This. Was. Incredible. I don't know that I can think of any other show on television that has managed to be as daring and controversial. I mean, think about it - this show is billed as a comedy musical, and this most recent episode had me laughing out loud several times... but then think about what actually happened here. It's dark! It's intense! I cannot wait to see where they take this.
Cons:
I only have one tiny thing to say, and this isn't so much a true complaint about the episode as it is a fear for the future. Darryl and WhiJo finally realize that the question of children is an irreconcilable difference between them. It looks like their relationship might not survive this. I really, really do not want them to break up, because I think a breakup will signify a decrease in White Josh's screen time, which is already too little, if you ask me. If they can find a way to continue his presence on the show in a meaningful way even if they break up, then I'll be sad... but I'll be okay with it.
Pros:
Literally everything else was gold. Where to start? Rebecca hits rock bottom in this episode, and it's Rachel Bloom at her finest. The opening scene features Rebecca tearing in to her friends, saying horrible, vicious things to everybody. She tells Paula that she's the crazy one, and that she needs to stop acting like Rebecca is her daughter. She tells Heather that she's aimless, accuses Valencia of foisting her own dream wedding onto Rebecca because nobody wants to marry her, tells Darryl to get his head out of his ass and admit that his boyfriend doesn't want to have a kid, and even accuses Nathaniel of conspiring against her. It's a scene that's literally uncomfortable to watch. There's nothing to lighten the mood - there's no sitcom double-take or comical expressions of righteous indignation. Rebecca, in this moment, is absolutely horrible to all of the people that care about her, and nothing is done to soften that.
Rebecca ends up hanging out with a random Danish tourist (Rory O'Malley! Yay!) and the two bond over a Danish-American actress. This inspires Rebecca to construct her very own revenge movie so she can get back at Josh. And here's what makes this episode so brilliant - yeah, the horror movie cliches and the title sequence song are funny, but they're actually also genuinely sinister. I like that Josh seems to be actually upset and disturbed by all of Rebecca's actions. She hides outside his house, frames him for theft at work, and even threatens to hurt his mother... and it's not funny. It's not funny to Josh and it's not funny to the audience, even as we do laugh at the individual jokes. This is brilliant. The show is taking itself seriously in a very real way.
One obvious example of this serious tone is the conversation between Paula and Valencia as they're out searching for Rebecca. Paula's behavior has always been treated as wacky antics in the past. Her craziness was always funny, not disturbing. But here we see her admit to Valencia all of the horrible things that she did to her back when she and Rebecca were trying to sabotage her relationship with Josh, and it's... well, once again, it's not funny. Valencia just says "this sucks" in a very defeated tone of voice. Here we have a woman who has always had a hard time connecting with other women, and now she feels as if her new friendships are built on a broken foundation. I loved this moment of acknowledgment. I can see Valencia and Paula being really close, but these awful truths needed to come out before that could happen.
As much as this episode features a moment of utter defeat for Rebecca, it also features a turning point for Paula, who realizes that she's been a neglectful mother because she's focused so much of her energy on Rebecca. Again, this is an example of the show taking a pattern of behavior that has been played for laughs all along, and then forcing the audience to confront the reality of that. I hope to see more growth from Paula after this moment of realization.
A brief aside: Heather and Hector are super cute. Not sure if anything will come of this, but I love Heather to pieces and I want to see her find happiness. Their little scene out on the street looking for Rebecca filled me with so many warm fuzzies.
There were two moments in the episode that really blew me away. One is Josh and Rebecca's confrontation at the carnival. There's a moment where Rebecca nearly falls into a pit and to her death, thus giving her the ending that always befalls the deranged woman scorned in the movies that Rebecca is consciously parodying. Josh backs her up right to the edge, yelling at her, telling her that he's had enough. At the last moment he grabs her arm, saving her, and Rebecca tearfully tells Josh that she never actually would have hurt his mother... she just wanted to get his attention. She begs him to talk to her, says that he can't just erase all of the years they've known each other and been in each other's lives. Josh says he'll call the police if Rebecca comes near him or his family ever again. Yeah, what a fun comedy musical! This is the stuff of true genius. Josh isn't a funny dopey punchline in this scene. He's rightfully angry and scared.
The other stellar Emmy-worthy moment is when Rebecca gets butt-dialed by Greg. She has this moment where she relapses into the same pattern she's fallen into so many times before. Greg is calling! He must have sensed that she needed him! Everything will be okay now! But it was just a butt-dial, and she realizes in that moment that she was wrong to hope. The sheer volume of emotions Rebecca goes through in this brief moment is staggering to behold. Of course she then sees Greg's father, and goes to talk to him. She learns that Greg is sober and happy and has found a woman he really loves. So what does Rebecca do? Oh, you know. She sleeps with Greg's father.
Just the mention of Greg, and the hint that he might be calling Rebecca, was enough to make me miss him with a burning passion. I really do hope he can return to the show at some point. Rebecca sleeping with his dad is exactly the sort of thing that needed to happen in the story at this point. She's hit rock bottom, and there needs to be tangible story consequences for that. She's yelled at her friends, but we know her friends will forgive her. She's alienated Josh, but she'd already done that. Now, she's slept with someone she really shouldn't have slept with, and if and when Greg comes back, she's now done something so definite and wrong that he'll probably never forgive her either. It puts her at the extremity of despair.
And then we get "The End of the Movie," one of the best songs this show has ever produced. It's one of those statement songs, a banner moment to express the themes and ideas of the show, and appropriately, the lyrics evoke the futility of applying narrative sense to the chaos of real life. The lyrics are perfect, the montage is perfect. We see Paula staring mournfully at her phone, having just called Rebecca's mother to let her know that her daughter needs serious help. We see Darryl and WhiJo in bed, holding hands as they sadly contemplate the future of their relationship. We see Josh trying to write out his resume, having no idea what his future holds. We see Nathaniel hugging Rebecca's giant alligator stuffed animal, still waiting for her to show up back home in case she needs him. (Okay, personal side-note about Nathaniel? Oh My God, I Think I Like Him). Rebecca walks down a dark street as an unknown singer tells us that everyone believes they're the star of the movie, but sometimes you're just a random guy in the background... "like me, Josh Groooooban!!!" this reveal was comedically perfect. Josh Groban was seriously one of the best things in an episode so full of "best things" that I'm having trouble constraining myself from writing a whole dissertation on the brilliance of this show.
I guess I'll stop there. Wow, you guys. Wow. I can't even say anything more.
10/10
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