Let's Generalize About The Show: Multi-Season Discussion

[Good Queen Jane]

Several posters have talked about how this season seems darker and a departure from the fun show they started with. So this thread is to talk about the progression  (or regression) of the show, Rebecca, Josh, etc. over the seasons.

I remember reading that Rachel Bloom said that that they had a four season plan for the show with each year having a theme to take Rebecca through her journey of mental illness. I hope we get the fourth season which I also hope is about a happy, better adjusted Rebecca.

[DianeDobbler]

Thank you for this thread.

I'm really pleased with how CEG has progressed. I expected it to get here. They could have played her rock bottom for farce or for drama, but they played it honestly and accomplished elements of both.  I've often re-watched the very first episode. It accomplishes so much - shows us her life in NYC, her history with Josh ("You awakened my sexual being for the first time"), her relationship with her mother, her meeting Josh again, relocating to West Covina, dumping a boatload of medication down the garbage disposal, meeting Greg and almost hooking up with him, starting work at Whitefeather, meeting and ultimately becoming friends with Paula. We also saw that her apartment appeared unfurnished except for the large bed, and when she moved to West Covina there weren't a lot of personal touches she set up either. Her insomnia carried over to West Covina, and so did her wine drinking. Nothing wrong with that, but when she's sad, we've seen her up late at night with the wine. There is no question that Rebecca's move to West Covina was crazy.  We know what storyline Rebecca is telling HERSELF, but that is not the story the show is telling us. The show was always telling us the story we're getting now. It's just a beat, anyway, and we'll progress, and the tone will shift again. When we rewatch, we see over and over that this girl is not well. This is partly why the character of Greg bothered me (along with the performance).

I like how CEG can be sad and funny at the same time. The Josh Groban song is a case in point - it was genuine and earnest, but also hilarious with how Josh Groban was really rubbing it in that you just don't sleep with your ex-boyfriend's dad. And sad because Rebecca's face was so helpless.

Edited November 22, 2017 by DianeDobbler

[Trini]

Episode titles:

Season 1 - all have an exclamation point,
Season 2 - a question mark,
Season 3 - a period,

Season 4? Ellipses? Maybe a comma but in the middle of the titles, not the end.

[Iseut]

Quote

When we rewatch, we see over and over that this girl is not well. This is partly why the character of Greg bothered me (along with the performance).

Not quite sure what you mean specifically by this, but I'm rewatching S1 right now and finding myself cringing more at Greg's repeatedly asking Rebecca "What is WRONG with you?" She didn't know, Greg! Not helping! Also, he had immediately recognized that something was at least a little off when he met her, so it's pretty shitty to pursue her anyway and keep turning her behavior back onto her.

Buuuut...the show also establishes (later on) that Greg suffers from alcoholism and his own mental struggles. I think the show did a beautiful job of reflecting Greg's growing understanding of his own demons as he struggled to understand Rebecca's. 

[Trini]

On 12/3/2017 at 2:11 PM, Trini said:

Episode titles:

Season 1 - all have an exclamation point,
Season 2 - a question mark,
Season 3 - a period,

Season 4? Ellipses? Maybe a comma but in the middle of the titles, not the end.

Well, nevermind then; it looks like the title scheme has changed since the next episode title has an exclamation point.

[AfterwardsTV]

It seems the show will now cycle back through exclamation, question mark, and then period. But without Josh in the titles. 

[sweetcookieface]

Well, now that Season 3's over, I guess this is where I can register my disappointment? I agree with a lot of the points made in this Slate review of season 3, especially about the bloated cast and the sidelining of Josh and other key characters in favor of the endless "will they"/"won't they" Rebecca/Nathaniel drama. I was also disappointed in the quantity and quality of the songs, although there were some good ones sprinkled throughout ("My Diagnosis" might even make my Top 5 across seasons). But when I think of the season, it just feels like a long string of so-so episodes, although it started out relatively strong. In fact, I think episodes 4 through 6 is one of the best stretches the show has had (Ep 4 is quite possibly my favorite episode of the show ever!). But while I rewatch tons of Season 1 eps and a fair number of Season 2, there are just a handful of Season 3 eps that I see myself returning to. I still love the show, though, and will be heartbroken if it doesn't get renewed!

[Glory]

Now that all of Season 3 is up on Netflix I'm re-watching and I find it seems to flow better with fewer gaps in between the episodes.

The Whi-Jo/Darryl subplot in particular seems a little more real when you watch it in more "real time." 

