing if the people she loved in Cuba were safe. Her face slowly changing as she tells her story is a journey on it's own, only to break down in tears when she thinks about her eldest sister, Blanca, who was too old at nineteen to come with her and died under unknown circumstances. |
| 78 | ** She lampshades some of her suffering having a daughter in the Military, risking her life every day while raising a baby Elena and grieving her deceased husband. |
| 79 | * {{Hypocrite}}: |
| 80 | ** Flirting and flaunting her sexuality is second nature to Lydia, but whenever Elena would show interest in boys before coming out as a lesbian, she would scold her granddaughter with passive-aggressive SlutShaming. It's part of her DeliberateValuesDissonance. |
| 81 | ** Gets into one of her worst fights with Penelope when she finds out she broke up with Max due to not wanting kids. It is later revealed by Bertho that while he wanted more children, Lydia refused because she was focusing on her career. |
| 82 | * ItsAllAboutMe: While she's not entirely incapable of acknowledging others' needs or feelings, Lydia is ''extremely'' focused on herself and what she wants. |
| 83 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Lydia's stubborn, self-centered, and occasionally petty, but she's also loyal and loving to her daughter and grandkids. |
| 84 | * LargeHam: The largest in the show. She is outspoken, loud, loves to dance and making hand gestures, often at random. It helps that she is almost always received in the show through booming applause from the audience. |
| 85 | * LikeMotherLikeDaughter: A lot of her traits can be seen mirrored in her daughter at some times. |
| 86 | * LovableSexManiac: Lydia will gladly leap into tall tales of her sexual escapades with Berto. |
| 87 | * MamaBear: She has a few moments of this, most notably her kicking Victor out when it's revealed he'd been lying to Penelope about getting sober, and confessing a desire to feel Penelope's pain for her. |
| 88 | * TheMourningAfter: Lydia is still deeply in love with her late husband, Berto. It's why she refuses to date Dr. Berkowitz despite genuine feelings for him. |
| 89 | * MyBelovedSmother: Still attempts to force a say in Penelope's decisions well into old age. |
| 90 | * NeverGotToSayGoodbye: When Lydia was relocated as a teenager, her older sister Blanca told her to not to look back when she walked into the airplane terminal to make their separation less heartbreaking. Blanca died years before Lydia ever got the chance to see her again. |
| 91 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: |
| 92 | ** When Penelope's ex Victor shows up in "Hurricane Victor", Lydia is exceedingly nice to him, and constantly suggests Penelope and him should get back together. But when it turns out Victor lied about being sober and getting help for his issues, Lydia gets more serious than we've ever seen her before, and curtly tells Victor to "go". |
| 93 | ** Despite being the carefree and happy member of the family, she chokes up and withdraws when she recalls leaving Cuba and her first years in America as a fifteen year old, raising her three younger sisters and unable to speak english, not knowing if her loved ones in Cuba were safe. |
| 94 | * OpenMindedParent: While still very conservative in other ways, Lydia grows very comfortable with Elena's sexuality, talking herself out of homophobia in one minute. This even extends to Alex, since when she thinks that he is gay in season 2, she is overjoyed to realize she'll be the only woman he ever loved. |
| 95 | * ParentalSubstitute: To Schneider. She cooks for him, gives him advice, [[spoiler: and helped him get sober]]. |
| 96 | * ParentsAsPeople: Lydia is a good and loving mother who worked really hard and successfully raised a good woman, however, some of her outdated ideas have caused trouble for Penelope, particularly considering mental illnesses something that are just in her head and that therapy is for the crazy, particularly her resistance to let Penelope go to the group therapy and take anti-depressants. She gets better after "Hello, Penelope", in which she sees what happens to Penelope when she stops treating herself and receives advice from a priest. |
| 97 | * PatrioticFervor: Her pride of being Cuban is palpable, season 2 even shows she has a flag of Cuba to wave at Alex's games. She is very wistful of her time there and season 2 reveals she still dreams of going back there with her family, so they can go to her old house. [[spoiler:It's revealed in season 2 she isn't an American citizen, because she and Berto couldn't bring themselves to renounce their Cuban citizenship]]. |
| 98 | * SharedFamilyQuirks: After she accidentally eats Leslie's marijuana drops, she eats a whole bag of cheetos and licks the dust off the inside of the bag like her daughter and granddaughter. |
| 99 | * SpicyLatina: An elderly version. Lydia is passionate, dramatic, an accomplished dancer, attractive, etcetera. Elena even lampshades it by calling her a walking stereotype. |
| 100 | * StrangeMindsThinkAlike: With the equally superficial and vain Alex. |
| 101 | -->'''Lydia:''' (To Berto) You might be my soulmate, but Papito is my other half. |
| 102 | * TokenReligiousTeammate: An extremely religious woman, being the most religious one of her family and of the entire cast. She has several pictures of the Pope (various different popes, at that), she got into fights with Penelope because of how different are their views on religion. Season 1 reveals that, during Penelope's time in Afghanistan, she visited the church to pray for her safety everyday. |
| 103 | * YouCantGoHomeAgain: Taking her family to Cuba someday is Lydia's greatest dream, but tragically, it's the Cuba from her childhood she truly wants to return to. [[spoiler:In the Season Three finale, she travels there with Leslie to check "return to Cuba" off her bucket list.]] |
| 104 | [[/folder]] |
| 105 | |
| 106 | [[folder: Alex]] |
| 107 | !!Alejandro Alberto Alvarez Riera Calderón Leytevidal Inclan |
| 108 | [[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alex_5.jpg]] |
| 109 | [[caption-width-right:310:''"When I get into school, people demand perfection."'']] |
| 110 | |
| 111 | ->'''Played By:''' Marcel Ruiz |
| 112 | |
| 113 | ->''[[Theatre/{{Hamilton}} "Immigrants. We get the job done."]]'' |
| 114 | |
| 115 | Penelope's laid back youngest son. Alex is a vain boy who loves to look good and really wants to be more popular. Is really close to his grandmother for their shared values. |
| 116 | ---- |
| 117 | * AffectionateNickname: Penelope and Lydia call him "Papito," a Spanish term of endearment for boys to compare them to their fathers. |
