DianeDobbler

Or Melrose. I *thought* I'd watched all of The Libertines and *that* scene was great. Rhonda goes in expecting it to be about her only to find out the two dudes are being perfunctory with her. I don't recall her being such a perfect sweet angel in Seasons 1 and 2 though. But, main thing, how did I watch this episode and miss Sam/Ruth? I was burning through the season and must have conked out at that part. So, note to all comments that seem to not realize - that's why. I'm a little bit frustrated with the Bash/Gigolo stuff because in my head canon, Bash consummated his relationship with Florian but was incredibly compartmentalized. His enjoyment of the stuff with the gigolo didn't seem to surprise him, though. He was just conflicted that Rhonda "saw".

That kept distracting me. I liked this season more than you did though. Ruth's character suffered the most. She just repeated beats from last season and stayed in limbo. She briefly seemed to igo for it with Sam, but he'd gone back to L.A., which everyone knew would be the case as soon as she went to his door. I didn't expect GLOW to keep Sam and Ruth apart the second half of the season, but I guess it's difficult to come up with other reasons to not pull the trigger with them. Ruth really took a backseat this season though as they let Debbie become the leading lady. This always happens in a will they or won't they. Shows start focusing on other stuff when the couple reaches the fish or cut bait stage AND throws in something like Sam's geographic unavailability or other abrupt external obstacle. I did enjoy Sam's maturity. I like good, tight tv plotting and plot devices. His heart attack as the cherry on the sundae of his self-improvement regimen is a perfect example. He's already working out and working pretty hard, and there goes the booze and cigarettes - mostly. I love Marc Maron and Britt Baron together, and as cheesy as Justine's movie success turned out to be, and as neatly perfect for both her and Sam, II couldn't help feeling happy. Didn't particularly enjoy the confessional re the Holocaust and Cambodian genocide. The relationship stakes were very low, as were the character stakes. The two women are minor characters, so it came off as virtue signalling and a history lesson. Enjoyed Betty Gilpin more this season. Seasons 1-2, I recognized her talent without caring at all about Debbie, and that's still the case. But Gilpin is very funny in the expressions that flicker across her face when Bash nods he's heard of Fifi LaCock or Sandy asks her how she'd feel if Bash died or Tex holds up two bolo ties. I like how comedic things register with her more than dramatic things. All that hype about Geena Davis, and the character existed only to extend their contract, something that could have happened off screen. Ruth is a terrible actress. Or she's a comedienne/character actor rather than the serious actress she wants to be. She was a cute Liberty Belle, and if she worked her cutesy ingenue side she would probably book things. It's also ridiculous that the show pretends Debbie has the killer, commercial body and look and Ruth doesn't. Nobody mentions it. She doesn't dress to enhance it, but somebody should have mentioned it to her by now. Instead she's an earnest actress who is not hot, not interesting, not that talented, and can't get out of her head and into her instincts. The TV station situation didn't bother me. Once a show is up and running the way GLOW is, producing and recasting can be done long distance when necessary. They can have a stage manager/show runner on site.

I've never heard of Toby Huss but I remember thinking that guy on the plane was way too talented for a bit part. Very nice development. I am very interested in Sam/Ruth however it winds up, but when Britt Baron is around I forget that and get completely into Sam/Justine. The chemistry is as good with Marc Maron and both actresses. Different relationships, but just as easy and natural. It reminds me of when I saw the movie The Apartment for the first time on the web. I'm watching the Jack Lemmon/Shirley MacClaine and into that, then comes the plot twist where a heartbroken Jack Lemmon meets up with Hope Holiday, and immediately I'm ready for an entirely different movie that just follows the two of them instead.

I think he knows she does think about him that way and is frustrated at her unwillingness to take a shot, as he puts it. She was flirting with him and gratuitously touching him throughout their day together, and obviously they were in sync. This entitles him to nothing, of course, and she is entitled to not pursue it for any reason or no reason. But as they are close friends, I think they have the kind of standing with each other that he can at least put it on the table, explain his feelings, tell her how it feels/looks from his end as far as how she sees him, and see what she says. Ruth is definitely trying to have it both ways, and again, that is ok. She wants to enjoy her chemistry with Sam, flirt, be around him, be special, have that connection, but not actually have the romantic relationship, and she has obvious excellent reasons to resist crossing that line, the ones she told him being two - the big age difference, and her not wanting to ruin what they do have. It really is a good conflict. I liked that he got a bit defensive and challenging when she mentioned the age difference, but then the rest of the time is trying to keep fit and prove to himself he's not gone to seed, with mixed results, such as in the tennis game. And while Ruth still sees him as the hookers and blow guy, obviously the Sam we're seeing has matured somewhat and is enjoying Vegas in a different way than his previous degenerate habits. Really, the obstacles are very strong. Ruth is not wrong. If Sam were younger, I think she'd have less trouble, and if the friendship chemistry were less strong and he meant less, she might have less trouble giving it a shot because there would be less to lose. I'm really glad they mentioned the age gap because last season I felt they wanted to ignore it, which, for a feminist show, is kind of a tiresome thing as they wouldn't ignore it with the genders reversed. Rhonda was into him, just frustrated by how he overlooked the possibility of an emotional as well as physical connection. When the girls saw his old dating video, some of them cat called about they wouldn't toss him out of bed. It seemed as if GLOW were working too hard to make him viable in amongst a lot of younger women in a way they wouldn't an older woman with a lot of younger men. So far I like it much better this season as the show is saying, yeah he's older, and it's a real thing.

