Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (S1.E9-10)

Dancin' Dan back with the next installment of our Crazy Ex-Girlfriend season one recap. This time out, Rebecca and Darryl experience the acute anguish of trying to make friends as an adult. Let's rank the crazy of the next two episodes.

S1:E9 "I'm Going to the Beach with Josh and His Friends!"

Hoping to expose Rebecca once and for all, Valencia invites her to a "classic crew" beach outing. In classic bottle episode fashion, long-simmering tensions among the crew begin to boil over....

Not Crazy, Totally Sane

Fed up with Rebecca's constant denial of being in love with Josh, and recognizing that the beach day is a trap set by Valencia, Paula blows up at her friend, reminding her of everything that has gone wrong since she came to West Covina. Paula finally tells Rebecca her to lose her number until she's ready to admit everything. But when Rebecca calls Paula to come get her, she comes anyway, because that's what friends do.

Endearingly Odd

Feeling lonely after his divorce, Darryl goes to the beach, too, but forgets to check his gas gauge. After getting stranded in the middle of the highway, Rebecca invites him to join the crew on the party bus, where he recognizes White Josh from his gym. Starstruck by his "fitspiration", Darryl instantly starts bonding with White Josh over their gym routines.

You Reap What You Sow

Rebecca finally gets caught in her lies after Valencia asks her point blank why she moved to West Covina, while Darryl is in the room to contradict her story (Rebecca contacted him out of the blue saying she would work for cheap because she just wanted to live in West Covina). So she is forced to tell everyone the real reason - or at least most of it. And while everyone is at the very least confused by her story, Josh understands why she would want to leave New York, and reveals to Rebecca that he's so happy that he convinced her to move to the town he loves so much.

Bonker Balls

Rebecca's pole dance to "get the party started" is just BEYOND. Deeply uncomfortable for everyone watching mostly because it's really, authentically good.

Although, props for Nomi Malone pole lick. On a party bus. That must be almost as dirty as the one at the Cheetah.

Episode Grade: A The dynamic between all of the characters is fun to watch, and seeing Rebecca's lies finally blow up in her face is as satisfying as it is difficult to watch. Plus, Josh's response to the truth is so perfect that it makes rooting for him and Rebecca that much easier.
MVP: The Music Department. The underscoring on this show is consistently great in the best musical theater tradition, but it's particularly brilliant in this episode, layering a melancholy "I Have Friends" over the scene of Rebecca feeling alone and jealous of Josh and his crew after seeing a movie called "The Cancer Crew". Then there's the reprise of "West Covina" between Rebecca and Josh and the remarkably beautiful underscore of the scene immediately following, where Rebecca fully accepts that she loves Josh and admits it to Paula.
Songs: "Women Gotta Stick Together" (Valencia), "I Have Friends (Reprise)" (Rebecca), "West Covina (Reprise II)" (Rebecca and Josh)
Introducing: The fan-favorite pairing of Darryl and White Josh (who gets a last name! It's "Wilson"), but no new characters.

S1:E10 "I'm Back at Camp With Josh!"

Rebecca joins Josh at a camp-like excursion working with underprivileged teens, where she hopes to give a lecture on female empowerment, but ends up getting a makeover from the resident mean girls. Darryl tries to hang with his new "beach buddies" while his daughter is with her mother.

Crazy Cute

Rebecca's love letter to Josh from their camp days is cutely melodramatic in typical teenage fashion:

Dear Joshua when we frolic
I feel like - and not to be hyperbolic -
But I feel like I could die of happiness when I'm nestled in your hairless arms
We're like Tristan and Isolde ancient lovers running desparately in the forest."

Fellow former fraternity social director White Josh stays after Darryl's boxing viewing party to help clean up and as he leaves, gives him a kiss and a wink.

GET IT, DARRYL!

Crazy in Love

Heather admits to Greg that she's no longer seeing other people and he freaks out. But after running into his high school crush at Darryl's party, he sees the error of his ways and even gets a book "Commitment for Idiots".

After reading Rebecca's full letter for himself, Josh opens up to Rebecca: No one else has ever told him they believe in him (earlier in the episode Valenica actually got angry with him for taking time off work to give back to the community by working with - it bears repeating - underprivileged teens) except her. After reading the letter, he finally feels like he has worth, that somebody gets him. And so he kisses her. On the cheek.

Bonker Balls

When the director of Josh's camp program tells Rebecca they don't need any more counselors, just money, she whips out her checkbook and writes a check with a sum so large the director makes her the new Director of Female Empowerment. Just so she can get alone time with Josh.

Darryl impulsively invites the guys over to watch a Pay-Per-View boxing match, but when they get bored with the undercard fights and suggest going elsewhere, Darryl promises them he has girls coming. So he orders 25 girls through a "casting service"..... is this a thing?

Also... apparently fake eyelids are also a thing. This whole song is such a genius take-down of recent girl group "empowerment" anthems, with its refrain of "Put yourself first for him", to which Rebecca can only respond "if I put myself first for him, then by definition aren't I putting myself... second?" To which the girls sing:

"Don't think about it too hard, too too hard
Don't think about it too hard, too too hard
It's a woromhole, it's a Möbius strip
It's snake eats tail, it's the infinity sign
Get a tattoo of the infinity sign, on your lower back
Just for yourself!

Episode Grade: B+ Cute, but not enough substance to be one of the show's top-tier episodes.

MVP: Pete Gardner. Darryl has always been a bit of a garden variety eccentric with a heart of gold, but Gardner really humanizes him in this episode, and delivers the funny big time on his solo number. Bonus points for that perfect double take when White Josh kisses him: Darryl is clearly surprised and confused, but not offended by it, a really tricky thing to pull off that Garnder puts over with aplomb.
Songs: "Dear Joshua Felix Chan" (Rebecca), "Having a Few People Over" (Darryl), "Put Yourself First" (The Camp Girls)
Introducing: Greg's high school crush Ashley Pratt (Megan Heyn), and the Camp Girls: Kayla (Lulu Antariksa), Tanya (Jazz Raycole), and Chloe (Marisa Davila).

Comments

[Dave S.]

"Put Yourself First" was one of my top my top 5 songs for the season. Seriously biting.

[NATHANIEL R]

Absolutely agree that the bus trip to the beach is one of the series best episodes thus far. Sometimes those 'bottle episodes' (the good ones i mean) really burrow down into what needs to be happening in the character arcs.

I'm not quite finished with Season 1 yet but I'm still not sure what to make of the Darryl/White Josh pairing. Is it really a fan favorite?

[denny]

Nathaniel - YES. People were/are HEAVILY shipping Darryl and White Josh. They even have a "couple's name": White JoshFeather.

It's a little ungainly but what can you do?

Dave - Put Yourself First is so insanely brilliant and catchy. It's probably my most-played song from the show. Although overall I think I'd put it JUST outside the show's top ten best songs.

[eduardo]

Episode 9 has to be one of the very best of the season. Bloom's on fire in the scene where Rebecca's lies have been discovered. That Emmy snub will hurt for years :(

and Women gotta stick together is such a brilliant song, i'm so loving Gabrielle Ruiz as Valencia.

♫Women gotta stick together all across this land, except Denise Martinez, That bitch I cannot stand..♫ LMAO