| 118 | * AlliterativeName: His full name is Alejandro Alberto Alvarez [[OverlyLongName (...Riera Calderón Leytevidal Inclan.)]] |
| 119 | * AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Very downplayed. While Elena and he occasionally get into fights and he sometimes annoys her, they get along very well most of the time and always stick up for each other. |
| 120 | -->'''Elena:''' I love you, dum dum. |
| 121 | * BigLittleBrother: As he grows older, Alex ends up being taller than his older sister. |
| 122 | * CallingTheOldManOut: |
| 123 | ** While not shown onscreen, he reveals that he has called Victor out for what he did on Elena's Quinces, even using a lot of Elena's ideals on the conversation. |
| 124 | ** After Penelope convinces Lydia to get rid of her gun, [[spoiler:Alex reveals that he knows that Penelope also keeps a gun in the house, and helps her realize that her justifications are exactly what she accused her mother of, leading her to promise to get rid of her gun as well]]. |
| 125 | * CharacterDevelopment: He shows a big side of maturity at the end of season 3, being an emotional support to Elena and even Dr. Berkowitz when they have panic attacks, as well as [[spoiler:having a mature reaction to finding Schneider drunk and telling his mother about it, prompting them to help him get sober again.]] |
| 126 | * ComingOutStory: Part of Elena's. Alex is the first person his sister tells about her sexuality and is very supportive to her after she does. |
| 127 | * DeadpanSnarker: About 80% of his dialogue is sarcastic quips. |
| 128 | * HiddenDepths: Despite appearing very superficial and materialistic at first, Alex is actually extremely caring and insightful. He is also shown to know more about his family than he lets on, and able to call many of his relatives out for what they have done and not actually having a hard time in admitting his mistakes. |
| 129 | * InnocentlyInsensitive: He accidentally causes Lydia to remember her lost sister Blanca by calling her the oldest sister, however, nobody knew about her existence, since Lydia doesn't like to talk about it. |
| 130 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's sarcastic and self-involved, but he dearly loves his family, and is, overall, a good kid. |
| 131 | * LamarckWasRight: He shares more traits with his grandmother than anyone else on the family. |
| 132 | * OneHeadTaller: By season 4, Alex has grown to be 5'9", towering over Penelope (5'1"), Elena (5'3"), and Lydia (5'2"). |
| 133 | * OnlySaneMan: Alex is pretty much the least eccentric member of the family, being a fairly down to earth person and capable of playing this to his family. |
| 134 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness "The Turn" has the normally chill Alex lash out at his family for "being too Cuban" while cheering for him at a baseball game. The second half of the episode reveals why: [[spoiler: He's been facing racism at school and while out with his friends, making him resent his ethnicity.]] |
| 135 | * PrettyBoy: Alex is good-looking, and just gets more handsome as he grows older... and he ''knows'' it. From the beginning of the show he's almost as vain as Lydia. |
| 136 | * TheStoner: He spends most of Season 3 grounded after getting caught vaping pot. Lydia's horrified reaction is enough to scare him off it for good. |
| 137 | * StrangeMindsThinkAlike: Shares a sense of vanity with his grandmother Lydia. |
| 138 | * VocalEvolution: His voice gets deeper with each passing season, due to both the actor and the character going through puberty. |
| 139 | * WiseBeyondTheirYears: He's shallow and has an age-appropriate desire to fit in, but he shows a surprising amount of maturity and levelheadedness on a number of subjects, such as Elena's sexuality, the idea of having a gun in the house, and his mom dating again. |
| 140 | [[/folder]] |
| 141 | |
| 142 | [[folder: Elena]] |
| 143 | !!Elena Maria Alvarez Riera Calderón Leytevidal Inclan |
| 144 | [[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/elena_84.jpg]] |
| 145 | [[caption-width-right:310:''"You called him a typical cisgendered male. I have never been more proud."'']] |
| 146 | |
| 147 | ->'''Played By:''' Creator/IsabellaGomez |
| 148 | |
| 149 | ->''"We'll do the whole thing. The ceremony, the stupid waltz... We're gonna show them what single mothers can pull off. I will dress like a child bride for you, Mom."'' |
| 150 | |
| 151 | Penelope's intelligent and socially active daughter. She is a nerdy and dorky girl who loves video-games and being socially active in a plethora of causes. |
| 152 | ---- |
| 153 | * AffectionateNickname: At one point gets called "mamita" by Penelope, but this wasn't a nickname like "papito" is for Alex; instead, Elena's is "blanquita". It lovingly mocks the fact she's lighter-skinned than her brother and mother. |
| 154 | * AllLesbiansWantKids: Defied. When Alex talks about having nieces and nephews through Elena and Syd, Elena says that she doesn’t plan to have kids. Although, she does talk about wanting to have cats. |
| 155 | * BreakTheCutie: Victor rejecting her just about breaks her heart. |
| 156 | -->'''Elena:''' You taught me a really valuable lesson. Just because I'm gay, people will hate me without knowing anything else about me. I always knew that was part of the deal. I just never expected it from my own father. Now I know not to expect the best from anyone. So, thanks, I guess. |
| 157 | * ButchLesbian: Downplayed. She doesn't have the short-hair-boots-and-leather look, but she's a lesbian who dislikes typically feminine things, to the point that her dress to her Quinces was turned into a pantsuit. She even calls herself this when she gets a summer job as maintenance in their building. |
| 158 | * ButNotTooBlack: A Latina version. In "The Turn", after Alex is sent home for hitting a racist classmate, Elena points out how lucky she's been to not have been called racial slurs before, until Penelope points out that it's because she has lighter ("Wonder Bread") skin. Elena freaks out over the realization that she's been passing for white, and had been unknowingly reaping its benefits. She laments how she'll live her whole life without being oppressed the way her darker skinned family does, but Penelope reminds her that oppression is not the main goal, but peace and equality. |
| 159 | * CallingTheOldManOut: When Victor shows up again in season 2, she is first heartbroken and runs away, but by then, she seeks him out in his apartment and tells him she doesn't care for him anymore, telling him how much what he pulled in her Quinces severely hurt her, mentioning to have even went through weight loss because of him. |
