S04.E10: I Can Work With You

[dubbel zout]

ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING — Rebecca (Rachel Bloom), agrees to help out Darryl (Pete Gardner) by offering to babysit and an unexpected guest crashes the evening.  Meanwhile, Paula (Donna Lynne Champlin) throws a game night. 

[dubbel zout]

Nathaniel and Josh bonding over sports was divine. And their pseudo Rat Pack number was great, especially with the dads slow-clapping afterward.

The underwear stuff was hilarious. I can see Josh as an influencer, hee.

My heart kind of broke for Nathaniel when he overheard Rebecca telling Paula about Greg.

Edited January 19, 2019 by dubbel zout
just now noticed a typo; argh!

[Spartan Girl]

Hebecca really is such a cute baby.

The "Sports Analogy" song was really catchy. And I love how everyone just got sucked into helping Josh taking underwear selfies.

Maybe Greg and Rebecca are endgame. At least she's taking a mature approach and making sure she's not getting sucked in because she's spiraling.

[taragel]

The underwear selfies bit made me laugh out loud several times. It's one of the best bits they've done in a while. 

I think the fact that they felt the need to show Nathaniel overhearing and feeling bad about her and Greg might indicate he's endgame. IDK. 

I'm glad they let Skylar sing a little this episode. If he's not going to be "real" Greg then we should at least get to hear him sing. But what were the reprises?

[srpturtle80]

Apparently I wasn’t the only one who loved the whole underwear (man panties) selfies in front of the fridge thing. Every time someone else walked in I laughed harder. I can’t wait to rewatch that scene. 

I have been in the minority and always liked Rebecca and Nathaniel, so the end really broke my heart. 

Edited January 19, 2019 by srpturtle80

[Cthulhudrew]

Rebecca and Paula seemed like complete strangers in their scene. If I hadn't watched the prior 3 seasons, I would have had no idea that they were supposed to be best friends.

And Valencia and her girlfriend are still in town. Or back in town. Or something.

[aradia22]

So I basically binge watched every episode from episode 3 to episode 10. I'm not sure it's the best way to do things but there are advantages. I'm not sure season 4 is that much better than season 3 but watching a big chunk of it all at once, the filler (pointless C, and often B plots) don't seem like as much of a waste of time. I feel like there's also a kind of surrender. What would otherwise be cliffhangers or things the show would be asking me to emotionally invest in become things that just sort of breeze past. The big thing is Rebecca's romantic life. I think Josh is firmly out of the picture and as far as I know that Jason guy isn't coming back. So assuming the decision is down to Greg or Nathaniel (though I'm still uncertain if it will be down to these two but that's where the show has been living lately) I don't really care. I'm just here enjoying the ride. 

I'm happy to have great, memorable songs again and not just songs that move the plot along. Season 3 made it seem like they were running out of steam. I've been loving the really specific musical theater references like the Oklahoma number and the Cats episode (I hate Cats but I love people making fun of Cats) but sometimes it's nice to take a break with an episode like this which goes for a blander more contemporary musical theater style and does those callbacks/reprises to recycle songs in a new context. 

Overall, I'm happy with how things are going. I doubted them and while things are still messy, I feel like they heard the chatter that there were too many loose ends and things were going off the rails and they said "hold my beer" and have been tidying everything up. Her mom, her brother, her job, the lives of all the secondary characters (though it's been a bit rushed), now Hebby. 

I had my doubts about Skylar Astin (though I still think he reads as too young next to Rachel) but I think he's got enough of Santino's vibe that I still buy him as the same character even though there's no obvious mimicry. I don't know if Greg as endgame is the ending I want for the show but I think the way they've written the character's return has been pretty decent so far, all things considered. However, even though I know the point of this show is to examine Rebecca's romantic relationships (and how they relate to her mental health issues) like every show with too much back and forth, it's hard to buy any argument now. I'll go with whatever they decide but I'm not as invested anymore. I couldn't feel sad for Nathaniel at the end. I couldn't feel that thrilled for her and Greg. At this point there's an argument for her to be with any of her previous exes and there's an argument against it. I know because the show has gone through every single argument already. 

