Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (S1. E1-2)
Monday, July 11, 2016 at 5:30PM 
You know what's crazier than leaving a half a million salary in NYC to move to West Covina, California (2 hours from the beach! - 4 in traffic) on the off chance your ex boyfriend from teen summer camp might be interested in reviving your fling as an adult? Not much. But it is crazy that The Film Experience didn't adopt Crazy Ex Girlfriend in the way it adopted Smash since musicals are kind of our thing (well, one of our things). Over the past two weeks I accidentally ended up rewatching the first five episodes again with friends who hadn't seen them so they're fresh in mind. So with Season 1 now on Netflix, let's catch up before Season 2 arrives in October.
S1:E1 "Josh Just Happens to Live Here!"
In which Rebecca randomly spots her first love in the street and takes it as a sign that she should follow him to West Covina, California, leaving her entire successful New York City life behind. Let's rank the crazy...
Greg: Yes, like a date because you're pretty and you're smart and you're ignoring me so you're obviously my type.
Rebecca: I'm sorry what were you saying?
Greg: Perfect.
Relatably Foolish (Or as Norman likes to say 'We all go a little mad sometimes')
Greg, a bartender, falls hard for Rachel at first sight when she barely looks at him, and talks incessantly about his friend Josh...
Meanwhile Rachel spends half the episode wondering if she's having signal problems because Josh isn't texting.
Endearingly Daft
Everyone at the new office but maybe especially a great throwaway introduction of Mrs Hernandez, "Our Communications Director". You only realize a couple of episodes in that she never speaks. Also a rapper, witnessing Rebecca's preparations to date "Sexy Getting Ready Song" becomes a feminist and begins making phone calls to make amends.
Dangerously Nuts
That shot of Rebecca dumping out her plentiful medications makes you wonder how the show will balance its comedy with the reality of the premise.
Institutionalize Them!
The episode peaks and ends with Paula opening Rebecca's eyes (temporarily) to how crazy her abrupt life rug pull actually was. And here's the beautiful funhouse mirror effect: As Paula does this, her own eyes widened to the point that her orbs seem to disconnect from reality; all they see is Rebecca & Josh. These new galpals are both crazy, escalating each other's obsession. The women have no choice but to duet. The camera has no choice but to fall into their orbit, circling around and up into a final Busby Berkeley aerial shot.
Episode Grade: B+
MVP: Paula. Rachel is a lot to take at first so Paula serves as a great proxy window to obsess over what her deal is. That's easier than looking our anti-heroine in the eye. At least at first cringey glance.
Songs: "West Covina," (Rebecca) "Sexy Getting Ready Song," (Rebecca) "West Covina" (Rebecca and Paula)
Introducing: Rachel (Rebecca Bloom), Josh her ex (Vincent Rodriguez III), Daryl her new boss (Pete Gardner), Paula her new colleague (Donna Lynne Champlin), Mrs Hernandez another new colleague (Gina Gallego), and Greg who is Josh's friend (Santino Fontana)
S2:E2 "Josh's Girlfriend is Really Cool"
In which Rebecca meets Josh's girlfriend and tries to befriend her, but first Rebecca and Paula cook up a plan to go to the nightclub Spider's. Let's rank the crazy...
Not Crazy. Totally Sane
Rebecca: Spiders? I drove by there the other night and it was hopping. I always wonder though is it possessive spider's or plural spiders because every time I see a flyer for it the apostrophe is in a different location.
Paula: What difference does it make?!
Rebecca: It doesn't make a difference, it's just, like, it's two different things --like either the club is owned by a spider or the club is filled with, like, a bunch of spiders so, it's a different thing so let's go back to what you were saying.
Relatably Foolish
What no, that's not a good idea!'
Josh tries to talk some sense into Rebecca but she's already determined to make nicey cutesy nice with Valencia and soon is dressing like her and double-dating. Walk into a club like...
Josh, Valencia, Rebecca, and Greg
Endearingly Odd
Oh you were making a joke. I think you did that once before. Sorry, I don't like humor."
Making a humorousless character so funny? Neat trick with Valencia, Gabrielle Ruiz!
Dangerously Nutso
I wanna lock you in a basement with soundproof walls and take over your identity.