| 160 | * ComingOutStory: Over the course of season one. She first mentions to be attracted to girls when alone, not knowing Alex has just heard her, and he accidentally lets that slip to Schneider. She then comes out to her mom when she tries to give her TheTalk and later, to her grandma, who quickly accepts her. She lastly comes out to her father, which doesn't goes so well. |
| 161 | * DoesNotLikeMen: Elena is capable of having male friends, but has reacted to many, including Alex, with hostility because her first assumption is AllMenArePerverts. |
| 162 | * FatalFlaw: Her lack of moderation. Elena takes an "all or nothing" approach to what she does, whether it's tests, activism, playing video games, being a lesbian, or ''relaxing''. While this drive to succeed helps her sometimes, it also causes her to burn herself out and take losses too hard. |
| 163 | * GoneHorriblyRight: In the season two finale, she explains why she doesn't speak Spanish very well. [[spoiler:As a kid, she was actually fluent, but one day, when Lydia was yelling at her in Spanish, Elena faked not being able to understand her in the hopes of shutting her up. Between Lydia's lack of English fluency and Elena's refusal to speak Spanish the two stopped talking, which suited Elena just fine at the time, since it gave her an out from Lydia's constant criticism. Except over the years, she forgot how to speak Spanish ''for real'', and she now severely regrets it, because it made communicating with Lydia much harder.]] |
| 164 | * HollywoodHomely: She looks great even when portrayed as gross and unbathed but is somehow supposed to be much less attractive than Alex. |
| 165 | * HonorBeforeReason: Elena puts her ideals before anything else, which often includes throwing away opportunities and going head to head against her family, [[InnocentlyInsensitive often ignoring how they feel about it]]. This is particularly true when she throws away the opportunity to participate on a writing competition because she doesn't want to be viewed as the minority entry, despite being something that can even get her in an Ivy League College if she does well. |
| 166 | * HypocriticalHumor: "Hypocritical" is probably too strong of a word, but Elena supports so many various social causes, occasionally they'll conflict and she'll find herself defending ''both'' sides of a debate (most commonly in a struggle between asserting pride in her Latina heritage while also finding it a bit more conservative than her more progressive ideals would prefer.) "The Death of Mrs. Resnick" is a good specific example. After Penelope states her belief that a DoubleStandard makes something like buying a car easier for a man and considers it "husband work," Elena... who had previously stated the family shouldn't get a replacement car for environmental reasons... suddenly shifted gears and insisted Penelope ''must'' get a new car for feminist reasons. |
| 167 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: To say Elena's tongue is sharp is like saying the Sahara is hot. Her devotion to political correctness, and usual assumption that she has the moral or factual high ground can often make her forget to consider other people's feelings. That said, it comes from a place of genuinely wanting to do the right thing, and her care for her loved ones often shines through. |
| 168 | * LikeMotherLikeDaughter: She has some similar traits and ticks to her mother, like the two of them having moments of anxiety attacks. |
| 169 | * NerdGlasses: She always wears thick black square glasses, which emphasize her intelligence. See ProudToBeAGeek. |
| 170 | * ProudToBeAGeek: She doesn't hide her geeky and nerdy interests in video games and series, including cosplaying as ''Series/DoctorWho'' to Comic-Con. She even tries to become a streamer on Twitch. |
| 171 | * NoSocialSkills: Doesn't have friends at school because of her exaggerated SoapboxSadie tendencies. Her poor social skills nearly sabotage her relationship with Syd almost straight out of the gate. Her cousin Pilar even makes note of this at her aunt's funeral when Elena greets her and immediately brings up how she's gay. |
| 172 | * NotSoAboveItAll: When Alex is trying on his suit for the school dance and telling the family about how he made a big ask for his date, Elena expresses how thankful she is that Syd wouldn't make a huge deal about such a superficial event. Cue Syd knocking at the door to sing and dance their heart out as a way to ask Elena to the dance, to which Elena excitedly accepts. Alex [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this by pointing out that just two minutes ago Elena had been commenting on how superficial the concept of "big asks" to school dances are. |
| 173 | * NotWantingKidsIsWeird: Penelope jokes that Elena can use her quinces photos to one day scare her own children and Elena immediately says she's not having kids. Penelope drops that topic for another day. |
| 174 | * PseudoRomanticFriendship: Double-subverted. Elena and her best friend Carmen are close -- really close. Close enough that Lydia begins to suspect they're a couple. They're not. Later the family learns Elena really ''is'' a lesbian -- but still, not for Carmen. |
| 175 | * SharedFamilyQuirks: |
| 176 | ** After finishing a bag of cheetos, she likes to open it up and lick off the remaining dust on the inside like her mother and grandmother. |
| 177 | ** When she starts having anxiety attacks in season 3, she can be calmed down in the same way that her mother Penelope: by being shown pictures of dogs in wigs. Similarly, the two don't react well to cute pictures of fat babies because they worry about their health. |
| 178 | * SoapboxSadie: Is ''very'' zealous about her beliefs, to the extent it's implied she drives away a lot of people. However it comes from a good place and she serves as the philosophical centre of the family. |
| 179 | * SpicyLatina: She may not play to the stereotype, but Elena is a Latina with a ''nasty'' temper. When something has upset her, not even her loved ones are safe from being on the wrong end of a tantrum. |
| 180 | * TheirFirstTime: [[spoiler:In Season Three, she and Syd have sex for the first time. It's Elena's first time, period, but not Syd's. After some initial fumbling and a minor freakout, it goes extremely well and Elena has a good experience.]] |
| 181 | * TheUnfavorite: |
| 182 | ** Played for laughs in regards to both Lydia and Penelope. It's a lot more blatant with Lydia, who makes no effort to hide the fact that Alex is her favorite, but Penelope too is far more likely to dismiss or outright ignore Elena for the sake of a quick gag (even though it's more downplayed). Despite that, both Lydia and Penelope have plenty of moments during the series where they show how much they love Elena -- and Alex and Elena actually have an excellent relationship; they often bicker, but always have each other's backs. |
