Favorite Characters: Elena Alvarez (One Day at a Time)

Netflix sadly canceled its One Day at a Time reboot this year (although it’s been picked up by something called Pop TV?), but I still love this funny, delightful, heartfelt series.  And speaking of funny, delightful, and heartfelt, look no further than one Elena Alvarez.  The family’s oldest child, teenage Elena can be a lot, but in a way that’s deeply relatable to anyone who was ever a passionate, nerdy teen (some Elena-related spoilers.)

At the start of the series, Elena is introduced with two driving motivations:  overachievement and social justice.  She’s a smart kid who manically pursues good grades and scholastic extracurriculars like debate team.  She’s also way into a plethora of causes, from saving the world through composting to smashing the patriarchy.  She’s never as alive as when she’s designing a protest sign, organizing a crusade, or ranting about this or that injustice.

Elena is a tightly-wound bundle of seemingly-boundless energy when it comes to her various projects, and her family is used to rolling their eyes at her ardor.  It’s not like, say, Penelope, is against feminism, but Elena’s constant save-the-world enthusiasm can be exhausting all day everyday, and while Penelope never really discourages Elena from fighting for her passions, you get the sense that she’s sort of waiting for Elena to inevitably mellow on the “#woke”-ness.  Meanwhile, Alex is a little embarrassed of his older sister and Lydia blithely offends Elena at least once or twice an episode without even trying.

I think a lot of us have been there, feeling young and overwhelmed at the state of all the terribleness in the world and damned if we aren’t going to do something about it.  Elena is good at throwing out statistics, coming up with slogans, and shouting about injustice, but she isn’t as good at looking out for herself.  Her dedication and ambition can overwhelm her at times – season 3 reveals that she’s started having anxiety attacks – and it takes her a long time to feel as confident in her identity as she does in her politics.

Late in season 1, Elena comes out as a lesbian, in stages, to the members of her family.  I was much older than Elena when I started coming out, but I still relate to her experiences here:  the fear of how it will affect her familial relationships, the shift from cautious to loud-and-proud, and the gusto of the recently-out.  On the latter front, I totally remember the “asexual flags everywhere!!!” part of my coming-out process, and after some of the hardships Elena goes through (like being abandoned by her dad at her own quinces,) it’s endearing to see her in her “I’M SO GAY!!!” period.  Her relationship with her equally-nerdy, slightly-less-social-justice-focused “Syd-nificant Other” Syd in seasons 2 and 3 is wonderfully sweet and funny.  I love Elena finding someone who gets and appreciates her so deeply, and Elena’s awkward romanticism in her first relationship is adorable.  I especially love the episode showing her first time.

Also?  Super nerdy.  She has a Finsta for Wynonna Earp cosplay!  She’s into video games!  She and Syd dress up as the Fourth Doctor and the TARDIS!  So much fun.