Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - Josh is Irrelevant - Review

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is really doing some if it's best work in this last stretch of episodes. I've found myself dealing with an increasingly renewed interest with the show, and I'm finally getting answers to questions about Rebecca that I have had since season 1. Josh is Irrelevant may have Josh in the title, but true to the title he really is irrelevant in this episode. Coming off the heartbreak that was Rebecca's mom sneaking Rebecca medication after seeing her suicide research and Rebecca's subsequent suicide attempt and cry for help, I thought the show was doing a great service for mental health by taking the steps to destigmatize mental health diagnoses. Everyone this week was dealing with the aftermath of Rebecca's suicide attempt in their own way; Paula became a helicopter friend, Valencia took the tragedy and turned into a movement despite Heather's disgust and Nathaniel was compelled to face old family secrets.

The Rebecca we first met at the beginning of season 1 was working hard at a dead end job and taking meds that made her blue. She believed that she suffered from depression, anxiety and OCD, and she had seen several doctors, but received the same type of diagnosis with different treatments never getting any better. I can't even think of the right sentence to accurate sum up the entire messed up situation that she's now in. It took this suicide attempt to finally shed some light on the fact that she has been miss diagnosed all along. I can't begin to put myself in those shoes, but I can only think that if you've gone through life being told/thinking something is wrong with you and nothing you seemed to be doing to help was working, you'd be as hopeful as Rebecca was when it came to hearing her new diagnosis. There's a lot I can;t say that I have experienced first hand, I have had family members who have received diagnoses and I have freaked out with them and googled with them, but to be the one with the actually diagnosis has to be immensely more stressful than I can even imagine. Rebecca immediately goes and googles her new diagnosis (Borderline Personality Disorder) that Dr. Dan gives her. Rebecca takes her new diagnosis as a sign that she is truly is broken. I really wish that Paula would take some counseling to truly get to the bottom of her obsessive enabling and coddling of Rebecca. It's at Paula's nudging that gets Rebecca to go see Dr. Akopian with hopes that there is a misdiagnosis, but Dr. A stands strong and instead gives Rebecca a checklist of systems that leads Rebecca to realize that the diagnosis is right. I like that show decided to give Rebecca BPD and note that it is one of the mental health misdiagnoses that is more frequently misdiagnosed and confused with others. The whole bathroom scene is one of may favorite scene form season 3. I love that this show is always taking us back to the bathroom. ( A missed opportunity for Trapped in the Bathroom Part 2)

As everyone starts to panic and Rebecca can't promise that she won't hurt herself (put down the nail clippers) and Heather gets an axe, I can't help but think of how on guard my family was when we found out my sister's diagnosis and her the beginning stages of her struggle. We were taking shifts watching her, and just checking on her constantly. Valencia's breakdown was surprising, but I thought it fit well with the flow of the episode. It also opened my mind to the burden that people with diagnosis must bear, that they have to get better for the other people in their lives and not just themselves. Rebecca ends up accepting her diagnosis and heading to therapy. Speaking of accepting, the other story in the episode revolved around Nathaniel trying to figure why he can't reconcile his feelings over Rebecca's suicide attempt. I liked learning a bit more about Nate's past, no matter how disconnected this piece of the puzzle felt from the main story, I know that it will end up tying into it. Nate's mom admitting her accidental overdose but telling him that she is not in that dark place anymore, could just be the push he'll need to know that Rebecca can also recover and not be in a dark place and possibly even love him back one day.

Final Thoughts: The show has really been on fire with this last string of episodes. I know I was hard on the show in the beginning of the season, but these past 4 episodes have given me a renewed faith in the show. I think the cast and crew have put a lot of thought into how they wanted to portray this storyline. I like that care was given to this plot and that they took the time to focus on the thought process of how a diagnosis can affect someone and those closest to them. Finally, Rebecca is looking into the eye of the storm and seeing hope inside and seeking help. I've always believed that Josh was merely a scapegoat for her larger issues, and I'm glad this episode featured so little of him, because he really is irrelevant at this point. I like that in one episode they gave us a realistic look at BPD diagnosis and outcomes and just the reality of metal health disorders in general in such a brilliant way when most shows wouldn't even attempt as much, and so while the title may feature the word irrelevant this episode was far from it. A.

Grading the Songs
A Diagnosis - A. Amazing. Iconic. Spectacular.

This is My Movement - B. Funny, ran a bit long though.

What did you think of the shows take on mental health diagnoses? Are you excited to see Rebecca take her steps towards being better?

The Midseason finale of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, "Getting Over Jeff" airs 12/8 on the CW.