S04.E04: I'm Making Up for Lost Time

[dubbel zout]

Rebecca (Rachel Bloom) re-unites under unusual circumstances with half-brother Tucker (guest star Luca Padovan) and discovers they have many things in common. In an effort to connect with her kids, Paula (Donna Lynne Champlin) plans an activity that requires they all to work together.  Meanwhile, Nathaniel (Scott Michael Foster) brainstorms a way to win Rebecca back. 

Edited October 13, 2018 by dubbel zout

[Eeksquire]

So... is this season just all going to be filler? I hate to say it, but maybe they should only have gotten a 13 episode order.

[Spartan Girl]

"I think I'm a fork!" Oh, Other Rebecca...

Yes, FINALLY Rebecca lays into Nathaniel and spells out the cold hard truth: they are a toxic combination. That was a long time coming.

Man, Tucker is messed up. Even without pretending he is a lot like Rebecca in that sense. But I'm glad they wound up bonding anyway. And he's a good singer! "I Wanna Be A Child Star" was so true it's disturbing.

Also like Paula bonding with her sons over that medieval game, even if she did find out how inattentive she is. Still, points for trying.

Why would Paula include Rebecca's garbage father on her list of people she needs to reach out to? She told him she never wanted to see him again and good riddance. That was closure enough.

[zibnchy]

So are Hector and Heather and Rebecca all living together? This episode needed way more Hector.

[srpturtle80]

Until it picked up a bit at the end, this episode bored me to tears. I couldn’t stand the kid and hated the whole storyline. Ugh. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The Calvin Klein parody at the end was perfect (sadly, it was barely a parody and more of a pretty accurate reproduction).

I don't need Tucker to appear in any additional episodes, but I appreciate that they are bringing back characters for the final season to wrap up Rebecca's storylines with everyone. And at least they cast a kid who was a great singer. As obnoxious as his desire to become a child star is, the song was funny.

I agree that Rebecca does not need any further closure with her father though. He's a piece of shit and she does not need any more contact with him. When Paula mentioned Greg as one of the people who Rebecca needs closure with, it gave me hope that we'll see him before the show ends!

I wish that Brendan and Tommy had also mentioned that one of the reasons Paula doesn't know them is because she has spent the last two years running around doing crazy/stupid things with Rebecca.

It was fun seeing Colin again! Ha, of course he's playing Captain Hook.

I'm disappointed that we're getting so few songs with Rebecca and the main cast members singing this season. It's my last chance to see them perform, damn it!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

One Indescribable Instant:

I Want to Be a Child Star:

[Caseysgirl]

The actor playing her brother has a nice voice but let’s hope that character is wrapped up.

[RoadFullOfPromise]

I really hope Tucker isn’t Cousin Olivered into this final season. 

[dubbel zout]

4 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

36 minutes ago, Caseysgirl said:

The actor playing her brother has a nice voice but let’s hope that character is wrapped up.

The Calvin Klein parody at the end was perfect (sadly, it was barely a parody and more of a pretty accurate reproduction).

Saturday Night Live did a genius spoof of those incredibly pretentious ads, too. I need to know why Nathaniel wears such a dated cologne, though!

36 minutes ago, Caseysgirl said:

The actor playing her brother has a nice voice but let’s hope that character is wrapped up.

Ditto. There's no reason he needs to show up in any extended manner.

[Corgi-ears]

5 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I'm disappointed that we're getting so few songs with Rebecca and the main cast members singing this season.

I think it's now clear that the story is that Rebecca won't be singing because she's mentally healthier, and her previous musical numbers were part of her delusions. That's why the theme song is no longer sung by her, and why she has hardly been part of any musical numbers; in this ep she tried to join in Tucker's song, was off-key, and then explicitly said, "Oh my God, my brother is a good singer, it's not just in his head!" So...that should certainly make this season fun. Number after number by supporting characters and rando guests of the week.

[BonnieD]

I didn't feel like the episode was filler. Through her nephew, Rebecca sees herself. And through his cahoots with Nathaniel, she sees her own stalker behavior reflected. I believe each episode brings her a baby step closer to changing her own ways. Baby steps with a lot of slidebacks in between.

Also I've wanted to see Paula dealing with the effect her own bad behavior has had on her family for a long time. Finally treated to a view of what happens when you neglect family at the expense of feeling "needed" by your messed up gal pal. Paula is also baby stepping her way to change. 