| 183 | ** It's played for drama with Victor, who not only gets along better with Alex while treating Elena like she's still five years old, but doesn't accept her sexuality. When she learns that Victor had kept contact with Alex after he had ceased to do the same with her, Elena almost stops talking with Alex altogether. At least until she finds out that Alex has been CallingTheOldManOut for how he treated Elena. |
| 184 | [[/folder]] |
| 185 | !Family Friends |
| 186 | [[folder: Schneider]] |
| 187 | !!Pat Schneider |
| 188 | [[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2017_01_05_odaat02.jpg]] |
| 189 | [[caption-width-right:310:''"My band, Full Sail, plays Yacht Rock!"'']] |
| 190 | |
| 191 | ->'''Played By:''' Creator/ToddGrinnell |
| 192 | |
| 193 | ->''"Love isn't even real. It's just something your nanny says sometimes to your dad."'' |
| 194 | |
| 195 | The Alvarezes' landlord. The ditzy and eccentric son of a wealthy family taking care of the building for his family, since he couldn't find a job. Considers himself part of the family. |
| 196 | ---- |
| 197 | * AdaptationalAttractiveness: The original Schneider wasn't nearly as attractive as Todd Grinnell, who is even used as a MrFanservice every now and then and ReallyGetsAround, instead of being just a CasanovaWannabe like the original character. |
| 198 | * AmbiguouslyBi: He is mainly seen dating women, but shows what may be an attraction to Penelope's boyfriend Max in Season Two. He also proposes to Penelope and Max for them to "Netflix and chill" together, as well as deciding to hang out with a guy that shows up when Penelope tries online dating. |
| 199 | -->'''Schneider:''' I've seen [Max] on Instagram. He seems like a super cool dude. Great abs!\ |
| 200 | '''Penelope:'''... I know, right! |
| 201 | * BigScrewedUpFamily: He has a neglectful father who casually heaped on emotional abuse, and a laundry list of unstable stepmothers who were mostly his ex-nannies. It's briefly implies he was often used in the middle of disputes between his parents and had to be raised by several servants. He briefly mentions in "Not Yet" that the first person to actually kiss him on the forehead was Lydia. |
| 202 | * BirdsOfAFeather: Schneider's love interest, Avery, in Season 3 is pretty much his DistaffCounterpart: An obscenely wealthy, dorky hipster who tries too hard to be liked. |
| 203 | * {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: He's rather odd. |
| 204 | -->'''Penelope:''' Can I confess something dark to you? |
| 205 | -->'''Schneider:''' When you eat sushi, you sometimes imagine the fish screaming? |
| 206 | * TheConfidant: Penelope trusts him with information she hardly trusts the rest of her family, often going to him before the family. Against all odds, he is often capable of setting her straight when she gets way over her head, starts coming up with crazy plans or is doing something she clearly shouldn't. |
| 207 | * DreadfulMusician: It's unclear if it's just his voice alone or because [[ItMakesSenseInContext he was doing a pirate impression]] at the time, but his "Yacht Rock" singing leaves much to be desired. |
| 208 | * DropInLandlord: He's the landlord, although of similar age to Penelope. His lonely, wealthy upbringing contrasts him with the warm, working-class Alvarez family, and he frequently drops in because he sees them as family. |
| 209 | * EmbarrassingFirstName: Well, [[spoiler:Pat]] isn't so bad, but he apparently doesn't like it. |
| 210 | * EveryoneHasStandards: When one of Penelope’s married coworkers gets drunk at a party and starts hitting on him, he‘s quite uncomfortable with her advances and refuses to take part in her drunken behavior. |
| 211 | * FamilyOfChoice: Schneider considers the Alvarez more his family than any of his blood related relatives, not really hiding the fact he prefers them over his family, since they are actually warm and loving towards him [[spoiler:and that Lydia helped him through his rehab]]. When Avery shows up to reconcile with him and mentions Lydia called her about it, he gets stuck on the fact that Lydia referred to him as an Alvarez. |
| 212 | * {{Hipster}}: Schneider has an assortment of niche hobbies and interests which he funds with his family's money. |
| 213 | * HiredHelpAsFamily: Schneider's rich father was distant, and he was mostly raised by a string of nannies, at least one of which went on to become his stepmother. He does not view this in a positive light at all. |
| 214 | * IdleRich: Schneider is rarely seen doing actual work despite his job as the building manager. His time is mostly spent hanging out with the Alvarezes, sleeping around, and doing outlandish, hipster-y hobbies. |
| 215 | * LastNameBasis: Everyone calls him Schneider. In "Citizen Lydia", his first name on the citizenship application form is smudged to the point of illegibility, forcing the official to solely identify him by his last name. Late in Season 3 we finally learn his first name under suitably dramatic circumstances: [[spoiler:after falling off the wagon he goes to AA and introduces himself with "Hi, my name is Pat."]] |
| 216 | * LikeBrotherAndSister: How he sees his relationship with Penelope, with her as the big sister and him as the little brother. |
| 217 | * LonelyRichKid: It's heavily implied he spent his childhood very alone, having the help raise him. |
| 218 | * LovableSexManiac: Schneider is a genuinely kindhearted man who also ReallyGetsAround and will get DistractedByTheSexy. |
| 219 | %% * LadykillerInLove: Dates, and genuinely falls for, a woman named Avery in Season 3. |
| 220 | * {{Manchild}}: Is close in age with Penelope, but is more immature. |
| 221 | * MrFanservice: He really gets around with women despite being an awkward, WhiteGuilt-ridden man, has a number of shirtless scenes, and even Penelope thinks he is very attractive when he dresses up for the season 1 finale. |
| 222 | * NiceGuy: He occasionally gets on others nerves and is overly sensitive of his WhiteGuilt but he is technically a loyal and well-meaning guy. |
| 223 | * OffTheWagon: [[spoiler:Returns to alcoholism after his father's visit.]] |
| 224 | * ParentalSubstitute: Despite being a brother figure for Penelope, Schneider occupies an almost father-like role for Alex and Elena. He gives them advice, supports their interests, and is just as protective of them as Pen and Lydia are. |
| 225 | %% * PlatonicLifePartners: With Penelope. |
| 226 | * ReallyGetsAround: He sleeps around a lot, with several different women, once even including a mother of one of Alex's friends (whom Penelope particularly dislikes). |