But yeah, ultimately I'm glad to have my show back with its witty songs, occasional social commentary, and genuine LOL moments. I have been genuinely delighted by the show in a way I don't really remember being that much in season 3. True, Rebecca was going through a dark time (and a darker hair color) but I feel like even the jokes that were there weren't really haha funny. 

My hope for the remaining episodes is a tighter focus and fewer distractions. They've dropped bombshells (Valencia and Father Brah) and given depth to relationships (Brendan and Paula) and I'm going to feel like those storylines were shortchanged throughout the series if we spend the remaining episodes being jerked around between different love interests. Also, she can't spend the rest of her life running an unprofitable pretzel shop, can she?

Lastly, that baby's really cute.

[possibilities]

That baby was incredible. I mean, yeah, babies are cute. But this one really grabbed me.

I do get upset when they show babies crying. I know sometimes the crying is dubbed in and the baby isn't really crying on camera. But they did have one scene where that kid looked genuinely upset. I want to know they aren't actually upsetting any babies!

I fundamentally don't enjoy watching the whole "who will she choose" story. I like when they examine her growth, but I really hope they have a way out of the pinballing around various dude options. It just bores me. I can't think of a single way that it doesn't amount to some bullshit trope, and what I liked about this show was that it was subverting tropes, not exalting them. Get it together, show. Don't end on a cliche.

The party becoming an underwear photoshoot, and Paula loving that it did, was awesome. They DID avoid all the expected beats there. Excellent!

What kind of group was that, where Greg and his dad were both there? Was it just AA?

Heather hasn't had much to do lately.

They answered why Valencia and her GF are still around. All the out of towners are staying in West Covina "for the holiday season" ... which lasts through Valentines Day. That was a point they hammered home repeatedly during the reunion episode.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I love that Josh decided game night at Paula's house was a great place to strip down to his underwear for some selfies in front of the great refrigerator light, but I really loved that Hector just jumped in with the lamp to help. But most of all, I loved that every time someone walked into the kitchen, they knew that Josh was trying to get that Fett Regoso sponsorship.

Josh must have much longer arms than I do because there's no way I could take a selfie that showed me from my head down to my underwear. Ha, please don't tell me that his previous selfies were only of his underwear!

Edited January 19, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[quangtran]

I like that Scott didn't let Paula explain away with ridiculousness and outright told her she was wrong. I get so tired of shows like Modern Family where stories end with characters having a vulnerable moment to justify schemes or lies.

2 hours ago, possibilities said:

 I want to know they aren't actually upsetting any babies!

Babies are notoriously difficult to work with, so it wouldn't have to wait long to film a naturally crying baby (or if the baby is crying too much, an actor is forced to with an empty cot or stroller). 

[kathe5133]

2 hours ago, quangtran said:

 

Babies are notoriously difficult to work with, so it wouldn't have to wait long to film a naturally crying baby (or if the baby is crying too much, an actor is forced to with an empty cot or stroller). 

I've been told that they have folks on the sets called "baby wranglers".  These people are responsible for taking care of the baby between takes, making sure they are changed and tracking feedings, etc.   Most parents, though desperate for their child to be filmed, don't always understand how filming works so the baby wrangler handles all of that.   The babies are given toys to amuse them.  When they want the baby to cry, the toy is snatched away and they call "action".  Though that isn't as bad as telling a child their pet dog is dead, (Shirley Temple or Jackie Coogan, or some other child star I don't remember claims this was done to them) it is sort of mean.  I'll never understand what motivates parents to put their babies and young children on display that way.

[PodcastTown]

New Greg sucks. Everyone else is on point though. Another great episode in the books.  I thought Nathanial and Josh were funny as hell in this one. The ending kinda made me upset, new lame Greg over Nathanial, really? 

