S04.E17: I'm in Love

[dubbel zout]

Rebecca (Rachel Bloom) makes a life-changing decision about her future. 

Series finale!

The second hour is a concert special.

[dubbel zout]

I liked it. Rebecca finally found herself, and that was really what the show was about.

[Rhetorica]

Well,  that happened.  On to the music! 

[txhorns79]

It may be that I've found this entire last season to feel really dragged out, but I was kind of like "meh," at Rebecca's last blast of self-discovery.  I'm glad she didn't end up with anyone, but it probably would have helped if they hadn't waited until the last twenty or so minutes to suddenly decide that Rebecca's real dream was to be a songwriter, while relegating the rest of the cast to what was essentially a "Where Are They Now" for their characters. 

[WendyM]

Well, for all my bitching and moaning the last few episodes...I will really miss this show and the concert special is so fun and I'm sorry I didn't get Radio City tickets...

I'm glad they left it ambivalent (sort of) with the guys. (Greg and Nathaniel weren't "partnered up," right?) I can see how they would have had the ending figured out from the beginning because the ending is really...the beginning of the show and Rebecca's new life. I liked it.

[GenieinTX]

I liked it a lot!  Of course they were going to do a "I choose me" ending, but I'm really happy with the way it happened. Rebecca really realized she needed to do something for herself that didn't involve the guys.  It was cute the way they tied it all in to the songs in her head. And how sweet was the I love everyone speech and a relationship isn't an ending? 

It wasn't a perfect show, but it had some important things to say and it really did make a lot of people not feel so alone. 

[WendyM]

1 minute ago, GenieinTX said:

I liked it a lot!  Of course they were going to do a "I choose me" ending, but I'm really happy with the way it happened. Rebecca really realized she needed to do something for herself that didn't involve the guys.  It was cute the way they tied it all in to the songs in her head. And how sweet was the I love everyone speech and a relationship isn't an ending? 

It wasn't a perfect show, but it had some important things to say and it really did make a lot of people not feel so alone. 

I also enjoyed  Rebecca showing Paula how to access the songs. That was pretty fun.

[KittenPokerCheater]

I'm okay with how it ended, but there is a part of me that hopes she will end up with Nathanial after a few years- after she's won a couple of Emmys and Tonys.

[possibilities]

I liked that Rebecca's deep, dark secret shame was actually her creative genius, and it never occurred to her that it was actually the key to her happiness and not something to suppress-- and that its beauty was obvious to Paula the second Rachel told her about what was in her head. Friendship was the heart of this show, not romance, and I thought the ending really highlighted that.

I also liked that Nathanial's final liberated yelling at his dad was that he loved him, but he also freed himself from the self-rejection and repression of his upbringing, and found a way to be happy and not all about pleasing his dad OR being damaged by him. That's a really strong ending for him, too.

[blixie]

I'm okay that she didn't pick anyone but I feel bad for Nathaniel and was rooting for him, so it was fun to see him stand up to his dad and go work at the Zoo. But seriously Greg/Josh both rejected Rebecca several times, so I feel bad that Nathaniel had one last final rejection. Damn I didn't know Scott could look even more attractive, but he looked a little rougher and hotter in the concert footage.

I was most happy how consistently funny this finale was. I can't wait to rewatch.

[EyewatchTV211]

This is an interesting take https://www.tvguide.com/news/crazy-ex-girlfriend-series-finale/

[Irlandesa]

I liked the final message but I do think they spent a bit too much of the final season focusing on the quad and "who will she choose?" This is the realization she should have had when she and Greg decided to take a break after the water park.  Still, the "I choose me" was done in a much more elegant fashion than it's usually done.  We can continue arguing which one, if any, will she choose when she's ready.  Who's the best choice? Who did the show hint at more? .....etc.  Then, in five years, Netflix can make a Crazy Ex movie follow-up because isn't that what TV is about these days?

2 hours ago, WendyM said:

Greg and Nathaniel weren't "partnered up," right?

It was explicitly stated that Greg was single.*  Josh definitely had a girlfriend.**  And it was not stated either way with Nathaniel, although it's implied he's still single.

**Even though Josh had a girlfriend, she was in the background when Rebecca was looking out over the potential men she could maybe date if she chose one from the room.  So it could still be any of the three, or any of the other random characters she could potentially date, or someone who wasn't there.

*Speaking of White Josh's exposition, he won the episode for me again .  "The fact that you're still single concerns me.  I won't relax until one of you is married." 

The Musical--I was a bit disappointed in the song choices.  I guess I would have done more first season songs.  I was hoping to hear "A Villain In My Own Story" which I think Rachel said was one of her favorites.  And because Santino wasn't there, we got none of his songs, which I think were some of the early best. 

