S02.E01: Where Is Josh's Friend?

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Can't Be Held Responsible For Her Actions

Rebecca and company are back, and addressing their underlying issues -- in song!

[aradia22]

Quote

I am trying to picture what Greg would be like if he's not angry anymore, like he said at his meeting. Would he be more like Josh? Did he used to be like Josh, and that's why the two of them became friends? And then he got all bitter and angry like Valencia....

I don't think he was ever like Josh. Given what we know about him, I think he was probably always a smart guy who thought he was a little better than West Covina. When his mom left he probably became a little more bitter. Then the drinking gave him an outlet but didn't completely derail him. And then his dad's health and his inability to get through business school probably affected him. And he comforted himself with the thoughts in "I Could If I Wanted To." Greg has a lot to work through besides the drinking. If he's not angry, I think he'd be a normal, somewhat smart, driven guy. He'd go to business school. He wouldn't have Josh's natural gift for making people feel good but he'd do nice things once in a while and try to help people like he did with the guy in the supermarket. And we've seen him be kind to Rebecca.

[huahaha]

It's amazing to finally get a character-driven musical on TV. How do they do it? Shows like Smash seemed to write the overarching plot and music in advance at the expense of story, even as the characters went kicking and screaming. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend lets characters change in organic ways. I'm blown away by it.

I'm also surprised that no one's talking about Valencia's absence (here or on the show). I thought we were due for a straight-up malicious song of vengeance this week. Despite the actress killing two of my favorite musical numbers (I'm So Good at Yoga and Women Gotta Stick Together), I didn't enjoy her character at all last season. This episode gave me hope that maybe even Valencia can grow.

Edited October 25, 2016 by huahaha

[Rinaldo]

Realistically speaking (if that applies here ☺ ) Valencia would be keeping her distance from Josh and his circle for a while after the breakup. She has plenty to keep her busy in the short term, and no interest in seeing any of the gang. But their paths will undoubtedly cross again, and she'll return to some level of interacting with our central characters (on a new basis) at some point in the season, and that will surely give rise to some drama (hopefully of a musical nature!). I have hopes of her and Rebecca eventually having a "Bosom Buddies" sort of jab-and-retreat duet, bonding a bit about the experience they'll both have had by then, how Josh's dim sweetness can wear you down when you're around it all the time.

[Eeksquire]

I'm not surprised we didn't see Valencia this week (if it's only been three weeks since the wedding, it seems reasonable that she's avoiding all things Josh still.  But I do look forward to her return.  I think she would make for an excellent villain... or frenemy for Rebecca.  That would be glorious.

[Irlandesa]

18 hours ago, possibilities said:

I am trying to picture what Greg would be like if he's not angry anymore, like he said at his meeting. Would he be more like Josh? Did he used to be like Josh, and that's why the two of them became friends? And then he got all bitter and angry like Valencia....

I think he'll be the best of Greg.  We didn't really see the bitter and angry at first.  That just kind of grew throughout the season. He'll still probably be a little condescending and sarcastic but also the potential to be sweet.  I wouldn't call Valencia bitter and angry, though.  I think she's stuck up, self-centered and eventually fed up but not really bitter or angry.  She's the one who cut Josh loose.

[Rinaldo]

3 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

... Greg.  We didn't really see the bitter and angry at first. 

I belatedly realized that even with this, the seeds were there from the start, even as Greg seemed just fun and likable on first acquaintance. In his very first conversation with Rebecca, we got the condescension toward West Covina ("we have a website? [eyeroll] This is where I live"), the sarcasm toward others and himself (she's ignoring him so she's obviously his type; when she shows she hadn't been listening he smiles and whispers "perfect"). None of it is ugly or off-putting yet -- anybody might jokingly say the same things -- but the seeds are there.

I just get more impressed by how smart the show is about playing the long game. Even as we respond to a character's dominant impression, bits of another layer are hinted at, right from the start, and they may not pay off for months.

[Chicago Redshirt]

On 10/22/2016 at 10:24 AM, hogwash said:

I'm so happy it's back! i cringed so much. I hope the next episodes have more songs to dull the effect of how delusional and self-centered Rebecca is. Cause yikes!

What a great premiere. Go, Paula! Greg was right. Rebecca and Josh are terrible people.

I am not sure how Josh is a terrible person. He still is a relative innocent who is caught up in Hurricane Rebecca, and trying to do the right thing despite his attraction to her.