13 hours ago, srpturtle80 said:

Apparently I wasn’t the only one who loved the whole underwear (man panties) selfies in front of the fridge thing. Every time someone else walked in I laughed harder. I can’t wait to rewatch that scene. 

I have been in the minority and always liked Rebecca and Nathaniel, so the end really broke my heart. 

 

Oh I freezed frame every shot. ;) 

Edited January 19, 2019 by PodcastTown

[whiporee]

I'm okay with New Greg, but I also think that there's no way Santino could have done those baby scenes. Or any of the scenes since he's been "back." Old Greg had a hostility and a self-deprecating personality that this new baby faced guy couldn't have pulled off.  I've come to realize New Greg is a completely different character than old Greg was. They bare no physical or character resemblance to each other. I think it's best to think of them that way rather than comparing them, because you really can't. They actually have nothing in common with each other. New Greg wouldn't fit with any of Old Greg's plotlines or songs, and vis-versa. 

[Empress1]

10 hours ago, aradia22 said:

I had my doubts about Skylar Astin (though I still think he reads as too young next to Rachel)

They're the same age, 31, but Rachel/Rebecca reads older than that to me. IMO she presents as 34-35.

I'm sort of like Paula in that I don't like a lot of fuss over me, although I did have graduation parties for high school, college, and business school. (Those were more family-oriented though - education is valued very highly in my family, and celebrated accordingly.) Where was Paula's younger son during the party?

Valencia looked like she was hitting the club rather than going to a game night.

13 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Hebecca really is such a cute baby.

She is, but that is a horrible name. "Hebby" as a nickname is worse. 

I was glad that Rebecca mentioned her genes because if I were Darryl, I would have had reservations about Rebecca's history of mental illness (if I'm not mistaken, women with mental illness are screened out of egg donation), but [shrug].

I didn't see the point of the Hector/Valencia thing, but I liked seeing Hector and Heather again.

[DianeDobbler]

Never liked Santino's Greg although the hostility certainly read loud and clear in the performance. To me the best and ideal Greg is Marco. Just strip 30-40 years off him and he's perfect (or the actor is perfect). When they met up in the bar and Rebecca said, "that's old Greg." I thought - YES!

That said I enjoy Skylar's performance although I agree that outside those who just want Greg it didn't have the dramatic impact of someone who had played the role all along.

For me the best part of the episode was Vincent Rodriguez and Scott Michael Foster's performance in Sports Analogies. First off, they were clearly having a blast. And I loved some of the contrasts. Vinnie was really specific with all the sports he mimed - opening up on the swing of the bat and tracking the flight of the ball, his fingers on the pitch, the position of his arms when he set up to catch the football, etc. And his throw of the baseball into the "audience" which I'm pretty sure was CGI since the baseball just vanished into the either as it hit the end of the trajectory. For SMT I loved his sheer enjoyment, and if you watch the very last reprise of the chorus as he and Vinnie cross to stage left, he is shimmying his damn shoulder. :)

I have my own end game theory (not a spoiler - my theory is Josh). But that aside, if I had a preference, I would not want to be rooting for the guy she hooks up and tries again with with eight episodes to go when there are two other exes. Not when the show runners have said they're returning to rom com for the last half of the season.

Edited January 19, 2019 by DianeDobbler

[DianeDobbler]

never mind - added my thought to previous post.

Edited January 19, 2019 by DianeDobbler

[dungeonwriter]

19 hours ago, srpturtle80 said:

Apparently I wasn’t the only one who loved the whole underwear (man panties) selfies in front of the fridge thing. Every time someone else walked in I laughed harder. I can’t wait to rewatch that scene. 

I have been in the minority and always liked Rebecca and Nathaniel, so the end really broke my heart. 

Broke my heart too. I really liked Nathaniel and Rebecca, always felt like Greg was better off moving on to someome more stable and Nathaniel needed some crazy in his life. Of course, I have a bit of a crush on Nathaniel (besides his name, which is the name of a cousin I like and therefore, associated with a baby) myself.  