9 minutes ago, VMepicgrl said:

This is an interesting take https://www.tvguide.com/news/crazy-ex-girlfriend-series-finale/

Yeah, this was my one worry about her not choosing anyone and why I almost think a random newbie might have been better than no one. 

[taragel]

I was very glad they did in fact have her stay single. I agree with the article linked that they do not have to be mutually exclusive. But for this particular show, I think this was the right answer.If the building of the romantic relationships had been better these last two seasons (basically if last week's episode metaphors had been slowly built over the last two seasons), I absolutely would have wanted her to pick a guy. But because they weren't, anything they chose would've felt a bit unearned to at least some folks. Her choosing herself was the only real answer because she's consistently always been searching to find her happy place. AND I'm really glad they didn't blow that out of proportion, and suddenly flash forward to Rachel winning a Tony for the musical she'd written or anything like that. They kept it small and realistic and that was the right answer. I liked it a lot. 

I also enjoyed the concert special and just wish it had been longer. I thought I'd read that we'd get a bit of Aline doing JAP Battle Rap with her, but I guess they cut that. I'm slightly regretting not buying Radio City tickets, but they were pricey and I'm pretty happy with what we got. 

Also, I went on cwseed and watched the documentary and that was really lovely and touching. Gives you a real appreciation of how much work and creativity went into making this show. CEG was my favorite show for at least the first season it aired, and I'm glad I felt it went out with this finale on a high note. 

[possibilities]

With regard to that TV guide review, I think it;s interesting that the writer compared CEX to You're The Worst. The way I see it, Rebecca thought she needed something outside herself in order to be happy, and she needed to learn to love herself and stop running from what was welling up inside her that gave her joy. Until she did that, everything else felt hollow. By contrast, Gretchen in YTW was doing everything in her power to push people away because she thought that love meant being squelched and having to give up herself or be perfect in some externally defined way. her relationship with Jimmy gave her the healing and freedom to embrace who she really is, and NOT have to change. Two opposite characters, so two opposite resolutions. Both worked for me. Not everyone has the same story or the same needs.

[willowk]

I totally loved it, I feel like a traitor for doubting my the incredible Ms. Bloom. It ended in just the right way, right before she started singing  -it might have been fabulous, might have been cringe worthy. And the concert -I was smiling the whole hour. So glad I watche even with all my doubts. Sometimes hanging in there through the rough times (like most of this season) is worth it. An amazingly talented group.

[willowk]

2 hours ago, blixie said:

I'm okay that she didn't pick anyone but I feel bad for Nathaniel and was rooting for him, so it was fun to see him stand up to his dad and go work at the Zoo. But seriously Greg/Josh both rejected Rebecca several times, so I feel bad that Nathaniel had one last final rejection. Damn I didn't know Scott could look even more attractive, but he looked a little rougher and hotter in the concert footage.

I was most happy how consistently funny this finale was. I can't wait to rewatch.

Yes, I felt that way too, I loved Becs and Nathaniel, and will always hope she chose him in the end. I liked the 1 year fast forward, even though I usually hate the "how did they end up" because it felt like another step on the journey, not "The End". And have to say the Anti-depressant song was one of my favorites. Wish someone had sung it to me when I was put on one.

[WonderWuman73]

Interviews and how the ending was planned from the very beginning. Even down to the  last sentence fhttps://deadline.com/2019/04/crazy-ex-girlfriend-series-finale-aline-brosh-mckenna-rachel-bloom-broadway-musical-comedy-1202589199/amp/

[hkit]

I wasn’t a fan. It’s been pretty obvious for the past few episodes they were setting Rebecca up for her big Kelly Taylor “I choose me” moment, which makes so much of the last season a waste and her revelation of her creative genius felt rushed. I’m perfectly OK with her not ending up with any of them, but I think it could have been executed better. 

Overall, I’m going to miss this show, but going out on a whimper instead of a bang will soften the blow. 

[bijoux]

Overall, I liked it fine. The Eleven O’Clock song was terrific and I chortled at Rebecca and Paula staring off into space to get intoRebecca’s head. Also did with Maya’s big reveal and the reaction to it, George’s fun hair, White Josh forever unimpressed with Rebecca and Father Bra’s and AJ’s freaked out reactions at the end. 

What didn’t work for me was how everyone’s lives a year down the road were presented. I had zero issues with where anyone ended up, I just can’t help thinking there was a better way to show thta to the audience than Rebecca’s drawn out speech.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I was fine with Rebecca's choice. As RuPaul likes to remind us, if you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else? And in this episode, Rebecca was still struggling with not only loving herself (or even just not berating herself) as well as her identity.

Oftentimes people like Rebecca and Nathaniel who have parents who pressure them into prestigious but high stress jobs have their entire identities wrapped up in what they do when in fact, that's just what you do to make money. Your job isn't your life, your entire personality, or all of who you are. It's just one thing about you.