| 227 | * RecoveredAddict: Schneider has a long history of substance abuse, particularly alcohol, admitting to have gone through rehab four times before finally being able to quit drinking [[spoiler:with Lydia's help]]. |
| 228 | * TheTeetotaler: Is self-aware enough to know that he has to completely abstain from alcoholic beverages in order to keep from backsliding. |
| 229 | * TheThingThatWouldNotLeave: He lets himself into the Alvarez apartment and makes himself at home on a daily basis. It's a testament to how strongly he considers them his family. |
| 230 | * TokenWhite: The only main character to not be of Latin heritage. In addition to his wealth, this is constantly used to showcase how much more privileged he is than the Alvarez family. |
| 231 | %%* WhiteGuilt |
| 232 | [[/folder]] |
| 233 | |
| 234 | [[folder: Dr. Berkowitz]] |
| 235 | !!Dr. Leslie Berkowitz |
| 236 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/StephenTobolowsky |
| 237 | |
| 238 | ->''"Oh, sorry, I thought this room was empty. This is usually where I come to cry."'' |
| 239 | |
| 240 | Penelope's boss, who develops an attraction to Lydia. |
| 241 | ---- |
| 242 | * AllLoveIsUnrequited: Lydia cares very much about him, and they're close friends, but she's still carrying a torch for Berto, and Leslie accepts that. |
| 243 | * BenevolentBoss: He's very kind to his employees, to the point of being a walkover, and is Penelope's friend as well as her boss. |
| 244 | * EmbarrassingFirstName: Leslie, which Lydia is amused by. |
| 245 | * ExtremeDoormat: Berkowitz has trouble saying no to people and in general doesn't have much of a backbone. It's the only reason he hired a ditz like Lori and a dudebro like Scott. |
| 246 | * JewishAndNerdy: A dorky doctor of Jewish lineage. |
| 247 | * NerdyNasalness: His nasally voice only emphasizes his awkward nature. |
| 248 | * NiceGuy: Really, the worst thing you can say about him is that he can't stand up for himself to save his life. He's a genuinely friendly and affable dude. |
| 249 | * PhraseCatcher: Penelope says "Doc, what are you doing here?" many times in Season One upon finding him in the apartment. |
| 250 | [[/folder]] |
| 251 | |
| 252 | |
| 253 | [[folder: Carmen]] |
| 254 | !!Carmen |
| 255 | [[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/carmen_9.jpg]] |
| 256 | [[caption-width-right:310:''"She made me cry a lot, I loved it."'']] |
| 257 | |
| 258 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/ArielaBarer |
| 259 | |
| 260 | ->''"Your mom's kind of mean. I'm obsessed with her."'' |
| 261 | |
| 262 | Elena's best friend. Her parents are Mexican immigrants who get deported in season one. |
| 263 | ---- |
| 264 | * BackForTheFinale: For the season 1 finale, Schneider and Lydia work secretly to get her to Elena's quinces. He buys her tickets while Lydia teaches her how to dance and she comes to the party as Alex's dance partner. |
| 265 | * EmotionlessGirl: Carmen doesn't emote very much and speaks in a deadpan tone. Besides that, she's actually quite friendly and polite. |
| 266 | * {{Goth}}: Of the gloomy variety, with a constant emotionless face and some cynic views on concepts such as love. |
| 267 | * HeterosexualLifePartners: Elena's a lesbian, but other than that, she and Carmen fit this trope like a glove. They're extremely close and would do anything for one another. |
| 268 | * HiddenDepths: Carmen hides the fact that she is actually a very friendly and polite girl, who is just going through a really hard time. In spite of her emotionless demeanor and deadpan voice, she is a good friend and a nice person. |
| 269 | * IAmTheNoun: "I am the immigration project". |
| 270 | * MistakenForGay: Lydia sees how close she and Elena are and assumes they're "queer." Turns out, Carmen has a boyfriend and is simply Elena's best friend. ''Elena'', however... |
| 271 | * ParentalAbandonment: ''Not'' by choice. Her parents are undocumented immigrants, and were deported when they went across the border to find a doctor who didn't need paperwork they didn't have. When this happens, they instruct Carmen to go to Austin to live with her brother, and are still in contact with their children despite the situation. |
| 272 | * PutOnABus: Moves to Texas to live with her older brother after their parents are deported. She however still makes some appearances in the show by skyping Elena, but disappears for a fact in season 2. |
| 273 | * SpicyLatina: Inverted. She's Mexican-American, but "spicy" is probably the last word you could use to describe her personality. |
| 274 | * TooKinkyToTorture: Non-sexual example, but she loves it when Penelope snarks at her, and when Lydia yells at her so much, she cries. |
| 275 | [[/folder]] |
| 276 | |
| 277 | [[folder: Syd]] |
| 278 | !!Syd |
| 279 | [[quoteright:176:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/syd_2x03.png]] |
| 280 | [[caption-width-right:176:''"Oh, cool! Me gay too!"'']] |
| 281 | |
| 282 | ->'''Played By:''' Sheridan Pierce |
| 283 | |
| 284 | ->''"Hey, uh, do you want to split a cookie?"'' |
| 285 | |
| 286 | A nerdy and upbeat non-binary person who uses they/them pronouns. They become Elena's first significant other as the two meet in a group protesting against gender representation in a video game. |
| 287 | ---- |
| 288 | * FriendlessBackground: They are home schooled, resulting in having no one to talk to most of the time and no way to make friends, with the sole exception of their pet chinchilla, which they still consider to be a "mean girl". |
| 289 | * HasAType: Mentions to have a type and a thing for Selena Gomez. Considering that their girlfriend and Gomez share Latin heritage, they might have a thing for Latina women. |
| 290 | * HiddenDepths: While preparing for her first time having sex, Elena is shocked to discover Syd is actually experienced with it, leaving her much more insecure about going through with it. |
| 291 | * HomeschooledKids: They're homeschooled, and are quite socially awkward, though only slightly more so than Elena. |
| 292 | -->'''Syd:''' ...We need more friends. |
| 293 | * InsecureLoveInterest: Starts to think Elena doesn't even ''like'' them at one point thanks to her poor social skills. |
| 294 | * NerdyNasalness: Syd has a nasally voice and is a huge geek. [[ProudToBeAGeek And proud of it!]] |
| 295 | * NiceGuy: Or Nice Person, to be accurate. They're very cheerful, kindhearted, and likable. |
| 296 | * NoSocialSkills: Syd is generally quite dorky, and even nerdier than their girlfriend. |
| 297 | * PreviouslyOverlookedParamour: Syd is introduced among a group of feminist gamers that Elena brings home. At that point, Elena harbors a crush on a girl named Dani and spends the episode thinking on how and if to make a move, ending with Dani revealing she already has a girlfriend, at which point, Syd -- who had been a background character up until then -- makes a move on Elena and they start dating. |