Don't know why they gravitated to the "Bad boy asshole" as that's a trope that is on every TV show in existence and they did nothing new with it, much as I like Scott Michael Foster. But seeing Greg and Rebecca become good friends feels like a natural evolution. Never bought them as love interests. IF, at some point, Greg would have moved past his fixation (I always thought she was a stand-in for the things he hadn't done - Emory, moving away from West Covina, taking risks, going places where there were more Gregs, like New York), they would have been viable close friends.

Yeah, I do think it's a cheat that Episode 18 is a concert, and they should have told us that from day one. I wonder if they had the option of doing 18 narrative episodes but barely had story for 17 so opted for the concert at 18.

I had another realization, which is that while for Rebecca it could be any of these three guys or it could be some other guy, or Jason could come back, CXG has told us for all three guys it is Rebecca and only Rebecca. Nathaniel hasn't been with her in over a year, maybe longer. Josh, a couple of years, Greg more recently, but prior to his return a couple of years. Remember "We'll Never Have Problems Again"? "Obsession scientifically lasts four years at most." Bloom has discussed the specific chemical that is released at the height of sexual and romantic attraction - it's like a drug. But with the guys, it's presented straight up. CXG is telling us, this is what love looks like. This is how they've proved themselves worthy of Rebecca. The inability to consider any other woman, even when YEARS go by. This is love. These three guys, not doing a single thing to achieve healthy non-Rebecca intimate lives even when cast aside, are apparently not unhealthy men who are dubious candidates for a healthy, grown-up, committed relationship, but rather men who have proved their devotion and earned Rebecca's in return. She, OTOH, has nothing but options and is happy to consider them all. And her therapist co-signs all this without a qualm. If I had an ex who never so much as went out on a date or had a one night stand in the two years we were split, because if he couldn't have me he didn't want anyone, I would think there was something wrong with him and seriously hesitate about getting back together.

Yeah, the salmon was stupid. First of all, it's not what you do for that type of event, and it's clearly the most expensive thing. They tried to just make jokes about bitchy, competitive moms which is just another way CXG has dived face first into predictability. With her new salary Paula would just order the salmon delivered to the event, and done. Why weren't those jokes made anyway? Set the audience up to expect the cliche of harassed moms slaving away in the kitchen and then upend it by showing the scones person on the phone to a kosher bakery? And why was it all moms? Fathers actually do participate in this stuff, including the potluck parts. When Rebecca got all dressed up for her date with Nathaniel I thought it was gross. The premise of this whole thing is really disgusting. How is this believable? I don't mean realistic - it's a comedy. But believable, with an internal logic to it? So her first date is with Josh and its super intimate, they kiss, fall asleep in each other's arms. Then she resets and goes on another date with another guy where it's basically the same beats. Again, gross. Is this how intimacy works? It isn't. It's like the ability to generate it with three guys in three days just damages the credibility of ANY Of the relationships, not to mention Rebecca's own emotional credibility. I don't know how it's possible to believe in whoever she chooses. I feel like if two of the guys conveniently vaporized she'd be perfectly happy with who was left. Furthermore, they really haven't told us why she's doing this other than "the guys want me to" which is a WTF. The last time she discussed needing to get laid/wanting to date it was Jason, and when that didn't work out she what? Dropped it? All season she's had little flickers of sexual/romantic attraction for both Nathaniel and Josh, and then Greg came in and he was folded in. BUT CXG has not told us what those flickers mean, particularly not laid out why she'd be having them for all the guys. They went WAY too meta, forgot to have this be believable for a single, particular woman, and it's all about running versions of Rebecca with each guy according to fan factions. In the process, Rebecca has lost her credibility. I also think it's trolling. The character should be more important than the meta parts. They've gotten the storytelling values completely bolloxed. P.S. While Bloom and McKenna have lectured us about capital "R" romance in media, the damage it does, and how that type of heightened feeling is only chemical, I don't believe an emotionally truthful presentation of male/female relationships is "It could plausibly be any of these three guys I know and probably Jason too." Not plausibly any of them all at the same time. Especially when the TEST of which guy it should be is heightened romantic dates. And no, Greg didn't have the rom com date, except he did. Their date was just as much a heightened romantic scenario we've all seen a thousand times. It could have been a kitchen where a meal he was preparing was ruined and they ordered take-out, or any one of a number of "fantasy destroyed but what we did instead was even MORE romantic!" scenarios I've seen dozens of time from soap operas to ancient famous films. I think the execution of the premises they've apparently established were poorly done. AND they've been far too conscious of the audience instead of just doing their job and developing these characters and themes this season. They have shown not enough faith in their own show and their own leading lady as they apparently believe that The Guy is the only way they can hold interest until the finale. They really have fallen into the HIMYM trap. I thought they were savvier than that. PPS, and I get that if they want to make the point that oh the other dates were romantic in upper case and the Greg "date" was a non-date with no making out, just people connecting (which is its own cliche done a million times, most often in rom coms similar to the one that was satirized in Nathaniel's special episode), what does that prove? She has known Josh for years, Greg for years, Nathaniel for at least a couple of years now, and she's been with all of them in NON heightened romantic situations. She's had relatively reality based, just human-to-human encounters with all three. So what would the two Romantic dates pitted against her and Greg's non-romantic date prove about her relationship with any of the guys? I guess again, I think CXG has lost the specificity and history of the characters in favor of some kind of weird academic point.