But what can happen to people like Rebecca whose identities are almost solely about their jobs is when they no longer have that job (for whatever reason), they don't know who they are anymore. Sometimes that happens to stay at home moms once their kids leave for college. They've spent all this time thinking "I'm a mom" (or in Rebecca's case "I'm a lawyer") that they don't know who they are once that isn't the all consuming thing in their lives anymore, so they flounder, trying to figure out who they are besides that one thing. In Rebecca's case, that meant doing things like buying a pretzel shop and auditioning for a musical theater revue.

(I know this isn't true for everyone, by the way - this was not an assault on all moms and lawyers.)

Rebecca needed to step back, take a breath, and figure out who she is. The fact that she realized choosing a guy wasn't going to automatically make her life perfect and fulfilling was a big step for her.

Women are often made to feel like they're failures or their lives aren't complete if they aren't married with kids, so I liked that Rebecca chose to focus on herself rather than a boyfriend.

I remember a friend of mine once said, "People don't always marry the person they SHOULD marry. They marry the person they're already with when they finally decide that they're ready to get married." That was Josh in this episode (although I felt that this was a conveniently new thing) with his "I just want to be in love and get married and have kids!" Prior to this episode, his recent feelings for Rebecca seemed very specific to her and their interactions, but in this episode he sounded like he just wanted to settle down (see also: Ted Mosby).

Over the course of the show's run, Vincent Rodriguez III has gotten a lot of positive comments for his dancing, but he definitely deserves props for his acting in his scene with Rebecca when she gave him her answer. The way his face slowly crumpled was perfectly heartbreaking.

I loved that Nathaniel used Rebecca's rejection as the impetus for three great (long overdue) rebellions against his father: quitting his job at the firm, going to do something he was genuinely interested in, and telling his father that he loved him.

S1 Rebecca and S1 Greg were terrible together so they were never my endgame. Even sober S4 Greg and more aware S4 Rebecca weren't a great match because their personalities are so different. Yes, they're both sarcastic, but Rebecca has an enthusiasm and energy for things while Greg seems to hate almost everything and everyone. She doesn't need someone raining on her parade every time she wants to do something that she thinks is fun (like a water park) and he doesn't need to keep getting dragged to things he clearly doesn't want to do.

Side note: my mom loved musicals and ballet and the theater so for years, she tried to get my dad to go with her. He often fell asleep. If he managed to stay awake, it was clear that he wasn't enjoying it AT ALL. Once my sisters and I got older, she would take us instead and we had a great time. That's how I learned at a young age that it's not worth it to take someone to events that they have no interest in. Instead of wasting money on a second ticket, buy one really good ticket in the orchestra and see it by yourself. Treat yoself!

My favorite thing was Rebecca admitting to Paula what she did whenever she was staring off into space. Despite how much Rebecca has shared with Paula, it was obvious that she was afraid Paula would think she was weird so I thought that was a breakthrough moment for Rebecca to share something that she had kept a secret for her whole life.

Heh, my second favorite moment was White Josh telling Rebecca that he had never come around on her and never would.

Edited April 6, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo
typo

[Spartan Girl]

I knew they'd go with that kind of ending and it worked. The 11:00 song was my favorite.

Bye, show. It was quite a ride.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

What I loved about the musical show afterward was that the cast was clearly having a really good time. It was fun to see them having fun and interacting with each other as themselves (rather than their characters).

I also loved seeing everyone in the theater dressed up in costumes and singing along.

Santino's absence was really felt due to the lack of so many songs from the first two seasons. I would have loved to see We Tapped That Ass one more time.

I knew not to hold my breath for an appearance by Lea Salonga.

I wish the big finale number had been something like Love's Not a Game, but I'll take what I can get. It was a fun way to wrap up the show.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Eleven O'Clock:

West Covina (final reprise):

[bijoux]

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

What I loved about the musical show afterward was that the cast was clearly having a really good time. It was fun to see them having fun and interacting with each other as themselves (rather than their characters).

I also loved seeing everyone in the theater dressed up in costumes and singing along.

I am watching it now and I love both the cast and the audience. There are so many great things. David Hull being the biggest ham during Vella’s performance, the entire sexy medly, PSA about the pregnancy included, the sexy electric toothbrushes, the quick Super Sperm bit with the sperm bouncing off Bloom.😂 I don’t want it to end.

The mention of mother during Diagnosis makes me really sad the show didn’t use her in the final stretch of episodes.

