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S04.E13: I Have to Get Out


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So... there's a record of Paula taking the Bar while there's a record of her supposedly being in the hospital awaiting doctor's permission to leave. In tv land, I realize these kinds of capers are usually given a pass. But they went out of their way to point out that if she left without doctor's permission, her insurance probably woudn't pay. And she's A LAWYER. So it's like they TRIED to put it in my brain that this would lead to trouble.

I thought "real fighting is awkward, not like tv fighting" was funny. No choreography in real life. You wouldn't have presence of mind to jump. Time wouldn't slow down. A weapon would freak you out.

This show is super-heavy into meds. I'm not even against them, and certainly don't believe there should be a stigma around them. But I think the situation is a lot more nuanced than that.

I don't like this season's theme song at all. Actually, I hate it. It seems pointless. It kind of says: we have no idea what this season is about so we made a theme that was haphazard and pointless, to emphasize the problem.

Where was Scott?

Did Darryl never get to see Paula?

Squirrels rule the world!

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At this point I don't want Rebecca with any three of these guys.

Josh, NO. I was just starting to actually like you. If you try to hook up with Rebecca, it'll be weird -- plus it's too much like reinforcing the idea that it's acceptable to wind up with your former stalker. I hated it when Urkel wound up with Laura, and Iim not going through it again.

But "Real Fighting is Awkward" was hilarious.

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 I really liked the conversation that Rebecca had with Dr. Akopian at the beginning of the episode because she was being really honest about her feelings, from how tired she's been to her shame about not being able to deal with her BPD without medication. It never ceases to amaze me how people think that they need to handle their depression/anxiety through sheer force of will, but if you asked the same people if people with diabetes or cancer should try to deal with their conditions with meds or just figuring it out on their own, 99% of those people wouldn't hesitate to say that insulin and chemotherapy are the way to go.

Ha, I loved that Nathaniel just stood in the background while Josh and Greg were awkwardly fighting. At the beginning, I was waiting for them to quit dancing and start fighting so I totally cracked up when the song stopped fort he choreographer to come in. Who would have guessed that Nathaniel would be the one to broker peace between Josh and Greg?

I'm all for Rebecca embracing her love of musical theater. I kind of hope she bombs the audition but gets cast in a minor role because doing what you love doesn't always mean that you're good enough to pursue it full time or make a living at it. I would like Rebecca to have a realistic happy ending where she is doing community theater (as opposed to suddenly becoming an overnight Broadway sensation, which is unlikely given that we know that Rebecca can only sing on key in her fantasies).

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Okay, I laughed SO hard at “Who run the world?  SQUIRRELS!”  An easy pun, but it just killed me.

I liked all three songs tonight.  The one about anti-depressants had a nice stigma-busting message, and I liked how bright and peppy it was - good interlude in the middle with the one guy talking about his side effects and the others commiserating and offering suggestions. Coming at “The End of the Movie” from a thematically-different place worked well for me.  I laughed at three corpses in a row being named Rebecca.  “Fighting in Real Life is Awkward” was really funny; I loved the contrasts between the real fight and the various genres of movie fighting.

So Greg has pulled out of the lead, huh?  Most of us had called it, since they got together so early.  I had a feeling last week Josh might start catching feelings for Rebecca again, and Nathaniel is obviously hoping for another chance (interesting how he was the one who kept playing the peacemaker during the quarantine, and I liked his insistence on being the D’Artagnan of the group.)  Whatever the plan is here, I hope it’s not just Rebecca bouncing between the guys in succession until the finale.

Ditto on Rebecca’s musical theatre dream, @ElectricBoogaloo - you don’t have to be good at something to get joy from it.

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7 hours ago, possibilities said:

This show is super-heavy into meds. I'm not even against them, and certainly don't believe there should be a stigma around them. But I think the situation is a lot more nuanced than that.

Yeah, I actually really disliked that song not because I think meds should be stigmatized (I 100% do not) but because I didn't think it took into account the complexity that comes with taking antidepressants. Unpleasant side effects are very real, and it can take months or years to find the right prescription (to say nothing of the nightmare that is the US health care system). "I take anti-depressants and now I'm all better!" is really pat and the show has done better work at showing real mental health issues than that song did.

