Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 1 Episode 5 Review: Josh and I Are Good People!
Christine Laskodi
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Rebecca and Josh are NOT good people.
It's not like we didn't already know that, but shame over their awful behavior was the catalyst for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 1 Episode 5, where Rebecca and Josh both realized just how terrible they are.
I think I might be attracted to someone besides Valencia.
Let's break it down. Josh is generally a good person; he's pretty likable and well-intentioned, but he's not the brightest crayon in the box and he's definitely not being honest about his relationship with Rebecca.
Rebecca, meanwhile, is incredibly smart and not at all a good person; every action she's taken since arriving in West Covina has been to benefit herself and her crazy plan to gain the affections of Josh. She's hurt everyone who cares for her in the process at some point as a result.
Rebecca and Josh take very different approaches to rectify their sins.
Rebecca tries to prove that she's wonderful by trying to help Darryl gain custody of his daughter not really to help him, but to make herself feel better. Josh, meanwhile, tries to prove it by playing a spiritually-charged game of hoops with his priest, and figure out if his mind is bigger than his actions. (Shoutout to Father Brah!)
Josh discovers that he has a lot of feelings about Rebecca (and mannequins,) and rather than do the right thing by staying away from Rebecca, he chose to tell her about it.
I know he's not the smartest fellow, but is Josh completely blind? He honestly doesn't see that Rebecca is in love with him and hangs on his every word? He's already harming his relationship with Valencia by spending time with his ex against her wishes.
Even if he doesn't act on his thoughts, he can't simply repress them either. Not cool, Chan. Not cool at all.
Do you forgive me yet?
Rebecca [to Greg]
Rebecca may not have decided to settle for Greg (yet,) but she sure does care a LOT about what he thinks of her. His remark about being terrible, and her subsequent over-the-top reaction, left me wondering; was she driven by embarrassment over Greg's words because they were said in front of Josh or because she genuinely wanted to prove him wrong?
If it's the former, then Rebecca is a stagnant character who isn't growing or learning anything at all. I really thought it was the latter and that we're starting to see that Rebecca can be driven by something other than her desire to be with Josh.
But all of that growth was blown out of the water when Josh confessed to Rebecca that he was attracted to her. Poof! Farewell to the shreds of sanity Rebecca had developed.
Why do you care what I think? I'm not your priest.
Greg
I'm still holding out hope for Rebecca and Greg, even though every week that passes makes the distance between them seem greater.
Paula had a moral dilemma of her own this week. When she was left in charge of the office, she needed to decide whether or not to have Tim, the embodiment of every Mad Men character, deported for being an illegal Canadian.
Paula has been back on forth on the moral barometer since Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 1 Episode 1. She's helping Rebecca stalk her old high school boyfriend, essentially abandoning her kids emotionally, and enabling Rebecca into making very poor choices.
Paula has, however, gone out of her way to be there for Rebecca, stood by her son when he was almost thrown out of school, and has been an excellent friend to Mrs. Hernandez.
This may have seemed like any other B plot, but I think it was important in order for the audience to see whether or not Paula is, in fact, a good person herself. I've been on the fence about Paula's own moral compass with each passing week, but was relieved to discover that at the end of the day, her heart really is in the right place.
Now if only she could translate that to discouraging Rebecca's quest to make Josh love her...
I just love my daughter, but seriously, not in a creepy way.
Darryl
It was fantastic to get a little face time with the 1/8 Chippewa, Darryl.
Darryl has been fantastic for one-liners and throw away gags about Luna bars, so to see his role expanded this week was a treat. His custody battle is awful and he really does seem to love his daughter a lot. Who wouldn't love a little girl with such clever names for snails?
Darryl's horse-filled country ballad about his offspring was as sweet as it was comically disturbing. (Did you catch those cowboy boots? Hot stuff, Darryl.) I was glad that Rebecca took on the job of helping him, even if it was initially for selfish reasons. She's the most competent lawyer in all of California, it appears, and Darryl wouldn't have won without her.
Ultimately, Rebecca's own experience with an absent father helped resolve the issues between Darryl and his ex-wife, and led to a compromise that would best help their daughter moving forward.
I'm a good person that's my thing, my nickname's Mother Theresa Luther King.
Rebecca
I was also happy with the resolution that Rebecca understands that she can't continue to project her own Daddy issues on to other people, be it Greg or anyone she's representing in a case. She knows that she has some things to work through and that her own personal experience might just help someone else.
Maybe there's hope for the crazy ex-girlfriend yet.
High Notes:
- Can Karen be a regular character? I'd like to watch her YouTube channel, gather approvals, and hear updates about her snake.
- Father Brah should be on the other side of every confessional on every television show. "Nothing but net...AND CHRIST!"
- I need to reiterate again how much I love Darryl's song. Not in a weird way.
- Did Tim return a chip 'n dip in order to procure that sweet plastic rifle?
Low Notes:
- Rebecca, please don't say "on fleek."
- Where was my new spirit-animal Heather? I sorely missed her.
- I take back what I said about Karen. I never need another review of the Beaver Damn menstrual cup.
Is Rebecca a good person? Will Josh continue to stay faithful to Valencia, or will his confession of attraction send him into Rebecca's arms? Should Greg forgive Rebecca, or stand his ground? Sound off below!
Missed a moment of the crazy? You can watch Crazy Ex-Girlfriend online right here at TV Fanatic, and be sure to head back next week when we talk about Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 1 Episode 6, "My First Thanksgiving with Josh!"
Do you love the music? If you like the songs that you hear on the show, they are all available for purchase on iTunes!