Edited April 6, 2019 by bijoux

[Eeksquire]

I actually watched the finale live, which I don't usually do, but I wanted to see how they'd end it.  I think they did a good job with the mess they wrote themselves into, but Rebecca's big revelation about how she sees the world through songs in her head felt very off to me since, as far as I can tell, the songs have been totally deemphasized since her diagnosis.  Had this season included as many songs per episode as the prior seasons, the final realization would have worked better.

[bijoux]

4 hours ago, WonderWuman73 said:

Interviews and how the ending was planned from the very beginning. Even down to the  last sentence fhttps://deadline.com/2019/04/crazy-ex-girlfriend-series-finale-aline-brosh-mckenna-rachel-bloom-broadway-musical-comedy-1202589199/amp/

😳 What’s this? I didn’t see it in the live special. Why, why would they cut this?

One thing I realized after finishing it is that I don’t really perceive Skylar Austin as part off the show. I Hate Everything but You felt thrown in. I don’t begrudge either him or the show, it really didn’t take up much air time, and he was fine. But I was very meh about it unlike everything else during the special.

[wonderwoman]

51 minutes ago, bijoux said:

The mention of mother during Diagnosis makes me really sad the show didn’t use her in the final stretch of episodes.

yes, that was my one real disappointment, as well.  there’s was a lot more to explore between rebecca and her mother. would have loved to see tovah feldshul again. 

[kathe5133]

I don't watch this on a traditional TV, But on my iPad.  I watch it through the CW app.  I have to wait and see it on Saturday morning, but it works for me, except, where's the concert special?  I don't see it on CW or CW seed?  Anyone know when/where I can see it online?  Thanks!

[KittenPokerCheater]

10 hours ago, blixie said:

. Damn I didn't know Scott could look even more attractive, but he looked a little rougher and hotter in the concert footage.

I know!  I was like....Mmm, I wonder if he is single.  Ahem, I am a grown woman and should be old enough to stop having tv boyfriends.

I hope he is in another series soon.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

2 hours ago, bijoux said:

There are so many great things. David Hull being the biggest ham during Vella’s performance, the entire sexy medly, PSA about the pregnancy included, the sexy electric toothbrushes, the quick Super Sperm bit with the sperm bouncing off Bloom

I loved all of these moments too. David Hull was hamming it up like there was no tomorrow during that song and I LOVED IT. I also loved when the sperm bonked Rebecca one more time just before getting off the bed and she just started laughing.

[AllyB]

Like a lot of others I feel totally 'meh' about it too. The ending itself was fine but the whole lead up to it was just terrible. Rebecca's songs being toned down to near elimination since her diagnosis undermined the ending completely.

The realisation that Josh and Nathaniel had both fixated on Rebecca for reasons that had little to nothing to do with her would have been an excellent storyline if it had been explored for more than one scene each in the last episode.

"Greg's" return added absolutely nothing to the final series. If they felt a need to bring him back it should have been done without the romantic element. Rebecca said she found his recovery and evolution inspiring but couldn't we have actually seen that happen instead of the stupid love of his life stuff? Couldn't he just have been someone who she saw changing his life and drew hope from. His acceptance of her as someone he could have as a loose friend in spite of their (and Marco's) history be a way to help her accept herself too. And even right up to the end I would have liked to have seen their relationship be completely platonic.

There was a great season in there but it was lost in all the stupid bachelor stuff. The ending could have been great but the lead up to it was so poor it made it hard to care.

Edited April 6, 2019 by AllyB

[Empress1]

3 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I remember a friend of mine once said, "People don't always marry the person they SHOULD marry. They marry the person they're already with when they finally decide that they're ready to get married."

I've known a lot of women who have done this, especially if they want children. The biological clock is real, and I've heard "I don't have time to start over" from a lot of women I know. I thought of that when Josh was lamenting that he just wanted marriage and kids. He didn't want those things with Rebecca; he just wanted them right now and Rebecca was his closest option.

I was meh about it because I'm on the record as not caring who she chose; I hoped the finale would involve more than that and I guess it did, but I didn't like the way the other characters were almost afterthoughts. I'm happiest for Paula having the legal career she always wanted.

3 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Heh, my second favorite moment was White Josh telling Rebecca that he had never come around on her and never would.

I love that White Josh doesn't like Rebecca. It's the balance the show needed; she's kind of an asshole sometimes (I also liked how Paula was like, "usually when I ask you for advice you make it about you!" and how Josh's new girlfriend said she was "a lot," and Darryl's girlfriend was clenched-teeth about her) and she's put his friends through hell. He shouldn't like her. Not everyone is going to like you, and realistically I'd think at least one of the three guys (Josh makes the most sense) would have told her to lose his number after what she put them through.

