Crazy Ex-Girlfriend season 2 episode 9 review: When Do I Get To Spend Time With Josh?

This article comes from Den of Geek UK.

This review contains spoilers.

2.9 When Do I Get To Spend Time With Josh?

Two very different things happened at the same time in this episode, and both of them were kind of scary.

First, there was the story thing. After receiving a surprisingly generous cash offer, Rebecca’s boss Darryl sold half of his share of Whitefeather and Associates to Plimpton, Plimpton and Plimpton, meaning one of the Plimptons, Nathaniel, turned up in West Covina to take charge of the business. And ‘taking charge’ meant trying to turn it into an actual functioning law firm. So no more duvet days for Rebecca, and if the firm couldn’t come up with an extra $250k by the end of the week, someone was going to get fired.

It’s a storyline you’ve seen a thousand times before, of course, but the Crazy Ex-Girlfriend version involved grave-robbing, show tunes, and even a cameo from Patton Oswalt as an aquarium obsessive, so it’s not like you could accuse anyone of running out of ideas here. Plus it was nice to see Rebecca doing some actual work, and the supporting Whitefeather and Associates cast are always a joy to check in with.

Rebecca’s relationship with Josh also took an unexpected turn in this episode, thanks to her nasty new boss. Not only did Becks have to cancel her water park date with Josh to go to work, but Nathaniel’s disdain for Josh seemed to rub off on her, to the point where she couldn’t even stand to listen to him talk at a family dinner. (Another shout-out for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s supporting cast here – Josh’s parents are an endless delight.) Nathaniel might be evil, but he’s also got a preternaturally symmetrical face and a Stanford degree, and it looks like that might push Rebecca to reassess what it is she’s really looking for in a relationship. Josh is nice and all, but are they really a good match?

That’s the real question at the heart of season two, the thing the first few episodes promised to address and then never quite got around to, so while it might feel like we’re retreading old ground here a little bit, it also feels good that we’re finally seeing Rebecca face up to the reality behind all her fantasies.

Like the previous episode, this was classic Crazy Ex-Girlfriend – it was funny, dramatic, and seemed to actually move the plot along. But then there’s the other thing.

The other thing was basically summed up in the episode’s only full song, Who’s The New Guy? Isn’t it a bit late to be introducing new characters and storylines, just four episodes from the end of this season? Are we going to have to care about a new person – a rich, straight, white guy, at that? Is this a desperate bid to improve the show’s ratings before everyone involved loses their jobs? Isn’t Rebecca’s cleavage enough?!

It’s kind of frustrating to think about ratings from a UK perspective, because no matter how much we love the show from this side of the pond, we’re not really affecting anything. (Well, except Netflix’s streaming stats.) But clearly, if you look at Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s ratings this season, they’re… not great. Partly that’s because it’s been moved to a different timeslot, and anything on a Friday night is going to struggle, but maybe it’s also because this show is kind of a hard sell. It’s a comedy! About mental illness! But it’s romantic and it has songs! Maybe I’m just not good at elevator pitches, but it feels like finding the hook that’d persuade someone to watch it isn’t easy.

But how heartbreaking would it be if the last four episodes of season two turned out to be the last four episodes, ever? Donna Lynn Champlin and Rachel Bloom have already said that season two ends on a cliffhanger, which means if the show gets cancelled, we’ll be left hanging forever. That only makes the bleak prospect of a world without new Crazy Ex-Girlfriend seem even crueller.

Maybe this season will get another ton of awards nominations and that’ll help make up for the less-than-spectacular numbers? Or maybe if the CW does decide not to renew it (look what just happened! – Ed) for another season, Netflix could save the day? Let’s all cross our fingers – and do our best to bully our friends into watching it. It’s gotta be easier than grave-robbing.