| 298 | * PronounTrouble: In Season 3 Elena decides she should come up with another term than "girlfriend" to match Syd's non-binary status. They eventually settle on [[spoiler: [[{{Pun}} Syd]]nificant Other]]. |
| 299 | [[/folder]] |
| 300 | |
| 301 | [[folder:Jill]] |
| 302 | !!Jill Riley |
| 303 | |
| 304 | ->'''Played by:''' Haneefah Wood |
| 305 | |
| 306 | ->''"I am in this women veteran's group. Lots of swearing, you'd love it."'' |
| 307 | |
| 308 | A car saleswoman, who befriends Penelope and invites her to join a group therapy for former army women. |
| 309 | ---- |
| 310 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: She is far more bad ass and has more attitude than Penelope, which makes the latter quiver in fear of negotiating with her. She turns out to be very nice and approachable. |
| 311 | * HonestJohnsDealership: Subverted. Penelope expects to be dealing with one of these when she buys a new car, but Jill is kind, compassionate, and honest, and winds up being Penelope's friend. |
| 312 | * MistakenForGay: When she brings Penelope to her therapy group the first time, Penelope tells the family she's going on a date. When Penelope comes home, they ask how it went...Then Jill walks in, as Penelope had left her phone in the car. HilarityEnsues. |
| 313 | [[/folder]] |
| 314 | |
| 315 | [[folder:Ramona]] |
| 316 | !!Ramona |
| 317 | ->'''Played By:''' Creator/JudyReyes |
| 318 | |
| 319 | Another member of Penelope's therapy group. |
| 320 | ---- |
| 321 | * BrutalHonesty: She doesn't mince her words, and is usually quick to get to the crux of a matter. Especially when the crux of a matter is, "Penelope, you're being stupid." This makes her ''extremely'' effective when giving advice. |
| 322 | * ButchLesbian: She's gay, and is a tough, no-nonsense woman. |
| 323 | * MentorInQueerness: An unusual case, as she's not mentoring Elena; she mentors Penelope, when the latter has questions relating to Elena's sexuality. Ramona considers herself Penelope's "lesbian Yoda." |
| 324 | -->'''Penelope:''' It's so nice to see you.\ |
| 325 | '''Ramona:''' Uh-huh. ''[beat]'' What's wrong with Elena?\ |
| 326 | '''Penelope:''' What? Nothing. I just wanted to hang outside of group. It's been a while since--\ |
| 327 | '''Penelope:''' --the last time you wanted to know lesbian stuff about Elena. That's the only reason you call. |
| 328 | * {{Pyromaniac}}: PlayedForLaughs; she'll suggest setting things on fire at the slightest provocation. It's implied she's an arsonist on record. In one therapy session, Pam happily announces it's been a whole two years since Ramona's set anything on fire. |
| 329 | * ShellShockedVeteran: She and Penelope actually met in a support group for female veterans with PTSD. Ramona is particularly triggered by fireworks, since it reminds her of gunshots. |
| 330 | -->'''Ramona:''' The other day, a kid threw a snap at me. Before I knew it, I had him in a headlock. ''[beat]'' Now, the judge says I gotta clean some parks. |
| 331 | [[/folder]] |
| 332 | |
| 333 | [[folder:Max]] |
| 334 | !!Max Ferraro |
| 335 | -> '''Played By:''' Creator/EdQuinn |
| 336 | |
| 337 | An EMT who is an old acquaintance of Penelope's from their time in the military. They start dating when they start working in the same place. |
| 338 | ---- |
| 339 | * EvenTheGuysWantHim: [[AmbiguouslyBi Schneider]] shows an immense appreciation of his muscular physique, mentioning to have scrolled through his Instagram to see more of him and even tries to get closer to him. Even ''Elena'', a lesbian, acknowledges how hot he is. |
| 340 | * CelebrityResemblance: According to Penelope, he looks like a buff Creator/BradleyCooper. |
| 341 | * {{Foil}}: To Victor. He is another former military man interested in Penelope and who already knew her, however, Max is a NiceGuy who doesn't have the same issues as the ones that broke Victor and Penelope up. |
| 342 | * HugeGuyTinyGirl: He is much taller than Penelope (he's 6'4", she's 5'1"), to the point that she actually stands in a chair to make out with him when they are standing up. |
| 343 | * NiceGuy: He's a charming, kind, nice guy who is perfectly willing to put up with the Alvarez family and their shenanigans and very understanding towards Penelope. |
| 344 | * SecretRelationship: Penelope desperately hide him so as to her family not find out she is already dating someone else. |
| 345 | * SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Played for laughs. In an episode, Max, Dr. Berkowitz and Schneider are all together with the family, Max outdoes every other guy in the house with his masculine looks, making Lydia say he is the only actual man in the house, with the other two take offense on. |
| 346 | * TallDarkAndHandsome: Specifically tall. He is noticeably taller than everyone else introduced so far. Outside of that he is an incredibly handsome man with dark hair. |
| 347 | [[/folder]] |
| 348 | |
| 349 | |
| 350 | !Other Family Members |
| 351 | [[folder: Victor]] |
| 352 | !!Victor Alvarez |
| 353 | ->'''Played By:''' Creator/JamesMartinez |
| 354 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/victor_3.jpg]] |
| 355 | [[caption-width-right:350:"I can't even imagine making this girl mad at me."]] |
| 356 | Penelope's now ex-husband and the father of Elena and Alex. A former military who is resisting treating his PTSD, which caused Penelope to leave him. |
| 357 | |
| 358 | He also has a estranged relationship with Elena as of season 2, as he can't accept her sexuality. |
| 359 | ---- |
| 360 | * BitchInSheepsClothing: Appears to be a caring father to Alex and Elena and still care for Penelope, even if the separation kept him from seeing them. He turns out to have been lying to Penelope about getting sober and is very aggressive towards her in his refusal to get help. He also abandons Elena's quinceañera, right before the father-daughter dance, due to his refusal to accept her coming out to him. Season Two reveals he hasn't spoken to either Elena or Lupe in the months following, but has with Alex, both of them justifying it as easier since Lupe and Elena "both hate him anyway". |
| 361 | * CharacterDevelopment: In Season 3 he's finally come around on Elena being gay, and it turns out the only reason he's taken so long to actually apologize is that he wants to do it in front of the entire family at his wedding so there can be no doubt he means it. |
| 362 | * CrazyJealousGuy: While they are divorcing, he is not okay with the idea of another man taking his place both as Penelope's lover and a father figure to his children, reacting very harshly to Penelope saying that she is dating someone and immediately antagonizing Schneider when he shows up. |
