I actually loved the scene where they had brunch at Noah's parents' house and Joanne caught the MIL snarfing down the charcuterie board. I know it's just fiction, but I wish I had some of Joanne's chutzpah! (see, I used a Yiddish word!)

Anonymous wrote:I think we all just like the actor playing Ester. She was awesome on Glow too. Can she get a show where she’s the lead, please?

Except that most of us are saying we did *not* like her.

Anonymous wrote:Esther was rude, mean to her husband and generally annoying to watch. Her one redeeming scene was in the bathroom with her child. Team loser siblings!

+1
Couldn't stand Esther. Who behaves like that to a new girlfriend of a family member (or anyone)? So rude and unwelcoming. Yeeeesh.

Tale as old as time

It's actually a testament to the actress playing Esther that we're even debating her character. She was written in the laziest way possible but the actress makes her interesting because the portrayal is of someone who has a tough and aggressive exterior but is also a loving mom and wife who has some vulnerabilities (like wanting her MIL not to hate her).

But the way she's actually written is just as a foil to Joanne and with a bunch of offensive Jewish tropes. She's the nag wife who hounds her husband to make more money and get more status (why? like everyone on this show they live in a stunning house in Southern California so they obviously have plenty of money). Noah describes her as a $hit-talker who only wants to gossip and criticize everyone else. And indeed we see her doing this with Rebecca. And then her relationship with Sasha's mom is of the beleaguered Jewish DIL who can never compete with the controlling matriarch. These character traits are not even consistent and only exist to tell the story they wanted to tell about Noah's family and community rejecting Joanne.

It's only because the actress is talented that she comes of as nuanced and likable instead of just a shrill money-obsessed nag.

I think we all just like the actor playing Ester. She was awesome on Glow too. Can she get a show where she’s the lead, please?

Esther was rude, mean to her husband and generally annoying to watch. Her one redeeming scene was in the bathroom with her child. Team loser siblings!

Lots of people, across many cultures, have to put up with a pushy MIL.

Ester as a mom and wife are awesome. Not clear why she married a tall bozo though. Why didn’t she marry the rabbi brother?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t think Esther was “awesome” at all. She was a complete jerk to Joanne.

Everyone was terrible / prejudiced / discriminatory to Joanne in a way that would not fly if the tables were turned.

But in her own community Esther was an interesting person and she really started to see that she could flaunt the rules towards the end. I mean her MIL wouldn't even let her in her kitchen. Who would put up with a MIL like that? Nobody on DCUM for sure.

Yes. They always are.

Esther did not seem interesting at all. What’s interesting about her? She dresses a lot and is a grandmother-aged Jewish stay at home mom in Los Angeles.

Esther was busy raising a child and a dud of an immature, pothead dh who couldn't even do nepotism right. What was funny to me was the rabbi barely ever working, Joanne living the life even though all she did was a half-ass podcast. And everyone was too old for their behaviors.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t think Esther was “awesome” at all. She was a complete jerk to Joanne.

Agree.

People think she’s awesome because she “cleverly” put in a two-faced show at her dinner party where she conflated her self-accoladed “sense of humor” with passive aggressive threats.

Anyhow, the main dude is not believable. Only episodes 1 and 2 made sense, and then the series derailed.

? We’re talking about Esther ^^

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t think Esther was “awesome” at all. She was a complete jerk to Joanne.

Everyone was terrible / prejudiced / discriminatory to Joanne in a way that would not fly if the tables were turned.

But in her own community Esther was an interesting person and she really started to see that she could flaunt the rules towards the end. I mean her MIL wouldn't even let her in her kitchen. Who would put up with a MIL like that? Nobody on DCUM for sure.

Yes. They always are.

Esther did not seem interesting at all. What’s interesting about her? She dresses a lot and is a grandmother-aged Jewish stay at home mom in Los Angeles.

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t think Esther was “awesome” at all. She was a complete jerk to Joanne.

Agree.

People think she’s awesome because she “cleverly” put in a two-faced show at her dinner party where she conflated her self-accoladed “sense of humor” with passive aggressive threats.

Anyhow, the main dude is not believable. Only episodes 1 and 2 made sense, and then the series derailed.

The show is pretty thin. Can only do one episode at a time before I’m annoyed. I’m not Jewish.

Anonymous wrote:I like him a lot. She annoys me because she's everywhere and I cannot stand her gross dh. The story looks cute so I will give it a try.

I’m watching and her voice is annoying. Kinda like a cross between Kristen and Carrie from Sex in the City. Contrived though.