Angora, I just can't help feeling that CXG has underwritten Josh in order to spring the "surprise!" on us with him being IT at the end, and then they're going to lecture us, which is going to piss me off so much. Sure, on most shows he would definitely be "it's an honor to be nominated" and the writing has born that out, BUT, I don't trust the writing. He's the only one of the three in therapy. Considering they've done absolute SHIT with that but TELL us he was, I can't help feeling that's going to end up a "See, if you'd been paying ATTENTION" move. Whatever guy it ends up being, my problem is all three have been undeveloped and underwritten in order to preserve the "element of surprise". And while, as usual, Greg has probably gotten the MOST writing, they wrote nothing in terms of him processing his and Rebecca's most recent romantic reunion. The writing showed us it was not grounded. She was still in her "Romance is a fix!" phase, and Greg was beginning to call it out, in a low key way. They broke up after Raging Waters, but didn't show Greg reflect at all on the relationship they'd had until then. If this were a different show, they'd be a female friend in the background, and he's be like, "I thought she was it, but now I realize I was blinded by my obsession." So, if Greg is The One, how are they going to sell us their recent reunion and the warning flags that popped up? We're supposed to forget it because she's the love of his life? At the least, we needed a scene of him processing their short-lived reunion, but he did NOTHING. There was STUFF there. Why was it there, if it's nothing? This is where the show has truly cheated. Looking back, I see Josh and Rebecca as the most compatible, but of course, she was sick during most of it, and CXG hasn't told us what part of it was an organic compatibility and what part of it was Rebecca's illness. Nathaniel. This is the one that bugs me the most. First of all, I think if Nathaniel had been cast with Vincent Rodriguez III, he'd have been driven off CXG the second he said he was exterminating Josh's dad and exporting his grandad or whatever (particularly if Josh were played by SMF). And the relationship itself, so screwed up the entire time. FINE. But to spend an entire season of Nathaniel mourning something that never happened -someone point out to me the emotionally available and unconditional love phase of their relationship. And truly, SMF/Nathaniel doesn't seem THAT invested. He's like two steps from going on the apps himself and being ok. Sure, they had him cry/sob, gave him his own episode, but in general I'm not buying it. And now that he's nice, I don't buy that his alternatives are sort of either probably an anemic Mona type or the full-blooded Rebecca. Nah. Which brings me to, Rebecca is my problem here, which brings me to, the writing is my problem here. If the writing were strong, we'd KNOW why Rebecca was doing this, but I, personally don't. She is much better. She kind of quit re the apps after the Jason thing kept messing up, but WHY? It was one guy - there are other guys out there. She hasn't seemed desperate for love or thinking her bio clock was running down. ALL of this appears to be in response to somehow the guys deciding, and I don't get it, and it appears to be sloppy, not very feminist, and an icky fit for CXG. Not what I expected because Rebecca is not really a driver in this, and for God's sake, if not CXG, what show will do it?

