Faith plays a big part in relationships. Even in the modern age, a difference of opinion can break a relationship. “Nobody Wants This” on Netflix revolves around the same conflict. It’s a romantic comedy-drama about the relationship between a brutally honest, agnostic woman and a rabbi. The show, created by Erin Foster, builds much of its humor around their religious and non-religious personalities. Kristen Bell (“The Good Place”) and Adam Brody (“The O.C.”) play the central couple, whereas Justine Lupe (“Succession”) and Timothy Simons (“Veep”) star in crucial supporting roles.
Spoilers Ahead
Nobody Wants This (Season 1) ‘Netflix’ Recap:
Nobody Wants This” on Netflix is a romantic comedy series loosely based on its creator, Erin Foster’s real-life experiences. Foster has been an actress for over two decades, with projects like “House,” “The O.C.,” and “Gilmore Girls” under her belt.
Episode 1: Pilot
Joanne (Kristen Bell), a woman in her thirties, hosts a podcast with her sister, Morgan (Justine Lupe)—the two talk candidly about topics like love, sex, and relationships. Over time, they have built a dedicated audience. Their father, Henry (Michael Hitchcock), came out as a gay man. Still, their mother, Lynn (Stephanie Faracy), is in love with him. On the other hand, Noah (Adam Brody), a rabbi, has been in a relationship with Rebecca (Emily Hitchcock) for over three years. One day, she finds an engagement ring in his locker and believes he plans to propose to her. Instead, it pushes him to put things in perspective and to break up with her.
Shortly after, Joanne goes to her friend Ashley’s (Sherry Cola) party and bumps into Noah. She does not realize he is a rabbi and mistakes him for a divorced ‘red flag.’ Later, while they have dinner, she learns the truth. After the party, he walks Joanne to her car. They briefly talk about their parents, their faith, and their professions. She learns that one can be in a relationship as a rabbi. He admires that she shares her unfiltered thoughts through her podcast. Although they go their separate ways, they cannot stop thinking about each other.
Eventually, Joanne takes the first step and goes to the Jewish temple to hear him speak. Joanne senses how passionate Noah is about his work. Noah notices her sitting in the temple. Afterward, he slips away from a cluster of eager middle-aged women, all vying to marry off their daughters to him, and makes his way toward Joanne.
Episode 2: A Shiksa Walks Into a Temple
Joanne realizes that Noah needs some time to get free from his duties. So she waits for him outside. While she waits, a woman tries to shush her away. Then, Joanne calls Morgan to pick her up. Morgan assumes Noah is trying to make Joanne leave by making her wait. When Morgan shows up outside the temple, Noah walks out with his brother, Sasha (Timothy Simons), and joins the sisters in the car. Soon, they enter a party and split up in pairs. While Joanne and Noah talk openly about their beliefs, Morgan does not entertain Sasha’s attempts at small talk.
Soon, Sasha’s wife, Esther (Jackie Tohn), shows up outside the venue, calls Joanne & Morgan whores, and screams for Sasha and Noah to join her. She also reveals that Noah recently got engaged but does not talk about the breakup. The next day, Noah’s mother, Bina (Tovah Feldshush), objects to Noah being with a non-Jewish woman instead of Rebecca, whom she considers his ideal partner. Joanne joins Morgan for a work meeting for their podcast and plans to keep her distance from Noah. Soon, Noah texts Joanne and asks her to meet so he can clear the air. Although hesitant initially, Joanne stays longer on their casual date and learns the truth about his romantic history. Later, as they walk out, they kiss each other just before her Uber shows up.
Episode 3: Either Aura
After Joanne leaves, Noah notices several missed calls from Rebecca. He returns to them to realize Rebecca is in a hospital. Rebecca presumably faked her injury to get his attention. Still, her parents and his blame him for her injuries. They believe Noah will eventually return to his senses with Rebecca. As Rebecca’s close friend, Esther hates Noah and his decision. Meanwhile, Joanne responds to Noah’s texts but does not receive any reply. Morgan thinks that’s because Joanne said, ‘That kiss was great; I think I might be pregnant.’ Maybe he didn’t understand her humor and interpreted it differently as a man.
Joanne doubts Noah is not responding because he thinks she is terrible. She calls one of her worst dates to boost her self-esteem, but it doesn’t help. While driving, she notices a skittish dog and carries it home with her. She finds Noah on the doorstep waiting for her. He admits he understands her humor and reveals why he could not respond.
Episode 4: Obliterated
After meeting at the doorstep, Joanne and Noah decide to go on an actual first date. They both overthink how to present themselves on the date to make a good first impression. When he picks her up at her doorstep, Morgan bails on an important task for their upcoming podcast to pick up a sex toy. Noah overhears their conversation and agrees to join her in it. At the sex toy store, while looking for the sex toy, they talk about their sexual fantasies. She puts on a leash around his neck as they have fun. Soon, he bumps into a family friend and gets worried it will cost him his job as a rabbi.