3 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I'm all for Rebecca embracing her love of musical theater. I kind of hope she bombs the audition but gets cast in a minor role because doing what you love doesn't always mean that you're good enough to pursue it full time or make a living at it. I would like Rebecca to have a realistic happy ending where she is doing community theater (as opposed to suddenly becoming an overnight Broadway sensation, which is unlikely given that we know that Rebecca can only sing on key in her fantasies).

Yeah. A 30something who hasn't pursued any theater since high school (and even then, probably wasn't good at it because we know Rebecca can't actually sing) isn't going to make it to the top. I would like to see her enjoying Rebetzels and doing community theater on the side with whichever guy she ends up with (and honestly, I don't care who that is). That sounds like a nice life to me!

Paula just had a heart attack, so maybe a stressful caper in service of her taking a stressful exam is not the best idea for her, no? 

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1 hour ago, angora said:

Ditto on Rebecca’s musical theatre dream, @ElectricBoogaloo - you don’t have to be good at something to get joy from it.

She's planning to audition to perform. Even great performers experience rejection in that situation, and we know real Rebecca is not a good singer. That rejection may diminish her joy. If she can find joy in being involved but not performing that would be ideal. Or maybe she'll go full Florence Foster Jenkins and book her own starring venue.

I was a little surprised that the quest for Rebecca's dream didn't directly acknowledge the difference between a career or vocation that also earns you a living (like being a lawyer) and one you pursue for satisfaction alone and you still need to support yourself financially somehow. What role does Rebetzel's play if it's not financially sustainable and not Rebecca's passion?

8 hours ago, possibilities said:

I don't like this season's theme song at all. Actually, I hate it. It seems pointless. It kind of says: we have no idea what this season is about so we made a theme that was haphazard and pointless, to emphasize the problem.

I struggle with the theme song a lot, especially since it was promoted as "a new one every episode!" It clearly seems to be designed as a conventional sitcom theme struggling with fitting Rebecca into a conventional sitcom star, but I think the execution of Other Rebecca, which could possibly have been effective if she stayed in her lane as more conventionally desirable, is completely derailed by her one-liners at the end. I got the feeling from Nathaniel's rom-com dream with the character of Maya's ex's new girlfriend that they think this is some kind of rom-com trope that should resonate but I can't take it any more, I'm boycotting the theme now. 

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3 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I kind of hope she bombs the audition but gets cast in a minor role because doing what you love doesn't always mean that you're good enough to pursue it full time or make a living at it. I would like Rebecca to have a realistic happy ending where she is doing community theater (as opposed to suddenly becoming an overnight Broadway sensation, which is unlikely given that we know that Rebecca can only sing on key in her fantasies).

That where I see this plot going. Rebecca was perfectly happy to be an extra in South Pacific and Moby Dick, so her simply being allowed to contribute in the smallest possible way would be a good enough hobby for her.

4 minutes ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

What role does Rebetzel's play if it's not financially sustainable and not Rebecca's passion?

It couldn't have been her dream or passion given that she did it on a whim. Starting up Rebetzels was more about her not wanting to be a lawyer.

I kind of figured that this that musical theatre was the solution to her problems since literally day one, given that the butter ad asking "when was the last time you were truely happy", she flashed back to her the singing South Pacific number (and mistook her last happy moment to be with Josh and not being in a musical).

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I was super confused about “cough boy”. He runs into the waiting room,  coughs on the three guys, those guys are quarantined for being exposed to some weird squirrel flu, then later that same kid is just chilling with a whole bunch of other kids and a volunteer reading a book. No one, not the kid or the other people, are wearing the protective gear the staff person was so why aren’t they all quarnetined now?  But, the kid is still contagious enough to send Darryl and new lady (April?) into quarantine. I get that this show makes no sense, but that was stretching it too far. 

I also liked the fighting song. Loved all the different style of fights intercut with what real fighting is like. 

