-I didn't write about Where Is Josh's Friend? last week (Actually another reason I started this I Got Thoughts format) but I thought it was a strong start to the season and taken with this week, I'm very excited to see where this all goes.
-I wasn't sure about the new theme song at first but it's quickly grown on me. It does a good job of summing up Rebecca's mindset for the season now that she's no longer in denial for her feelings and is all in on being in love. Also the "Blam!" ending that lasts just long enough to be awkward is hilarious.
-Very good week for the music this week. The three new songs were all great in their own way for reasons I'll outline below and I'm a sucker for a good reprise so as worried as I was for Greg's new-found sobriety, him returning to But I Could If I Wanted To right before punching a wall was great.
-Where Is Josh's Friend? made it clear that Josh and Rebecca clearly have different levels of investment in their relationship. Luckily, by the end of When Will Josh See How Cool I Am? Rebecca has also realized that and is making a push against Josh's "staying in our own lanes" attitude towards her.
-Before she learned that though we had the adventure of her trying to become a master ping pong player in a short amount of time, which had a guest appearance from national treasure Albert Tsai as her child mentor and helped offset the heavier material of the Greg story with some welcome silliness.
-I've been very impressed with how Greg's newly discovered alcoholism is being handled this season. Santino Fontana is doing great work making Greg feel like the same guy we met last season, albeit less angry and trying to improve himself in a meaningful way. The varied reactions of Greg's friends trying to figure out how to best support him was also nice (With Hector's constant forgetting that Greg can't drink being a very Hector touch). The road to recovery is long and complicated the CXGF writers seem interested in fully exploring it, which is nice.
-Heather is still pretty much on the fringe of the show's world ever since breaking up with Greg but she was good here as a friend and a support for Greg. Vella Lovell is always great on the show so more of her this season would definitely be welcome.
-Very glad they didn't drag out Rebecca and Josh hiding the truth from Greg for very long. Having it come out now while Greg is still early into recovery and could possibly spiral back was smart. Even though I figured Greg wouldn't actually be out drinking, I was genuinely worried when he was suddenly missing.
-Interesting that Josh and Rebecca had essentially the same reaction to Greg's alcoholism. They both didn't see it coming and then both used it as an excuse not to tell Greg about them sleeping together (Though Josh was not able to keep the cat in the bag for very long).
-Greg got a DUI because he was going to tell Rebecca he loved her! Aw, that hurts. He seems to have processed what Josh and Rebecca did pretty healthily in the end though. Of course if the ending with Rebecca smelling his sweatshirt is any indication, she might be interested in Greg again, which might not be the best thing for Greg. Agh, the relationships on this show are so messy and well-drawn.
-At the least, it's good that Rebecca's conversation with Greg has opened her eyes a bit to the reality of her situation with Josh. It was a relief to hear her tell him "I deserve to be with someone who treats me well".
-Josh's self-centered personality and emotional immaturity have always been part of his character, but now that he's no longer with Valencia, it's really becoming obvious. It's good. Josh's flaws only serve to make him more interesting as a character.
-Paula trying to quit her addiction to Rebecca's drama and applying to law school was a very smart move on the writers part that opens up a lot more stories for her and gives us a good example for how Rebecca's single-minded pursuit is affecting and hurting her relationships with others.
-Having Paula's big concern in this episode be "Does Rebecca support me doing this?" rather than "Will Rebecca write the letter on time?" was a smart choice. It lets the fact that Rebecca does write the letter in the end be more important than her not doing it on time (which we all knew was going to happen). It helps that Daryl had actually written Paula a recommendation letter so Rebecca screwing up didn't actually hurt Paula.
-That being said, it seems we're eventually going to reach a point where Rebecca and Paula hit an impasse over Rebecca's behaviour.
-Daryl being under the very mistaken impression that he and Paula are best friends was a great beat when he mentioned it during Paula Needs To Get Over Josh! and I was thrilled to see it return here. Oh Daryl. Paula will realize you're the friend she needs one day. At least she used your letter (when she had no other choice).
-Paula's marriage seems to be in a more stable, supportive place this year which is nice. Also the "After everything you've done for her-" "That she didn't ask for" exchange was a nice echo to both After Everything I've Done For You and the pairs spoken word exchange of the theme song last season.
-White Josh DOES look kind of resemble a giant, buff chipmunk (A Chiphunk to use Rebecca's phrasing.). I'm not sure I'll ever look at him the same again.
-Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is very good at making distinct characters like Greg's ridiculously supportive boss Kevin (who's getting a lot of play so far this season.) or his Motorcycle gang AA Sponsor Guardrail. Hopefully there's more Guardrail in the episodes to come because he seems to be the kind of gruff but supportive presence Greg needs right now.
-I was looking forward to Ping Pong Girl the moment it showed up in the promos for this weeks episode and it did not disappoint. Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne fame wrote a terrific send-up of late 90's/early 00's pop punk that manged to skewer the idea of the "effortlessly cool without trying girl" and bro culture as filtered through Rebecca's fantasy of what that is and how she can twist it to lead Josh to make a meaningful commitment. The song's also full of great lines like "Ping-Pong shows that she has control over her body, but it doesn't threaten my masculinity like basketball or hockey". The cuts from the fantasy music video back to Actual Rebecca trying and failing to learn Ping Pong before getting too caught up in the fake music video playing out in her head were also great and made it clear how well Rebecca's plan would actually work (which is to say not at all).
-Although Ping Pong Girl is probably my favourite song of the episode (I have a real soft spot for pop punk), Maybe This Dream and Greg's Drinking Song were equally terrific, character driven songs that were funny but also had a certain kind of sadness to them. Behind Paula singing a Disney Princess song about the disappointments of life and "Dump Cramps" is a poignant mix of hope and fear about her applying to law school and her worries that it won't work out. And Greg's Irish drinking song about all the things that happen when he drinks is funny, but also paints a bleak portrait of how serious his problem actually is.
-All in all, another strong and inventive episode of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Next week appears to tackle the Josh/Greg/Rebecca triangle head-on with a Marilyn Monroe-inspired number. That sounds promising.
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