Joanne looks online for that family friend and realizes he is having an affair. Noah decides to use this knowledge to blackmail him. By then, they miss their dinner reservation. So, he invites her to his house and prepares a meal. She is impressed by his cooking skills. He admits that he should not have asked her about her biggest fears while they were standing in a sex toy shop. Soon, she confesses her fear of attachment and emotions due to her parent’s failed marriage. He accepts her despite that. Later, the family friend they bumped into makes a huge donation toward the temple to cover up his affair.
With Esther gone, Sasha is home by himself. So, he decides to get high and watch a movie. Suddenly, his daughter, Miriam (Shiloh Bearman) returns after a minor trouble. Since Esther’s not home, Miriam seeks Sasha’s help to solve her ‘boy problem.’ Although high on drugs, Sasha helps her by creating a fake Snapchat profile.
Episode 5: My Friend Joanne
After their adventurous dinner date, Joanne and Noah keep dating and sleeping together. Later, he asks her to join him at a summer camp he must attend, and she agrees. However, she soon learns about a meeting to upgrade their podcast business. Morgan reluctantly agrees to cover up for Joanne. Later, she crosses paths with Sasha to get hold of Joanne’s laptop at Noah’s house. While at camp, Joanne learns that Noah once was the most desired boy in his camp. Even now, teens call him the ‘hot rabbi.’ Noah does not introduce her as his girlfriend, which hurts her.
Later, Noah hides their relationship so as not to ruin his chances of being the head rabbi. So, Joanne gets justifiably angry and leaves the camp for her work meeting. Noah speaks with the teens and an older rabbi to realize his mistake. He should have valued the sacrifice Joanne made to be at the camp. Remorseful, he leaves the camp to meet Joanne. He shows up at the restaurant where she and Morgan are in their work meeting. Noah apologizes for his foolish mistake and makes it up to her. He asks her if she would like to be his girlfriend, like a kid would. She agrees, and everyone around applauds.
Episode 6: The Ick
As Joanne dates Noah, Morgan feels like she is losing her sister’s podcast persona. So, Noah shows up at their house in casual clothes to watch their favorite show, learn its lore, and bond with her. Suddenly, Lisa and Henry show up uninvited with Henry’s new gay boyfriend. Noah feels obliged to present himself better to Joanne’s parents. So, he puts on a ‘sports coat’ and brings flowers to greet them. Although Lisa and Henry like Noah just fine, this new side of Noah’s personality gives Joanne a major turnoff. In the past, she broke up with her boyfriend for similar ‘icks’. Since Joanne truly loves Noah, she fears it would break their relationship.
However, Noah accepts her with all her personality quirks. It somehow reverses her ick and makes her realize that ‘icks’ don’t matter if it’s the right person. On the other hand, Esther forces Sasha to stand up for himself and ask for a raise in their family business. Thanks to her, he receives a promotion. Although married, he keeps texting with Morgan as a friend.
Episode 7: WAGS
Noah effortlessly blends into Joanne’s friend group and shows he loves her. So, Joanne decides to do her share by assimilating into Noah’s group. She joins him for a local basketball game. He and his friends adore her, but it’s not the same with their WAGs (wives and girlfriends of athletes), who do not entertain her company as they are Rebecca’s close friends. Joanne cannot tolerate the fact that they hate her. She is impatient to gain their approval. Noah offers her some tips. While the tips work with other women, they don’t work on Esther. So, Joanne calls Morgan to join her and change Esther’s mind.
Morgan brings some alcohol to bond over with the WAGs. Esther still does not entertain any of Joanne’s attempts to be friends. After the match, Noah walks out with Joanne, smiling cheek to cheek. Rebecca, who happens to be outside, notices that and feels bad. Esther criticizes Joanne to boost Rebecca’s confidence and make her feel better about herself. Since Esther departs with Rebecca and Noah with Joanne after the match, Sasha offers Morgan a car ride.
Episode 8: Rebecca’s Box
Joanne discovers a small box with some of Rebecca’s belongings in Noah’s bedroom. After mulling over it for a bit, she asks him about it. He reveals he felt awkward returning or getting rid of them after his & Rebecca’s break-up. At work, Noah receives a job offer from the present Head, Rabbi Cohen (Stephen Tobolowsky), to replace him after he retires. Noah and Joanne’s relationship annoys Morgan since it changes parts of Joanne’s personality. She worries it affects their podcast business. Later, at a restaurant, Morgan notices Rebecca. She strikes up a conversation, pretending to be someone else.
Rebecca claims Noah wants to get back into a relationship with her and isn’t serious about Joanne. Morgan tells this to Joanne, which makes Joanne doubt Noah’s loyalty. Later, Sasha, Esther, and Miriam show up at Noah’s house for dinner. Joanne decides not to seek Rebecca’s approval anymore and to continue being her unfiltered self. She becomes the cool adult in Miriam’s life and convinces her to use the Big Apple theme for her bat mitzvah. Esther gets upset and even more jealous. However, she can’t get Morgan’s words out of her head. So, she confronts Noah, who admits he returned Rebecca’s box of belongings but is not interested in her.