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2 minutes ago, Whimsy said:

I was super confused about “cough boy”. He runs into the waiting room,  coughs on the three guys, those guys are quarantined for being exposed to some weird squirrel flu, then later that same kid is just chilling with a whole bunch of other kids and a volunteer reading a book. No one, not the kid or the other people, are wearing the protective gear the staff person was so why aren’t they all quarnetined now?  But, the kid is still contagious enough to send Darryl and new lady (April?) into quarantine. I get that this show makes no sense, but that was stretching it too far. 

Don’t know about the volunteer reading the book, but all the kids were wearing the same “squirrel” emblems that the three guys had, so I assumed they were all in quarantine too (more victims of Cough Boy?)

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Did Skylar sing "Fighting in Real Life Is Awkward"? I loved all the different fight scenarios à la West Side Story, the Matrix movies, etc. And the choreographer interlude was hilarious.

So the twin doctors are played by Rachel Bloom's RL husband?

4 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

Paula just had a heart attack, so maybe a stressful caper in service of her taking a stressful exam is not the best idea for her, no? 

I side-eyed that, too. I half expected her to relapse.

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17 minutes ago, quangtran said:

It couldn't have been her dream or passion given that she did it on a whim. Starting up Rebetzels was more about her not wanting to be a lawyer.

I kind of figured that this that musical theatre was the solution to her problems since literally day one, given that the butter ad asking "when was the last time you were truely happy", she flashed back to her the singing South Pacific number (and mistook her last happy moment to be with Josh and not being in a musical).

It was the callback to the pretzel from the day one West Covina number that made me willing to believe that running an independent pretzelmaker could be Rebecca's dream -- not necessarily literally the pretzels, but being an independent entrepreneur. Now that she has clearly stated that it's not her dream, I was trying to figure out whether Rebetzel's was just vamping or if it serves a long term purpose. Does it become a huge success so that she becomes independently wealthy in order to pursue her dream of buying out Carnegie Hall? Does she continue to run it because it satisfies her need for a career & income while she does community theatre for pleasure? Or does she just ditch it for another career (opening a law office with Paula)?

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I side-eyed that, too. I half expected her to relapse.

I half-expected the whole thing to have been some kind of fantasy, and we'd find out that Paula had actually died.  Though that is probably way too dark for where they are going with Rebecca.  And yes, it's utterly ridiculous that someone who just went through a heart attack and surgery is not only ready to leave the hospital after a few days, but is also fine to take a six hour exam the moment she gets out. 

It was honestly a fairly boring episode from a show that I think has been lackluster most of the season. 

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1 hour ago, dubbel zout said:

So the twin doctors are played by Rachel Bloom's RL husband?

Yes, Dan Gregor. He’s also a producer for the show. 

I was confused about Paula. She’s been in the hospital for two weeks? Did they ever say what type of surgery she had? Because my dad had an emergency quadruple bypass a couple of years ago and he was in the hospital afterwards for 4 days. That confused me. Also. I’ve taken the bar exam, and it was a two day exam. I can’t imagine hopping over from the hospital for it after a major heart attack and surgery! 

I enjoyed the rest of the episode. I’m really curious as to where they are going with the romantic relationship end game. I for one will be disappointed if Rebecca pulls a Kelly Taylor. And I’m rooting for Nathaniel. I can’t see how they would have focused so much on his personality change to not have it lead to reconciliation with Rebecca. 

Also enjoyed Darryl’s new story, but maybe just because anyone I associate with The Good Place makes me happy (Mindy St. Clair!!).

Finally I can’t believe we have to wait over a full month for new episodes! 😩😩

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Also. I’ve taken the bar exam, and it was a two day exam. I can’t imagine hopping over from the hospital for it after a major heart attack and surgery! 

And... isn't California's bar exam actually *three* days instead of just two? I'm just saying. I know realism isn't this show's strong suit, but Paula's law school story is all kinds of messed up, as far as the timeline goes.