On 10/22/2016 at 6:11 PM, scrb said:

Is Rebecca crazy or is the name of the show suppose to be jokey and ironic?

Is she crazy because of this almost monomaniacal crush on a guy from her childhood?

Or regularly expresses emotions in song and dance?

Do viewers get drawn in by the exuberance and inventiveness of the songs and overlook the "crazy" behavior?

Is this different from Fatal Attraction?  Rebecca won't resort to violence or force herself despite being rebuffed but is she being as obsessive, just with more quirkiness and cute songs?

Last season, we saw a couple potential sources for her crazy; 

Her absentee father

Her domineering mom who withheld her approval and made her be ultracompetitive

Her super-high IQ combined with social awkwardness

Working a high-pressure Big Law job in New York

The show has, for me, anyways, walked the tightrope between being funny and sad fairly well.

On 10/23/2016 at 8:34 AM, Eeksquire said:

Yeah, I was a little disappointed in the songs this episode.  I think partly it's because they were (apparently?) take offs on music videos rather than musicals and that's not really my lane.  

Also: I think Greg is my favorite character, and even though he was an important topic of conversation for this episode, we didn't see enough of him for me. The other thing is (and I try to ignore reality for this particular show, but...) court-ordered AA for a DUI? And 30 days of meetings somehow also prevents Greg from working? Or leaving the house except to go to the meetings? I can understand if he quit the job at the bar, but there's been an underlying implication that Greg (and his father) aren't well off enough to just stop working for a month and that's cool.  I can hand wave it, I guess, as the season opener to set up this season's storylines, but we need to move past it, and fast, because there's too many holes there.

I'd imagine that there's a combination of embarassment, plus wanting to keep his options open, that led Greg to not just straight up quit his job. And I can imagine that he doesn't want to go many places or talk to many people. Being busted for DUI is probably a life-changing experience. I also imagine that specifically when it comes to Josh and Rebecca, he has issues to work out.  

I don't think it's far-fetched that a court would assign a first-time offender to AA as part of a DUI sentence.

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/dui-or-dwi-punishments-penalties-30321.html

A number of states' court sentences may include alcohol teaching and prevention programs, treatment for alcohol abuse, assessment of a person for possible alcohol or drug dependency or addiction, and community service or victim restitution. The judge may recommend these steps instead of jail time or paying fines, most likely for a first offender. Or the judge may combine them with other penalties. In Texas, for example, minors convicted of a DUI must perform community service, in addition to any other penalties.

[dubbel zout]

2 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

I am not sure how Josh is a terrible person. He still is a relative innocent who is caught up in Hurricane Rebecca, and trying to do the right thing despite his attraction to her.

I don't think Josh is a terrible person, but he's not really innocent, either. For me he's a rather weak person who prefers not to rock the boat, so he goes along with whatever the other person wants, whether it's right for him or not.

[aradia22]

Quote

It's amazing to finally get a character-driven musical on TV. How do they do it? Shows like Smash seemed to write the overarching plot and music in advance at the expense of story, even as the characters went kicking and screaming. 

I think a big part of the problem with Smash was they sold us on a show about writing a musical and then didn't seem to be interested in that at all. We never heard much from all the people behind the scenes... costume designer, dressers, assistant director, all the people with the various technical jobs that keep the setpieces moving, etc. They made it a soap opera and had to churn up petty drama week to week. Smash's problem was it was a big world and they made it small by focusing on the least interesting aspects. Whereas Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is more of a character story to begin with. You're taking a smaller story about Rebecca (essentially, they've done a good job building up the other characters too) and really diving deep into it. Though I do think there needs to be a little more outside conflict like last season with Josh's court case. The other characters should help with that. 

I didn't really miss Valencia. Part of that is that she got a lot of ugly stereotypes loaded onto her. But it'll be interesting to see what they do with her this season. I don't really need her to be friends with Rebecca but I would like to see Rebecca find a friend her own age. But maybe anyone Rebecca's age who was normal and didn't have any baggage with her (so Valencia and the lawyer from her NY firm are out) would run screaming from her crazy.

[LisaM]

I really miss last year's opening. 

I'm not sure why but I wasn't as engaged with this episode as I was with the ones from last season. I do love the idea of Paula going to law school and really like how she is sharing the Rebecca addiction issue with her husband.