This is probably the weakest installment of the season so far, but with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, even the lesser episodes are still miles ahead of most of what you see on network TV. Let's dive in!
Cons:
I found Nathaniel's attempts to get Rebecca back to be kind of lackluster and stupid. He steals Rebecca's diary and makes a grand speech that he steals from it, and Rebecca is understandably unimpressed. I think one of the things this season is going to focus on, when it comes to Nathaniel, is that he has some personal growth he needs to take care of as well. I get that, and yet at the same time I'm feeling myself less than interested in watching him mess stuff up so badly. I guess I'm just wishing for more with him. I want him and Rebecca to be together, selfishly, but more than that, I just want them both to be okay, as separate human beings.
I feel a little cheated in the song department, because little Tucker is the only one who gets a song. The second "song" of the episode is a reprise of "One Indescribable Instant," which is well performed, again by Tucker, but not a fun new number to bop along with. Hopefully there are two full numbers in next week's installment!
Okay. Tucker is great. And he's great because he's so much like Rebecca. The two spend most of the episode finding all of these things they have in common, but then it turns out that this was all just stuff that Tucker stole from Rebecca's diary. The twist of the situation, however, is that this just means they really do have a lot in common. Namely, Tucker shows up to manipulate and lie to Rebecca to get what he secretly wants. In a way, this reminds me of Trent - another character shows up and does horrible things, and this helps Rebecca, and the audience, realize that Rebecca's own past behavior has been pretty awful.
But the difference is... Tucker is a kid. He manipulates Rebecca, and when he gets caught in the end he berates himself for being such a stupid, dumb, fat loser. Rebecca at first things Tucker is just copying her diary again, but then realizes that this is really how Tucker feels. The similarities are uncanny, but this time around, Rebecca is an adult with a good(ish) head on her shoulders, and she has some power to help Tucker. By the episode's end, she's gotten his mother to agree to send him to a therapist, and her father to agree to send him to theatre camp instead of making him work construction during the summer. Rebecca doesn't resent that she didn't have these things, but she wants to help out a kid who is going through the same kind of rough stuff that she remembers from her own childhood. Talk about progress!
The kid playing Tucker was absolutely great. His vocals were on point, and his manipulations of Rebecca were just the right mix of sinister and sympathetic. Obviously his behavior is inexcusable, just like Rebecca's has been at so often in the past. But at the same time, when the episode ends and Tucker breaks down, I believe in his pain and his confusion and his fear. It's heartbreaking to see so many of the traits Rebecca exhibited as a child and as an adult, present in someone else. But if it's not too late for Rebecca to make a change, then it's definitely not too late for Tucker either.
The kid playing Tucker was absolutely great. His vocals were on point, and his manipulations of Rebecca were just the right mix of sinister and sympathetic. Obviously his behavior is inexcusable, just like Rebecca's has been at so often in the past. But at the same time, when the episode ends and Tucker breaks down, I believe in his pain and his confusion and his fear. It's heartbreaking to see so many of the traits Rebecca exhibited as a child and as an adult, present in someone else. But if it's not too late for Rebecca to make a change, then it's definitely not too late for Tucker either.
On the Nathaniel front, while I was annoyed at his meddling in this episode, I do want to say that performance-wise, his poor, sad, love-lorn eyes are really tearing me up inside. He's so in love with Rebecca that it hurts. I hope that even if they don't find their way back to each other, Nathaniel finds peace and happiness!
In subplot news, Paula does an escape room with her two sons, and learns that they're actually in to Renaissance Faires and aren't totally stupid, pointless lumps. Paula realizes that her kids are strangers to her, but by the end of the episode, they've all had fun in the escape room together!
In a normal sitcom, I feel like this would be a one-episode thing. Paula realizes something bad, and then by the end of the episode the problem is solved. But we've seen hints of this in the past, of Paula's son's being ignored by their mother, of Paula realizing that she's actually not a very good mom. This episode brought that to the forefront in a very real way, and I'll bet we're going to see how this plays out in the coming weeks. I've always thought Brandon and Tommy were pretty funny, so I'm glad to see them here. Although I still miss their dad! Looks like we might see him next week.
Okay. That's what I've got for this one. I thought this was a great episode for many reasons, but ultimately the final product was just slightly underwhelming. I mean, in comparison to most episodes of this show. But with an eighteen-episode order for this final season, I think it's okay if the pace is a little slow at some points, and I have every faith that this season has some really great stuff in store for us!
8/10
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