S04.E11: I'm Almost Over You

[aradia22]

Honestly, this one bothered me. At first I was just a little disappointed that we were getting another filler episode. Nathaniel being dropped into this weird fantasy (that happens to mimic the commercials I keep seeing for the new movie Isn't It Romantic) just so the writers could make references and the snarky comments they think are super clever did not feel like a good use of an episode this close to the end. I spent the whole time not feeling invested in Nathaniel and Maya because it made no sense. Not only was it as poorly laid out as the laziest rom-coms (I'm talking Hallmark channel dreck) but since they spent the whole episode lampooning the tropes, the potential relationship held no weight. 

I hated the twist where it turned out he was talking to Rebecca. Not only did it not make sense (what are the in-universe rules for this episode. What has been going on this whole time in the real world?) but it didn't even make sense to mirror those characters. Yes, Rebecca and Nathaniel's relationship has been full of that kind of rom-com troping. But the writers also built that relationship over time, unlike what was happening with Maya and Nathaniel. It wasn't completely empty and it does a disservice to their work and the time I've invested as an audience member to just hand-wave away that character development because it's become inconvenient for the Rebecca/New Greg relationship.

There were some fun moments like how well they executed the Miranda Priestly vibe with Bert coming out of the elevator. And Tim just jumping in randomly to drop exposition. But even during the episode I was annoyed at the fact that none of the movies on the bed related to the scenario Nathaniel found himself in at first and then there were only a handful of references to those movies later on. 

I think, if anything, Nathaniel should have realized on his own (without fantasy Maya/Rebecca) that he wasn't in love with Rebecca as much as he was in love with someone who showed him genuine caring and affection. That fits with what we know about the character and what they've been building up in the last few episodes. Instead of experiencing his own character growth, he's still entirely tired to Rebecca. He learned to let Rebecca go. He didn't learn anything about himself. 

I don't know. I got barely anything out of this episode. I liked the makeover montage song better than the karaoke duet. 

[aradia22]

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Also slightly bitter about the karaoke song because it makes me feel judged for A Life Less Ordinary.

And in 500 Days of Summer, although that wasn't exactly rom com. And probably other movies I can think of right now.

I wasn't sure where that was coming from. To me, the lighting and some of the choreography said High School Musical. But that feels like a weird choice given the demo. Another sing along scene is in 27 Dresses but it has nothing to do with that moment in this episode. Personally, one of my favorite scenes of the leads singing in a non-musical is in Music and Lyrics but that absolutely holds up and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. Also, that's not a karaoke scene.

The only bad singing I remember from the DVDs on Nathaniel's bed is this scene. There's singing in 10 Things I Hate About You, but it's Heath Ledger and it's adorable.