When we last left the characters of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Rebecca had just found Greg at the airport. Greg plans on leaving West Covina for Atlanta, where he wants to pursue an education at Emory University. Paula had a tough decision to make — should she go through with her pregnancy, or go to law school? Both of those cliffhangers saw resolution on last night’s episode, titled:
“When Will Josh and His Friend Leave Me Alone?”
If last week’s episode was the set-up, then this episode was all payoff. I think this may go down as the pinnacle of the season. Where to start? First, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that this was Greg’s farewell episode. Actor Santino Fontana’s contract only covered the first season, and he is no longer a part of the show’s regular cast… at least, for now.
“We know that the fans love him,” showrunner Aline Brosh McKenna told Vulture. “We love him. But we feel that our obligation is to the story.” And she’s right, of course. It’d seem like a hasty send-off if the show hadn’t laid so much sturdy groundwork for his exit in these four episodes. But before Greg left West Covina, he and Rebecca had one last tender moment together in the airport.
“It Was a S*** Show”
Songs like this one are peak Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. They’re genuine and emotional, but also crass. As Greg sings this thoughtful farewell ballad, he intones “we can’t unscrew each other’s friends.” How true. And when it’s over, Greg makes a beautifully staged exit up the airport escalator and into a blinding white light.
Without Josh or Greg in her life, Rebecca is adrift. She has trouble contextualizing herself without a romantic partner. “Who am I supposed to be now?” she asks Paula. But when Paula tells her just to be herself, Rebecca’s at a loss. “You don’t know what it’s like to be at a crossroads and not know what to do next.” But Rebecca still doesn’t know that Paula is at a very significant crossroads.
As Rebecca tries to re-establish normalcy, she cleans her kitchen. But her thoughts are elsewhere, and that means it’s time for a flight of fancy. She imagines Josh and Greg in her apartment, and they bring us into one of the show’s most R-rated musical numbers.
“We Tapped That A**”
We were lucky enough to get two GREAT songs in this episode, and this is the second. Watch it below, but consider it NSFW!
Man, I’m going to miss Santino Fontana. Greg and Josh tap dancing in their sneakers is amazing, and I suspect this sequence will win some recognition at the Emmys.
To cleanse herself of Greg and Josh, Rebecca puts all the little belongings that remind her of them into her sink. She douses them in high-proof booze and lights them on fire. If you think that’s dumb — well, it is. But TV and movie characters light things on fire indoors all the time. Usually, they put ’em in a trash can, squirt in some lighter fluid, and toss in a match. Somehow, they don’t fill up their houses with smoke. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend subverts this trope when Rebecca scorches her apartment and has to move in with Heather. As it turns out, Heather still lives with her parents (who are both wonderful).
Rebecca has spent so much time pursuing love that she’s lost sight of who she is. The same applies to the show itself — if it continued down the love triangle path, it risks losing sight of its identity, too. But I was pleasantly surprised to see Rebecca back at work, and dealing with a new client.
That new client is Ms. Douche, a feminine hygiene brand seeking legal counsel on a zoning dispute. But just when it looks like Rebecca might be back to doing what she does best, she overhears that Ms. Douche is hosting a contest to find a new face for the company. Who better than Rebecca Bunch, who needs to rebrand her life?
To focus on winning the contest, Rebecca recuses herself from the case and gets a…
“Makey Makeover”
In a mercifully short but riotously funny spoof of Toni Basil’s “Mickey“, Rebecca dyes her hair blond and refreshes her wardrobe. She shows up at work the next day looking like Farrah Fawcett if she had collided with Shakira at rocket speed. Later, she sees Josh on the street. He doesn’t even recognize her at first, and it’s apparent to him that Rebecca is in a very manic and unstable state of mind.
Much to everyone’s surprise, Rebecca becomes a finalist in the Ms. Douche contest. But when she comes up to the stage, a judge asks her the tough question. “Who are you, Rebecca Bunch?” In a moment that feels more than a little contrived, Rebecca confesses to the judges that she doesn’t deserve to be the new Ms. Douche. But she does recommend Heather for the job, and BOOM — Heather is the new Ms. Douche! She wins $10,000, decides to move out of her parents’ place, and asks Rebecca to live with her.
Finally, we come to Paula and her pregnancy. When the city planning manager commends her legal work on the Ms. Douche zoning case, Paula is stunned. “You’d make a damn good attorney,” he says. And that settles it. We next find Paula at home, resting in bed. She has terminated her pregnancy.
Having sensed Paula’s recent stress, Rebecca comes over to visit. Paula continues to keep the pregnancy and abortion a secret from her. Later, Heather and Rebecca are discussing apartments at a donut shop. And who shows up? Why, none other than the long-lost Valencia!
Observations
- The CW has been surprisingly lenient with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend‘s adult humor and themes this season. This episode may be one of the crassest to date. I love it!
- The show won’t be the same without Greg or the ridiculously talented Santino Fontana, but I’m glad the show is killing its love triangle.
- Heather on the women entering the Ms. Douche contest: “They all look like gorgeous mermaids who grew feet and went to Coachella.”