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S02.E05: Why Is Josh's Ex-Girlfriend Eating Carbs?

ElectricBoogaloo

By ElectricBoogaloo
in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend [V]

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possibilities

possibilities

Okay, so if you'd told me that Rebecca, Heather, and Valencia were going to become each others' BFFs, and it would be genuine and not a scheme, I would not have believed it. But that's the magic of this show!

Roxane Gay is a very much real person, so I thought maybe "Blood and Lice" would be a real book, but apparently it is not.

I love that they're showing how messed up Josh is (there's nothing like being single to show that you're not a perfect innocent and that your ex is not the source of all your problems), and that WhiJo and Darryl continue to be the best. And I love Paula an Sunil.

Also: loved the dinosaur ballet. Dinosaurs make most things better.

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Snarklepuss

Snarklepuss

Wow, again with the show going 90 miles a minute with all the changes.  If I didn't love it so much that would drive me nuts.  I suppose a show with "crazy" in the title is expected to be a little quirky.

I think Paula is avoiding Rebecca because she is conflicted about telling her the truth about her abortion and doesn't want to be tempted to spill it out.  Why I don't know as I would imagine Becks would be cool with it.  Somehow I wonder if she is avoiding facing it herself and telling Rebecca would make her do that.  I still think Paula's character would have a few misgivings about going through with it that she is avoiding coming to terms with, and she is projecting her own partial disapproval onto Rebecca. 

The Darryl/Josh plot is a nice stabilizing influence in a show that tends to bounce around a lot.

What was with all the lesbian innuendo between Rebecca and Valencia?  Don't tell me they're going to go down that road too, LOL.

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AlliMo

AlliMo

4 hours ago, Snarklepuss said:

What was with all the lesbian innuendo between Rebecca and Valencia?  Don't tell me they're going to go down that road too, LOL.

It's hardly new; Rebecca has always been shown to be pretty into Valencia. Honestly, if the show ended up with these two working out their own personal issues and getting together, I'm totally on board.

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

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LOVED the ballet! I really liked that Gabrielle and Vincent had a chance to do some more dancing! And Rebecca in the gigantic triceratops costume chasing Josh around the stage was hilarious.

I can't blame Valencia for being annoyed with Rebecca. She knew that Rebecca had been after Josh and then she just shows up at her apartment wanting to bond with her (aka talk about Josh). Then she tricked her into going to faux-Burning Man and continued to talk about Josh. If I were Valencia, I would have been annoyed too. I don't know how realistic it is for them to become friends after peeing on his stuff (I guess a bad trip combined with all that healing in the desert speeds up the process), but for the purpose of the show I'm fine with it. I mean, this airs after The Vampire Diaries where one of the main characters has killed just about everyone and they keep forgiving him so why shouldn't Valencia and Rebecca put aside their differences and become friends?

I'm glad that Paula made a new friend in law school already too. First of all, no matter how much she loves Rebecca, it's important to have friends and allies in school. Secondly, it's nice to have an outside perspective to help her see that her relationship with Rebecca can be unbalanced. To be fair, Paula is the only one keeping herself from talking to Rebecca about having an abortion. As selfish as Rebecca can be, she genuinely wanted to listen to Paula at the end of the previous episode (right after the abortion) and Paula chose not to tell her. But I definitely feel for Paula. It's hard to have a friend who is so focused on herself. I think Rebecca really loves Paula but she just gets so wrapped up in her own drama (even when it's just in her head) that she takes Paula for granted.

Anyway, I really like that by having Rebecca befriend Valencia and Paula befriend Sunil, it provides some changes as well as some growth in relationships other than Rebecca with Josh and Greg. It can be difficult when your BFF makes new friends and you feel like you are being replaced. I hope that once Paula and Rebecca both get past their jealousy and insecurity that they will have an even stronger and healthier friendship.