[willgracefan]

13 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

I love that White Josh doesn't like Rebecca. It's the balance the show needed; she's kind of an asshole sometimes (I also liked how Paula was like, "usually when I ask you for advice you make it about you!" and how Josh's new girlfriend said she was "a lot," and Darryl's girlfriend was clenched-teeth about her) and she's put his friends through hell. He shouldn't like her. Not everyone is going to like you, and realistically I'd think at least one of the three guys (Josh makes the most sense) would have told her to lose his number after what she put them through.

Yes! I so loved when White Josh admitted that he just didn’t like Rebecca, but he was still there for her, with his actual friends a year later which was nice. 

I am bummed that he didn’t end up with a boyfriend, though...

[dubbel zout]

11 hours ago, possibilities said:

I also liked that Nathanial's final liberated yelling at his dad was that he loved him,

I loved how defiant that was: "Oh, yeah? Well, I love you!" Hee. Nathaniel has come a long way.

10 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

when Rebecca was looking out over the potential men she could maybe date if she chose one from the room

I loved the expressions on Father Bra and AJ when Rebecca was looking at them: "Aw...wait, what? I am permanently unavailable!"

4 hours ago, bijoux said:

White Josh forever unimpressed with Rebecca

I didn't quite understand why Rebecca's "respect" wasn't the right answer? To me it seemed like she wasn't going to try to persuade him to like her and she accepted his feelings about her. If that isn't respect, what is?

4 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Women are often made to feel like they're failures or their lives aren't complete if they aren't married with kids, so I liked that Rebecca chose to focus on herself rather than a boyfriend.

Same here. And just because she chose to focus on herself now doesn't mean marriage and/or kids isn't in her future. Her timetable needs to be hers, not anyone else's.

[theatremouse]

I am very torn about this episode. I found the actual plot and plotting did not land for me AT ALL. But I also found most of the jokes did. So it was weird because I was regularly laughing, and frankly almost wheezing, but the story itself felt really drawn out.

I didn't love that they had to put in another time jump, the pacing was off, it was obvious all along she wasn't going to choose either of the three so the "reveal" in the last 8 minutes that she was mos def not choosing any was pretty much 'duh. That aspect felt a little like when Masterchef pauses when Gordon's all "that was - " pause for commercial is going to say great or terrible - come back from commercial and play the previous 30 seconds all over again but this time letting him finish the sentence. Like...we all know where this is going, and it's fake suspense to drag it out the whole episode.

I wanted to love the medley (I love me a good medley) and I almost did?

They threw in a lot more metatheatrical jokes not only this episode, but also this season, which in retrospect seems an intentional lead up to "girl just write fricking musicals".

I liked the moment when she actually helped Paula with her problem instead of making it all about her because it reminded me a S1 Rebecca who is super smart and experienced and good at lawyering and very easily came up with a totally reasonable obvious answer, that there still were plausible reasons Paula wouldn't have thought of herself.

I do wonder what the ending was they'd originally planned when they pitched it, because while I might buy "she tries to write a musical and we cut before we hear the song" might've been the nutshell, I doubt the structure used in this episode were really it. Or maybe they hadn't worked it out in as great detail as I think. But this episode felt to me sort of like the equivalent of when a movie ends, and there's text on the screen that says "and so and so went on to blah blah blah" over a montage of people's faces. And that is such a weak way to close anything. They didn't quite do that, obviously not with text, but the way this episode played was just a teeeny step above that, because it was basically that kind of tacked on wrap up, just they played the scenes instead of making you read it.

[Irlandesa]

41 minutes ago, willgracefan said:

I am bummed that he didn’t end up with a boyfriend, though...

He had a new boyfriend this season. I just expect he wasn't there.  

[ElectricBoogaloo]

It seemed odd that Paula didn't realize she could talk to her new firm about doing pro bono work until Rebecca suggested it. And it also seemed odd that her proposal was "the firm needs to open a new division specifically for pro bono work or I'm quitting."

Even if the firm wasn't interested in creating a separate program for it, Paula could have just said, "I started doing pro bono cases at my old firm and it's really important to me that I continue to do this work. I will occasionally need to visit the jail during business hours because that's when visiting hours are for the inmates who I help, so I would like permission to spend X amount of hours per month to meet with clients there. I can continue to handle my full workload here because I can come in early/stay late on the days that I go to the jail or come in on weekend a month to make up for the hours. This will not affect my billable hours."

Most firms take pro bono cases because then they get to say they do it and it makes the firm look good so even if Paula is the only one in the entire firm doing it, they still get to say that "they" do pro bono work and pat themselves on the back. As long as she was still meeting her minimum number of required billable hours, I can't imagine that the firm would object.

1 minute ago, Irlandesa said:

He had a new boyfriend this season. I just expect he wasn't there.  

Ha, I can imagine him saying, "So you want me to go see your friends' (PLURAL) ex-girlfriend, who you can't stand, perform at an open mic night? No thanks."