[ahpny]

My Spanish isn't fluent, but I think Valencia, when speaking to Hector just before they played the game, said something like "if you ruin this I'm going to cut out your eyes an throw them in the river." Happy to be corrected by anyone with a better command of Spanish.

[Roccos Brother]

Hate to be a negative nancy, but it really feels like this show is now just throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks. 

[driver18]

That guy isn't Greg to me so I'm not even remotely torn. If Rebecca is going to end up in a romantic relationship, I want her with Nathaniel and the fact that the episode ended on him hearing about her and Greg to me reads that basically her and this Faux!Greg are not endgame and that works for me. If F!G was her endgame, she wouldn't be getting with him this early and Nathaniel -- who is GOOD! now -- wouldn't be overhearing it and be all heartbroken about it.

As for F!G, I kept finding myself thinking 'Ugh, if he wasn't here, Rebecca and Darryl could be at Paula's game night too and part of this fun/awkward night, but instead Darryl's off somewhere else and Rebecca's stuck with lame F!G. Ugh!!' However, I guess Nathaniel and Josh wouldn't have wound up bonding as well as they did and that was awesome.

Speaking of... I LOVED the Josh/Nathaniel number -- both SMF and VRIII sounded fabulous singing that style of music -- and I liked Rebecca singing that reprise to Hebbe too. Overall, this was one of the better episodes of the season. I do hope that when I binge the whole series, everything flows and works.

The Josh selfie and everyone joining in was great, possibly the best part of the episode.

Edited January 19, 2019 by driver18

[angora]

Agree with pretty much everyone on loving the sports analogies song (I loved when we cut back to the black-and-white for the second chorus and the guys had a drink/cigarette in EACH hand) and everybody pitching in to help Josh with his underwear selfie.  It’s wonderful that 1) everyone immediately knew what was going on and 2) had an idea to make better AND 3) it made Paula happy.  Everything about that scene was perfect.

The more I see of New Greg, the more it just doesn’t work for me.  There are moments where Skylar Astin’s speaking voice sounds almost exactly like Greg’s, but  he’s never felt like the character to me.  Everything about this is so different that I can’t even tell whether or not it work with Santino instead, or if the lines/scenes themselves are too un-Greg-like to work.

That said, I did really enjoy the scene of Rebecca holding off on the kissing to look at the shame spiral she’d just been in.  I like that she recognized the need for self-reflection, was open with Greg about it, and then ultimately decided she was okay to keep going.  That was a nice moment for her, as was her “Hello, Nice to Meet You” reprise to Hebbie.  Also, it was an obvious joke, but I laughed at Greg being so eager to wash Darryl’s “floor toys.”

[txhorns79]

Quote

And Valencia and her girlfriend are still in town. Or back in town. Or something.

Yeah, I felt like Valencia was moved to New York solely to give them an excuse to have someone be there for Rebecca when she confronted her mother.  With that storyline done, she has no reason to remain in New York, but no real reason to be in West Covina either. 

[Irlandesa]

8 hours ago, whiporee said:

I'm okay with New Greg, but I also think that there's no way Santino could have done those baby scenes. Or any of the scenes since he's been "back." Old Greg had a hostility and a self-deprecating personality that this new baby faced guy couldn't have pulled off.  I've come to realize New Greg is a completely different character than old Greg was. They bare no physical or character resemblance to each other. I think it's best to think of them that way rather than comparing them, because you really can't. They actually have nothing in common with each other. New Greg wouldn't fit with any of Old Greg's plotlines or songs, and vis-versa. 

If Santino were here, he wouldn't be doing the scenes exactly like Skylar.  And if Skylar had originally been cast as Greg, he wouldn't have done the scenes exactly like Santino.  But ultimately, the meat of Greg is in the writing.  In Skylar's first episode, especially, I got the sense that the writers wanted to be extra careful to get his "voice" as much as possible so we'd accept the recast.  And Santino's version of self-deprecating/self-loathing/alcoholic Greg was all in the writing as well.  Played very well but certainly not the only note he could played or even played as Greg.  So he absolutely could have done the baby scenes. 