Speaking of jealousy, part of me was annoyed that Darryl immediately got so jealous when he realized Josh had dated the other guy. It's silly to assume that whoever you are dating now never dated anyone before you. The fact that Josh was friendly with the other guy speaks well of Josh. I'd rather see the person I'm dating is able to be friendly and comfortable with an ex (because that means they are mature adults who probably didn't have a dramatic breakup) than see him freaking out because he spots and ex and then tries to hide behind a bush to avoid having to say hello.

On one hand, I can understand Darryl feeling like he was just the next old guy White Josh dated, but the fact remains that some people have a certain type that they're attracted to for whatever reason. Sometimes it's a physical attribute like blonde hair. Sometimes it's within a certain field (one of my friends said that the everyone her cousin has dated since her divorce is a personal trainer - and no, the cousin doesn't work in the fitness industry so these aren't coworkers). No one wants to feel like they're just the next person in a long string of sameness, so I get that. But Darryl was being really petulant about it until Rebecca told him to just go talk to White Josh about it. Hee, but I guess this storyline was totally worth it just for the angry crunches.

I thought that the guy in Paula's class with the note taking app was going to say that he had a transcription app because he had some sort of disability that prevented him from taking notes himself (a friend of mine had carpal tunnel syndrome so when he was an undergrad, the school provided him with someone to take notes for him in class - I figured the updated version of that was using Dragon Dictation).

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Rinaldo

Rinaldo

7 hours ago, Snarklepuss said:

think Paula is avoiding Rebecca because she is conflicted about telling her the truth...

I don't think Paul is avoiding Rebecca, but rather they're both finding themselves on different paths at the moment, with Rebecca getting friendly with Valencia as well as Heather, while Paul has a new friend-with-shenanigans at school. Plus she feels awkward because she didn't confide in her right away about the abortion, where once she would have. And additionally, they've now experienced that awkward moment of "I've been replaced as BFF" even though it's both unreasonable AND partly their own doing by making a new friend.

That last was nicely echoed, in a different way, by Darryl's feelings, also both unreasonable and relatable, that he was one of a series and thus himself easily replaceable. He and WhiJo did a good job of communicating about it and resolving it (for now?) relatively soon. I also like that this pairing isn't just used to be "adorable" around the edges of someone else's story, but has real issues of their own. (And will, I'm sure, have more.) They're great, but they're still human.

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Eeksquire

Eeksquire

Darryl and WhiJo! I just love them. I love that they have a legitimately healthy relationship - WhiJo is hurt that Darryl hasn't introduced him to Madison; Darryl didn't want to freak WhiJo out - totally believable and understandable points of view on both sides.  And I enjoy Madison, with her snails and pegasus's.  ("I like your boyfriend, he's not cheap!")

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Snarklepuss

Snarklepuss

(edited)
4 hours ago, AlliMo said:

It's hardly new; Rebecca has always been shown to be pretty into Valencia. Honestly, if the show ended up with these two working out their own personal issues and getting together, I'm totally on board.

Until this show I was just taking her previous behavior as a hetero "girl crush".  I guess I missed something, then.

1 hour ago, Rinaldo said:

I don't think Paul is avoiding Rebecca, but rather they're both finding themselves on different paths at the moment, with Rebecca getting friendly with Valencia as well as Heather, while Paul has a new friend-with-shenanigans at school. Plus she feels awkward because she didn't confide in her right away about the abortion, where once she would have. And additionally, they've now experienced that awkward moment of "I've been replaced as BFF" even though it's both unreasonable AND partly their own doing by making a new friend.

I think one reason they're on such different paths is because Paula doesn't want to be open about herself with Rebecca, perhaps partly to avoid getting sucked into her drama, and/or providing something for Rebecca to react to, as well.  Paula feels she needs to keep Rebecca at a distance so she can concentrate on her life and her school work.  She is aware that she was getting sucked into Rebecca's vortex at her own expense and wants to stop that.  But then she goes and replaces her right away with someone else who she can get up to similar shenanigans with, although like she said, at least this time it's for her own life, not Rebecca's.  I don't think Rebecca is distancing from Paula by her own choice.  Last episode she begged Paula to let her in on what was going on with her and Paula acted like it was nothing and kept the walls up.  Usually I've noticed that when besties can't be open with each other about something significant they tend to move apart. 

