Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 2 Episode 2 Review: When Will Josh See How Cool I Am?
Christine Laskodi
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Weirdly, it's not all about Josh - but it also is.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 2 Episode 2 delivers some big laughs while also showing us some seriously awful sides of the characters we know and love in West Covina.
Rebecca and Josh are finally beginning to see the reality of their actions, while Paula and Greg are discovering that their best friends aren't great at all.
There's a lot to talk about, so let's dive right in!
Josh: That's what I love about you.
Rebecca: You love me?
Josh: Love ABOUT you.
Josh seems to have abandoned his parents' home, and has made himself comfortable at Rebecca's place.
But Rebecca is NOT his girlfriend. He makes that very clear.
While Rebecca thinks that having Josh around will help their relationship grow, it actually does more damage that good. Josh doesn't seem to want to spend time with Rebecca outside of the bedroom. It's pretty crappy on his part, especially given that he's not in the dark about her feelings for him.
Josh is taking advantage of Rebecca, whether he sees it that way or not. His actions are straight up selfish.
Josh: I was the one with the fake ID in high school. At every party I would dare you to drink the whole bottle because I thought it was funny or something. God, I don't know if I can live with myself anymore.
White Josh: Weirdly, this isn't about you.
Josh's selfishness isn't just a problem with Rebecca.
When Greg confesses that he's an alcoholic to his friends, Josh somehow turns the situation around to make it about himself. (How very 'Rebecca' of him. Maybe they are meant to be!)
He's not able to just listen to Greg, and offer support. Instead, he essentially asks Greg to absolve him of guilt, making himself the one who needs to be supported.
But it doesn't end there; Josh can't stop for a second to think about how his confession will affect those around him. He only knows that he doesn't want to feel guilty anymore; the only thing that matters to Josh is his own happiness and relief.
It doesn't make a difference that he's making Greg feel extra crappy.
Maybe this is the crux of Josh Chan - he's driven by his selfishness.
So Greg knows that you and Rebecca are together? Oh no – Greg is probably freaking out.
White Josh
Maybe I'm a little judgey, just like White Josh, because I felt exactly the same way he did about Josh telling Greg that he and Rebecca have been sleeping together.
Give it up for White Josh, the voice of reason on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Rebecca and Josh ARE horny bastards.
White Josh is the only one of Greg's closest friends who seems to genuinely care about the situation at hand.
While Hector keeps forgetting how to be a good friend to Greg without involving booze, and Josh can't stop making Greg's alcoholism about himself, White Josh is there to see things clearly and remind his friends that Greg's situation is serious, even turning Josh and Rebecca away from helping to find Greg when he goes missing - again.
White Josh has come so far since the days when he was a one note "bro" who stupidly ran circles in Rebecca's empty kitchen. We'd all be so lucky to have a friend like White Josh.
And Darryl, his equally genuine boyfriend.
Tim: What's with [Paula]?
Darryl: I don't know but I'll find out. I'm her best friend. Everyone knows that, right?
Tim: Everyone knows you say it.
Darryl is the unsung hero of the episode for Paula, the only friend she has who TRULY puts her needs first.
All that Paula wants from Rebecca is a letter of recommendation for law school. It's a simple request, something that should have easily taken her an afternoon to write.
Rebecca lets herself get caught up in schemes with Josh (again) and forgets to write the letter. Surprise, surprise.
But Darryl didn't. He had a letter written and ready to go for Paula the second he found out the was applying to law school. Darryl has always applauded Paula for her work, and constantly praises her.
Darryl considers Paula and Rebecca to be his best friends, something he made clear during Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 1 Episode 18 when he insisted that they end their fight because of how much it tore him apart to see them both so miserable.
It's an interesting dynamic that exists in these two circles of friends - they're mirror images.
Rebecca and Josh are both the alphas, the center of their friendships; both selfish, expecting their friends to be lackeys at their whim and command.
Paula and Greg have both been looking to better themselves, but stuck on exactly how to do it, so they resign themselves to their current circumstances, stuck in beta mode -- until one day they decide to change the game, and do that thing they didn't have the courage to do before.
Darryl and White Josh are both the voices of reason, the only genuine ones of the group, lending their kindness and support when things go awry. And Mrs. Hernandez and Hector exist to round out the groups and provide some comedy.
Maybe this dream won't poop on my face, like a seagull at the beach.
Paula
I really love the journey that Paula is taking this season, and I'm actually surprised that she's sticking to her friendship contract with Rebecca. Their dynamic shift really does change the show. Rebecca somehow seems wackier when she needs to perform her own shenanigans, like hiring a child to teach her to be a ping-pong champion.
Paula's princess-inspired song is full of hilarious jokes that will bring you to tears. But it also finishes with a line that brought me to tears in a different way.
