The Baker and The Beauty Review: Pilot (Season 1 Episode 1)
A Miami baker’s night gets turned around with a life-changing introduction on The Baker and The Beauty Season 1 Episode 1, “Pilot.”
Daniel’s life is going well as he takes his girlfriend, Vanessa to a fancy, expensive restaurant for their anniversary. But while Vanessa drops an awkward, Taylor Swift-infused proposal, Daniel’s questioning their future, and talking it through in a bathroom.
Cue international superstar and entrepreneur Noa Hamilton, who is fresh from a very public break up, with some unsolicited advice.
VICTOR RASUK, NATHALIE KELLEY
From there, Daniel’s night changes radically, including a wild night of clubbing, spray-painting and baking pastries with Noa in a master chef’s kitchen.
The story flows, with introductions made to some memorable players in the story done very well and not forced.
The Garcia family is a funny, sweet, tight-knit group, with their own stories set in motion as well that pique my interest by the end of the hour.
VICTOR RASUK, CARLOS GîMEZ, LISA VIDAL, DAVID DEL RIO, BELISSA ESCOBEDO
From Mateo, an aspiring DJ, to Natalie, the more low-key member of the family, struggling with her sexual identity while also starting a new school, the Garcia siblings each have their own personalities that can shine through from the get-go.
While we get a glimpse at the Garcia family, Noa’s crew is still a bit of an unknown except Lewis (Scandal’s Dan Bucatinsky), whose protectiveness over Noa leads to an unfair assessment of Daniel’s motives.
It will be interesting to see if he changes his point of view in time, especially after Daniel’s parting words to Lewis.
VICTOR RASUK, NATHALIE KELLEY, DAN BUCATINSKY, GEORGINA REILLY
The groundwork put into both Daniel, and Noa’s stories are well-done and leave me wondering what’s beyond the surface of Noa’s explanations for her relationship with her father and, of course, her ex-boyfriend Colin.
Is Colin telling the truth about the story behind those pictures?
The introduction to Daniel Garcia’s world offers up a glimpse at a fun, light series filled with solidly comedic characters, a different kind of meet-cute, and a sturdy foundation for everyone’s stories.
NATHALIE KELLEY, VICTOR RASUK
I’m looking forward to seeing where Daniel and Noa’s relationship goes, how the Garcia family deals with the new development, and what the fallout for Vanessa looks like.
How much trouble will be coming Daniel and Noa’s way? Will Vanessa, Colin, and Lewis be the source of some of it? Will fame be a problem for them? Will they be friends first or dive headfirst?
Random Thoughts
- There are specific sticking points for me when it comes to some cultural aspects depicted on television. Spanglish in the dialogue is one of those things. The Baker and The Beauty did a solid job, making it feel natural.
- Vanessa’s whole personality comes on strong but plays well in the grand scheme of the hour, and you can’t help but understand what she may think is going on. Considering a 4-year relationship and a rejected proposal, seeing those pictures of Daniel and Noa together would have her making some unfortunate connections. But how far off is she?
- From the pastelitos to the Cafecito, I appreciate how the little things made it feel like Miami.
- Mateo’s DJ name, MC Cubano, is hilariously fantastic.
What did you think of this episode of The Baker and The Beauty? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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The Baker and The Beauty airs Monday at 10/9c on ABC.
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Brianna Martinez
Brianna spends her time away from briefs, legal research, and pleadings, watching TV and writing about it. She generally has a lot of feelings about TV, which you can read about here and on Twitter.