I really don't mind the side characters and stories at all.

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, BonnieD said:

I didn't feel like the episode was filler. Through her nephew, Rebecca sees herself. And through his cahoots with Nathaniel, she sees her own stalker behavior reflected. I believe each episode brings her a baby step closer to changing her own ways. Baby steps with a lot of slidebacks in between.

He's her brother, but I agree with you 100%.  And I don't have any worries that he'll become a fixture either.  He was a plot device to show that Rebecca is resolving some of her past.

[HunterHunted]

2 hours ago, Corgi-ears said:

I think it's now clear that the story is that Rebecca won't be singing because she's mentally healthier, and her previous musical numbers were part of her delusions. That's why the theme song is no longer sung by her, and why she has hardly been part of any musical numbers; in this ep she tried to join in Tucker's song, was off-key, and then explicitly said, "Oh my God, my brother is a good singer, it's not just in his head!" So...that should certainly make this season fun. Number after number by supporting characters and rando guests of the week.

That's the way I see the show too. But then again, I wasn't one of the viewers who was "shocked" by the reveal in season 2 that Rebecca was profoundly mentally ill. It seemed pretty obvious to me, but I know that some people were blindsided. I also think it's very telling that she is making Greg's side of the argument from "Shitshow." Equally as important is that it wasn't in song, which is evidence of how much healthier she is.

I really liked the episode. Was this the first time a song(s) were explicitly acknowledged as happening in the real world? There was a crowd gathering to listen to Tucker sing and the director complained about his litany of deplorable aspirations. 

[SomeTameGazelle]

58 minutes ago, HunterHunted said:

the director complained about his litany of deplorable aspirations

She referred to that as a speech though, so it wasn't quite clear. On the other hand Tucker didn't complain that they hadn't heard him sing, so...

I enjoyed the episode but it struck me as very strange that no one questioned casting a boy as Peter Pan, or explained that it was a different production. 

5 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

I need to know why Nathaniel wears such a dated cologne, though!

I think it's supposed to be because it is rare and expensive and also because he would find it appealing that the product was discontinued for its message.

I liked the use of Nathaniel for the first time in a long time because he wasn't sugar-coated. I don't know whether Rebecca is truly done with him or if we'll get mixed-message Nathaniel next week. 

[tennisgurl]

I thought that was a good episode, and I am really glad that we got some follow up with her brother. I think that by helping Tucker in the way that no one helped her when she was young, Rebecca really can get closer to figuring herself out. And, with both her realization as to what Tucker was doing (indulging in self destructive crazy schemes like Rebecca used to) and finally just straight up telling Nathaniel that they are clearly wrong for each other, so is inching closer and closer to self awareness!

It was sad that Tucker was using Rebecca, and that Rebecca was so desperate to connection with him that she didnt catch on, but its good that things turned around. I dont need to see Tucker again, but it was nice to have that follow up. And to be reminded that Mr. Bunch is still, in fact, the worst. 

Is it me, or are there not as many songs per episode this season? Is it a budget thing, or are they just trying to cram more story stuff? Or is it just me?! Maybe its time for Darryl to go back to being played by a broom? 

I've always thought that Paula was a pretty involved mom (the only time we really focus on her home life is usually about her law school or her marriage) so it was great to see them actually dealing with that. Turns out, her sons arent actually just lumps like she always said, they're actually pretty cool, smart kids, (and are in their late or mid teens!) just that she never noticed. I wish they had just told her that she never got to know them because she was always running off to deal with Rebecca's drama, but its a start! 

[theatremouse]

On 11/2/2018 at 7:09 PM, Spartan Girl said:

Why would Paula include Rebecca's garbage father on her list of people she needs to reach out to? She told him she never wanted to see him again and good riddance. That was closure enough.

I didn't think Paula said she should reach out to him. I thought Rebecca had just referred to people she had unfinished business with, and I do think it's true she has unfinished business with the other people Paula mentioned, including her father. Although I also think cutting off contact is a totally reasonable choice for Rebecca and her father.

On 11/3/2018 at 12:14 PM, SomeTameGazelle said:

I enjoyed the episode but it struck me as very strange that no one questioned casting a boy as Peter Pan, or explained that it was a different production. 

