Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 2 Episode 7 Review: Who's The Cool Girl Josh Is Dating?
Christine Laskodi
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Josh's new girlfriend is super-cool.
It could be my longtime love of Brittany Snow that brings me to that conclusion, but Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 2 Episode 7 does a really phenomenal job of making Anna a lovable character, and in turn, making us hope she stays in Josh's life for a while.
Elsewhere in the hour, Paula's marriage is in turmoil, but it's nothing compared to the distance between her and Rebecca.
And Valencia is letting some of her own crazy ex-girlfriend traits come out.
Let's get into it Bunch-heads!
Josh: Before I met you, I didn't even know eyebrows were, like, a big deal.
Anna: That's what I love about you.
Josh: You love me?
Anna: Love ABOUT you.
Josh hasn't hit the jackpot with women.
As his newest girlfriend points out, Valencia (Allegra?) bullied him for years and Rebecca (or should I say Madge?) is well - she's the crazy ex-girlfriend.
However, with Anna Hicks, eyebrow tweezer to the stars, he's found a partner equally as optimistic and kind as he is.
So what if she's a total name-dropper? She loves her cat, Gravy. She's kind to strangers (who run over said cat). She loves a good Frida foam on her latte. She's basically perfect.
I spent the better part of the hour trying to figure out what there is to dislike about her, and quite frankly, I came up with nothing.
Anna and Josh can run off and have gorgeous half-Filipino babies with the best shaped eyebrows in Silver Lake. (I assume he'd move in with her. I mean, she's probably loaded, what with charging $300 to pluck a single eyebrow hair.)
You know you wanna look at my Instagram – but it's private. So Google me until you find out where I went to high school and then set up a fake Instagram account using the name and the photo of someone that went to my high school, and hope that I remember that person a little bit. Then request access to my private Instagram from the fake account, and in the meantime scour my work Instagram account because that one's public. Research me, obsessively, uh-huh.
Anna
It's not at all surprising that Rebecca and Valencia would be obsessed with her.
After all, Rebecca is simply repeating her same old pattern (you all remember “Feelin' Kinda Naughty Tonight,” right?)
But Valencia – this is interesting territory for her.
With Anna's arrival, we're seeing Valencia become unhinged in a way that we've never been privy to before, since we didn't really see what she did behind the scenes to learn about her new bestie, Rebecca.
While every crime against Anna committed by Rebecca seems pretty normal, Valencia stealing the salon keys, making up fakes names, and obsessing over Anna's weight is fun.
Learning how much Valencia is still attached to Josh is both sweet and sad.
Even as Valencia is growing as a person, in part because of Rebecca's encouragement, she still finds herself exhibiting signs of bad habits, from body dysmorphia to aggression, and it seems as though Josh is a trigger for those behaviors.
I really love exploring Valencia's continuing growth, and I hope to see more of that as her friendship deepens with Rebecca. It's hard to believe it, but as it turns out, they're actually really good for each other in a way that shocks me.
Scott: I have been so supportive, and I think what you're doing is great. But I feel left out. You're so distracted lately.
Paula: I know, I know. But look, I will try to do better.
Paula doesn't seem to be good for anyone right now.
While it's easy to understand her will to succeed in law school, watching as she alienates everyone around her because they don't quite share her passion is troublesome.
For so long we've watched Paula act as Rebecca's sounding board, and wondered how their one-sided friendship could possibly go on after Paula finally realized that she needed more from her friend.
But here's what we've learned about Paula during this fight: she's exactly like Rebecca.
In her new friendship with Sunil, she's completely self-absorbed.
Try as he might to go off topic of the law, and attempt to talk about his feelings after losing his wife, Paula blocks every thought that Sunil has which doesn't fit what SHE wants to talk about.
The bigger problem at hand for Paula is that she and Scott are quickly growing apart.
Despite their marriage being rekindled, in part by Rebecca, and his unending support of her throughout her abortion, Paula seems to have lost focus on being Scott's partner.
This isn't the best version of Paula, at all. She knows that things are slipping away from her, and can't do anything to stop it.
But that's not entirely true, is it?
I really want to tell you that I'm sorry, and I really want to tell you that I am the worst. And I just want to say I miss you every day, and I will - but you go first.
Paula and Rebecca (in unison)
The heart of the hour is both Paula and Rebecca realizing that their friendship needs to be saved.
Without each other, they flail. It's hard to believe that their unbalanced friendship IS somehow the perfect balance, but there it is.
Rachel Bloom and Donna Lynne Champlin's performances are both masterful this season as their counterparts' separation breaks our hearts – in the best way possible.
For so long, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has focused on Rebecca's love life, when the real love story has always been the one of friendship between she and Paula.
As exhibited by their eighties rock-ballad, neither woman is going to be the first to give in and apologize, but the good news is that both realize that they've been in the wrong.
It's a small step forward, although it looks as though their road to reconciliation is quite long.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is taking a hiatus, but will return on Friday, January 6th with a two-hour winter premiere featuring the much-anticipated arrival of Greek and Once Upon a Time star, Scott Michael Foster, to West Covina.
What do you think TV Fanatics?
Who will be the first to apologize, Rebecca or Paula? Do you wish you could read Heather's Miss Douche Q&A? When will we finally get to hear “Period Sex” in its entirety? Are Josh and Anna totally perfect for each other?
Sound off in the comments below!
Are you already missing Rebecca and the gang? No worries! You can spend your holidays enjoying a California Christmastime and watching Crazy Ex-Girlfriend online right here at TV Fanatic!