2 hours ago, ahpny said:

My Spanish isn't fluent, but I think Valencia, when speaking to Hector just before they played the game, said something like "if you ruin this I'm going to cut out your eyes an throw them in the river." Happy to be corrected by anyone with a better command of Spanish.

I had my captions on so I was able to read what she said, which is easier for me than listening.  So assuming the captions were correct, which I think they were, she said that if he ruined this, she was going to kill him and throw him in the river.

1 hour ago, driver18 said:

Speaking of... I LOVED the Josh/Nathaniel number -- both SMF and VRIII sounded fabulous singing that style of music

The old fashioned back and forth of it reminded me a lot of Josh and Greg doing We Tapped That Ass without the dancing. 

As for end game, well I still think her best chemistry was with OG Greg.  I do think it's too early for her to end up with an end game guy so I don't think NuGreg is going to be it.  I just feel like something will drop with them.  Maybe it'll be that she wants to stay in West Convina and he really wants out because he has always wanted out.

I didn't feel bad for Nathaniel. I've never really connected with his POV and I never really bought into his "I'm good now!" redemption tour.  It's underwritten.

I still think Rebecca's best chance is with someone new.  Last week's guy had a lot of promise without all the baggage but a similar sense of weird.

[theatremouse]

They did all those meta jokes about people being "in town for the holidays - so until Valentine's day" in the one where they all showed back up right after moving, so the show explicitly explained already that those characters would be around until February. It doesn't make sense, but they called themselves out for it onscreen about four times when they brought those people back for this whole stretch.

[dubbel zout]

2 hours ago, driver18 said:

As for F!G, I kept finding myself thinking 'Ugh, if he wasn't here, Rebecca and Darryl could be at Paula's game night too and part of this fun/awkward night, but instead Darryl's off somewhere else and Rebecca's stuck with lame F!G.

Greg wasn't keeping Rebecca or Darryl from being at the party. As soon as Rebecca saw Nathaniel's text, she called Darryl and they rushed over.

21 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Santino's version of self-deprecating/self-loathing/alcoholic Greg

Which I don't think would be Greg anymore even if they got SF back. Rebecca isn't the only one getting better. I think all of the characters are evolving, mostly for the better. Of course they have backslides, but that's normal. Now they can recognize the backsliding and not let it derail progress.

[tennisgurl]

That baby really was quite adorable, no wonder Rebecca ended up bonding with her. 

So it looks like we could going for a Greg/Rebecca endgame for real. Possibly. I actually felt really bad for Nathaniel when he heard Rebecca talking about Greg. Guy is carrying a serious torch for her, that he isnt as over as he keeps saying he is. I did like Greg and Rebecca both talking about their mutual issues, while still hooking up again. It was actually healthy! Yeah healthy!

Paula and her husband were really cute together tonight, its nice to see that off-screen, they've actually been spending more time together, and are enjoying working on Paula's law stuff. And he was supportive, while also giving some good advice to Paula in the midst of a low yield Zany Scheme. 

Loved Nathaniel and Josh bonding over sports analogies, and their song was hilarious. You could tell the actors were having a blast, and they were both really selling that musical style. Smoking cigarettes AND drinking at the same time! All while dads look on in disapproval. Everyone getting super into helping Josh and his underwear selfie was amazing. 

[driver18]

1 hour ago, dubbel zout said:

Greg wasn't keeping Rebecca or Darryl from being at the party. As soon as Rebecca saw Nathaniel's text, she called Darryl and they rushed over.

I know that. I meant in terms of if the character (who I don't buy as Greg--which is part of my issue) wasn't on the show at all then the writers wouldn't have felt the need to write Rebecca and Darryl NOT in those scenes with the rest of the group because Rebecca wouldn't have had to have been with Faux!Greg because the real Greg is still in Georgia. Instead, Rebecca and Darryl would have been at Paula's game night not-graduation-party.