On the Greg front, it would be helpful if when they had their reunion we saw it functioning. Instead it was "YOU'RE schmoopy!" "No, YOU'RE schmoopy." It wasn't just the fallout from Raging Waters that was the problem. The key scene came before that, with Rebecca and Greg walking around the block and Greg gently and pretty mildly pointing out that everything is OTT (constant hand-holding, can't spend a night apart, etc. Rebecca was even using baby talk). In fact, one of the complaints I have with the show is they will drop a scene like that on us, but never follow up. It's erased by the big drama that comes next (Raging Waters). Kind of like the build-up, anxiety and absolute OTT crazy on Rebecca's part just prior to Josh and Rebecca's wedding was almost erased by him not showing up for it. IMO it's the stuff before that is important in both cases. When I think about Rebecca and Greg, I can picture them of course hanging out at a restaurant or bar the way she does with her girlfriends, kind of reviewing the world. But at home? For a woman who is so highly intelligent, she does not read. She LOVES the internet. She has massive appetites, she's an experience girl. She gets in there. Greg I can see coming home from work and wanting to read a book, or catch up with something related to the restaurant business while a restless Rebecca wants to have sex, or wants to be entertained, or wants him to snuggle up with her while she watches a nightime soap opera marathon. I've never seen Rebecca reading a book or enjoying classical music, both things I can see Greg liking. Nathaniel I can also see wanting to read or decompress by putting on the headphones and listening to ...modern heavy metal? Or doing a very structured workout in his home gym, and then going to a "lovely restaurant." For all of his being hung up on Rebecca, she hasn't changed him in a way that makes them more compatible. The stuff he likes to do and what he does with his time is all the same. He's learned empathy in structured situations, or so we're told. I think not having Greg process his short-lived reunion with Rebecca and take in how it played out and how Rebecca behaved was a cop out. I don't mean her acting out after Raging Waters, but the stuff before, which Greg was starting to clock. It was totally dropped after they split. None of these guys processed the actual relationship, which is very annoying. Josh and she are not the same people as the stalkee and stalker. He's been in therapy for over a year. She's gotten help for her emotional illness. So what happened when he was less self-aware and she was sick aren't deal breakers. And saying that, to be fair, probably her sleeping with Marco isn't either as long as Greg can get past it, since she was sick. I mean that's HUGE, but intellectually Greg does get it, as he told Whijo awhile back. On a pure plot front, all three have deal breakers in their history. There's a lot of material to develop, acknowledge and explore, and CXG hasn't done it. This entire season it has told us things instead of dramatizing them, and I think it was in the interest of protecting the "surprise" at the end, which is very cheap writing. Because CXG has been treading water, I have a lot of trouble understanding why all three are still hung up on the very specific Rebecca we've seen this season. CXG is not the only clever, savvy show which has tried to pretend being self-aware is as good as strong writing and plotting. It's overdone, and at this point I can think of at least three shows that were creatively successful because of absolutely brilliant plotting, and then the writers started winking and cheaping out when the plot weakened, becoming overly contrived and results-oriented. I don't enjoy it anymore. BTW shout out to Michael Hyatt yet again for her wonderful line deliveries. The wonderful beat after "hot tub" and before "slap fight" was terrific. AND her reaction to her client cornering her in her civilian space was absolutely perfect. P.S. why would Donna have to drive car pool? Isn't her youngest son a little old for that at this point?

I am still gearing up to finish this episode but just want to say I agree with Yeah No and possibilities. There were natural / or organic ways to do this, but because they wanted to troll the audience all the way to the end, plus fan service, they chose this, and no amount of wink / wink we're calling ourselves out makes this legit or even a decent rom com. It is completely artificial - the actual premise is a WTF. She actually is unable to make up her mind which guy it should be? What is it she is basing it on, have we been told? So far it seems like an exercise in reading consumer reports to figure out which blender she should purchase. But, now the fan side of me. I think Nathaniel and Rebecca have perceived similar status, and that is all they have in common. Just Rebecca leaving Akopia's candy cane mocha store but first sitting in the big chair and swinging her legs is so her. I just feel people don't SEE her. She's a big kid. None of her closest friends are in the corporate world except Paula, and Paula's background is in no way similar to Rebecca, and Greg only re-started his life two years ago. I think Nathaniel and Rebecca have nothing in common, and their relationship was never sane. If I missed something, I am ready to stand corrected, but first it was a 50 Shades Revenge alliance plus sex while she was still obsessed with Josh. Then it was a brief period of dating and she pulled the plug due to her fears of repeating old patterns. Now I guess some of their partisans think THAT is the real relationship, but I do not. After that it was eight months of banging in a supply closet and then it was done. Where the "only sane relationship" part occurred I do not recall. He has recently concluded a "I'm nice now" phase that was as cartoonish and stunted as anything I've ever seen and if he were played by anyone but SMF (whose "type" coupled with Nathaniel's background renders it difficult sometimes to actually clock what he's doing) he would be creepy AF. I think Josh makes the most sense. I don't think Rebecca is an enormous intellect - she was extremely book smart but her emotional maturity is not light years ahead of his. Greg, I think, was taken out of serious consideration by how their recent reunion went. They had nothing in common and then she apparently kicked it into high romance mode so OTT even he commented on it (the walking repeatedly around the block, inability to spend a night alone, etc.) so we still haven't seen them conduct a successful relationship since Rebecca went into fantasy mode. I do think they have a successful friendship. One of my issues with this show is they haven't built up other routes for the three guys, which I think is only fair to the characters. If it's not going to be Nathaniel, then someone like Maya should be in his corner giving him advice, etc. in a low key way so if he's not the winner, fans could think, "maybe that could be something once he wakes from his Rebecca haze." I wish Heather wasn't married so it could be the same with Greg. And Josh seems to have completely abandoned dating on the apps. So therefore once she makes a choice, we will have the other two guys, whom we are supposed to actually like and root for no matter what the outcome - brokenhearted. WAY too Mary Sue for me, but I think Aline Brosh Mckenna has always had that blind spot with Rebecca.

