Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Josh Is A Liar (3x03)

I know I'm a broken record, but this show is great.

Cons:

I suppose if I had to complain, I'd say that George just doesn't do much for me as a character. Maybe he'll grow on me with time. As it is, he's such a minor role that it doesn't really matter too much.

Oh, and I miss Valencia! I need more of her!

Pros:

Where to start? What I loved so much about this episode is that it has several disparate stories going on, but there's one thing at the center of it all - Rebecca's terrible actions have consequences that hurt people. Pretty much every character ends up worse off than they started by the end of this episode, and it's all at least partially a consequence of Rebecca's actions.

First of all, she destroys Paula's confidence by telling her that the work she's been doing on the case against Josh isn't very good, and that basically it's a good effort for a law student but it's not good enough to be taken seriously. Ouch. She does this because she realizes that if the case goes forward, Josh has too much evidence to use against her now. But when she learns that Josh plans on telling everyone the whole truth about her, she changes her mind, saying the case is back on. She uses a reporter to spread lies about Josh, saying he's a terrible bigoted person who constantly lies about everything.

What I like about this is that Rebecca is so far gone that she's willing to attack Paula where she knows it will hurt her the most. And then, her plan to discredit Josh actually works. It was hard to watch the scene where Josh shows up, only to have White Josh, Hector, and his other friends treat him with disgust for his supposedly terrible behavior. And when he tries to discredit Rebecca, they find his version of the story much harder to believe. Obviously Josh is no saint. The reason it works to have his friends believe such horrible stuff about him is that while it's all made up and we know that, we also know that Josh can be a pretty bad person. He's selfish and he refuses to take responsibility for any of his crappy behavior. Still, Rebecca watches as Josh's friends turn on him, and a second person falls victim to her horrible scheme.

Josh and Father Brah open the envelope about Rebecca's past, and they learn the truth about the Robert. They tell Paula. And things get... interesting. The episode ends with Rebecca trying to run away, but her friends stop her before she can escape. Next week should be... intense.

Young Rebecca is in this episode as well, acting as Rebecca's sidekick and a manifestation of her anxiety. This kid is amazing, and did such a great job. She really added to the scenes of Rebecca freaking out, as she gave Rebecca someone to play off of, like a more interesting internal monologue.

The subplots each focus on something completely different, but show how Rebecca's behavior is harmful to those around her. Heather is about to graduate from school against her will, since apparently she's taken all of the courses in the whole school. She doesn't know what to do about graduating, and she doesn't know what the future will hold. She sings a cheesy Broadway-style song called "The Moment Is Me," and it's honestly perfect. She's reluctant to participate in the cheesiness, but the song bursts forth from her because she needs to confront this big change in her life. She tries to talk about it with Rebecca, but Rebecca is so caught up in her own stuff that she fails to be there for her friend in a moment of transition. This happens a lot with this show, but this was one of the most concrete examples of it. Not everything is about Rebecca, and she needs to learn that.

Meanwhile Nathaniel has had his "Oh My God I Think I Like You" moment about Rebecca, and is at a loss for what to do. George says that he needs to sleep with her again and then be aloof, but this plan doesn't work, because Rebecca bails on the dinner that Nathaniel had made for her. He sings a song called "I Go To The Zoo," one of the more off-the-cuff random songs this show has produced. It was so much fun, and it added an air of innocence to Nathaniel that really makes you feel for him in this scenario. Like I said earlier about Josh, Nathaniel is not a good person. But Rebecca isn't either, and her actions are hurting those around her. In the end, Nathaniel shows up to confess his feelings to Rebecca, and while at first she dismisses him in her effort to run from her problems, she then realizes that he has a private jet, and decides to let him take her away. Wow, Rebecca. That does not make you seem like a great person, honestly. Poor Nathaniel is being used in the worst way.

A few other random things to point out: the Joyce Carol Oates jokes were cracking me up. It's such a weirdly esoteric thing to keep referencing, but as someone who understood the reference, it really worked. Heather's starfish companion was another high point. I love the fact that Heather does care deeply for things, but she's just allergic to showing it too much.

Another beautiful installment of this wacky, amazing show. I'm just so happy that this exists.

9.5/10