The only reason the role was traditionally a woman was because the casting was an adult and adult men generally can't hit the notes required of the role. Although I don't remember if the show said the musical was Peter Pan, as opposed to just a musical about Peter Pan. There are a whole bunch of new-ish musicals that are not the classic one associated with Mary Martin but are all based in the Peter Pan universe and involve that character. (Too many if you ask me, but I digress) So it seemed reasonable to me he was auditioning for one of those.

[DianeDobbler]

I was irritated at 3/4ths of the episode but it turned me around once Rebecca figured out Nathaniel and the diary and her nephew and the diary. Then I thought, ok, this isn't just spinning wheels. It definitely showed Rebecca's progress better than most plots since her diagnosis. Before that, I thought, the cast is already bloated. Do we still need this? But still, a few things:

The actor playing her brother looked and sounded so exactly like the young girl who had played young Rebecca I kept wondering if it was the same performer in drag somehow - either the guy had played the girl or now it was vice versa. It was unsettling. I was also distracted by Rebecca twice saying twice she lived in L.A. No she doesn't. She lives in West Covina. And how dare the show say WC is only two hours from the beach without adding "four hours in traffic."

I was really happy that neither Rebecca's fast talking nor Senil's cut any ice with the show's director. I like that about CEB. OTOH Rebecca and her money - come on! Her saying she's paying for theatre camp and for the therapy - the woman has rent and her own therapy and hasn't worked in MONTHS. She just recently bought a pretzel business. She HAS no money. She should have less than no money. She's not a big law lawyer anymore, and she's not even a medium firm lawyer anymore, so please show, remember that.

When Rebecca was reciting the list of "all we ever do when we're together" to Nathaniel, how on earth did they leave off "fuck"? Because as far as I'm concerned from last season, THAT was all they ever did. It was all they ever did! There were random plot points, but otherwise - that was it!

[txhorns79]

Quote

I was irritated at 3/4ths of the episode but it turned me around once Rebecca figured out Nathaniel and the diary and her nephew and the diary. Then I thought, ok, this isn't just spinning wheels. It definitely showed Rebecca's progress better than most plots since her diagnosis. Before that, I thought, the cast is already bloated. Do we still need this?

It did feel like filler.  And seriously, Rebecca, you should have been about a thousand times more skeptical of your half-brother randomly showing up in West Covina.   

[MilkMachine]

To say it was filler seems generous. I thought it was straight up bad. And cringey. I hated the zany sneaking-into-the-hotel hijinx, especially. Tucker felt like a caricature, and it’s unfortunate because they could have sketched out the parallels between Tucker and Rebecca and been much less broad about it. He should have been a fully-realized character, but to me he felt like a Young Rebecca/Trent mashup plot device.

[alrightokay]

As always, I loved the recurring supporting characters in this episode:
Mrs. Hernandez--loved her stone-cold competence and her "WooHoo!" from behind the door when Nathaniel announced she got the coveted account.  (It seemed like a subtle callback that she was listening at the door, shortly after Rebecca forced herself NOT to listen at the door during Tucker's audition.)

Paula's sons, Tommy and Brendan--they're actually good, likable kids, and it was nice to see Paula appreciate that.

Colin!  Vincent Rodriguez III is just delightful, despite (or maybe because of) his wobbly accent.

I thought the actor who played Tucker was excellent--but the storyline itself didn't really move me. 

[Trini]

16 hours ago, BonnieD said:

I didn't feel like the episode was filler. Through her nephew, Rebecca sees herself. And through his cahoots with Nathaniel, she sees her own stalker behavior reflected. I believe each episode brings her a baby step closer to changing her own ways. Baby steps with a lot of slidebacks in between. ...

I got that, but it still felt like filler to me. It was just odd to have the main plot/Rebecca revolve around this character I've never seen before and will probably never see again. (Yeah, I didn't know she had a brother, although apparently he'd been mentioned before.) For me, the only thing that really happened here was Rebecca breaking up with Nathaniel for good. And it better be for good!

 

8 hours ago, DianeDobbler said:

The actor playing her brother looked and sounded so exactly like the young girl who had played young Rebecca I kept wondering if it was the same performer in drag somehow - either the guy had played the girl or now it was vice versa. It was unsettling. I was also distracted by Rebecca twice saying twice she lived in L.A. No she doesn't. She lives in West Covina. And how dare the show say WC is only two hours from the beach without adding "four hours in traffic."