It was the blog "Bower Power" that had the 21k roof after they shopped here there and everywhere for a lower cost. But I suppose their roof must have been in especially bad shape, and they do have a very large house. In its first two seasons, CXG was so strongly structured and plotted, it was almost the main thing that drew me to the show. You can just sit back and enjoy everything because the premise is so strong. When there's a very strong plot, there's tremendous writing freedom. In her drive to win Josh, Rebecca could become discouraged and go in another direction, with that drive still underneath ready to be reactivated. She could take a pause and help a friend with THEIR adventure. Josh's life and her life could present challenges that complicated her pursuit. As long as that engine was under there the mini-stories that were layered on top were almost infinite. And the breaks and pauses and changes of direction were almost infinite, as long as that drive was still present, the show was cohesive. So it was very notable to me in the second half of S3 that they didn't LOSE the plot, they just didn't have one. There was nothing there to move in to replace Rebecca's undiagnosed issues and lack of awareness of same. It was just, well, borderlines backslide a lot so we'll have her do a lot of crazy things! We'll still be the wacky CXG! But without that strong underlying premise, it felt sloppy and random. Once she crashed and burned Joshwise, the Nathaniel element wasn't strongly defined enough to pin stories on, especially as CXG seemed unsure if he was going to be her true love, Mr. Right Now, a sex thing and a friend, or was hoping WE'D tell THEM. Because CXG did a big re-write on the finale, I thought they had finally taken a breath and realized they hadn't set the proper stakes, and although their solution wasn't perfect, they did rework the ending. Which makes it so surprising to me that this season is so plotless. Aline previewed that Rebecca would have three guys after her, so I thought the creators would have a story in place. Instead it's pretty much just "These three guys like Rebecca, and that's really about it. We're gonna spin our wheels til the end. Every so often one of them will quit the game, but they won't mean it. We're not going to tell you anything new about them, none of them really have much of an individual story at this point. We'll repeat beats, and sooner or later the end will arrive." And it shows in the songwriting too. That's it. It's all side stories. It reminds me of encountering early viewers of S1 and S2 CXG who didn't take the deconstruction, feminist, and mental illness part very seriously, and thought all of that was just a light pretext for a basic rom com show with a wacky lead. IOW, they got it backwards. But now I think CXG has become exactly that. P.S. Or "Bauer Power"? Can't recall.

I kind of thought what Paula was wearing to her interviews was ALREADY in the perfectly appropriate and polished high street category so I didn't get her problem. She wasn't wearing Dress Barn. Her interview suits were great and fit her perfectly, the green suit she wore on her first day was great and fit her perfectly, and her grooming was faultless. So what - she felt she needed a sherbert colored colorblock suit with matching buttons to fit in? Her original attire was more sophisticated than what everyone else was wearing.

My understanding from reading a couple of house blogs is a roof is in the 20k arena. Paula said "A new roof." so that's what it's going to cost. But ok, if it's high stakes enough, I guess so. I don't know what the list is supposed to mean. Is it, "I love all of them equally, so I just have to do some calculations?" It is "Love is irrelevant, so the person with the highest score is the one I should be with?" WTF is the point? She went through a segment of this season not sure any of them were into her. Now that she knows they are ALL into her, that forces her to choose? How so? I just think the show is overly invested in keeping it a surprise, and in doing so, has firmly installed itself in dumb ass territory. Very disappointing. If I were writing it (I know), I'd put the focus on Rebecca's life and her friends' lives. And gradually fade 2 out of the three guys from her life, only we'd think all three were gone. One would get married - happily. The other would move away - happily. And the third would have seemingly been resolved in S3, and while remaining on the show, would be dating and pursuing his own life. So the audience is firmly on "This is about Rebecca, not a rom com." And then somehow in the last two episodes fold the third guy back in in a low key way. But this. Is just not a suspension of disbelief situation. I have no idea what CXG saying. What is Rebecca going to discover on the dates? What is she SEEKING to discover? Which one she actually loves? Which one has a few extra points on his column she hadn't considered before the date? Why is it necessary to do any of this?

Agreed. Each of the suits is 8k each! So 40k plus what Jesse lost plus a new roof and college? Don't think a pair of jacks did all that. Reminds me of the classic movie My Man Godfrey which I think is overpraised for a number of reasons, but, at one point, William Powell's character explains how he parlayed a single "borrowed" pearl necklace into enough money to pay off the family's debts, restore their wealth, AND recover the necklace all in a matter of days. Played completely straight. Back to CXG - I, also, think "Go on a date with each of us" was a complete WTF and Rebecca's mystified answer, like all of a sudden she couldn't do math, not to mention she went along with the CONCEPT, was a complete "What show am I watching and when did they decide to say "Never mind" to anything feminist? WHY does she have to decide again? Isn't the fact that she can't decide maybe a sign she shouldn't be deciding? It does not help that CXG is taking the usual cheapo cop-out when shows do stuff like this by calling itself out and trying to pre-empt criticism that way (via Whijo's mockery and jokes). Self-awareness is not an all purpose get out of jail free card for poor plotting.