Edited by Snarklepuss
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Bruinsfan

Bruinsfan

14 hours ago, dakiMel said:

Hotter than Josh in his ballet tights? Because ... wow. (Not that WhiJo was unappealing.)

Not to say that there weren't some nice views in the ballet sequence, but yes. I think the combo of golden desert sunlight, foreshortened angle making him look stockier, and explosive movement did it for me because I haven't found White Josh nearly that attractive in previous episodes.

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possibilities

possibilities

I think Darryl's initial discomfort was not that the other guy was an ex but that WhiJo had not told him so when they were introduced. Then he saw that WhiJo had been with all but one of the other "old guys" at the event, which made him think that maybe he was just into having a fling with every "old guy" he met, and thus was not really serious about Darryl. Since Darryl is serious about WhiJo, he was taken aback to think he was seeing evidence that to WhiJo he was just another fling based on type. I get it. If you hook up with every available dude over 40, even if you stay friendly and there's no drama, that would give your current over-40 dude the idea that he might just be an interchangeable cog in a hook up pattern.

He wasn't angry, he wasn't slut-shaming WhiJo, he was hurt and insecure because he was fitting it into his already-existent narrative about how WhiJo isn't serious about him (which is why he hadn't introduced WJ to his daughter, and what made WhiJo too insecure to TELL Darryl how he felt about him sooner).

I think it was a very realistic kind of misunderstanding and completely within the bounds of the kind of bumps in the road many new couples experience, even when they're basically healthy and not prone to the kind of shenanigans Rebecca gets herself into.

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tennisgurl

tennisgurl

Wow, Valencia and Rebecca becoming friends! Never thought I would see the day! If they had done this last season, even after a possible Valencia and Josh break up, I wouldn't have bought it, but now that Josh and Rebecca have gotten together and broken up, and some time has passed? Yeah I can see it. I can totally see Valencia and Heather becoming friends. They're both blunt and snarky, just in different ways. I am really interesting in seeing of they all stay BFFs this season, or if it all falls apart next week. I hope not, because I really like Gabrielle  and I am excited to see how she does with a more well balanced character.

I love ballet, so I was thrilled with the ballet sequence! Gabrielle and Vincent were wonderful, and Rebecca as a triceratops was hilarious. Also, a wild Brittany Snow appears! I always like seeing her, so I am so pumped for her, even if it means Josh finds yet another girlfriend. Dude really does have issues. Its like being a low key surfer bro is starting to actually get tiring for him, ironically. I dont think Josh is a bad guy, just rather selfish and stupid when it comes to relationships.

It looks like there is trouble in paradise for Paula and Rebecca. Not really a fight, but...they have some issues. I kind of wonder if they are doing a generation thing with Rebecca and Paula drifting a part. With Paula's new law school friend mistaking Rebecca for Paul's daughter, plus all the age talk with the White Josh and Darrel plot, it makes me wonder if they are both drifting towards people closer to their own ages. Not that they're SO far apart in age, but there is a difference, especially as Paula is married with older kids, while Rebecca is still a young professional.  

Loved all the stuff with White Josh and Darrel. I thought it was a really realistic conflict, where everyone actually acted like how I could imagine normal people in a relationship would act. Its a nice contrast with the dramatics of Rebecca's love life. 

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angora

angora

Thrilled that we got a story for Darryl and White Josh.  I've loved the bits we've seen of them since Darryl's coming-out arc last season, but it was high time they got another bit of plot that was about THEM instead of just being that cute couple that made everyone else wish they could get it together in their own dating life.  I liked that we got to see a little vulnerability from both guys - both felt believable to me, and with all the crazy stuff happening elsewhere in the episode, it was nice to see them ultimately just talking about it and reassuring one another about how they felt.  I laughed when White Josh told Darryl, "I've set an intention!" (re: his angry crunches,) and the last scene with him meeting Madison was great.  I may or may not have squeed over those two a couple of times.