Noah offers his phone to verify he is not lying. Joanne decides not to be a snoopy partner anymore and to change her attitude toward relationships. However, Joanne hates Morgan for making her doubt Noah’s intentions. It affects Joanne and Morgan’s close bond. While Joanne puts that worry to rest, she is plagued by another one: Noah expects her to convert to Judaism if she wants to marry him.
Episode 9: My Girl Bina
After Noah’s surprise revelation, Joanne contemplates converting to Judaism. Her parents do not oppose her decision, but Morgan wants her to decide wisely. Morgan calls Sasha and asks him to check if Rebecca is genuinely getting back together with Noah. Later, Joanne joins Noah for a family dinner at Noah’s luxurious family home. His father, Ilan (Paul Ben-Victor) has no issue with Joanne but Bina does. So, Bina ensures Joanne feels terrible in their home. Joanne shows up with a custom-made charcuterie board without realizing it contains pork, and Noah’s family doesn’t eat it. So, Bina tells their house help to throw it in the garbage.
During the family dinner, Bina offers Esther the warmth and affection she likely never showed her before. So, Esther sees Bina’s hate for Joanne as an opportunity to gain more power in Bina’s eyes. During dinner, Bina confronts Joanne for openly discussing private matters like sex on her podcast, accusing her of airing things best kept behind closed doors just to make a living. Joanne defends herself, but Bina keeps insulting her. It annoys Noah, who takes out his anger, which hurts Bina’s ego. Even then, Joanne decides to take care of the matter. Inside, she sees Bina devouring the charcuterie.
Joanne decides not to reveal Bina’s secret in exchange for Bina’s approval. So, she claims she ate the charcuterie to protect Bina. It improves her and Bina’s relationship. However, before Joanne leaves, Bina tells Joanne she will never let Noah marry her. On the other hand, Sasha learns that Rebecca pretended not to know Morgan and intentionally lied about Noah’s intentions to sabotage Noah and Joanne’s relationship.
Nobody Wants This (Season 1) ‘Netflix’ Ending Explained:
Does Joanne agree to convert to Judaism to be with Noah?
In the final episode of “Nobody Wants This,” titled “Bat Mitzvah Crashers,” we learn whether Joanne agrees to convert to Judaism to be with Noah. Earlier, we saw Joanne being open to converting because she did not want to sabotage her & Noah’s beautiful relationship. As an agnostic person, faith does not matter to her as it does to him. Still, she looks for ways to convert to his religion. Later, as Joanne and Morgan are about to start recording their podcast, Morgan receives Sasha’s voice message. Sasha reveals the truth about Rebecca’s lie. So, Joanne apologizes to Morgan for not trusting her before. Once they clear the air, they decide to seek revenge against Rebecca.
Although Esther uninvited her for Miriam’s bat mitzvah, Joanne and Morgan crash their celebration in more revealing clothes than they usually expect. It draws eyebrows and makes Rebecca jealous. Morgan tells Rebecca that Sasha recently told her the truth. Rebecca describes this to Esther, who doesn’t know Morgan, and Sasha stays in touch. Later, Rebecca leaves the ceremony after realizing Noah no longer loves her. Joanne walks out to speak with her and ensure there’s no bad blood. Rebecca says she is jealous that Joanne will be the Head Rabbi’s wife, a position she always wanted. She reveals the vast responsibility on Joanne’s shoulders.
Rebecca’s words make Joanne reconsider her stance on conversion. She soon tells Noah the truth. She does not want to convert to Judaism right away and isn’t sure when she will be. However, she understands what religion means to Noah and does not want him to choose between his faith and their love. So, she walks away from their relationship. A few hours later, he meets her to say he does not want to lose her. The ending does not make it clear the future of their relationship but how they will map it out. However, he is willing to compromise as she did for him.
Nobody Wants This (Season 1) ‘Netflix’ Review:
Erin Foster’s “Nobody Wants This” follows a relationship between Joanne, an agnostic woman, and Noah, a rabbi, who love each other. We have seen a few dramedies based on cultural differences in recent years. Shows like “Master of None,” “Ramy,” “Atlanta,” or “Fresh Off The Boat” have opened ways for fresh talent to move the needle beyond the stereotypical representations of diverse cultural backgrounds while simultaneously digging deeper into the culturally specific aspects. “Nobody Wants This” relies on the stereotypes often associated with Jewish people in the pop culture landscape. As any devout religious folks, they do not openly talk about topics like sex that are considered taboo.
Unlike them, Joanne is outspoken, unfiltered, and unreserved regarding these matters. Despite the obviousness of its humor, the Netflix series dishes out refreshing comical moments through these cultural tropes. Of course, it’s a cookie-cutter narrative with two people trying to make it as a couple. They face usual conflicts: people trying to sabotage their relationships for ulterior motives and their personal differences setting them apart. Still, the performances by a reliable cast of Kristen Bell, Adam Brody, Justine Lupe, and Timothy Simons make even its frothier moments work emotionally. They turn the show into a delightful sitcom and an instant charmer.