Of course, unless, I'm wrong, I do think they're using F!G's return to lead to a healthier, happier Rebecca with Nathaniel. Which makes his presence a little more palatable for me. (I miss Santino. This guy is no Santino.) :shrugs: We'll see.

 

20 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

So it looks like we could going for a Greg/Rebecca endgame for real. Possibly. I actually felt really bad for Nathaniel when he heard Rebecca talking about Greg.

And because of this episode and that ending, I think the exact opposite. With so many episodes left, I don't think that Rebecca and Greg would have gotten back together if they were endgame and I especially don't think we would have seen (a) Nathaniel bonding so well with all of Rebecca's friends, and (b) overhearing Rebecca and Paula discussing her and Greg, and the episode ending on his heartbroken reaction. If Rebecca is going to have an endgame romance, this episode pointed towards Nathaniel more than anyone else. He was the only one who thought of texting Rebecca knowing that she would want to be there for Paula's night and he didn't make it about himself.

Edited January 20, 2019 by driver18

[Yeah No]

I agree with everyone above that right now it looks like Nathaniel is shaping up to be endgame for Rebecca.  I think TPTB probably know that it would seem a little hollow for her to end up with new Greg given that he's virtually nothing like the old Greg even in the good ways.  Perhaps him being a little disappointing is intentional by the writers so that the audience is more on board with Nathaniel as "the one".  I've always been a Nathaniel shipper so that would be just fine with me, but only as long as he continues to be "nice", LOL.  BTW, I loved this episode in just about every way, especially the sports bonding between Nathaniel and Josh.  And what a touching way to show Rebecca's growth by having her bond with Hebecca.  Perhaps she can be a fitting "auntie" to her now and all will be right with the world.  The last two episodes have made me realize how much I'm going to miss this show.

[Trini]

The back and forth with Josh and Greg is what put me off of Rebecca/Greg (and the thing with Greg's dad killed it permanently for me), so I hated that they're back together. Again. I still think that Rebecca isn't going to end up with any of these guys as "endgame". But this show is hard to predict.

Other than that, I liked everything else. Interesting that they brought those dads back for just one scene! The baby was cute, there were great takes there.

The thing with Paula not wanting to celebrate was new information, but I thought it was a good story, and I always like seeing her and her husband. I know Hector hasn't liked Valencia in the past, but again, the history of tension between them and Valencia's envy was new info; and I found it weird that they introduced and resolved in the same episode.

Wanted more Heather, though.

Shirtless Chan is always welcome! :) Still wish he had a story.

Edited January 20, 2019 by Trini

[Eolivet]

I used to think there's no way that Rebecca would end up with any of the three guys, but the scenes with Nathaniel gave me pause. He's had bonding scenes with Heather, Greg (though that ended badly) and now Josh (maybe others? I know Valencia doesn't like him) -- bonding with them independent of and unbeknownst to Rebecca. Maybe that's way too subtle, but it's interesting how the majority of Nathaniel's scenes have shifted to Rebecca's friend group vs Whitefeather/Mountaintop. I feel like that wasn't the case when he and Rebecca weren't a thing.

I could also see Rebecca and Josh, as I noticed tonight how all the couples consist of one ideas person and one dreamer/spaz wrangler (Paula/Scott, Valencia/Beth, Heather/Hector). Rebecca/Josh -- as a healthy couple -- could fit in to that mold. If that's the case, they're going to have to up the "roommate tension." It's been completely platonic thus far.

Could also see Rebecca ending up with new guy or no guy, but I agree after tonight, not Greg. So, they had sex. Isn't that all they used to do? What exactly is different?

[willowk]

On 1/18/2019 at 7:33 PM, srpturtle80 said:

Apparently I wasn’t the only one who loved the whole underwear (man panties) selfies in front of the fridge thing. Every time someone else walked in I laughed harder. I can’t wait to rewatch that scene. 

I have been in the minority and always liked Rebecca and Nathaniel, so the end really broke my heart. 