However, I was impressed with the casting of Tucker -- they managed to get someone who is a young, male Rachel Bloom/Rebecca!

I would have enjoyed Paula and her kids better if it the A-plot wasn't as filler-ish.

[Empress1]

6 hours ago, alrightokay said:

As always, I loved the recurring supporting characters in this episode:
Mrs. Hernandez--loved her stone-cold competence and her "WooHoo!" from behind the door when Nathaniel announced she got the coveted account.  (It seemed like a subtle callback that she was listening at the door, shortly after Rebecca forced herself NOT to listen at the door during Tucker's audition.)

Paula's sons, Tommy and Brendan--they're actually good, likable kids, and it was nice to see Paula appreciate that.

Colin!  Vincent Rodriguez III is just delightful, despite (or maybe because of) his wobbly accent.

I thought the actor who played Tucker was excellent--but the storyline itself didn't really move me. 

The supporting cast was the best part of the episode for me. I wasn't interested in the A-plot. I know the intent was to shine a light on Rebecca's past and highlight that she's moving past all the scheming, but I still wasn't interested in her half-brother. (I was like "Who?")

22 hours ago, Corgi-ears said:

I think it's now clear that the story is that Rebecca won't be singing because she's mentally healthier, and her previous musical numbers were part of her delusions. That's why the theme song is no longer sung by her, and why she has hardly been part of any musical numbers; in this ep she tried to join in Tucker's song, was off-key, and then explicitly said, "Oh my God, my brother is a good singer, it's not just in his head!"

Yes, I agree. She sang that agoraphobia song an episode ago when she couldn't leave the house so clearly she wasn't in a good place then, but I think the idea is that as she gets healthier, she'll sing less. And now we know that Rebecca can't actually sing; she just imagines she can (I think that was illuminated in the episode where we learned she'd been institutionalized and the other patients were like "She's singing again," as she hummed to herself, but now it's been expressly spelled out).

Did they age Paula's kids?

[SomeTameGazelle]

30 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

Did they age Paula's kids?

The actors (Steele Stebbins (Tommy) and Zayne Emory (Brendan)) who play Paula's kids appear to have come by their grown-assedness naturally.

[iMonrey]

I don't remember Rebecca having a half brother or ever hearing anything about her father. When was all of this established? I only remember her mother, from the episode where she visited Rebecca, and the one where Rebecca went to stay with her after her breakdown.

[MilkMachine]

27 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I don't remember Rebecca having a half brother or ever hearing anything about her father. When was all of this established? I only remember her mother, from the episode where she visited Rebecca, and the one where Rebecca went to stay with her after her breakdown.

Her father has appeared in and been mentioned throughout the series. It’s been shown in flashbacks that Rebecca has craved his interest and approval from a young age and he’s never been able to deliver on those things. At one point he visits—I think purportedly to meet Josh before their wedding—and she thinks she has finally won his approval, but it turns out he was mainly there to ask Rebecca to borrow money so his son Tucker could get braces.

[txhorns79]

Quote

I would have enjoyed Paula and her kids better if it the A-plot wasn't as filler-ish.

I'd have enjoyed it better if this wasn't like the second or third time they've done a "Paula is a lousy parent who cares more about Rebecca than about her own family" storyline.  I mean, I could swear in the second or third season her husband directly confronted her about being checked out of their marriage and what was happening with her kids, and Paula resolved to be a better parent/spouse.     

[Eeksquire]

Quote

And seriously, Rebecca, you should have been about a thousand times more skeptical of your half-brother randomly showing up in West Covina. 

Even if Rebecca wasn't, Heather was sitting right there! That they both unquestioningly accepted that a) a kid had a card with his mom's phone number on it (instead of opening his phone) and b) immediately left for the bathroom after giving the number.  Yeah... that's not suspicious at all.

[DianeDobbler]

So I'm not the only one who thought, "Wait, we already knew of Tucker / Tupper's existence?" and figured we missed a reference? Ok, so the show is trolling us.

At least this time, I didn't think Paula was devoting more time to Rebecca than her kids, as has occurred a million times in the past. I just thought they came across apathetic and bored to her, and when she realized they had functioning brains, standards, and interests, she was thrilled. Character-wise, it IS kind of the same note, but the circumstances felt different.

