Spoilers for Nobody Wants This are ahead!
The ending of Nobody Wants This made its title even more fitting, because I don’t want what’s coming next, and I don’t think Adam Brody’s Noah and Kristen Bell’s Joanne do either. Don’t get me wrong, I adore this 2024 Netflix release, and I want more of it. However, the end of Season 1 set up Season 2 in a way that concerns me, and we need to talk about why.
How Nobody Wants This Ended And Set Up Season 2
Now, while I’m worried about the end of Nobody Wants This, it certainly did set up Season 2, which, in the grand scheme of things, is good.
After Joanne tells Noah – who just found out he’s going to be the head rabbi – that she couldn’t convert to Judaism because she would be doing it for him and not herself, she tells him not to chase after her. Well, he didn’t listen, he ran to the parking lot she was headed to and waited there for her. When she got off the bus the following conversation happened:
Joanne: So how does this work?
Noah: Well, you were right. I can’t have both.
Then, Adam Brody’s character kisses her and the show ends. We don’t know if they’re back together, we don’t know if Noah will turn down the head rabbi gig, and what lies ahead feels like an endless cycle of potential resentment that I’m scared of.
Why I’m Nervous Nobody Wants This Is Going To End Up In A Terrible Cycle Of Resentment
OK, let me re-emphasize and clearly state my issue with the end of Nobody Wants This: it seems like Joanne and Noah are headed into a never-ending potentially resentful cycle of being willing to change their lives for each other and doing what’s best for themselves.
I hate that for both of them.
Could they find a happy medium? Maybe. However, this show is messy as all get out. And while clear and healthy communication is a theme in this series, this topic that Season 2 ended on is the issue that they really can’t figure out.
Frankly, I’m not interested in seeing Noah go back and forth about wanting to be the head rabbi or not because of his love for Joanne and Joanne figuring out whether she’s willing to convert to Judaism. In both cases, they’re right. Brody’s character shouldn’t have to give up his dream job, and Bell’s shouldn’t have to fully convert to a religion she’s not 100% on board with. However, if they fully commit to one of those options, resentment feels inevitable.
That impossible choice makes me worried about what could happen in Season 2.
I realize conflict is necessary to make a great rom-com – and all the best ones have it. However, things go awry when the couple gets stuck in a never-ending cycle of trying to make an impossible decision like this, and I don’t want that for Noah and Joanne or the viewers.
Obviously, they have to work through the head rabbi and convert topics to survive as a couple, I get that. However, I’m scared that it will take over Season 2 and make them miserable for the whole story. I understand this is a big choice they need to make as a couple, and I do think it can make for good TV if it’s handled with care. But, I can’t help but be concerned about this overtaking the show and sucking the fun out of it as these two struggle between their love for each other and what it might take to make their relationship work.
While I’m concerned about how the show will go on after this ending, I do think Nobody Wants This is one of Netflix’s best shows at the moment, and I do want more. So, if it gets renewed for Season 2, you better believe I’ll be using my Netflix subscription to watch it while also crossing my fingers that Noah and Joanne figure out this situation in a way that’s productive, healthy, possibly funny and entertaining.
