Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: To Josh, With Love (3x02)

God, this show is good. I love it so much.

Cons:

I wasn't totally crazy about the subplot this week, which involved Tim learning that he'd never given his wife an orgasm. He despairs at this realization, and sings a song that parodies "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" from Les Miserables. The song is about the "buzzing from the bathroom," since his wife would go into the bathroom and masturbate after Tim failed to get her off. I don't really  have any reason to care about Tim as a character. He's such a non entity. This felt like a completely strange subplot to devote time to, and I can't imagine it will lead to much else.

Pros:

That being said, "The Buzzing From the Bathroom" was a hilarious song, as are pretty much all of the songs this show produces. I also liked that Paula's off-the-cuff insult totally changed Tim's life, but he's so insignificant to her that she doesn't even remember saying it.

We check in with Josh this week, and discover that his plan to be a priest isn't going as well as he would have hoped. Turns out, you have to go to school and go through lots of training, and Josh is having a hard time feeling motivated. His friends are convinced that he won't go through with it, and are then appalled to learn that Josh hasn't contacted Rebecca at all since leaving her at the altar.

Josh's song "I've Got My Head in the Clouds" was so much fun. I particularly liked the part where the Holy Ghost shows up and is just a guy wearing a sheet, because that's how Josh has always pictured the Holy Ghost. Lots of fun, high energy, and full of religion jokes!

The main plot focuses on Rebecca's continuing quest for revenge on Josh. Paula's plan to sue him just isn't cutting it for Rebecca, so she turns to Nathaniel. She seduces him by promising him sex if he teaches her to be immoral and helps her get back at Josh. Things go too far, however, and Rebecca is horrified to discover that Nathaniel has arranged to destroy Josh through his family - getting his sister kicked out of school, making his father lose his job, and even killing Josh's elderly grandparent. Rebecca tells Nathaniel to call it off. She has realized that what she really wants is for Josh to face what he did to her - she wants to tell him off in front of everybody so that he can be humiliated like she was.

So... Rebecca dons her wedding dress and shows up at the church where Josh has been training for priesthood. She sings a song wherein she reveals all of the crazy stuff she's done in order to be with him, before storming off in a huff. Josh, instead of being upset, is just relieved that he's not to blame and doesn't have to feel guilty. Rebecca, shortly after her big moment, realizes that she just told Josh all of the worst things about herself, and immediately panics.

First of all, I kind of like Nathaniel. I mean he's a douche, but he's still a really fun character and I like the fact that his frozen heart melts a little bit around Rebecca. In a paradoxical way, his shallow comments about her body shape and general weirdness are a sign of how much he actually likes her. Rebecca cuts through the superficial awfulness of Nathaniel, and he actually starts thinking about her instead of just himself.

Also, these songs. Oh lord. "Strip Away My Conscience" was soooo fantastic and fun. I love the fact that once again, while Rebecca is being sexy, there are moments of commentary about the unrealistic beauty standards that women face.

And the final song was perfect. First of all, it was a reprise of a Paula song from last season, but this time it's called "After Everything You Made Me Do (That You Didn't Ask For)." There was no elaborate choreography, and unlike some of the music videos this show produces, there was no cut-away or setup. It felt like it was happening within the story itself, right down to the church organ being played to cue Rebecca in. The blocking is just her walking slowly down the aisle of the church while Josh walks backwards, backing up as Rebecca continues her tirade. She admits to moving to West Covina for him, she admits to spying on him, paying people off for information on him, hitting his ex-girlfriend's pet, and more. She looks deranged, and yet there's also something so satisfying about this release for her character. Next week she'll have to deal with the ramifications of her outburst, but it was still a little bit cathartic!

That's all I've got for this week. Man, this show is insanely good.

8.5/10