I think the fact that other than a painfully predictable and very short (and un-illuminating) reprise of "Math of Love Triangles" there have been no songs about Rebecca choosing one of the men shows how contrived it is. It also beggers the suspension of disbelief. Seriously, all three men, as far as she is able to understand, are on basically equal standing? That's not a real life dilemma. Furthermore, CXG is so up Rebecca's ass it hasn't once tried to establish for us exactly WHY all three have been stuck in the Rebecca groove and can't move on. It's an extremely chickenshit way to tell this so-called story.

I think Rebecca will end up with Josh but I also think they have played the rom com arc of the concluding episodes completely wrong. I mean an entire Nathaniel episode where he had to quite agonizingly work through losing Rebecca for good, accepting it, and moving on, only he didn't move on and the only reason he accepted it was she was with someone else and he's not going to chase her but he WILL take every chance proferred and ... Good CHRIST. What was the point of giving the straight white dude an episode all about him then if it weren't to truly move him on from a relationship that only existed the way he remembers it in his memory and never actually played out that way in reality? There's something about Skylar Astin where I know Greg isn't supposed to be over her either but I sort of have faith that he is or will be and will actually date someone else next time the opportunity comes along. I was very very happy for him that he started out kind of protecting himself (a classic Greg thing) but not trying too hard with the restaurant, that Chris sort of opened his eyes a little bit, and just the way he was when people started coming through the door. The restaurant is adorable and I truly believe Greg would be happy there because he seems more comfortable now in his own skin, and really appreciative of doing something well and having feedback that others appreciate it. Really what touched me was his expectations were minimal and how he reacted when people liked it, they really really liked it. Paula looked killer in this episode with her hair, especially, absolutely gleaming. Maybe her personal arc is done but she's still integral cast member and it's ok for her still to be around. What is Rebecca's end game (and it IS going to be with one of those three guys even if I'm wrong about the one I think it is) is wearing on me. I was looking forward to it when Aline Brosh McKenna previewed it. I thought it would be fun. But it's not fun, not creative, they are doing absolutely nothing to show us stuff instead of telling us stuff over and over, and I'm just done with that. They didn't tell us why Valencia wanted to be proposed to but filling in the subtext on my own, I think her stated reason about friends being married and all that is just her cover up. She wants to be and to feel chosen, she spent years with Josh without him popping the question despite her practically handing him a script. At least she told Beth what she wanted even though I suspect her reason aren't her real reasons. Whatever Rebecca's romantic end game, I think her creative end game will be writing and producing her own shows or sketches in musical form, performing in them with her friends, and uploading them on youtube where they become incredibly popular. That will be a shout out to Bloom's own trajectory and also, IMO, make sense for Rebecca's writing talents, her energy, her schedule (she still owns Rebetzals) and her budget. I really hope CXG doesn't continue to try and show us Rebecca has an unlimited bank account.

Greg is allowed to not like water parks, but if he agrees to go and still begrudges, that is asshole. Yes, yes, relationship high, wants to make her happy, she really really really wanted to go and made pouty faces, but that is when you act like a grown up person and say I don't like it, never will like it, and even loving the fact that we're back in a relationship and together won't make me like it. Once he goes, that's it. He can't be half-assed, going through the motions, a drag, or he's being a baby. He's a big boy. I mean obviously, IMO, this episode is saying they are not that compatible. There was always the question of, if a non-bitter Greg, no longer stuck in West Covina, finally on track at his dream grad school, got back together with Rebecca, would it work? Did his grumpy and dour aspects stem from frustration? In this episode they are showing us he's that guy whether his life is on track or not on track. And I don't think people like Greg are unhappy at ALL. They are often, IMO, quite happy and healthy, but they are not well-matched with the Rebeccas of this world, who can make a party out of hanging out with Paula's kind of grumpy and obnoxious dad. AND it is not the job of the Rebeccas of this world to sort of be their partner's one stop shopping center for fun, and the only way their partner can access it. I liked this episode but still feel the show can be sloppy linking things up. The story they SHOWED us prior to this episode was a Rebecca who was being healthy. She confessed to Greg about Marco. She accepted when Greg walked away. She was honest with Jason. When she and Greg started to get back together she pressed pause and explained to him she had to process the spiral she had just had. When Nathaniel asked her if she was happy, she gave a mature, one day at a time answer. In every way she behaved like a woman who was doing her homework, remaining mindful, and not falling into the traps of using relationships, emotions and love as a fix. I absolutely think CXG was making the point it's a different Rebecca this time. Then because they wanted to make a different point in this episode, they reveal she was substituting a relationship high for therapy and meds. That is NOT what the show was showing us in prior episodes. The episodes themselves are well done, but connecting them is poorly done. Did enjoy that Josh was allowed to use the word, "Hence" and that he knew immediately how many drinks she'd had.

