Congratulations to Rachel Bloom for winning "individual achievement in Comedy" for Crazy Ex Girlfriend at the Television Critics Association Awards today!
As we continue our Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 1 recap, we finally come to the place where we all knew things were headed right from the pilot: Rebecca finally makes such a massive error that Josh realizes that something's not right. And there's no way she can avoid it.
S1. E11: "That Text Was Not Meant For Josh!"
Rebecca mistakenly sends a text meant for Paula to Josh, and rushes out to save herself by deleting the text before Josh sees it, while Paula attempts to rekindle the spark in her marriage...
Not Crazy, Totally Sane (For Now)
After everything has gone to shit, Greg walks by Rebeccca's again, and immediately goes to help her. But then he notices tell-tale signs that Josh was recently there, and gets mad at himself for falling into old patterns:
"There are other ways to get out of this building, but I walk by your patio. And my girlfriend is twenty feet through that wall, and I'm standing here."
Endearingly Un-Self-Aware
Greg stops by Rebecca's to pick up her hard drive, which Heather is using for her coding class. To which Rebecca says:
"Tell Heather not to open the folder that says "taxes". If she's looking for porn there's a folder that says "porn." They're the good kind - with plots."
Oh, Rebecca. You really went to Harvard AND Yale?
Josh tells Rebeca he feels naked ("like, buck naked") without his phone.
Adorably Awkward
On their Father Brah-mandated date night, Paula and her husband attempt to look into each other's eyes and connect. Only they can't figure out how, to "connect" while just looking at each other, so they decide to hold hands. While also attempting to eat steak.
Later, Paula admits to her almost affair with Calvin, and her husband cops to the same thing with a co-worker. Paula also admits to cheating on him with Rebecca's love life:
"It's just been so intoxicating to witness it in its purest form. I'm... addicted."
So are we all, Paula.
It Could Happen To You
It's basically everyone's worst nightmare: Sending a text about someone to that person instead of the person it was meant for. And Rebecca has to live it. In the middle of an arbitration at work.
Bonker Balls
Thankfully, Paula knows everyone on the panel personally, and they all agree Rebecca has to go take care of this emergency right away - with a police escort of course!
What do you guys think: Textmergency or Textastrophe?
But after Josh finds Rebecca in his apartment, she has to improvise her way out of it, and ends up, well... I'll let Rebecca put it in her own words (said in breathless whisper over the phone to Paula):
"So, okay, Josh caught me coming in his house and I started panicking and I told him we'd be good at Charades, and now he's being all protective and masculine. He smells like karate and I love it, and he's getting dressed now, so what I need you to do is I need you to go to my house, stop what you're doing, and throw a rock through my sliding glass door right now, okay?"
And of course Paula swings right into action, bringing her husband along for the ride. And it turns out that the couple that vandalizes together stays together!
...except that the rock Paula's husband threw through the window was one that he actually found in Rebecca's house (he had to go to the bathroom - cue "Where's the Bathroom" on the underscore - and Paula told him Rebecca always leaves her sliding glass door open). And when Josh finds it, he leaves, not wanting to know what really happened.
Which leads to what is maybe the show's best musical number so far:
Episode Grade: A+ The propulsive energy of the first two-thirds of the episode already mark it as great, but Rebecca's spectacular breakdown takes everything up a notch. It's the most relatable story the show has told so far, making it all too easy to sympathize with Rebecca's plight despite the fact that her crazy is showing all over the place. Plus, perfect comic relief from Donna Lynne Champlin (I say it again: She is better than at least half of the Emmy lineup for Comedy Supporting Actress). There aren't many actresses who could make this work so brilliantly:
MVP: Rachel Bloom. It's not just her performance (the crazy eyes! the manic "SLOW DOWN"s when trying to tell Josh what happened!), but the writing. "You Stupid Bitch" so perfectly captures the feeling of self-hate and self-sabotage that comes with making such a huge mistake, when "all the lying that's been festering... is coming down to crush you like a boulder."
Songs: "Textmergency", "Where is the Rock?" (A Band Made Up of Four Guest Stars); "You Stupid Bitch" (Rebecca)
Introducing: The Textmergency hair metal band: Arbitrator Harry (Jeff Hiller), opposing counsel Connie (Briga Heelan), her client (Ester Dean), and Rebecca's client (Ivan Hernandez).
S1.E12 "Josh and I Work on a Case!"
Paula engineers a way for Rebecca and Josh to see each other again, but it doesn't go as planned. So Rebecca instead takes Josh on as a client when he tells her his apartment hasn't had hot water in weeks. Meanwhile, Darryl realizes he's a "both-sexual" with the hots for White Josh.
Adorably Awkward
Darryl asks Rebecca if she thinks White Josh would take him on as a training client, leading to a hilariously cringe-y digression about beds in gyms. But after White Josh comes out to him ("You should really be called 'Gay Josh', that way people would know what's up." "Why? We don't call Greg 'Straight Greg'. We don't call you 'Old Gay Darryl'."), Darryl freaks out before realizing in his barefoot Cardio Mambo class that he kinda has a thing for both men and women.
And then kisses Josh, which is just plain adorable.
Possibly Insane
Valencia and Greg go through a bit too much undercover detecting to try to get Josh to see the truth about Rebecca, as they see it. Probably just so Valencia can show off her perfect undercover detective shades.
Paula's plan to get Rebecca out on a date with Josh again involves smog check, hacking into Valencia's schedule to see when her classes are, finding a fake boyfriend for Rebecca, running a shopping cart into Josh's car, making a fake coupon for a Chili's-style restaurant, and an extended Apollo 13 metaphor, complete with turning the office conference room into a NASA control center.
We've All Been There
Josh still feels uncomfortable about what happened at Rebecca's apartment last episode, so after he sugests the two of them take advantage of Paula's fake "Free Drinks and Appetizers" coupon, he panics and calls for reinforcements, leaving Rebecca feeling left out AND stuck with the massive check.
Bonker Balls
I would pay to see Rachel Bloom as Harold Hill in a gender-swapped The Music Man, wouldn't you?
And even crazier, after this she turns down a settlement offer of $1 million from the apartment complex's owner because she wants to spend more time with Josh. And then goes on an adventure in the sewers with Darryl and a "Water Truther" conspiracy theorist - whose crazy conspiracy theory may not be so crazy after all!
Episode Grade: B Not that this episode isn't funny, but it very much feels like the first half of a two-parter. Which it is.
MVP: The staff of Whitefeather & Associates. Pete Gardner plays Darryl's sexual awakening perfectly, Gina Gallego always makes the most of Mrs. Hernandez's brief appearances, and Donna Lynne Champlin proves yet again that she deserved a freakin' Emmy nomination with her perfect responses to Josh's limited mental capacity, her Ed Harris obsession, and unmatched ability to take a pratfall:
Songs: "Group Hang" (Rebecca and Josh's friends), "Cold Showers" (Rebecca, Darryl, Paula and ensemble)
Introducing: Josh's friends "Beans" (Harvey Guillen) and Ken (Devere Rogers), water truther Bert (Michael Hitchcock), and Rebecca's fake boyfriend Trent Maddock (Paul Welsh).