I feel terrible saying this, but even though the last couple of episodes have been a return to form, as far as including songs within the episodes, it might be too late? I will keep watching until the end, but I feel like it's much more of a slog than the pleasure it once was.  Last season benefitted from a binge re-watch and maybe that will be true of this season as well? Waiting more than a month for the next episode is certainly not going to help though. I DVR, so I won't miss an episode, but the likelihood that I will even remember that it's on by the middle of March seems unlikely.

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@Eeksquire I took Michigan’s bar, and it was two days (state essay portion on day 1, multistate multiple choice portion on day 2). But I just googled it and yes California’s exam is an 18 hour exam spread out over three days!  Paula will also probably get her results in a week, unlike the three months I had to wait lol. 

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I think Rebetzels was about seizing an opportunity. She wanted to quit being a lawyer but she still needed some kind of income. She also had lots of ideas for new pretzels when she was working there (before she bought it) and I think she wanted the chance to try out her ideas and improve the business. When she was showing Greg all the work that goes into prepping the pretzels the night before, she seemed happy (as opposed to people who bitch about every part of their job) so I think that even though selling pretzels wasn't her lifelong dream, it's something she's good at and it's something that she enjoys, which is a pretty good start for a job/career. Not everyone is passionate about their jobs. For a lot of people it's just a way to make money so they can do what they really love so I would be okay with Rebecca keeping the pretzel place as her source of income so that she can do community theater on the side.

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I was confused about "cough boy" too.  He was just as close to that medical receptionist so why didn't she have to be quarantined too?

Then at the end we see Josh back out, with no explanation as to whether they were given the all-clear or not.  I guess we're supposed to assume so.

And the doctor was wearing some kind of flimsy mask that I'm sure wouldn't prevent anyone from getting sick.  Oh well, suspension of disbelief!

The three guys were looking more like the three stooges in this episode than ever.  I think perhaps that was the point.  Although Nathaniel seemed to have the healthiest attitude.  I'm now wondering whether the show intending Rebecca to end up alone.  At any rate, it's teasing us.  Typical TV show behavior.

It looks like we'll have to wait until the middle of March for the next episode.....Ugh!

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9 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I was confused about "cough boy" too.  He was just as close to that medical receptionist so why didn't she have to be quarantined too?

They showed her with a mask after he coughed on the guys, so I guess she was used to him running loose? I know this was a running (heh) joke, but I was kind of annoyed by it. Lock that brat up!

9 hours ago, Yeah No said:

It looks like we'll have to wait until the middle of March for the next episode.....Ugh!

No wonder I can't find much information about future episodes.

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6 minutes ago, PodcastTown said:

 Has Vincent been shredding at the gym? Cause he didn't look like that in seasons 1 and 2 that's for sure. 

Yes, he has. I follow him on Twitter and he’s posted a number of times about his workout routine, personal trainer, and other changes - I think he stopped drinking and may have made dietary changes, but I can’t remember for sure.

On 2/9/2019 at 7:48 AM, Empress1 said:

Yeah, I actually really disliked that song not because I think meds should be stigmatized (I 100% do not) but because I didn't think it took into account the complexity that comes with taking antidepressants. Unpleasant side effects are very real, and it can take months or years to find the right prescription (to say nothing of the nightmare that is the US health care system). "I take anti-depressants and now I'm all better!" is really pat and the show has done better work at showing real mental health issues than that song did.

There was that whole bit in the middle of the song with the dude who had side effects and a bunch of the other dancers told him to consult his doctor to try a different med that might not have the same problem. I don't think they glossed over what you mentioned, even if they didn't go super detailed either. The message I got from the song wasn't "take meds and be all better!" It was "we acknowledge there are probably a lot of reasons you're not even considering meds, but please consider them."

On 2/9/2019 at 10:26 AM, srpturtle80 said:

I was confused about Paula. She’s been in the hospital for two weeks? Did they ever say what type of surgery she had? Because my dad had an emergency quadruple bypass a couple of years ago and he was in the hospital afterwards for 4 days. That confused me. Also. I’ve taken the bar exam, and it was a two day exam. I can’t imagine hopping over from the hospital for it after a major heart attack and surgery! 