Jack Dolgen gave Skylar Austin a shout out for "I hate everything but you" and Austin did kick ass. The problem, for me, is his body language and uber-energetic performance contradicted the jaded guy defined by his anhedonia (the actual original title of Annie Hall). The second time Austin yelled "Even more examples!!!!" his body was writhing with energy. He was uninhibited and full of abandon the entire performance. This is a guy exploding with fun while singing about how he hates everything, and I don't think this was intentional or considered.

I don't think there's a stigma to being on meds. Maybe 15 years ago. But in Southern California? Any of the coastal places, even West Covina? No.

I'm going by what SMF said in a recent interview, that he was given five on a "let's see how you do." basis. A show usually puts a positive public announcement spin on casting because it's so sensitive for the performers. With that caveat, I think they gave SMF the five only as a formality, an insurance policy to cover their behinds in case it didn't work for some totally unanticipated reason, but that behind the scenes the show runners anticipated it would work and mapped out S3 accordingly even before he'd begun shooting. It was obvious CXG was excited to have him. SMF himself has always been the one to throw cold water on his own hype. Aline said that the reason SMF wasn't cast as Greg when he auditioned for Greg was because nobody could possibly believe a guy as handsome as SMF would be stuck in Greg's life or be the runner-up in some girl's romantic arc. When that was quoted back to SMF he said that was flattering spin but he believed the actual reason was they wanted a stronger singing chops for Greg than his own. Josh's intelligence - I think it was a big mistake to just lift Hector's original Mom weirdness and paste it onto Josh with Hector's mom. That was lazy. I recently rewatched an earlier season. Think it was S2 when Josh was stalling because he didn't want to tell Greg he was living with Rebecca. When Greg asked him where he was living Josh said, "Where do I reside?" like he actually knew the word reside. It just bugs me that they went the dumb route. It was overkill.

I've never understood the writers' intentions to be carved in stone like that. Rachel Bloom has said repeatedly that Vincent Rodriguez's performance changed her mind about Josh's viability, that he is a viable end game candidate for Rebecca's heart. Initially he was supposed to be an abstraction or symbol of romantic love. Scott Michael Foster was given five episodes in a "let's see how you do" way and then upgraded to regular when they liked him, so the initial intention for him to dominate S3 wasn't there with HIM, either. I also don't recall when the writers were adamant that Paula was the second lead. She was the classic sidekick. It got a lot of positive feedback so they were often answering questions like "Is the real love story Paula and Rebecca." As we saw with the finale of S3, that is a relationship they can go to when they feel something else they're trying lacks sufficient stakes. I am expecting Josh to be the End Game here and think it is being structured exactly like that. Things change quickly on this show. Two episodes ago, the one in the gym, Nathaniel was written as a foil for Greg. This past episode that flipped. I won't be mad if he isn't but I do think it's interesting how adamant some people are that Josh does not count. He has moved in with her and is her friend, and she's attracted to him. I think they are "saving" things for future episodes, which is why they're not showing their hand about HIS feelings (well, he hasn't articulated them, but has shown us a few things via behavior). BTW, my expectation is completely apart from any theoretical argument that he shouldn't be or it would validate stalking or whatever. (That last I totally dismiss - Paula should be in jail, Valencia should be suing the two of them, and Nathaniel should also be behind bars. As should Rebecca, for that matter.) But anyway, my opinion exists completely apart whether anyone thinks that's a good ending. I will say I think there has been an incredible double standard re Josh, that he's almost invisible to some even when he's featured or when certain points are shown, and that there's a refusal to think of him as in the mix, and more of that kind of thing that would not exist if he were a cute hot white dude. I don't think the show necessarily shares that double standard. I like Scott Michael Foster a whole lot more than I liked Santino Fontana as Greg, but I did not enjoy Nathaniel / Rebecca and very much wish they had not made him a stereotypical rich handsome dude with daddy issues. That type has been deconstructed to DEATH and behind and CXG did nothing new with it. He's a good actor and I wish they had created a different character for him. I would not appreciate an end game that had Rebecca ending up with the rich handsome blondish guy who turned out to have a vulnerable streak and a heart of gold - that seems antithetical to CXG in every way. For the record, I ended up liking Josh the best because of Rodriguez's warmth, not liking Fontana, and being meh on the chemistry Foster and Bloom are meant to project. That's where I was until the episode with Jason, where I found myself enjoying him with Bloom very much.

