Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Review: All Signs Point to Josh… Or is it Josh’s Friend? (Season 2 Episode 3)

Ah, signs.

In times of absolute uncertainty, the universe will never fail to point us toward the answer we really want.

Rebecca continues being the relatable-type-of-insane that defines Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 2 Episode 3, subverting the title by honoring it.

After all, we’ve all been there.

Jane the Virgin discussed “recognizing the signs” of love last season. Just today, my best friend saw 4 Huskies and thought the universe was directing her toward buying a dog (which, I gotta say, is pretty convincing).

But Rebecca Bunch goes from “recognizing” the signs to actively searching for them, and uses these clues to find herself in the middle of love’s most desirable shape, a triangle.

Problem is, the other two angles have no idea.

Rebecca: Now that you’re in recovery, you seem like a really viable alternative!

The fundamental problem here is that Rebecca’s delusion takes over the minute either of them show interest in her.

Last week, Greg admitted that he loved Rebecca and, in typical Rebecca fashion, she took those love kernels and popped them into an Orville Redenbacher bowl of romantic fantasy.

Thus, Rebecca spends the rest of the episode fully regressing from the progress she seemed to have made in the last two episodes. Hence the trip back to Dr. Akopian.

Dr. Akopian: Is it even ethical to keep taking her money?

Unfortunately, Rebecca shows an incapability of treating either Josh or Greg as actual people, with flaws and desires of their own. Instead, she sees them as infallible ideas and swoonable concepts.

Even pregnancy is more of an ideal, a sign pointing toward Josh than it is a, y’know, huge friggin’ responsibility. It’s a problem Rebecca’s had since day one.

“All Signs Point to Josh… Or is it Josh’s Friend?” plays with the idea that this show has been renewed, despite underwhelming Season 1 ratings (but critical acclaim), and makes sure to remind the audience at all turns that Rebecca’s journey toward happiness and self-actualization will always end in failure.

Even when she ends up with Greg, arguably the better choice between the two men, she’s still not where she ought to be.

And that’s where this gets frustrating. How does one build a show on the premise that the lead character will continually make the same mistakes?

Well, sometimes it takes a bit of meandering.

“All Signs Point to Josh…” seems to amble around waiting for the credits to roll, from the one full minute “Previously On…” segment, to the scene changes that focused a little too long on the scenery, to the 39 minute running time (a standard television episode usually runs about 42 without commercials).

The upside to these same, silly mistakes, however, comes in the form of easter eggs for longtime fans of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. During several scenes, iconic songs from the show’s first season can be heard in the non-diegetic background score, including:

• “Stupid Bitch” when Josh breaks it off with Rebecca.
• “Settle For Me” when Rebecca runs into Greg on the bridge at WiJo’s park.
• “I Have Friends” when Darryl tasks Paula to say that they’re best friends.

I’ll choose to think of these as “signs” that the writers are aware that we’re going in circles in terms of Rebecca’s mental health.

(And I know that in reality, mental health issues certainly can’t be solved in a month, but it’s difficult to watch it on a TV show. No wonder no character deals with hardcore grief for more than two episodes.)

Speaking of signs, Paula’s hopes and dreams were dashed by the sign of the pregnancy cross. My issue with this particular storyline is the dreaded “A” word, or the lack thereof.

Paula spends the episode worrying about what she’ll do if she turns out to be pregnant and never once brings up having an abortion as an option. Is she anti-abortion and flat out refuses to consider it? Is she pro-abortion but can’t afford the procedure/medication?

The unexpectedly pregnant situation paints the usually incredibly resourceful Paula into a corner and doesn’t explain why. There’s a chance Rebecca may present her this option in next week’s episode, but for me, now, it strikes me as something she would have considered  (and ruled out, presumably) by now.

Last but not least, our recovering alcoholic Greg gets the shock of his life when suddenly and almost magically—as though the writers needed a reason to get this moving quickly—he’s gifted with enough money to pursue his dreams after all this time.

If you couldn’t pick up the skepticism in my tone, there was skepticism in my tone.

Did he actually apply to Emory? Where is he going to live? Why is moving across the country with only one suitcase? Why even bother with this storyline so quickly?

Ah. Who knows? Judging by a clip from the trailer for next week’s episode, Greg might not even make it on that plane.

Musical Numbers

“The Math of Love Triangles”

(Side Note: This makes me miss SMASH.)

“Period Sex”

Sh*t Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Characters Say

• Rebecca: “So, I’m a triangle?” Chorus: “What? No.”
• Chorus: “Lady, we’re all gay. We get nothing out of this.”
• Greg: “He once served cheese and crackers to me on a frisbee.”
• Guardrail: “He’s an actuary. Be careful about stereotyping, k?”
• Josh’s face while Rebecca went to pee.
• Rebecca: “Plus our mutual periods might attract vultures.”
• Paula: “My dad was right. I’m a breeder, not a leader.” Scott: “That’s a weird saying.”

Overall, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend continues its quirky humor—Guardrail is my new favorite character in existence—but ultimately, it seems as though the only stories in which we’ve moved forward went entirely too fast.

And not enough WiJo.

What did you think of this episode of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend? Ever see definite for-sure signs where there were none? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Crazy Ex-Girlfriend airs Fridays at 9/8c on The CW.

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