Of all shows, the last show CEG should remind me of is Mad Men. I delude myself that when a show has x number of remaining episodes, they will make it count. Finally muster up to stuff they've just danced around in early seasons. What I do NOT expect is the introduction of new characters the show literally should have no time for, and spinning episodes around that character. When that happens, as far as I'm concerned, the show is showing its ass. Mad Men certainly did. I definitely felt that way about this episode until Rebecca discovered her brother's real agenda (and broke up with Nathaniel). It went back to Rebecca sufficiently so I thought - ok, maybe this wasn't how I'd done it, but necessary boxes were ticked.

Still, my trust in the show was total through the Josh Groban episode (where she slept with Greg's dad). Subsequently, I've been cautious, because I feel that at times the show runners have lost the plot.

Edited November 5, 2018 by DianeDobbler

[dubbel zout]

2 hours ago, Eeksquire said:

That they both unquestioningly accepted that a) a kid had a card with his mom's phone number on it (instead of opening his phone) and b) immediately left for the bathroom after giving the number.  Yeah... that's not suspicious at all.

I'm pretty sure Heather knew Tucker was lying.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

15 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I don't remember Rebecca having a half brother or ever hearing anything about her father. When was all of this established? I only remember her mother, from the episode where she visited Rebecca, and the one where Rebecca went to stay with her after her breakdown.

 

6 hours ago, DianeDobbler said:

So I'm not the only one who thought, "Wait, we already knew of Tucker / Tupper's existence?" and figured we missed a reference? Ok, so the show is trolling us.

 

14 hours ago, MilkMachine said:

Her father has appeared in and been mentioned throughout the series. It’s been shown in flashbacks that Rebecca has craved his interest and approval from a young age and he’s never been able to deliver on those things. At one point he visits—I think purportedly to meet Josh before their wedding—and she thinks she has finally won his approval, but it turns out he was mainly there to ask Rebecca to borrow money so his son Tucker could get braces.

Yes, they established Rebecca's father is a shitbag through various flashbacks. He cheated on her mom a lot and then finally left the family. After the divorce, Rebecca snuck out to New Mexico to visit him. He secretly called Naomi who flew out to come get Rebecca. Naomi begged him to let Rebecca stay a little bit longer since she clearly missed him and wanted to spend time with him, but he said he couldn't let anything "hold him back" (great way to think of your daughter's visit!). Naomi promised not to tell Rebecca the real reason that she couldn't stay longer but only because she didn't want Rebecca to know what a fucking asshole her father really was. He remarried and had another kid, which was also mentioned by Rebecca in the earlier seasons.

In S2, her father showed up for the wedding. When he and Rebecca met with a dance teacher so they could work on a father/daughter dance, the dance teacher asked them to remember some happy times together, which was the first time we learned Tucker's name:

Quote

Dance teacher: Use the history of your relationship to inform the movement. Tell me, what are some of the favorite times you've had together recently?
Rebecca: Well, we actually haven't really seen each other in four years - when he came to New York to see The Lion King.
Dance teacher: Well, that's a great memory.
Rebecca: I didn't go to The Lion King. He actually went with his new wife and son. I wasn't really, I wasn't technically invited. But it's okay, because people on stilts frighten me.
Silas: I'm so sorry about that. Tucker was going through a really tough time.
Rebecca: It's totally fine. And then we got coffee afterwards. It was such a great 20 minutes.

Immediately after that, he asks to borrow money from Rebecca, supposedly for Tucker's braces.

[Nessie]

On 11/4/2018 at 2:47 AM, Trini said:

However, I was impressed with the casting of Tucker -- they managed to get someone who is a young, male Rachel Bloom/Rebecca!

I would have enjoyed Paula and her kids better if it the A-plot wasn't as filler-ish.

Tucker looked familiar to me, but I couldn't place him.  Then yesterday I was watching last week's episode of You, and realized he was the quiet, bookish, low-key Paco!  I had to look him up on IMDB to make sure, the characters were so different.  That kid has some range.

I liked Paula and her kids so much better than the A-plot.  I just wanted to tell her to give it some time...it does get better (speaking as someone who raised two boys).  And then...it did!  LOL

[Rinaldo]

On 11/3/2018 at 10:52 AM, BonnieD said:

I didn't feel like the episode was filler. Through her [brother], Rebecca sees herself. And through his cahoots with Nathaniel, she sees her own stalker behavior reflected. I believe each episode brings her a baby step closer to changing her own ways. Baby steps with a lot of slidebacks in between.