I'm in the minority with you. It was so sad. I don't know where the next 8 episodes are going, but plenty of time for Rebecca and Nathaniel to get back together. Although my money is actually on Rebecca not being with anyone at the end, a solo woman looking at a lot of options for her future.

[Trini]

1 hour ago, Eolivet said:

I could also see Rebecca and Josh, as I noticed tonight how all the couples consist of one ideas person and one dreamer/spaz wrangler (Paula/Scott, Valencia/Beth, Heather/Hector). Rebecca/Josh -- as a healthy couple -- could fit in to that mold. If that's the case, they're going to have to up the "roommate tension." It's been completely platonic thus far.

If we have to pick one of the three, I'd prefer Josh. But I don't think it's going to be him since the writers have barely paid attention to him for a while.

[femmefan1946]

That they were not friendly before that is news, but the reason for the active dislike was  that in high school, Hector lost Father Brah's jacket with Valencia's declaration of love in it.

[aradia22]

Quote

If Santino were here, he wouldn't be doing the scenes exactly like Skylar.  And if Skylar had originally been cast as Greg, he wouldn't have done the scenes exactly like Santino.  But ultimately, the meat of Greg is in the writing.  In Skylar's first episode, especially, I got the sense that the writers wanted to be extra careful to get his "voice" as much as possible so we'd accept the recast.  And Santino's version of self-deprecating/self-loathing/alcoholic Greg was all in the writing as well.  Played very well but certainly not the only note he could played or even played as Greg.  So he absolutely could have done the baby scenes.

Very well put. I do think that the writers are taking advantage of their different portrayals to make the shift between Old Greg and New Greg more drastic though. And with the baby scenes, I think they started to shift over to writing for Skylar's Greg. It's only natural to play to your actor's strengths. 

Quote

I actually felt really bad for Nathaniel when he heard Rebecca talking about Greg. Guy is carrying a serious torch for her, that he isnt as over as he keeps saying he is.

This is something that confuses me. I mean, I know they probably don't want to introduce too many new characters for logistical reasons (paying more actors, etc.) but reasonably speaking, Nathaniel should be an even hotter commodity than Josh Chan was (pre-therapy and all the baggage that has been making online dating difficult for him). He's not a model but by West Covina standards, he's tall, attractive, and has a good job. I could buy him trying to date someone else but eventually realizing he still loves Rebecca. But I don't buy him being so tied to Rebecca (and his old au pair) as the only person who could love him. Instead of regressing Nathaniel, it makes more sense to take his progress with Rebecca and to a lesser extent George and the rest of Whitefeather/Mountaintop (again, I don't buy him reverting back into shallow stereotype and having to learn to be nice) and see if he could try to make a different relationship work. And he could still end up with Rebecca in the end if that's what the show wanted. 

[seacliffsal]

Loved, loved, loved the sports song that Josh and Nathaniel sang.  I have liked a song as much as this for quite a while.  They also really conveyed the Rat Pack feeling and vibe.  I also loved Paula's party with all of the interactions and the ending celebration of her graduating from law school.  What an accomplishment for her!

My least favorite part was Rebecca and Darryl.  I've actually been preferring the secondary characters more than Rebecca this season.

And, I'm over the opening theme song with the 'other' Rebecca saying some thing stupid.

[Nancybeth]

Wait, how is Paula graduating law school already?  I know there was one significant time jump (from the beginning to the end of Heather's pregnancy) but there's no way that three years has passed since that whole plotline began.  

Edited January 23, 2019 by Nancybeth

[Eeksquire]

Quote

Wait, how is Paula graduating law school already?

This is really bugging me. I haven't done the math, but I don't believe that the whole show's timeline has taken a full three years yet.

[Chicago Redshirt]

Some schools allow you to graduate law school in 2 years. But doing it in two years while going part-time would be hard.

Then again, taking summer courses each year could speed the process up.

Edited January 24, 2019 by Chicago Redshirt