I'm here to point out that when you eliminate Greg, Nathaniel is not the only romantic end game option or Rebecca on the show. And I am expecting he (her roommate) will get his own big episode near the end. I do think it's obvious, just by how quickly they reunited romantically, that it's not going to be Greg. And I am also here to point out that it has been established repeatedly that Rebecca is currently attracted to her roommate. I would love to take bets, even virtual ones!! I LOVED this episode, mostly because I really enjoyed how well Scott Michael Thomas and Esther Povitsky worked together. I enjoyed their two big events - the karoake, and the work-all-night. They were adorable. I felt a pang myself when Nathaniel broke out of his daydream, made a decision, and ran into the regular Maya with whom he has no bonding history. I am glad he hit that level of maturity where the "if you love someone let them go" comes into play. But basically I was enjoying this episode on the level of a romantic comedy, even though they were sending it up.I was all about Daydream Maya and Nathaniel falling in love, and I loved Rachel Bloom's bitch faces at the table in the bar. She has that jealous-ex-in-romantic comedy routine DOWN. Even though this episode was really a Scott Michael Thomas and then Esther Povitsky showcase, I thought it brought out wonderful performances from Donna Lynn Champlin and Burl Mosley in particular. And of course, I enjoyed Greg wearing sweaters over his linen blazer, and particularly when he wore two sweaters over it as he went to propose. I never cared about Rebecca and Nathaniel's relationship but I have always found that Scott Michael Thomas at least is a strong television actor and understands the humor and rhythms and absurdity of this show. In fact I've always thought that was his strength. I thought this episode was his best performance in its combination of hilarious and absolutely genuine. He was really inspired and three dimensional. This was the first time I really believed in his being emotionally affected by the break-up. He sold it in a way I don't see when his character is actually PRESENT with the person (Rebecca) who supposedly broke his heart. My guesses about the remaining episodes start with my perception that Rebecca's real story is already over. She's a grounded, healthy, mature, self-aware woman who knows how to take care of herself. By the glamorous way Rebetzals looked even outside of Nathaniel's fantasy, it seems to be doing well so I'm not anticipating an on-screen career move. All that's left is her love life, but I think it's obvious that she'll be fine. If it's not Greg, or one of the other two, she'll date and she'll find someone, and that will be the one that works out. We don't really know what her ambitions are. And I think the rest of the main characters will also get happy endings. I think her close female friend group is pretty much set in that regard. Paula's marriage seems solid, she's a lawyer, she's not stuck being a drudge at home. She's going to be a happy semi-empty nester who can enjoy her life. For the others, I think Darryl is in a good place. He's basically in love with his kids. He'll date, but finding The One before the end of the series isn't necessary. He has a good relationship with his ex; the firm seems to be doing well. Nathaniel needed to move on while there were still a sufficient number of episodes remaining for the audience to see him living it and actually over Rebecca, not just nobly letting her go. What I expect from Greg and Rebecca is they will both realize it's kind of "eh" with them being a couple, and it won't break either of their hearts and they will give up the idea while remaining great and supportive friends. Without Rebecca being a bitter memory in his past anymore, Greg's story is done. He's a nice guy, he got the chance to see if he and Rebecca could really be The One for each other in an on the level way, and we'll know that now he'll probably find someone else in no time (just like Rebecca now would if all her current options didn't exist). For Josh, I think I know what the emotional arc is going to be but I have no idea what sort of story or plot will trigger it, but he'll also be resolved/defined in a happy way. I also have no idea what kind of time will pass between now and the end. This past episode seemed to happen only a couple of days after Greg and Rebecca babysat Hebecca. Don't know if there's more Naomi to come, but having Elaine Boozler show up for her award evening and get to rub it in the face of the Levines, plus her daughter setting firm new boundaries while still wanting a relationship with her seems like a nice wrap up for her.

I really enjoyed this, mostly because I loved the rom com of Maya/Nathaniel straight up as well as the rom com with the jokes and lampshades. And I enjoyed Rebecca's bitch faces and jealous "Babes" and stammering. AND Donna Lynn Champlin's every line reading. SMF was very good in this, but it reminds me the actual Nathaniel/Rebecca relationship bored me to tears, and they never developed his character. They've done a better job using Rebecca/Nathaniel as a sort of Proustian madeleine that lets us in to Nathaniel's inner life. They can't really evoke the actual relationship since it was one plot contrivance after the other. I never thought they belonged together. They had similar status and that is it. Temperment, taste, attitude, personality - a complete clash. It doesn't ying and yang for me either. I thought Fantasy Maya, with her unflappable demeanor, worked with him and relaxed him much more. I never liked Greg, but the CXG writers seem to find it very easy to write for him. Almost write TOO much for him. However, Astin's Greg, while funny and kind, seems a little basic vis a vis Rebecca. Still, I think what she needs is someone easygoing, fundamentally emotionally generous, and accepting. On the current canvas, that fits Greg (can't believe I'm saying that), Josh, and Jason.

never mind - added my thought to previous post.