Also I've wanted to see Paula dealing with the effect her own bad behavior has had on her family for a long time. Finally treated to a view of what happens when you neglect family at the expense of feeling "needed" by your messed up gal pal. Paula is also baby stepping her way to change. 

Pretty much everything I wanted to say, you said just right, @BonnieD. This episode felt 100% on point to me.

On 11/3/2018 at 3:14 PM, SomeTameGazelle said:

I enjoyed the episode but it struck me as very strange that no one questioned casting a boy as Peter Pan

It's not that unusual. The musical known for starring Mary Martin / Sandy Duncan / Cathy Rigby has been played by a boy (even an adult actor) on occasion.

On 11/3/2018 at 5:57 PM, tennisgurl said:

Is it me, or are there not as many songs per episode this season? Is it a budget thing, or are they just trying to cram more story stuff? Or is it just me?!

Two songs per episode is about standard, and that's what every episode this season has had. In this case it was one new one and one reprise (albeit a strongly featured one). In season 1 there was an episode with just one song ("Dream Ghost") plus a fragment of a pretentious musical-theater song ("The Whale") in flashback. In Season 2 the desert-retreat episode had only one song ("Thought Bubbles").

On 11/4/2018 at 8:17 AM, Empress1 said:

And now we know that Rebecca can't actually sing; she just imagines she can (I think that was illuminated in the episode where we learned she'd been institutionalized and the other patients were like "She's singing again," as she hummed to herself, but now it's been expressly spelled out).

It's been made evident on several occasions, though this may be the first time she has articulated her awareness of the distinction. Every time Rebecca has sung "in real life" in the show, it's been out of tune and toneless, unlike her singing in her musical fantasies. I found this song hilarious because that Tucker "really" sings as well as Rebecca (not Rachel) only imagines she sings.

I adored the commercial shoot at the end. I do miss the little out-of-story tags like this that they did throughout season 1 (the rapper's apologies, "I left my wife for a prostitute").

[smartymarty]

On ‎11‎/‎3‎/‎2018 at 7:34 PM, DianeDobbler said:

Her saying she's paying for theatre camp and for the therapy - the woman has rent and her own therapy and hasn't worked in MONTHS.

Didn't she say she'd talked to their father and he was going to pay for theatre camp and therapy?

[srpturtle80]

He said he would send Tucker to camp but Rebecca had to pay for it.  I assume the mom was laying for therapy as I don’t think that was mentioned. 

[dubbel zout]

1 hour ago, Rinaldo said:

In Season 2 the desert-retreat episode had only one song ("Thought Bubbles").

Was that the song where Rebecca was dressed like a cactus? I remember reading that song nearly blew the budget for the entire season. Songs are expensive.

[iMonrey]

Quote

At least this time, I didn't think Paula was devoting more time to Rebecca than her kids, as has occurred a million times in the past. I just thought they came across apathetic and bored to her, and when she realized they had functioning brains, standards, and interests, she was thrilled. Character-wise, it IS kind of the same note, but the circumstances felt different.

And honestly, how much information do you think teen boys that age really share with their mother anyway? I don't recall sitting down and discussing my love interests with my mother at that age. Maybe I'm weird but I don't think that would be all that normal.

[Nessie]

20 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

And honestly, how much information do you think teen boys that age really share with their mother anyway? I don't recall sitting down and discussing my love interests with my mother at that age. Maybe I'm weird but I don't think that would be all that normal.

How much information?  None.  Mine barely talked to me for four years.  Then one day after each of their 18th birthdays it's like they woke up and realized I was a person who was actually pretty smart and started talking to me about all kinds of things...some things I wish they wouldn't! LOL

[Rinaldo]

3 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

Was that the song where Rebecca was dressed like a cactus? I remember reading that song nearly blew the budget for the entire season. Songs are expensive.

No, that was "Love Kernels" from the opening of the season. They did joke (even in its lyrics) about it blowing the budget for the season, and while that wasn't at all true literally, it did cost a lot. The production values they're able to get for their songs, and all for an infinitesimal fraction of the time and budget a song got in the old MGM days, is amazing. Another way we're seeing evidence of scraping every penny out of the available budget is the way that, if secondary players don't have a plot to contribute in a given episode, they're not seen at all (and thus not paid). Too bad, I'd certainly like to see Hector and Darryl and WhiJo every week, but I understand that we had a lot of LA people and production-number kids to use this week, and something has to give.