Rebecca and Valencia's whole enemy-to-frenemy-to-friend thing was a lot of fun, but surprisingly sweet, too.  I loved the little mutual admiration society they had going on in the midst of yelling at Josh, and I appreciate that Rebecca didn't let any of the disparaging remarks Valencia made about her weight slide.  Side note - the ongoing saga of Valencia's homeless-child-turned-state-senator classmate was fantastic.

Enjoyed Paula's new friendship with Sunil and really interested to see where things go with this new Paula-Sunil and Rebecca-Heather-Valencia divide.  For all that this show has its roots in a zany rom-sitcom, it handles friendship stuff wonderfully well, and the pathos of both of them missing each other despite enjoying their new friendships worked for me.

The dream ballet was fun - I can't think of a dream ballet in a classic musical that I've actually liked (for me, they go on too long and usually feel too pointless,) but they're too iconic to not do one.  I liked picking out the underscored versions of various numbers as they cut between sequences.

I thought the "Thought Bubbles" song was good, too.  I'm glad Vincent Rodriguez III has been getting more of a chance to sing this season, and this one was catchy and funny while also further demonstrating how Josh is as screwed up as the rest of them.  I laughed at him worrying that he might stop liking his mom because "if it could work on guacamole, it could work on my mom!", and the ending with him using a bunch of random rhymes for the "whoa, whoa, whoa" bit was really funny (the Obamas' dog was the best one, IMO.)

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DearEvette

DearEvette

Oh man, after Rebecca and Valencia had their girl-power breakthrough I kept waiting and waiting for something to mess it up.  Either Rebecca would so something so totally Rebecca to kill it or Valencia would revert.  But I am so glad it didn't.  I like them as friends! 

Also I was loving Rebecca's shout out to Roxanne Gay because I totally confess, I read the article she wrote about the 13 rules for female friendships and why female friendships being toxic and bitchy are a myth, nodding my head the entire time.  I even bookmarked it.

But I am sad about the distance between her and Paula, but confident it won't get too bad.

Even though this is a show that at its core is about a woman's obsession with a guy and a lot of the story-line had to do with Rebecca and her men, it has always shown a strong female friendship at the core.  And now with Heather and Valencia having bigger roles that point to Rebecca having more friends, it is even better.  I am really enjoying this season even with loss of Greg.

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BookThief

BookThief

I enjoyed the Stranger Things shout out and Josh's line in his song that was something like "If I don't go to the gym how will I be a good father?"

I'm glad the ladies are friends. I hope it sticks. And I realize Rebecca is still obsessed with Josh, but right now she's not actively pining for him in the same way and I'm glad for it. I like Josh, but Rebecca's season 1 obsession with him started to turn me off the show (even if it was the basis for the entire show). While she's still obsessed with him now, it's in a slightly different way and she's having thoughts and (some) conversations with people about OTHER TOPICS for which I am much relieved. I'm enjoying this season overall.

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aradia22

aradia22

I love that Heather made Rebecca start a "Josh fund." I hope the money comes back into play later.

I never found Valencia that compelling (though at times I tried) but I like the angle they're going with with all the pop psychology and whatnot. Being a feminist doesn't mean being friends with everyone other woman in the world. That's physically impossible. It was really sweet that Rebecca packed Paula lunch. Instead of getting Valencia back into the story, I might have preferred if she turned her attention to helping Paula succeed in law school. I mean, at this point, I think it's clear Rebecca likes to deflect from the questions that are difficult to answer in her own life into achieving minor goals... though she often sets herself up for failure.

I didn't like Parvesh Cheena. I hope he's not recurring. His past characters on other shows have annoyed me. I don't know. Maybe they'll turn me around on him. I do think Paula should at least try to talk to Rebecca. Rebecca is self-involved but when she's given Paula opportunities to be honest, Paula hasn't taken them. On some level, that's on her. The recommendation letter aside, you need to give people a chance before deciding you can't rely on them.

LOL, Susie Reynolds.

Josh stacking post-it notes was very satisfying to my selective OCD. 

Hector and his mom started a dating advice podcast!?! Please let this make it into an episode.