[Yeah No]

I'm with the author of that article linked above that Rebecca didn't have to think she was perfect or know exactly who she was to be ready for a relationship.  I know a few women that for their entire adult lives kept thinking they weren't ready and needed more therapy that are now 60 and still single.  And there's no need for that.  Sometimes it's just an excuse to avoid taking a risk.  Relationships are risk and no one is ever perfectly ready for one.

I also think that if they were going to go into the future they could have shown us how things REALLY worked out in the end instead of leaving us with her still not making a choice.  She already chose herself the year before - Why couldn't they have shown that the year she spent writing songs put her so in touch with herself that she now knew which man she belonged with?  I don't buy this "I love all of you" ending.  One of them should have become clear after all that time and if not, I question whether she really loved any of them ever.  And I think that is a disappointing ending for the show, and for her.  I would have hoped for more growth from her after all that time of self-searching and getting in touch with the real her through music.

I think, though, that the writers did their best to make Nathaniel look like he's grown into the right guy for her.  Which makes me keep my hope alive that some day when she finally feels ready, she will end up with him.  It just felt like they were indulging my hope a little with showing how he continues to grow.

I will seriously miss this show and actually shed a tear when it was over!

[sweetcookieface]

6 hours ago, hkit said:

I wasn’t a fan. It’s been pretty obvious for the past few episodes they were setting Rebecca up for her big Kelly Taylor “I choose me” moment, which makes so much of the last season a waste and her revelation of her creative genius felt rushed. I’m perfectly OK with her not ending up with any of them, but I think it could have been executed better. 

Overall, I’m going to miss this show, but going out on a whimper instead of a bang will soften the blow. 

This pretty much sums up how I felt. I liked the ending conceptually (i.e., her choosing herself/theater), but didn't think it was executed as well as it could have been (e.g., not all that funny; clunky exposition; a song medley that didn't flow as well as some of the show's previous ones). And I wish it had included a more memorable musical number. But there were aspects that I enjoyed: the centrality of the Paula/Rebecca relationship; Paula being transported to Rebecca's inner world; Rebecca's show as a vehicle to bring all the characters together at the end. I read one review that said this was just an OK episode of television, but a brilliant finale. I can see kind of see that.

The concert series on the other hand I unabashedly loved. So many great moments, but I think the funniest for me may have been the electric toothbrushes (even Rachel couldn't keep it together during that). I was surprised by some of the song choices, but I guess they wanted to give each of the main supporting cast members (Paula, Valencia, Heather, Josh, Nathaniel, Greg and Daryl) a solo number. If I were picking my favorite songs, they would disproportionately be Rebecca and Original Greg songs (maybe with a side of Paula thrown in), which obviously wouldn't work. Anyway, having seen this, I'm now even more tempted to go to the Radio City show.

[iMonrey]

I was under the impression there were going to be two final regular episodes, so when the second turned out to be the concert, I realized the ending of the first episode was it. Felt like a strange ending when you expected another hour of story after that.

I just haven't been impressed with this last season as a whole. I haven't liked any of the songs either.

I did get a kick out how much the cast was obviously enjoying themselves but again, there were only 2 songs I cared for and one was a truncated version (Strip Away My Conscious) in a sort of medley. The rest were unmemorable. Looking back, so many of the best songs had Santino Fontana in them. The show never really recovered from his departure IMO.

[willowk]

23 minutes ago, sweetcookieface said:

This pretty much sums up how I felt. I liked the ending conceptually (i.e., her choosing herself/theater), but didn't think it was executed as well as it could have been (e.g., not all that funny; clunky exposition; a song medley that didn't flow as well as some of the show's previous ones). And I wish it had included a more memorable musical number. But there were aspects that I enjoyed: the centrality of the Paula/Rebecca relationship; Paula being transported to Rebecca's inner world; Rebecca's show as a vehicle to bring all the characters together at the end. I read one review that said this was just an OK episode of television, but a brilliant finale. I can see kind of see that.

The concert series on the other hand I unabashedly loved. So many great moments, but I think the funniest for me may have been the electric toothbrushes (even Rachel couldn't keep it together during that). I was surprised by some of the song choices, but I guess they wanted to give each of the main supporting cast members (Paula, Valencia, Heather, Josh, Nathaniel, Greg and Daryl) a solo number. If I were picking my favorite songs, they would disproportionately be Rebecca and Original Greg songs (maybe with a side of Paula thrown in), which obviously wouldn't work. Anyway, having seen this, I'm now even more tempted to go to the Radio City show.

