Season 2 picks up right around where season 1 left off with Rebecca finally admitting to Josh why she moved to West Covina after they have finally acted on their feelings. Well, it picks up 15 minutes later to be exact and the twosome are driving and a very freaked out Josh asks Rebecca if she really meant what she said 15 minutes ago. I was almost proud of Bex when she admitted she did mean it, but then of course she tried to downplay it a bit and say that if Ruben Fishwell from camp had bumped into her that day she would've followed himm so it's not isolated to just Josh. I was really hoping she was going to start being a bit more honest now that she finally has what she wants because there was truth to this statement, but instead she chooses to turn it around on Josh and make Josh seem like the one being weird and creepy. (I did belly-laugh at her you did me so good line.) Her evasiveness seems to work though as three weeks later, they are still making the beast with two backs with each other. What they are not doing though is actually sleeping together. Josh is actually crashing at Rebecca's place since Valencia got the apartment in the breakup(Where was Valencia, I actually missed her so much!) but when it comes down to do some post sex cuddlin', he'd rather not because it keeps things simple if they have sex and he goes and sleeps on the couch.
Paula tells Rebecca the whole thing between Josh and Rebecca is ridiculous and she tells Rebecca that the whole fantasy life she built with Josh came tumbling down when she actually admitted the truth that night. Rebecca is, of course, in denial because not only did she fix it with him by making him think he was in the wrong, Josh just recently accepted Rebecca's offer for him to have a drawer at her place. (A situation that got a bit awkward when Josh found Greg's Emory sweater in there and Rebecca quickly tried to lie about it). We then find out that Rebecca hasn't heard from Greg since he left the wedding and sent her a text that he was going to see his mom who was getting some work done, but Rebecca says she's over it and that it's cool. (It's not, we all know Bex's default mode is to lie) Paula is over Rebecca's ping-ponging of her feelings and reveals that she's kind of over believing in Josh and Rebecca. (You, me and the a lot of other people! I just don't get those two) Paula tells Bex that Josh doesn't care about her the way she cares about him, but Rebecca thinks that him accepting the drawer means that he does. Which leads us to our first full musical number of the season, "Love Kernels", and I am instantly reminded why Rachel Bloom won the Golden Globe and why I tolerate the Rebecca-Josh Romance. I thought this was a really strong number to truly open the season with. They lyrics were great and the visuals were great which really isn't anything new for this show. (I loved the whole we wasted our budget on this video and Darryl is now played by a stick) So I'm giving "Love Kernels" an A+.
Rebecca goes to Paula for help to find Greg, who is really trying to stay out of her schemes no matter how much she flirts with her. They are interrupted by the beauty that is White Josh bringing his man Darryl lunch. Darryl gives White Josh the key to his apartment (He already has his own dresser!) and it's all super cute and Rebecca tells Paula just really wants what they have with Josh but first she needs to find Greg.(TOO BAD! Their love is one of a kind. I loved Darryl's pun about the key btw.) I could really just watch an entire episode about the two of them. Paula succumbs to Bex's Bambi eyes and uses some software to track down Greg's frequent locations using his cell phone. Rebecca kisses Paula and calls her sexy and I start to see a problem. I know there's talk that Rebecca and Paula are the true OTP of the show and I kind of support that...as friends. Yet I know there is a portion of fans who think it's more than that and I feel like this part was written in to please those fans and I am honestly not a fan because it felt so disingenuous and out of touch from what their relationship is. Rebecca drags Paula to help her find Greg and it turns Greg is now in AA. At first Rebecca is like Greg isn't an alcoholic, but a stern look from Paula and some quick reflection proves otherwise. They hide and hear Greg basically fill us in on what when down and where he's been.
Greg confesses that he got arrested the morning after he passed out at the wedding because he was still a little drunk when he got pulled over. He went to court and ended up having to attend mandated AA meetings. He admits that he originally just wanted to get in and do the meetings and eventually go back to life as it was before where he was mad at everyone else, but he realizes now that he had just been mad at himself. He admits he is an alcoholic and that he's not angry anymore since he realized that(except a guys who wear skinny jeans). I loved Paula's "Really Gurl?" look at Rebecca when she asked her if she thought now would be a bad time to tell her about her and Josh. Greg's revelation leads Paula to one of her own, she thinks that Rebecca and her relationship drama is a drug for her and she has to find something else for herself to stop her from going down that slope. The next day she goes to see Rebecca, who is rambling on about some sky writing scheme to tell Greg the truth about her and Josh and serves her a contract. Paula tells Rebecca that she will be there to listen and give advice but she's no longer participating in her schemes. Rebecca is of course a bit hurt by the fact that they need a friendship contract because she thinks it means that Paula doesn't trust her but Paula assures her it isn't about that. Rebecca, impressed by the actual language of the contract, signs it. Paula then rides that high of impressing Rebecca with her contract skills to apply to law school to find that missing piece of herself.