I enjoyed Josh's vaguely Hawaiian/singer songwriter/Jason Mraz song. So chill. But too real. Being alone with your thoughts is different from being alone and doing a task or distracting yourself with some kind of media. I don't know if I could ever be a meditative person. 

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Irlandesa

Irlandesa

(edited)

I liked Valencia last season, especially towards the end. And I'm not totally shocked Rebecca and she could be friends as their first episode together had them starting out pretty well until Valencia learned Rebecca was Josh's ex.

I do like what they're doing in terms of focusing on female friendships.  I think what's happening with Paula and Rebecca is that they're two people who came together due to a common hobby (Rebecca's Josh obsession) but now that neither are involved in that hobby, they're struggling to find something else in common.  Yes, there are things logically they have in common, like law, but it's not always easy to get the same rush from that commonality.

I love White Josh and the story with Darryl this week. I hope to keep seeing them have relationship milestones. Maybe Greg could come back for their wedding.

Edited by Irlandesa
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aradia22

aradia22

WhiJo looked good in a shirt with sleeves. I also love that Rebecca keeps trying to push muffins on people.

Was it another day when Rebecca came over again? Because Valencia was in the same outfit. Rachel does great crazy eyes. 

I feel like Electric Mesa was a waste of the budget. 

What happened to Valencia's job as a yoga instructor?

Would a law school lecture really be moving so fast Paula couldn't take notes? Personally, I would bring a tape recorder to some of my lectures, especially if I had a propensity for zoning out in them. I had trouble understanding Paula's lines when she was talking to Sunil at the outdoor lunch table.

Drugs into a triceratops dream ballet. I adore this show.

There's an over-reliance on bathroom humor this season.

I think they jumped to an artificial place with Valencia and Rebecca at the end but those two actresses were killing it. And I feel like with Valencia and Darryl this episode it showed that Rebecca can be there for people if given the opportunity.

Choked by red licorice?

Aw, White Josh and Darryl are definitely winning Most Functional Couple right now. Also, go Madison for getting a snail and a pegasus.

Not that excited about Brittany Snow.

I personally don't like the whole reclaiming the word bitch thing. It's nice in theory but doesn't actually seem to work in practice. 

ALSO, I saw that cherry blossom tank Rebecca was wearing in the last scene at Old Navy and I was going to get it but they didn't have it in my size. :(

Wait, is Paula still working while going to law school? Wouldn't they see each other at work?

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femmefan1946

femmefan1946

What happened to Valencia's job as a yoga instructor?

Paula had reorganized her schedule so she was hardly working at all. Just one of the many things Paula threw in Rebecca's face.

Wait, is Paula still working while going to law school? Wouldn't they see each other at work?

Yes. but of course in theory at work they would be working.

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AlliMo

AlliMo

16 hours ago, Snarklepuss said:

Until this show I was just taking her previous behavior as a hetero "girl crush".  I guess I missed something, then.

To quote an entirely different show, female sexuality is a moving target.

I would just like to say that thanks to this show, last night I dreamt that I went to naked yoga and afterwards we all talked about our vaginas. The phrase, "Mine doesn't wink like that" may have been uttered. Thanks, Rachel Bloom.

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

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3 hours ago, aradia22 said:

Josh stacking post-it notes was very satisfying to my selective OCD. 

Mine too! I even used the exact same word to describe it when I watched this episode. It was immensely satisfying to see all those post-its sorted by color  

11 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Also I was loving Rebecca's shout out to Roxanne Gay because I totally confess, I read the article she wrote about the 13 rules for female friendships and why female friendships being toxic and bitchy are a myth, nodding my head the entire time.  I even bookmarked it.