I too adored the concert, am glad they showed an hour of that even though it meant one less hour with the characters. I loved Pete Gardner's exuberant into his Bisexual song -"Time to hang up my spurs but not just yet!".  And Valencia doing the yoga song with such joy and gusto. The concert reminded me of how much the show has given me (all of us) over the past few years and how singular it has been. Not perfect, but most shows are not. Another moment I loved during the concert was when Rachel cued her parents to say "You're not a bad person" and her dad wiffed it -several times. Just precious!

[Shanna Marie]

I would have been okay with a romantic happy ending if the relationship had been something we saw growing organically, but the way it was set up with her apparently not thinking in terms of relationships with these guys until they decided they wanted her and the very artificial construct of "you have to decide on this day," I think it was best to end with her focusing on something other than a relationship. I don't think I'd have been able to believe in any relationship begun that way, even if it was implied that it had actually developed naturally during the missing year, since we wouldn't have seen the organic development and would have been left with the "you must choose" impression. If she had been in a relationship at the end, it would have had to be a revelation that one of the random people in the audience was actually the guy she's now dating whom she met in a music class, or something like that. As it was, I liked her deciding to focus on something else, and the fact that she did so doesn't have to imply that getting healthy and pursuing romance are mutually exclusive. There are so many romantic happy endings that it's refreshing to see someone getting a happy ending that has nothing to do with romance.

[dubbel zout]

Was the concert the first time we heard all or most of "Period Sex"? I feel like it was always cut off during the show after the second line.

[Eolivet]

I actually don't think Rebecca "chose herself" so much as "decided not to decide." I also don't think that Greg's "I'm not going to wait anymore" and still single a year later was a narrative accident, so I'm calling myself half-right. (they did not give him another romantic interest nor something else to make him happy)

It actually made me realize that I loved the songs of this show first, and the story second. I saw it as a musical, while it saw itself as something else. So, I'd have loved a stronger musical "finale" (concert special not withstanding). But the story finale was pretty good, too. I just don't think the show ever had the narrative chops to really pull off the "drama" they wanted to in a believable way, and it worked a lot better as a slyly self-aware musical with an intensely likable lead, and cast.

Take a bow, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. You put on a heck of a show. And by show, of course, I mean "musical."

[Unraveled]

I absolutely loved the concert! I was pretty amazed that they had the rest of the cast doing backup (singing and dancing) for all of the songs. The concert was actually pretty short, so I can see why they didn't include any special guest singers.

[kathe5133]

4 hours ago, kathe5133 said:

I don't watch this on a traditional TV, But on my iPad.  I watch it through the CW app.  I have to wait and see it on Saturday morning, but it works for me, except, where's the concert special?  I don't see it on CW or CW seed?  Anyone know when/where I can see it online?  Thanks!

I found it!  You have to search for it on the CW Seed app.   Good, but too short.  I am going to miss this show.  Hope I see these talented performers elsewhere!

[angora]

Given how sloppy a lot of the buildup to the finale was, I thought it came off pretty well.  I enjoyed the flashforwards with each of the three guys, showing that any of them could've been "the one" but that Rebecca finding her own internal happiness/sense of self was the lynchpin (hearkens back to the original dream ghost episode and Dr. Akopian's repeated insistence that "it's not about the guys.")  I loved how immediately Paula recognized the brilliance and beauty of this aspect of Rebecca that she herself had always seen as weird and shameful, and I liked the quick flashes of Rebecca working on her music skills in conjunction with her songwriting.

Regardless of whether or not the time-jump reveal is a little cheap, I appreciate that, in actual fact, Rebecca talked with each of the three guys separately and DIDN'T have a big dramatic reveal of her "choice" with everyone assembled.  One thing that last week's episode got right was showing how weird and uncomfortable the whole "three guys, three dates" thing was for everyone involved, and it's good that Rebecca broke the news to each one privately.  Their reactions felt in-character to me - Josh being very emotionally open/vulnerable, Nathaniel jumping right into action (but in a more emotionally-healthy way than he would've in the past,) Greg disappointed but understanding her decision.  If it were me, I'd have broken up her conversation about why she was choosing herself/her writing between all three guys instead of just Greg; I get that they wanted to save it for the end, but the episode was jumping all over in time anyway, so they could've easily revisited her talks with Josh and Nathaniel and shown her giving them the same explanation.  As it was, it felt like she had "you're great and I care about you, but I'm not picking you" conversations with Josh and Nathaniel and a "you're great and I care about you, but I'm not picking ANYONE and you deserve to know why" conversation with Greg.  Which, I suppose tracks with other ways that the show leaned just a bit harder on the Greg ship, with White Josh's pointed comment about how worried he was about Greg and Rebecca both being single (although they indicated that Nathaniel was unattached at the end as well,) but I just would've preferred an indication that all three guys got the whole explanation on that day.