Final Thoughts: I thought this was a really great opener. I think we all were a bit worried about how the show would go forward once Rebecca and Josh finally got together, but I think we can relax. The show on the surface seems so simple, but it is actually rather complex in its study of human relationships and illness and there's no way a romance between Rebecca and Josh could be a anything other than complicated. Rebecca has a lot of anxiety that she thinks Josh can fix, Josh has self esteem issues and has been in a relationship half of his life and in the end the whole no sex because of Greg thing really was just a scapegoat for them to blame their hesitance on. I find myself really drawn in by Greg's new story and I can't wait to watch Santino knock it out of the park taking this character on this journey. I think it's so real to see someone slowly realize that they are the problem in their own life and they need to fix it and hopefully one day we'll see that with Rebecca and Josh. I already noted that I loved Paula's realization as well, so I won't say much else about it. I just think this premiere was a really fine example of why people love this show, it's funny, a bit ridiculous but also relate-able and while we can't say we are all just like Rebecca because she is a bit extreme, I do think there are parts of us in not only here but all of these characters. Though in the end, what we really need from season 2 though is more Darryl and White Josh. B.
Confession, I didn't enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed the premiere. I just wasn't a fan of Rebecca's scheme of the week. I did like the end results, I just wasn't a fan of the whole ping-pong to get there. We open with Greg at group saying that alcohol made him feel invincible, at least until 27 days ago. After group he talks to man named Guardrail (because he was in a Biker gang and protective of his drugs) who presumably runs the group. Guardrail cautions him that he remembers feeling like he once felt and he wasn't prepared for that feeling to go away but it does go away. Greg thinks he won't relapse or stop coming to meetings and he even offers to bring the donuts to the next meeting, which Guardrail agrees to, but also lets him know they really love their donuts foreshadowing the fact that Greg will in fact not follow through with bringing the donuts. Meanwhile, Josh and Rebecca appear to be making strides as he comes home to her place after karate and plants a kiss on her and she exclaims that she's cooked for him. (It's a family recipe) Josh has had a sushi burrito so he can't eat the Jewish noodles and Rebecca being her typical self afraid of doing or saying anything to push Josh away says it's okay, though she's clearly slightly bothered. Her being cool is with things like that is what Josh loves about her though(Calm yourself Bex, he said what he loves about you, not that he loves you), he likes that they can't do their own things, independent of each other. Rebecca then tries to get him to hang out with her that night, but he's got plans. So she shoots for Friday and he's like, no I have plans then as well to go to a ping-pong cocktaileria with the guys. (He seriously has plans to go to a ping-pong cocktaileria and I am still confused as to how I was even shocked a place like this exists in West Covina)
This of course leads Rebecca to turn on her default function, lie. She tells Josh she was some sort of ping-pong champion in her youth, so he invites her to come out with them and give them some pointers. Rebecca is all coy and tells him she's rusty, but sure. The next day at work a happy Paula(Darryl vows to other guys in the office to figure out what has his best friend so happy) strolls into Rebecca's office and asks what's up. Rebecca tells her if she told her the whole story she'd be violating their friend contract (Who'd of thought there would be another scripted show aside from the Real Housewives of Atlanta that would feature a friendship contract) but basically she has to become a ping-pong prodigy by Friday. Paula brushes that off with ease and tells Bex that's she applying for law school. The two share a genuine moment of happiness followed by Paula asking her to write her a letter of recommendation which she needs by Friday. Rebecca agrees, and we know this is a bad idea, and I'm sure that on some level Paula knows it is too, but she doesn't say anything instead she's more excited that her dreams are coming true. Which leads to the musical number "Maybe This Dream" (OMG....THESE LYRICS THOUGH. 'Maybe this dream won't be like my vibrator, dying when I need it most' Dump Cramps and Pee Cramps????) which featured some pretty great lyrics and a nice medley. While I love me a Paula solo because Donna Lynne Champlin always brings it when she performs, this one just wasn't my favorite. B.