[Eeksquire]

I found that to be true of Season 2... maybe I'll rewatch Season 3 and reconsider!

[DianeDobbler]

I registered my agreement with the Slate article in the Media section where it was linked, but I guess this is a better place. Only I would apply my agreement to the second half of the season. I thought the first half was setting up a flawless season. 

Honestly, the way they handled Josh was disgraceful. They made more cheap jokes when they wrote about him, as if to say "Now that she's self-aware, can you imagine THIS was the guy?" Yeah, I get it, but the character was great for showing Rebecca's complexity - all the stuff she projected onto him, he was able to reflect either in her imagination or actual scenes, and it was quite a range. I waited all season for a big scene between her and Josh getting it all out on the table, but nothing. Yes, he owes her an apology for ditching her at the wedding, although she has done much worse in her life, and although that wedding needed to be called off. But she owes HIM a giant apology for everything she did while stalking him after she came to town, also for causing him to lose a job he liked, for wrecking his reputation with his friends, and for terrorizing him. I think the show just thinks it's funny. 

I was super irritated when Josh came by with the puppy and Paula treated him like he was somehow responsible, like "You've caused enough damage." Jesus.

Slate made a great point that Nathaniel is the kind of New York shark she ran away from. She fled her New York life, and even with her diagnosis she doesn't seem to want it back. Whatever the perfect man is for Rebecca, if there is such a thing, I don't believe her perfect man shares things like elite schools, corporate success - because that has made her unhappy her whole life. It's her mother's vision. I don't think she's a corporate type at all. In sum, the show was all - let's make Josh irrelevant, but also blame him for everything because that's convenient. A little inconsistent there.

I agree Bloom's acting got ragged - kind of hard-edged and one-note. Didn't seem like there was a lot of patience there to do very much with the role other than hit the jokes hard.

Iseut, I'm not a fan of Santino Fontana's acting - won't go into particulars as he's no longer on the show and seems like a perfectly fine, successful performer. I know Greg evolved. I think the writing did a great job - I didn't think Fontana got all he could out of the material, depth-wise, but MMV.

ETA -in contrast to all of the Josh/Rebecca numbers across 2 seasons, all the Rebecca/Nathaniel songs have been about sexual tension. Enough already. I

Edited March 10, 2018 by DianeDobbler

[sweetcookieface]

Thoughts about how the seasons rank now that the show has ended? For me it's something like this:

1. Season 1 (tie): Not every episode hits it out of the park, but this is the season that hooked me and the one that I still rewatch the most. I also consider it the high point musically. It's crazy to me how many great songs were packed into just the first couple of episodes: "West Covina," "Sexy Getting Ready Song," "Feeling Kinda Naughty," "I Have Friends," "Settle for Me," just to name a few. It also helps that this season was heaviest on Josh and Greg, both of whom I far preferred to Nathaniel.

1. Season 2 (tie): I feel like this season might have been the tightest narratively. I think of it as three arcs: the development and quick disintegration of Rebecca's love triangle; the rise of the girl group; and the manic Rebecca/Josh relationship, with its dramatic implosion on their wedding day. Lots of classic songs, particularly when Greg was still around: "Tapped that Ass," "Math of Love Triangles," "Ping Pong Girl," "Shit Show," Friendtopia," "We'll Never Have Problems Again," etc.

3. Season 3: I have a weird relationship with Season 3 because there was a stretch of episodes (4-6) that are among my favorite in the show's entire run (with Episode 4 - the Swimfan ep - remaining my absolute favorite). I think the show really was at its best - funny, dark, emotional - when exploring Rebecca's mental health issues. "A Diagnosis" is the song that probably packs the biggest emotional punch for me. Honestly, the entire first half of the season is pretty good (I put on some old eps recently and even numbers that I thought of as forgettable - e.g., "Head in the Clouds" - are fairly enjoyable.) But then it all went to crap. I thought there was way too much time spent on Rebecca/Nathaniel, and I wasn't a fan of the donor egg/surrogacy plots. Plus, the songs in the back half just weren't memorable to me.

4. Season 4: I really hope this improves upon rewatch, but Season 4 felt like the show spinning its wheels. There were no real arcs, save for the drawn out, repetitive love quadrangle. There were some highlights here and there, but it felt like there were always three bad episodes followed by one good one. Songs were much worse (and seemingly less frequent) than previous seasons, although I do love "Don't Be a Lawyer," "Love's Not a Game," "The Darkness," and a couple of others.