I thought they said she'd been in the hospital one week? One struck me as plausible. I was confused about the whole plot of the doctor signing her out though. I realize it might be different depending on the procedure, but I literally just had surgery (not heart surgery) and they told me before they started basically that unless something went horribly wrong during or after the fact, I'd be leaving at a certain point. So as long as the nurses checked whatever needed checking, and I didn't report any new/worse/scary symptoms, I was going to leave when the doctor told me before the surgery. So it was weird to me the day before the doctor couldn't have just left orders that as long as she met XYZ checklist the following morning, she was fine to leave. Being delayed leaving the hospital was very realistic to me, but not the for the reasons presented. 

On 2/10/2019 at 1:43 PM, PodcastTown said:

 Has Vincent been shredding at the gym? Cause he didn't look like that in seasons 1 and 2 that's for sure. 

It seems like it's all he does in his spare time.

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I liked the call back to the Josh Groban song, which is on of my personal favorites, and I hope this means we see Rebecca continue to grow. I've suspected that Rebecca would go into some kind of theater ever since her dream where she remembered her old college theater, so I hope that we see her pursue that. I dont see her doing it for a living, as its been established that in "real life" Rebecca cant carry a tune to save her life, but I think she would love just being involved in small parts. I think that would be enough for her, at least until she got better. And even then, she can get her artist on doing community theater. 

I do wonder if we get Rebecca realizing that she can find something to do for a living that is somewhere between "dream job" and "is crushing my soul". Ideally people could always do a job that they love that brings them joy, but there are also people out there are are just meh on their jobs, and find sufficient doing things outside of work, like travel or hobbies or family and friends ans such. It just depends on making things work for you. So maybe Rebecca can find a job she enjoys enough, but maybe isnt her ultimate passion, and she can find her true bliss with theater on the side? 

I loved how bright and colorful the whole "meds are normal!" song was, and I think it needed to be the way it was to get it through Rebeccas head, and to make its point. There is such a stigma around taking meds, that I think people do sometimes need a giant blinking sign saying "no, really, its find to use meds" just so everyone gets it. I dont at all think this show is saying that if you take some meds you'll be happy right away, and as the song said, its trail and error, just its something to not feel ashamed about if its right for you. The show has made it really clear that Rebecca needs multiple avenues (group therapy, one on one therapy, meds, notebooks, etc.) to find her way to health. 

The fight scene song was great, especially when they started flashing to the various kinds of movie fighting, and when Greg pulled up the scalpel and everyone, including him, freaked out. Its too real!

Edited by tennisgurl
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I think Nathaniel had the "healthiest" attitude largely because he had no stakes in the fight between Greg and Josh.  Had that fight been more about Rebecca, I think he would have gotten more involved.  As it was, while their relationships with Rebecca might have triggered what happened in their friendship, the fight was about Greg & Josh and their history together. 

21 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I'm now wondering whether the show intending Rebecca to end up alone.  At any rate, it's teasing us.  Typical TV show behavior.

I've been thinking that for a while and I think this episode kind of reinforced that when both Nathaniel and Josh had smiles when they realized Rebecca and Greg weren't together any longer.  Maybe we're supposed to root for the two guys who looked ready to pounce with the news that Rebecca is single (even though her single status is less about who she was with than it was about trying)  but I'd have a tough time thinking we're going to spend the last few episodes trying to get to the bottom of a triangle. 

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

Rebecca can find a job she enjoys enough, but maybe isnt her ultimate passion, and she can find her true bliss with theater on the side? 

I would love to see her come to a realization that there's a happy medium.  More power to people who find jobs they absolutely love.  They're lucky to have a passion and make a living at it.  But this idea that this is something that's out there for everyone leads to a lot of angst when people either can't make it work or don't have that passion. Maybe Rebetzels with theater on the side is the most fulfilling path for her.

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First of all, it must be said that the fight number between Josh and Greg was hilariously clever. I actually found myself laughing out loud. It is easily one of the best songs in the series.