Paula actually believed that she wasn't worthy of having a dream because she's been second-fiddle for so long. With her husband, as a mom, at work, in her friendship with Rebecca - applying to law school is the scariest and bravest thing that Paula has ever done.
I really applaud the writers for following Paula home, and showing that her relationship to her husband is just as meaningful as those breakroom donut chats were with Rebecca. Her husband calls it the way it is. He thinks Paula makes too many excuses for Rebecca. He's encouraging and loving, a departure from the uncomfortable relationship we saw them in during Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 1.
Chase down the regret with some gin for good luck, then steal my cousin Jim's landscaping truck, drive home, then I puke on my cat, my cat, I puke on my cat. I fall through the doorway and puke on my cat. Poor little Bruno did not expect that. I try for the toilet, but puke on my cat.
Greg
Greg's Irish not-drinking song makes light of Greg's more embarrassing drunk moments, but also highlights the underlying sadness of what Greg was doing, like peeing on himself, and puking on his cat - and in his friends' cars. Greg was a human disaster.
Greg is pretty confident when he shares his news with his friends. He wants things to remain as normal as they can. Greg truly believes that nothing needs to change, only his connection to alcohol.
But news of Rebecca and Josh being together DOES change things for him, and for the future of his recovery.
He can't make sarcastic jokes about how he feels and play it all off like it doesn't mean anything to him. This is the girl he LOVED and his best friend. That's not something that Greg can just be okay with. It's a deep betrayal.
Heather comes in for the win with her reaction to the news - she NEEDS Greg to be mad. It's important to HER.
Greg: You know that time when we went out after seeing your friends terrible band and you ordered french fries, and I ate all of them because I was wasted? When I think of myself doing that I am… that was so selfish of me. And I'm sorry.
Heather: Wow, I'm really glad you reached out about that.
Greg: You are?
Heather: No, I don't remember that at all, but I will take your french fry apology and apply it to other stuff.
It's so easily forgotten due to the Greg-Rebecca-Josh triangle, but Greg and Heather dated, it was actually kind of sweet, and he broke her heart because he was in love with Rebecca.
Heather forces Greg to deal with Rebecca and Josh, but her words are also important for him moving forward: it's okay to feel things and still be recovering. Just because alcohol can't be his numbing crutch, doesn't mean he should pretend he's fine when he isn't.
And when Greg punches a wall and goes missing, I admit, I thought surely Greg would backslide and drink again.
But he didn't. Instead, he went and sat at a duck pond.
Progress.
The funny thing is - and not haha funny, sad funny - the reason I got a DUI is because I was driving over the next morning to tell you that I loved you. But I blew my shot, and that's my fault. Life went on without me. And you and Josh? You should be happy together. You're happy, right?
Greg
And of course, Rebecca ignored White Josh's warning, and went out in search of Greg, using her shenanigans for good this time to find him.
Because she DOES care about Greg. (She kept his sweatshirt, don't forget.)
They talk about their situations honestly, without walls or pretenses. And Greg tells her that he was on his way to tell her that he loved her when he got arrested for his DUI.
All that Rebecca wanted at that wedding was to tell Greg that she was falling in love with him. But he got drunk, she saw an opportunity with Josh, and fast forward to present day.
Rebecca isn't happy, and that realization is so apparent on her face. She knows that Josh doesn't treat her well. (He's selfish, remember?) And for a split second, she sees what she could have had with Greg if things had been different.
Ugh. The feels.
Rebecca does get straight with Josh. She can easily tell him that she lied about being a ping-pong champion and about her love of video games because the big lie is already out between them. And Josh is too absorbed in his video game (now that he can focus on it guilt-free) to take in the heaviness of her request.
So naturally, she goes back to her room to snuggle up with Greg's sweatshirt. I can't say I blame her at all after their conversation.
It looks like Rebecca is a ping-pong master after all - that is, when it comes to this far-from-over love triangle between Greg and Josh.
Odds and Ends:
- Rebecca humming "I Give Good Parent" while making the Noodle Kugel.
- The organist played "There Goes the Bride" at Paula's wedding.
- That sad "I Have Friends" cue playing after Paula rejects Darryl's letter.
- Rebecca found Greg at the duck pond, and I couldn't help but remember the line from "Oh My God, I Think I Like You" that went, "getting married on a hillside, surrounded by ducks." That seems pretty intentional, no?
Should Rebecca kick Josh to the curb and go back to Greg, and should Greg even want that? Is Josh going to change for Rebecca? Are you mad that Rebecca took too long to write the letter for Paula? Sound off below!
Remember, you can always watch Crazy Ex-Girlfriend right here at TV Fanatic!
Be sure to head back next week for our review of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 2 Episode 3, "All Signs Point to Josh...Or Is It Josh's Friend?" airing on November 4th at 9/8c on The CW!