For anyone who hasn't read it yet: Roxane Gay's 13 rules for female friendship

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aradia22

aradia22

I thought the pick of Roxanne Gay was interesting. I've read her book, Bad Feminist. I think she's a complicated figure because she has a lot of good points to make but she's a self-admitted "bad feminist." At least in book form that came across as her liking a lot of things she deemed "bad" and accepting that but also then trying to justify all those things and being able to be critical of a lot of other people and not willing to find nearly as many flaws in her own work, or at least always waving those flaws away. Basically, I think it was worth reading but it wasn't a very confident manifesto. More like a memoir mixed with rambling essays that occasionally had salient points. I feel like she's one of those writers where I'm more interested in the book she's going to write in the future than the one I'm holding in my hands right now. 

In the same way, looking at Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, I think Rachel Bloom must like a lot of the genres of music she's working with and these romantic story tropes and she also seems to like this bro-y sort of bathroom humor. She takes pleasure in those things even while she's critiquing them. But I have to say that even with the elements I'm not crazy about, I think one of the things that really draws me to CEG is that it presents a fairly confident vision and argument. A lot of shows that I want to be good because they have female protagonists either take a long time to find their footing or they seem to have that confidence at first and then you realize they don't know where they're going and what they really want to say. 

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Eeksquire

Eeksquire

Quote

Would a law school lecture really be moving so fast Paula couldn't take notes? Personally, I would bring a tape recorder to some of my lectures, especially if I had a propensity for zoning out in them. I had trouble understanding Paula's lines when she was talking to Sunil at the outdoor lunch table.

I didn't have a problem believing that Paula might have trouble taking notes; I did find it surprising that, in what is supposed to be a first year law school class, there was not more evidence of the Socratic method - all of my first year law school professors were WAY INTO THAT and there was very little in the way of lectures at all - the professors usually called on a student and questioned them about the case at hand until the salient points were made.  That kind of classroom environment DOES make it hard to take notes, because you don't necessarily know whether your classmates answers are "right" until later in the class if the professor skewers their argument.  (Or, on at least one memorable occasion, is so frustrated with the dumb answers they are getting, that they literally bang their head against the whiteboard.  That one was easy to figure out.)

Quote

There's an over-reliance on bathroom humor this season.

I totally agree, but I think that's really common in a lot of feminist women's comedy - like, 'Boys aren't the only ones who can do gross!' a la Bridesmaids and a lot of Melissa McCarthy's work.

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dubbel zout

dubbel zout

3 hours ago, Eeksquire said:

I didn't have a problem believing that Paula might have trouble taking notes

Same here; it's a skill, and Paula is probably rusty at it.

3 hours ago, Eeksquire said:

I totally agree [there's an over reliance on bathroom humor this season], but I think that's really common in a lot of feminist women's comedy - like, 'Boys aren't the only ones who can do gross!' a la Bridesmaids and a lot of Melissa McCarthy's work.

That's something in general I'd like to see end. There's nothing wrong with good bathroom humor, but it can also be a very lazy way to make a joke. 

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DearEvette

DearEvette

(edited)
6 hours ago, aradia22 said:

I think one of the things that really draws me to CEG is that it presents a fairly confident vision and argument. A lot of shows that I want to be good because they have female protagonists either take a long time to find their footing or they seem to have that confidence at first and then you realize they don't know where they're going and what they really want to say. 

This, in a nutshell, is the issue with The Mindy Project and why I just can't with that show anymore.  It is, like, negative with feminist empowerment. It also doesn't feel like it has any vision even in its 5th season and on a platform for the last two seasons that seems to give it way more creative license than Fox did and yet it squandered that opportunity. 

Anyway, back to CEG,  I do find it interesting that Josh is a serial monogamist and likes being in a relationship even if he is somewhat dim about what makes a relationship work. I wonder if Brittany Snow is going to be a good girlfriend or someone who makes even Valencia's demands  and Rebecca's neuroses preferable?

Also, liked the brief interaction between White John and Daryl's daughter.  She knows daddy has a boyfriend, which suggests that Darryl handles his newly discovered sexual identity with a lot of security and maturity.

And finally, score another point for diversity in this show with the casting of Sunil as Paula's school bro-friend. 