The inevitable: Rebecca takes things way too far in her new friendship with her rival Valencia. And makes an enemy instead. The episode ends with Josh and Rebecca apologizing to each other and Josh taking Rebecca to dinner. But then Josh tells Rebecca they can't see each other anymore, even as friends. Her response:
Institutionalize Her
We'll see about that. [Pause] We'll see about that."
Rachel Bloom's ability to spin a single line from giggling conversational to weirdly obsessive / threatening, on repeat, is unnerving, weird, and also really funny. Emmy for Rachel, please.
Episode Grade: A
MVP: Rebecca.
Songs: "I'm So Good at Yoga," (Valencia) "Feeling Kinda Naughty" (Rebecca)
Introducing: Valencia, Josh's yoga-instructor girlfriend (Gabrielle Ruiz), Josh's friend White Josh "because he looks like like Josh except for he's white" / "and, also, my name is also Josh" (David Hull), Josh's surfer friend Hector (Erick Lopez), Chris a little kid who hangs out at Greg's restaurant (Jacob Guenther), Marty who works at Rebecca's grocery store (Hunter Stiebel)
Reader Comments (13)
This show is so damn good, one might think "Leaving a promising career in NY for THAT? so crazy!!" but that's the point of it: to show how sometimes happiness means having emotional stability and inner peace before a six digit salary or a promotion (just like Rebecca's case), and the balance between fluffy comedy and strong, emotional drama is well achieved.
And Valencia just gets better in the upcoming episodes
Love, love, love, this show!
Hadn't seen any of The CW's previous shows and was kind of hesitant at first, but got smitten by the show after the first episode like Greg did with Rebecca.
Can't wait for Season 2!
I'm on episode 3 right now so I'll follow you Nathaniel :-)
Have to confess, let out a little scream of delight when I saw you were covering this, my favourite show of the year. Will follow religiously.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!! YAY!!!!!!
Seriously, everybody needs to watch this show. If you aren't you are missing out on the most creative, well-thought-out seasons of television in recent memory. I'm SO HAPPY you're doing this, Nathaniel!!
IMPORTANT QUESTION: What is everyone's favorite song? I mean, within each episode, it's usually pretty easy, but I am barely able to choose between West Covina and Feeling Kinda Naughty! They are both brilliant in completely different ways.
And PAULA! I was so glad for that scene with the reprise at the end of the pilot. Because it was obvious basically from the get-go that the two of them would absolutely be friends (or, at least, on the same side) in real life, and it would have been way too easy to have Paula stay in an antagonist role for the too many more episodes. And Donna Lynne Champlin is just GOLD. But then, I already wrote about how awesome she is in our Emmy FYCs.
Emmys all around, I say!
YES! My roommate and I just started a re-watch and it's still so damn good.
does it get getter than these two eps 'cause i found the character and conceit incredibly annoying
guess it's back to jane the virgin for me
When I saw the show on Netflix, I started rewatching it - and I hadn't even planned to! My favorite song is I Have Friends, it cracks me up. Paula is definitely my favorite character, although the rewatch is making me appreciate Greg more.
so so good... I discovered it this week, thanks netflix. And I think I'm in love.
par - Not speaking for anyone, but myself obviously but I did find the earlier episodes just a wee bit too precious/annoying/awkward. I still loved the concept though and the songs/Bloom were great. With that said I fell HARD for the show during/after the Christmas episode. The back half of its freshman season is just something else especially at it delves deeper to the lead's feelings (and developing the ensemble as well).
Par & Ryan -- i definitely was worried during the first episode though i enjoyed it a helluva lot -- like "how can they sustain this level of brassiness and twee and so on." but i think it's more the case of the audience catching up to the show than the show settling down... which is the case with many great shows/films/whatever.
but i fell more in love with it as it progressed.
Yaaaaaaaaaay! so glad you're covering this show!
Watched the show because of this website, and was first delighted (born and raise in West Covina - and it is only an hour from the beach and not in the Inland Empire - and there is a famous strawberry donut shop nearby alluded to). After the joy of seeing my suburban childhood get some love, truly enjoyed the show. What stood out that I haven't seen mentioned is how great is it to see so many actors of color - where else is an Asian man the romantic lead that the lead obsesses over? The background dancers are all people of color. West Covina is today Latino and Filipino, so yay for some diversity in casting.