[DianeDobbler]

Secondary players have to be paid if they have a contract that guarantees them every episode, but clearly on CEG, most of the contract players (I assume cast announced as "regulars" have contracts) don't have that kind of contractual guarantee. I'd also assume when they signed it was for "x" episodes as a guarantee. I suspect Scott Michael Foster has an every episode guarantee just because of his prior credits. 

I rewatched the end to remember exactly what it is Rebecca is paying for. Not the therapy - that's mom. But she's paying for theatre camp and she's paying to replace Tucker at the construction site. Rebecca hasn't worked since her suicide attempt, right? So, no employer health insurance, and is either doing COBRA or paying a lot for her therapy because she had group, the bipolar therapist, and Dr. Avakian at different times. And rent. But she had enough to buy the pretzel place - after having been back at work six seconds or something? And now camp and the equivalent of whatever it will cost her dad to replace his kid at the construction site. 

Drives me crazy.

[harrie]

7 hours ago, Nessie said:

Tucker looked familiar to me, but I couldn't place him.  Then yesterday I was watching last week's episode of You, and realized he was the quiet, bookish, low-key Paco!  I had to look him up on IMDB to make sure, the characters were so different.  That kid has some range.

 

Thank you! I was trying to place him but couldn't.  I never would have thought of Paco; he IS good.

[possibilities]

I am curious what people would consider not a filler episode. My own idea is that this season is about Rebecca getting herself together and becoming healthy. So the shenanigans of prior seasons are no longer the center of the show, and are waning significantly. Each episode we've seen her confront and do something about at least one of her unhealthy behaviors. It's not as much of a high as it was when she was manic and delusional, but I think that's kind of real. There is joy in being healthy, but she's just barely climbing her way out of rock bottom, so she's not there yet.

I thought that her confrontation with Nathanial was a HUGE step forward. She totally saw that he was BLAMING A CHILD for his own crap, and that when they were together they were nothing but dysfunction, and she ended it. She also faced Tucker's scheming and had a really strong reaction to it-- she was hurt and disappointed, but also empathetic and adult about it. She took action. She didn't go crazy and get into a frenzy or a depression. That was a huge advancement of the plot, because it showed she's not just coasting because everything is easy. She's actually handling some really painful things.

She did start to get a bit crazy when she was scheming to get Tucker a second audition, but she realized how wrong it was and reversed course on that, too.

I actually think they are advancing the story of her recovery at a pretty fast pace. My guess is that they're doing it because they want to get through it and also show her on the other side of the process, and they only have so many episodes to pull it off. I almost think they're doing it TOO fast. Some of this growth feels unearned. I don't really want to see her have massive setbacks and just repeat the past. But I don't really know how she managed to get so much better so quickly, either. And I do think the show is flatter and less funny and amazing than it has been at other times, possibly because when you aren't manic and delusional, you just don't have as many madcap adventures and over the top events.

[Eeksquire]

Quote

I am curious what people would consider not a filler episode. My own idea is that this season is about Rebecca getting herself together and becoming healthy. So the shenanigans of prior seasons are no longer the center of the show, and are waning significantly.

I agree, but spending a whole hour with a character we've literally never seen before and only heard mentioned is not why I'm watching this show -especially in its last season.  Rebecca has plenty of people that the audience has seen before that she could be dealing with.  Valencia, in particular, seems to have been reduced to 'Hey! She's a lesbian now!' without anything else.  If Rebecca is going to confront her past actions, why not start there instead of with a kid we've never seen before and probably will never see again? Hell, I'd take seeing Greg's dad over some random kid.

[Trini]

8 hours ago, possibilities said:

I am curious what people would consider not a filler episode.

An episode where the main plot didn't revolve around a new character (that we may never see again) and where our lead Rebecca wasn't being duped for 90% of the time.

[Iseut]

They did joke (even in its lyrics) about it blowing the budget for the season, and while that wasn't at all true literally, it did cost a lot. The production values they're able to get for their songs, and all for an infinitesimal fraction of the time and budget a song got in the old MGM days, is amazing.