Edited by DearEvette
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rho

rho

After Greg's departure last week I was super worried I'd hate this episode but honestly, I think it's the best one yet and I consistently loathe episodes set in nature. I've decided this show has the best team of writers on tv. They filled the void immediately and addressed four major storylines: Rebecca's new girl power squad, Josh's need to always be in a relationship, Paula going back to school, and the insecurities in Darryl's relationship with WhiJo. It was flawless! 

Also, Heather's line about now donuts and later donuts is the most relatable thing in the history of fiction!

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txhorns79

txhorns79

Quote

The recommendation letter aside, you need to give people a chance before deciding you can't rely on them.

I don't know.  The recommendation letter was something pretty important to Paula, Paula reminded Rebecca a few times and made it clear that it was important.  Despite this, Rebecca still flaked out.  I don't think I'd rely on Rebecca again after that, at least for anything important.      

Quote

Aw, White Josh and Darryl are definitely winning Most Functional Couple right now.

Lol.  Do they have any competition?  I'm a little mixed on the relationship.  The actors have a nice chemistry, but I feel like neither character is particularly well developed.  I have no idea what either sees in the other, or if they even share common interests.   

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dubbel zout

dubbel zout

27 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

I don't know.  The recommendation letter was something pretty important to Paula, Paula reminded Rebecca a few times and made it clear that it was important.  Despite this, Rebecca still flaked out.  I don't think I'd rely on Rebecca again after that, at least for anything important.

Yeah, that was a really serious fail on Rebecca's part. I'd have a hard time giving Rebecca another shot after that.

I like the idea of Paula and Rebecca having to find different common ground now that Paula has set some boundaries and is in law school. She's asking for a more equal friendship, in a way.

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poppy-

poppy-

That was kinda campy and bad but it's a "setting the stage" episode . How to deal with losing the fan favorite / best singer? Still, stay away from caveman costumes, because that is some sub-Disney show nonsense. 

We've already known Josh is not a deep thinker but wow, his thought bubbles.  Endearingly dim.

But Josh is also smart, in some ways. I loved him sidling out of the room to get away from Rebecca and Valencia.

I don't know who Brittney Snow is, or the actor who played Sunil. Sunil gave me a kind of Billy Eichner vibe. 

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Bruinsfan

Bruinsfan

It seemed very Jason Mraz to me.

22 hours ago, DearEvette said:

And finally, score another point for diversity in this show with the casting of Sunil as Paula's school bro-friend. 

Plus, Parvesh Cheena is an openly gay actor of Indian descent. He's practically a unicorn!

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Eolivet

Eolivet

I think that was my favorite episode this year, story-wise (even if there was only one song). I'll miss Greg's voice, but I don't miss him, story-wise. I think this episode makes it clear they had actually run out of story for him and they were wise to put a pin in that storyline.

This feels more like the coming-of-age story the show promised back in the Pilot, before it was steered onto a romcom track. Ditching the love triangle gives Josh room to be an actual character, not just an unattainable love interest or one half of a bad relationship. I love Paula growing as a character outside of Rebecca, and I love moving Heather and Valencia -- both hampered by weird love stories last year -- into Rebecca's orbit.

I always felt like this show paid lip service to women bonding, but "Two women bond over trying to help one woman get a guy" was pretty unhealthy. I really am anxious to see if Rebecca and Paula (this show's other great "love story") have in common outside of Josh shenanigans. I can't wait to see them get "back together!"

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aradia22

aradia22

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I don't know.  The recommendation letter was something pretty important to Paula, Paula reminded Rebecca a few times and made it clear that it was important.  Despite this, Rebecca still flaked out.  I don't think I'd rely on Rebecca again after that, at least for anything important. 

I guess I'm thinking of it in terms of TV writing. In sitcom land, if one mistake stopped anyone from trusting you with anything ever again, nothing would ever happen. And I think I'm sensitive to stories where things don't get resolved because people refuse to communicate and then there are hurt feelings, misunderstandings, etc. To me, it feels lazy, especially when Rebecca and Paula are characters that do talk a lot. But I'm not that upset about it. I'm just saying, Paula doesn't get another pseudo-Rose's Turn diatribe when she's nurturing her own feelings of resentment. 