| 363 | * DeliberateValuesDissonance: His reaction to Elena's sexuality, particularly how he claims that "being gay is cool now" and calling it "just a phase" are things that are considered outdated and homophobic to the highest degree by the youngest generations, causing them to view him as a person out of touch with today's youth and society. |
| 364 | * DrivenToSuicide: It's implied in "Hold, Please" that Victor almost killed himself before. In "Hurricane Victor", Penelope remembers that during their time together, Victor's PTSD often caused him to nearly kill himself, possibly more than once, including one time that he woke up their children to tell them he was going to kill himself. |
| 365 | * ExactWords: He says that he is better and in a program, which he justifies as not lying because he is better and it is a program, even if it is one that he made up. Predictably, nobody sides with him on this, and Penelope still considers it lying. |
| 366 | * {{Foil}}: To Penelope. He embodies what she could have become if she let her pride keep her from getting help with her depression and PTSD. While she is a present mother, he settles in Afghanistan again to set up a business there. Another major difference is how they deal with how uncomfortable they are with Elena's sexuality; while Penelope dislikes the fact she is uncomfortable with it, she decides the most important thing is to support Elena, while Victor storms out and abandons her. |
| 367 | * HasAType: His fiance Nicole is an almost literal copy of Penelope. |
| 368 | * HeteronormativeCrusader: He has a serious problem with Elena being gay, at first thinking it's a phase and that she doesn't know what she's talking about, to then treating it as some sort of great shame that should be kept secret. |
| 369 | * NeverMyFault: In season two, he sticks a lot of the blame on his and Elena's estrangement on Elena and Penelope, making excuses for the fact that he walked out on Elena's quinces and then proceeded to ignore her for a year. |
| 370 | * NewOldFlame: He and Penelope have BelligerentSexualTension when he returns for Elena's quinces, although it cools off fast when she realizes he had been lying about his sobriety. |
| 371 | * ParentalNeglect: In Season One, he is still overseas and contacting the kids is hard. In Season Two, he keeps contact with Alex but not with Elena, due to his inability to accept her sexuality. |
| 372 | * ShellShockedVeteran: His addictions are a result of his PTSD, and the resulting problems they combined caused are why Penelope leaves him. |
| 373 | [[/folder]] |
| 374 | |
| 375 | [[folder:Berto]] |
| 376 | !!Berto Riera |
| 377 | |
| 378 | -->'''Played By:''' Creator/TonyPlana |
| 379 | |
| 380 | Lydia's deceased husband and Penelope's father. A loving and romantic man who shared Lydia's passionate personality. |
| 381 | ---- |
| 382 | * HappilyMarried: Before his death, he and Lydia were happily married, and loved each other even well into their old age and beyond. |
| 383 | * LatinLover: He was a passionate Cuban, with a charming way that enchanted Lydia when they met. Lydia was never shy about their passionate love making, including mentioning that more than once they had sex in a park. |
| 384 | * TheLostLenore: Lydia still grieves his death and is still in love with him. Even ''talking'' with him every now and then. |
| 385 | * PosthumousCharacter: He died several years ago, but Lydia talks about him, ''to'' him, and daydreams about him. He shows up in flashbacks and dreams. |
| 386 | [[/folder]] |
| 387 | |
| 388 | [[folder:Mirtha]] |
| 389 | !!Mirtha |
| 390 | |
| 391 | -->'''Played By:''' Music/GloriaEstefan |
| 392 | |
| 393 | Lydia's younger sister, with whom she has held a longstanding feud. Also the mother of Estrellita, Penelope's childhood best friend. |
| 394 | ---- |
| 395 | * SiblingRivalry: She and Lydia are always trying to outdo each other. |
| 396 | * SitcomArchnemesis: Lydia has a very overblown and antagonistic rivalry with her, and often cites her with seething anger. |
| 397 | * TheTopicOfCancer: PlayedForLaughs, she had a cancer scare and uses this to get a leg up in small talk. |
| 398 | [[/folder]] |
| 399 | |
| 400 | |
| 401 | [[folder:Tito]] |
| 402 | !!Tito Riera |
| 403 | |
| 404 | -->'''Played By:''' Creator/DannyPino |
| 405 | |
| 406 | Penelope's younger brother. A wealthy traveling businessman who only rarely gets to see his family. |
| 407 | ---- |
| 408 | * CoolUncle: Alex and Elena are excited at the prospect of spending time with him, and he's wealthy, so he's willing to treat them to expensive things. |
| 409 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Downplayed. He's charming and suave, he obviously loves his family very much, and he's overall an affable and easygoing guy who gets along with everyone... but he's also rather self-centered and tends to back out of situations that make him uncomfortable, without thinking about how others might feel. |
| 410 | * MamasBoy: Lydia dotes on him, fawning over his every action, and he clearly adores her in return. |
| 411 | * RememberTheNewGuy: Despite the heavy focus on the Alvarez family dynamics and several family events where his presence as Penelope's brother would have been expected, he goes unmentioned until his first appearance in season 3. He is called out for his distance in his debut. |
| 412 | * SiblingRivalry: It's nowhere near as bad as with Lydia and Mirtha, as he and Penelope are perfectly capable of being civil to each other and even have moments of genuine sibling fondness and understanding... but they don't get along very well. They rarely see each other, and when they do they do a lot of passive-aggressive sniping at each other, each one insisting that the other is Lydia's favorite. |
| 413 | [[/folder]] |
| 414 | |
| 415 | [[folder:Pilar]] |
| 416 | !!Pilar |
| 417 | -->'''Played By:''' Creator/StephanieBeatriz |
| 418 | |
| 419 | A member of the extended family. |
| 420 | ---- |
| 421 | * ButchLesbian: While all the other women at Tia Ofelia's funeral wear fancy black dresses, Pilar wears a black work shirt and pants. |
| 422 | * MentorInQueerness: Zigzagged; Elena hopes to coax her out of the closet, but Pilar reveals that she's actually been out and in a relationship for some time, and gives ''Elena'' much-needed advice about being a gay woman. |
| 423 | * OpenSecret: She's actually out to the whole family; they're just conservative enough to never bring it up or conveniently "forget" it. |
| 424 | |
| 425 | [[/folder]] |
| 426 | |
| 427 | [[folder:Estrellita]] |
| 428 | !!Estrellita |
| 429 | -->'''Played By:''' Creator/MelissaFumero |