Having said that, is anyone else bothered that a show that started with the premise of and is even NAMED "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" is now in this strange alternate reality where the tables are completely turned and all three of the exes she had pined for are now obsessively vying for her in ways that defy all plausible reality? I mean, even JOSH now? Did the first three seasons just not happen, and are there NO other females in this entire town?

And furthermore, after seeing her already go through entire cycles of dysfunctional on-and-off, high-and-low relationships with all three men, WHY are we supposed to still care? It feels like a dragged out soap opera where the writers ran out of every single pairing they could come up with, so they had to rehash some old ones. 

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I don't have much to add, but I did enjoy this episode. Three songs again! Rebecca dealing with her mental health struggles!

Cough Boy (and him being the reason for quarantining the guys) was hilarious, but very silly. Paula's story of sneaking out to take the bar exam (completely offscreen), AND sneaking back in, felt even less plausible to me.

Darryl's little side plot was cute. Glad they remembered he has another daughter.

Wow, Rebecca broke up with Greg already?! I was expecting it, but they only just really got together a couple of episodes ago. I thought they would last longer since they made the effort to bring him back and everything.

So Rebecca has dated AND broken up with each of guys at least twice now; I'm not interested in seeing a third try with either of them.

Considering putting "Who run the world? SQUIRRELS!" on a t-shirt.

4 hours ago, aradia22 said:

This felt like they had to tie up a lot of loose ends. Get Paula back on track. Finally get Rebecca to pursue a dream. Break up Greg and Rebecca. It felt a little sloppy how they forced things to get where they needed to be. I did like having more songs this week. The best part of the episode was the awkward fight and the song. 

I agree, but I'm still annoyed that they even brought Greg back.  If Santino wasn't available they should've scratched the storyline since they're not endgame anyway. 

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I was confused about "cough boy" too.  He was just as close to that medical receptionist so why didn't she have to be quarantined too?

They showed her with a mask after he coughed on the guys, so I guess she was used to him running loose? I know this was a running (heh) joke, but I was kind of annoyed by it. Lock that brat up!

Not the child actor's fault but every time cough boy came back I found him more annoying. It felt like weird, random comedy. Like something out of Family Guy. There was no resolution where he was either shamed or at least they got him under control. For all we know, he's still running around coughing at anyone who goes into that waiting room. And yes, it did not make sense that the only thing people needed to protect themselves from a "highly contagious" squirrel flu was a thin surgical mask (receptionist, Madison, April). 

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On 2/9/2019 at 10:26 AM, srpturtle80 said:

Yes, Dan Gregor. He’s also a producer for the show. 

I was confused about Paula. She’s been in the hospital for two weeks? Did they ever say what type of surgery she had? Because my dad had an emergency quadruple bypass a couple of years ago and he was in the hospital afterwards for 4 days. That confused me. Also. I’ve taken the bar exam, and it was a two day exam. I can’t imagine hopping over from the hospital for it after a major heart attack and surgery! 

I enjoyed the rest of the episode. I’m really curious as to where they are going with the romantic relationship end game. I for one will be disappointed if Rebecca pulls a Kelly Taylor. And I’m rooting for Nathaniel. I can’t see how they would have focused so much on his personality change to not have it lead to reconciliation with Rebecca. 

Also enjoyed Darryl’s new story, but maybe just because anyone I associate with The Good Place makes me happy (Mindy St. Clair!!).

Finally I can’t believe we have to wait over a full month for new episodes! 😩😩

Agee on Paula -they said she had one stent put in, well usually you just stay 2 days at most with one of those. I had a friend w a bypass that was in the hospital for a week, but IRL Paula would have been out long before 2 weeks. But it made for some good comedy, and I loved having the gals all together: Paula, Rebecca, Valencia and Heather.

Agree w posters who say Josh getting back with Rebecca would be too weird given the stalking. No matter if you have forgiven each other, there's a limit IMO.

I'm rooting for Nathaniel too, was pleasantly surprised he was the one promoting that they should all be friends, even though Greg was supposedly Rebecca's choice at the time.

Enjoyed Madison and Amanda's daughter getting them together, I can see them as sisters with a friendly rivalry.

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