Rachel Bloom said in an interview at the beginning of Season 3 that their budget is usually pretty fucked halfway through the season, which leads to them cutting corners (I think she mentioned having to shoot Friendtopia on the HomeBase set as an example). With this being the last season, especially with the 18-episode order, I'm guessing they're trying to spread things out a bit more evenly so they can go out with some really big numbers toward the end. Unfortunately that means fewer songs and beloved secondary characters in the beginning, but I'm hoping for some big blowout musical numbers and character wrap-ups as they build toward the finale.

[DianeDobbler]

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If Rebecca is going to confront her past actions, why not start there instead of with a kid we've never seen before and probably will never see again? Hell, I'd take seeing Greg's dad over some random kid.

Or, say, Josh? The reality is, the first 2.5 seasons of this show centered around Rebecca's obsession with Josh Chan. After he failed to show up for the wedding, she terrorized him, not stopping at destroying his reputation and getting him fired. That's a LOT of investment by the show. Episode after episode. When she's finally diagnosed, how does the show treat Josh? OMG - isn't it hilarious she was into someone so stupid! Only if she were sick and delusional could that happen. Then Josh shows up with a puppy at her home. Maybe ill-considered, but it did NOT call for Paula acting like he was responsible for Rebecca's state. SHE did to HIM, not vice versa. I was so pissed at that. Not once did the show have her take responsibility for Josh in the sense that - this was a human being she fucked up. Instead, it was all about her, and maybe he needed to apologize to her....? Probably - but bygones! What a misfire, IMO. This season, CEG seems to have course corrected about both Nathaniel and Josh, but Josh-wise, it ended up as, Rebecca: "oh hey, since we've run into each other here at therapy, I just wanted to say what I did to you the past couple of years was basically stalking and it was wrong." Josh: "Yeah, mistakes were made, like when we moved in together and I pretended it was casual."

So IOW, if she's going to confront her past actions, how about JOSH CHAN? Except he's too stupid to take seriously and the show runners mainly think it's a one note joke. To me, that's like the elephant in the room. 

I just don't think we needed her "younger self" for her to face up to things, although I must admit I thought the last 10 minutes or so was well done. 

Since last season (not S2, but last season) I've felt there was something forced about Nathaniel/Rebecca. it felt almost fan -girly. But this season, I feel as if SMT is phoning it in unnecessarily.

[quangtran]

20 hours ago, Eeksquire said:

If Rebecca is going to confront her past actions, why not start there instead of with a kid we've never seen before and probably will never see again? Hell, I'd take seeing Greg's dad over some random kid.

I see no problem with this. Rebecca having a half-brother is a pretty big deal and it seemed like a give taht the writers will come back to that.

On 11/4/2018 at 10:34 AM, DianeDobbler said:

 the woman has rent and her own therapy and hasn't worked in MONTHS. She just recently bought a pretzel business. She HAS no money.

I don't think that's true. She was broke BEFORE the time-jump, but her financial situation certainly changed in the eight months she was senior partner. Also, it only seemed like she hasen't worked in months due to the break between seasons, but she was only in jail for a few days.

Edited November 7, 2018 by quangtran

[Whimsy]

On 11/4/2018 at 9:43 PM, dubbel zout said:

I'm pretty sure Heather knew Tucker was lying.

Heather seemed very suspicious about Tucker until Rebecca texted his "mom" then she literally shrugged and was like "ok then!"

I mostly feel bad for SMF.  Nathaniel is a terrible character and, imo, never should've been introduced.  I like SMF as an actor.  But on CEG he's just bland.  Right now, especially, he seems completely unnecessary as a character so now they have to figure out how to get him off the show.  

I get the realistic reasons why there are so few songs by Rebecca, but I miss them. 

[dubbel zout]

17 minutes ago, Whimsy said:

Heather seemed very suspicious about Tucker until Rebecca texted his "mom" then she literally shrugged and was like "ok then!"

I felt like Heather was throwing up her hands at that point: "Okay, Rebecca, believe what you're gonna believe." Ultimately it's not her problem.

[SomeTameGazelle]

36 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

I felt like Heather was throwing up her hands at that point: "Okay, Rebecca, believe what you're gonna believe." Ultimately it's not her problem.

I thought that she accepted that the reply was actually from Tucker's mother and if his mother was that irresponsible she couldn't interfere. I thought it would be out of character for Heather not to show more frustration if she thought Rebecca was being duped at that point.