| 430 | ---- |
| 431 | |
| 432 | Mirtha's daughter and Penelope's childhood best friend. |
| 433 | |
| 434 | [[/folder]] |
| 435 | |
| 436 | !Others |
| 437 | [[folder: Nikki]] |
| 438 | !!Nikki |
| 439 | |
| 440 | -->'''Played By:''' Jolie Jenkins |
| 441 | |
| 442 | The mother of one of Alex's friends. |
| 443 | ---- |
| 444 | * ChildHater: Ironically, being a mother, but she avoids being near kids whenever possible. |
| 445 | * DumbBlonde: On overhearing Penelope and Mateo speaking Spanish, she calls it their "cute little secret language". |
| 446 | * FriendsWithBenefits: With Schneider, whom she sleeps with but emotionally neglects. |
| 447 | * {{Jerkass}}: A self-centered, two-faced woman who gleefully uses others for her own ends. |
| 448 | [[/folder]] |
| 449 | |
| 450 | [[folder: Josh]] |
| 451 | !!Josh Flores |
| 452 | |
| 453 | -->'''Played By:''' Froy Guiterez |
| 454 | |
| 455 | A popular boy who goes to school with Alex and Elena. Elena asks him to escort her at her quinces, mainly to get Lydia off her back -- and is completely floored when he actually agrees. |
| 456 | ---- |
| 457 | |
| 458 | * TheBeard: At first unwittingly, then willingly, escorts the lesbian Elena to her quinces to ward off homophobia. |
| 459 | * EvenTheGuysWantHim: Alex is very openly admiring of him, and seems ''way'' more into him than Elena is. |
| 460 | * IncompatibleOrientation: Dating him is part of what helps Elena come to terms with the fact that she's a lesbian. Josh is remarkably cool with this development. |
| 461 | * LastHetRomance: To Elena. Also her ''first'' het romance, but who's counting? |
| 462 | * LovableJock: He's a popular athlete, and is such a great guy that Elena's [[NoSparks lack of feelings]] for him convinces her that she's gay, since she feels that she would be attracted to him if she were straight. |
| 463 | * NiceGuy: Not only is his crush on nerdy, unpopular Elena 100% genuine, he also handles her coming out extremely well, and is still more than happy to escort her at her quinces. |
| 464 | * NoSparks: Elena attempts to force an attraction to him, since he's objectively great; cute, smart, and kindhearted. But she just doesn't feel it. [[ButchLesbian Hmmm...]] |
| 465 | * SingleGirlSeeksMostPopularGuy: Inverted. He's an extremely popular athlete that has a crush on Elena, who's mostly a loner. |
| 466 | |
| 467 | [[/folder]] |
| 468 | |
| 469 | [[folder: Avery]] |
| 470 | !!Avery |
| 471 | |
| 472 | -->'''Played By:''' India de Beaufort |
| 473 | |
| 474 | Schneider's girlfriend, whom he meets in season 3. |
| 475 | ---- |
| 476 | * BirdsOfAFeather: Both she and Schneider are rich hipsters. |
| 477 | * CastingGag: Schneider's season 3 love interest, played by his actor Todd Grinnell's real-life wife. |
| 478 | * HugeGuyTinyGirl: Not to the extent of Penelope and Max, but Avery is 5'3" and Schneider is 6'2" ([[DownplayedTrope though it's a lot less noticeable because Avery wears heels most of the time]]). |
| 479 | * SecretlyWealthy: She reveals herself to be ''extremely'' wealthy despite coming off as normal at first. |
| 480 | [[/folder]] |
| 481 | |
| 482 | [[folder:Nicole]] |
| 483 | !!Nicole |
| 484 | |
| 485 | -->'''Played By:''' Gloria Calderón Kellett |
| 486 | |
| 487 | Victor's new wife, as of the end of season 3. |
| 488 | ---- |
| 489 | * DescendedCreator: Played by one of the show's creators. Everyone noticed her resemblance to Justina Machado immediately, and it took a couple years to figure out a way to make use of it. |
| 490 | * DoppelgangerDating: Same curly hair,[[note]]Actually a wig, as Kellett doesn't look ''quite'' that scarily like Machado.[[/note]] same general build, same wardrobe, same firm-but-fair attitude, even the same ''laugh''... Nicole is so much like Penelope, you almost have to wonder if Lydia somehow had twins and didn't know. Amusingly, literally everyone ''but'' Victor notices this. |
| 491 | -->'''Alex:''' Papi's got a ''type''. |
| 492 | * IdenticalStranger: She looks scarily identical to Penelope... and how she acts, how she dresses, and how she laughs. |
| 493 | * NiceGirl: She's an extremely warm and friendly woman... which drives Penelope nuts. |
| 494 | * OneSteveLimit: Averted; one of the moms from Alex and Elena's school is named Nikki. |
| 495 | [[/folder]] |
| 496 | |
| 497 | [[folder:Mr. Schneider]] |
| 498 | !!Lawrence Schneider |
| 499 | |
| 500 | -->'''Played By:''' Creator/AlanRuck |
| 501 | |
| 502 | Schneider's father. Also, the ''worst''. |
| 503 | ---- |
| 504 | * AbusiveParents: Oh, God, yes. He neglected Schneider his entire childhood, to the point of never ''once'' telling his son he loved him. He's very open about considering Schneider to be a total failure who isn't worth his time. |
| 505 | * FauxAffablyEvil: He keeps a polite, genial tone while saying some of the most infuriating lines imaginable. |
| 506 | -->'''Alex:''' Nice suit.\ |
| 507 | '''Mr. Schneider:''' Oh, thank you. A little boy like you made it for me. |
| 508 | * HateSink: He's an emotionally abusive prick who clearly contributed to Schneider's various issues, doesn't care one whit about him, and is sexist and racist, to boot. The writers were clearly trying to make him as detestable as possible. |
| 509 | * KnightOfCerebus: In one episode, his presence nearly leads to the Alvarezes moving out of the apartment, and [[spoiler:pushes Schneider off the wagon]]. |
| 510 | * LackOfEmpathy: His character in a nutshell. Who cares if going condo will put families out on the street? It's a good business decision! Who cares if offering a bottle of tequila to a RecoveredAddict is a wildly inappropriate thing to do? It's Don Julio Real! Who cares if his parenting style has left his son with emotional issues and substance abuse problems? He needed to toughen up! |
| 511 | * MarryTheNanny: Married at least one of Schneider's nannies. |
| 512 | * PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: He's sexist and racist, and so smug about it that it's all Penelope can do to keep herself from throttling him on the spot. This quote really says it all: |
| 513 | -->'''Schneider:''' He said [Avery would] make a great first or fifth wife. That's the highest compliment.\ |
| 514 | '''Elena:''' How is that a compliment?\ |
| 515 | '''Schneider:''' Well, the first wife is for breeding, the second is for spite, the third is to forget the second, the fifth is 30 years younger so it circles back to breeding, and of course, traditionally, the fourth wife's Asian. |
| 516 | * SerialSpouse: Schneider implies he's been married a ''lot''. At least once to Schneider's former nanny. |
| 517 | * StrawMisogynist: The other characters clearly disapprove of his blatant sexism. |
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