con & tro

deals with how the impact of colorism as it intersects with racial prejudice via the contrast of alex’s experiences with racism and xenophobia vs. elena’s (because she is white passing). BONUS: when elena is annoyed that she ‘passes’ her family reminds her oppression isn’t aspirational or virtuous 

acknowledges that latinx people are not one shade/one race, that latinx can be white passing, black and brown and are still latinx

deals with racism within and between latinx ethnicities, generations, and races 

introduces, explains and utilizes preferred pronouns in a respectful way (elena’s gf is non-binary and consistently refered to as they/them)

elena alvarez, awkward lesbian latina queen embodies the Gay Struggle in finding a gf

but also we see her confront her father’s homophobic negligence and no he does not get redeemed, but elena gets closure 

DEALS WITH THE HARMFUL HYPOCRITICAL CULTURE OF GUN VIOLENCE

represents the nuanced and traumatic impact of mental health stigma in ethnic communities when penelope goes off her meds so she doesn’t scare away her new partner. we see penelope break down without it being romanticized. we also see her mother, lydia, come to accept her daughter’s struggle with mental illness and support her and there’s a beautiful scene between pen and schneider too

showcased the flaws, bias and hypocrisies in the immigration office of the usa through lydia’s and schneider’s parallel journies to gaining american citizenship

donald trump is gonna get vitamin d deficiency from all the shade thrown at him this season tbh

represents the struggles in romantic relationships at different ages and stages in life through elena with syd, penelope and max and lydia with leslie

there’s a whole episode where this show takes a dump on the elitism of movie theatres when penelope teaches alex how to go to the movies without spending a fortune by smuggling food

elena and schneider learning spanish!

alex and elena’s super sweet sibling bond that grows and is so strong that alex was meeting up with their dad in secret to drag his cis-genered homophobic ass

deals with post 9/11 military movements

RITA MORENO IS EVERYTHING

justina machado gives the most incredibly genuine, nuanced, amazing performance i have EVER seen in a sitcom. the episodes where she’s struggling with ptsd and the finale are STAGGERING and she’s also fkn hilarious