I agree that the "where are they now?" stuff was a little pat, and I would've liked more on the supporting characters.  Still, I'm grateful that, essentially, Paula finally got her dreams and they gave at least a little closure to each of the three guys.  I also liked that they nodded to Rebecca feeling ready to look for love again, tying it in with her personal emotional happiness but not suggesting that it would've necessarily been "wrong" for her to pursue it earlier - more that it was simply her choice.

The concert was a lot of fun.  I'm glad that all the major characters got a big moment.  Rachel was great throughout, obviously, and with the others, I especially loved "Let's Have Intercourse," "I'm So Good at Yoga," "The Moment is Me," and "Gettin' Bi."  For Josh songs, I would've wanted either "Ping Pong Girl" or "Thought Bubbles," but it makes sense to highlight Vincent's dance skills.  "I Hate Everything But You" was a miss for me, though - is there anyone who thinks of that as a quintessential Greg song?  It really ought to have been "Settle for Me" or "What'll It Be?" (probably the former,) but the recent reprise of the latter a few weeks ago showed that it just wouldn't have worked with NuGreg.  Even most of the recurring characters got little moments, like WhiJo's dancing on "The Moment is Me," Tim with the electric toothbrushes, George's interrupted song, and Jim sliding in at the end with the "don't be a lawyer."

The medleys were awesome.  I loved the sex medley, and Rachel doing a bunch of the harder-hitting mental health ones was excellent (then bringing it home with the whole cast doing "Anti-Depressants are so Not a Big Deal.")  I read somewhere that the concert they filmed wound up being quite a bit longer than what they could air, so I'm hoping more of it resurfaces at some point.  I'd love to see whatever else they can give me, and it'd be amazing if they toured more, because this was a fantastic incentivizer to buy a ticket!  I'd TOTALLY go see them if they came anywhere near me.

[thelegacies87]

The concert is going to be at Radio City Music Hall...I wanna go to there!! Not too many seats left and the ones that are pretty expensive or noise bleed soooo...

[SomeTameGazelle]

18 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

It may be that I've found this entire last season to feel really dragged out, but I was kind of like "meh," at Rebecca's last blast of self-discovery.  I'm glad she didn't end up with anyone, but it probably would have helped if they hadn't waited until the last twenty or so minutes to suddenly decide that Rebecca's real dream was to be a songwriter, while relegating the rest of the cast to what was essentially a "Where Are They Now" for their characters. 

I didn't mind the fact that the supporting characters took a back seat, and I was fine with the resolution given where everything was in the episode immediately preceding. But I was expecting that there would be a spectacular final musical number, and the Eleventh Hour medley wasn't that for me. Even a payoff of the theme song (which I hated more and more as the season continued) could have worked, but it was essentially just the same joke with different words week after week and it didn't resonate with the arc of the plot the way the 2nd and 3rd season themes did.

I think the finale could have been better if the season had been more tightly-structured. I'm not saying that they should have told only the most essential parts of the story -- just that it felt like they picked up and put down threads and ignored some of them for too long when they should have had some background presence even when they weren't foreground. I think I would have appreciated Rebecca's decision to work in musical theatre more if we had seen consistent progress throughout all of the episodes starting from theatre games with the women she was helping in prison, to seeing her half-brother's interest in performing, to working on the amateur Elliott Ellison revue, to parodying the Elliott Ellison songs, to the final realization. We got some of it but it was disconnected.

I'm sure they intentionally left Greg and Nathaniel single to give hope to shippers. And I thought the Where Are They Now worked to make sure that we didn't have to grieve for Josh, Greg, and Nathaniel's disappointment.

My biggest disappointment was the lack of Naomi, because I wanted her to have a place in Rebecca's life within appropriate limits. But I am probably thinking of season 1 Naomi -- season 4 Naomi was perhaps all or nothing and they went with nothing.

Was glum-looking spaced-out Rebecca supposed to be retreating into imaginary musical theatre in her imaginary futures?

I started watching the concert but have put it aside, don't know if I am enjoying it enough to continue. I feel more like rewatching the show versions of some songs I haven't thought about recently.

Edited April 6, 2019 by SomeTameGazelle

[Shanna Marie]

18 minutes ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

But I was expecting that there would be a spectacular final musical number, and the Eleventh Hour medley wasn't that for me.

That was my biggest disappointment. The series finale of a musical was strangely lacking in music.

I was surprised by how many of the cast members actually came across as stronger vocalists live in concert (assuming it was entirely live and not sweetened with backing tracks or in production) than they have on the show. I can't tell if it was the difference between singing in a studio and singing live on stage, if they were overproduced for the series, or if maybe they were doing the singing for the series more in character and with less focus on really singing, but usually it's more of a letdown when you hear someone who's mostly been very produced sing live, and in this case it was more like, "Wow, they can really sing, and why weren't they cutting loose like that on the show?"