Josh meets Pastor Bro over boba and is essentially looking for him to validate his reasoning to not tell Greg about him and Rebecca. Pastor Bro thinks it's pretty valid for him to wait, but of course Josh gets nervous when he sees Greg also getting boba with Heather. ( I loved these two and while they are no Greg and Rebecca, I hate they ended the way they did) Greg is there to apologize to Heather for the time he got drunk and ate all of the fries she ordered. ( I love how Heather is just like, I'll take that apology and apply it elsewhere, because really Greg? Really?) Josh heads over and says hi, and Greg tells him that he was sorry to hear about him and Valencia and asks Josh where he's even staying. Unlike Rebecca, Josh's default function isn't to lie, so when he starts lying, he fails miserably at it and just eventually blurts out that he slept with Rebecca at the wedding. Greg is all cool and says that makes sense (Heather aka my spirit animal is like Wow, Josh you're so good at keeping secrets) and that he doesn't blame them because he had blacked out in a pool of his own vomit. Josh then reveals that it was actually more than once and that he is currently staying with Rebecca. Greg is surprisingly cool and even bro-hugs Josh. He tells Heather that he and Rebecca were in an undefined relationship and that he's good when she comments on how unemotional about it he seems, but we see that he is actually upset because he ends up putting his fist through a wall when he gets to work.
Rebecca finds Greg using the same system Paula used in the premiere and what unfolds is actually a rather sweet and adult conversation between the two of them. She apologizes for how he found out about her and Josh and Greg tells her he almost had a drink when he found out, but instead he punched a wall. He was proud he didn't use the alcohol to block his emotions and I got to say I was really touched on how real it felt to hear him admit that. She apologizes because Greg breaking her heart shouldn't excuse her sleeping with Josh and not telling him, but Greg tells her it's okay. He knew she wanted Josh and even told her when they met he was only interested because she wasn't interested though he does find it funny that he was on his way to her apartment to tell her he loves her when he got his DUI. (A sign they weren't meant to be? At least for now...) He admits it is was fault and that she and Josh should be happy together. He asks if Josh treats her well, and it's back to default Rebecca mode and she lies and says yes, and Greg is okay because it seems to have all worked out. (This was so mature and so adult and one of the best examples of how well this show does the complexity of human emotions) Xiao shows up and ruins the moment though because he needs a ride home.
Elsewhere, Paula is making excuses for Rebecca and why she hasn't written the letter yet, and how she's making more excuse than she would for their own kids. (Rebecca is better than them, she didn't pull a knife on Aunt June) Steve says that she has to come through because she owes Paula,but Paula says she doesn't owe her because she's her friend. Though doubt creeps in and Paula starts to think Rebecca hasn't written it because she thinks the whole thing is dumb and now Paula starts to think it's dumb. Steve tells her that her dream is not dumb and he's sure Rebecca doesn't think that either. The next day, Rebecca comes in and gives Paula her letter of recommendation and Paula reveals how she almost gave up because she thought Rebecca doubted her. (I really hate that for Paula, because she's always so strong and her self worth should not rely on the opinion of someone like Rebecca)Rebecca tells Paula that her recent conversation with Greg has let her know that changing your life can be hard and that you deserve support when you do it, so she wants to be there for Paula. Paula loves Rebecca's letter, but she had to use Darryl's because he actually had his ready in time like a good friend would. Greg shows up to the next AA meeting with super expensive donuts (Not enough dinosaurs in his dozen though) as a way of apologizing for letting Guardrail down. Guardrail says it's okay, just next time bring what you're supposed to bring, well better yet just show up.
Final Thoughts: If this episode was written to showcase all the reasons why Josh and Rebecca shouldn't be together, then it succeeded. I found myself going from pained disinterest at their pairing to glaring disgust by the end of this episode. Not only is Rebecca not a priority for Josh, she's not even her best self around him. She was more honest in her one conversation with Greg than she was the whole episode with Josh. I think the show has a long way to go to convince me that Rebecca and Josh is more than just wishful thinking. There's something so interesting about how Rebecca is with these two men. It's like around Josh she's trying to force herself to be what she thinks she should be, but with Greg she's who she really is. Her one conversation with Greg inspired her to be more honest with Josh and be a better friend to Paula. I wasn't a fan of the whole I'm going to impress Josh with Ping-Pong story line either. It just felt out of place and the ping-pong number was just hard to watch.I really want more for Paula than to be so reliant on what Rebecca thinks of her so this was most certainly a step in the right direction watching her confront that. What I'm loving about season 2 so far is how well it's handling the discovery of self, especially with Paula and Greg and I can't wait to see where it goes. I know Hector wants to know why all his friends love Rebecca, but I'm still stuck on why anyone loves Josh to even think about it. Hopefully we get answers on both fronts, because I'm loving what season 2 has been offering so far. B.
p.s Where is Valencia and can we get more Darryl and White Josh?
What did you think off these two episodes? Are you buying the Rebecca and Josh romance? How would you rate the musical numbers? Do you like the new theme song? Sound Off Below!
The next episode of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend , All Signs Point to Josh...or is it Josh's Friend? airs Friday 11/4 on the CW.