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Rinaldo

Rinaldo

7 hours ago, Phishbulb said:

 I thought Josh's song was kind of Jack Johnson-ish. 

That was my immediate thought too (that whole mindless-island-music vibe), but I freely admit I'm not that familiar with current musical artists.

6 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

Plus, Parvesh Cheena is an openly gay actor of Indian descent. He's practically a unicorn!

Let's not forget Maulik Pancholy.

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Blakeston

Blakeston

On 11/20/2016 at 8:05 PM, txhorns79 said:

 

Lol.  Do they have any competition?  I'm a little mixed on the relationship.  The actors have a nice chemistry, but I feel like neither character is particularly well developed.  I have no idea what either sees in the other, or if they even share common interests.   

I have no trouble seeing what Daryl sees in White Josh. The other way around, though? Very different story.

Knowing that WhiJo has a thing for older guys helps a bit. But if he goes for guys who are confident, like he said, then...why is he with Daryl?

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possibilities

possibilities

Darryl is sincere and sweet. He's responsible and reliable and also gaga over WhiJo. It seems like WhiJo likes adults (though his friends are all kind of goofs)-- and he himself is actually "the responsible one" in his friend group (he's the one who dealt with Drunk Greg, and he's the only one who understood what being a sober alcoholic's One Rule is). I can imagine it being refreshing to deal with someone intelligent and responsible, who's not also uptight and emotionally guarded. Darryl is super-open, but not flaky.

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Chicago Redshirt

Chicago Redshirt

Re: Paula's note taking, there is a difference between taking notes that are merely good and taking notes that are both perfect and effortless. Paula's classmate had a device that allowed for transcription of what was said without any effort on his part. Which I could see as a Holy Grail, because you could then devote the energy you would use on note taking to other things, like computer games, shopping, Reddit, etc. Don't judge.

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Eeksquire

Eeksquire

Oh man, you just reminded me of the people in law school that recorded all of our classes.  I could never figure out whether that was just a security blanket or if they actually re-listened to them - if the latter, I have no earthly idea where they found the time to do that.  (Or how illuminating it would be - sometimes the Socratic method obfuscates rather than illuminates.  You have to trust both that your classmates' answers are correct AND that the professor would correct them if they were wrong, which wasn't always the case, IMO.)

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Bruinsfan

Bruinsfan

I don't know, if a lecture wasn't moving too fast for me to write I found that note-taking helped me process the information as I was hearing it. Too easy to have it go in one ear and out the other if I wasn't actively engaged.

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theatremouse

theatremouse

Yeah, transcription apps are helpful if both the talking is too fast to otherwise take notes AND you're the type of learner who learns best by the act of taking notes. Which would then entail the very involved process of first, listening in class and trying to follow and be present while transcription app runs but not writing anything during. Then go home, and read through the transcript, taking your own notes based on the transcript at your own pace. So basically, you don't study separately. The pouring over the notes becomes the studying. Otherwise the transcript is probably too much to digest and is not a replacement for having notes. On the other hand, if you're not the sort of person who learns best by taking notes, you might be better off not taking any and just listening rather than missing half the stuff while you're still writing what was said 10 seconds ago. I wanted to say all of this to Paula when I watched this episode. Alas, I don't think she'd listen.

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DianeDobbler

DianeDobbler

When I saw this episode I googled "voice to text software." and then drilled down to the programs used to auto-transcribe lectures. Is there any reason Paula and Sunil couldn't have done that right there in class, instead of dressing up like old time movie cat burglers and breaking into that guy's apartment or dorm? Of course, they did copy the file, so they saved money on purchasing it for themselves.

When I was in school I liked to take my own notes. The process of writing down what the professor was saying actually locked in the information, and I ended up having to do very little studying. I just reviewed the notes. Even though I was manually transcribing, the process had the effect of locking it down in my memory, almost like a muscle memory exercise.

That said, for people who listen to audio files of their class lectures, they can listen to them the same way / same time they listen to music. During their commute. Running errands. Doing chores around the house. Etc.

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