Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Review: I Never Want to See Josh Again (Season 3 Episode 5)

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 3 Episode 5 “I Never Want to See Josh Again” takes us to the bottom of Rebecca’s downward spiral.

The episode’s most important moment comes at the very end, when Rebecca swallows an entire bottle of anti-anxiety medicine that her mother Naomi has used to secretly drug her. Rebecca is drifting out of consciousness, and she looks up at the airplane’s call buttons. The “HELP” sign morphs into a “HOPE” sign and Rebecca finally, at very long last, asks for help.

It is a touching moment. At a time when representations of mental health issues are infrequent, especially for lead characters, it is risky to be too critical or harsh.

However, because of the significant investment in exploring the reality and stigma of being “crazy” — the show is named Crazy Ex-Girlfriend after all — I can’t help but be deeply disappointed in the episode that portrays Rebecca’s suicide attempt.

A feature flaw of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 3 Episode 4, “Josh’s Ex-Girlfriend is Crazy” and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 3 Episode 3, “Josh is a Liar” is the hyper-focus on Rebecca as a person with mental health issues — a “crazy” person, not a person who is abusive. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is strongest when it doesn’t actually focus on Rebecca at all, and Season 3 is obsessed with her.

If Rebecca were a man rather than a woman, her behavior and the characters’ reactions would obviously be horrid. I think her woman-ness is shielding the deeply disturbing nature of her actions and continued self-obsession.

On “I Never Want to See Josh Again” the rest of the cast is infected by the unlikeability that has characterized Rebecca for the whole season. It is very unfortunate that this new weakness appears on an episode that should be the most powerful and pivotal of the series.

Honestly, it is exhausting, because I have such high hopes and expectations for this incredible series. Yet, for the fourth episode in row, the most appropriate descriptor of the episode is disappointing.

Unlike the previous four episodes, the supporting characters are not given good songs or authentic emotions. It noticeably undermines the quality of the episode. I don’t like anyone.

Darryl has none of the softness or quirkiness that qualifies his more needy moments. And the low self-esteem displayed on “I Never Want to See Josh Again” goes directly against the development we saw in  Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 3 Episode 1, “Josh’s Ex-Girlfriend Wants Revenge,” where Darryl stands up for himself and declares his awesomeness.

Darryl knows his self-worth, and Rebecca leaving is not a good enough reason for him to become an entirely new person. It does not add up.

Maya is fierce. The last we saw her, she was slinging zingers about women’s periodicals and orgasms. It does not make sense that the second Rebecca leaves, Maya suddenly turns into a stereotypically millennial shell of a human being.

Rebecca is not the goddess of the office. And Maya is not an idiot. Giving her vapid lines that poke fun at wanting a mentor and vagazling is not funny. It insults those of us who have come to love the characters on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend who get little screen time but make a big impact.

Rebecca with her mother Naomi is a bright spot on the episode. It is truly sweet to see Naomi’s love for her daughter, even if it is expressed in deception and manipulation. I like how this works to subtly showcase how Rebecca’s mental illness is hereditary.

It is not enough to make the episode powerful or what it wants to be, but it is enough to keep hitting the “HELP” button — because there is “HOPE” for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend yet.

What did you think of this episode of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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Crazy Ex-Girlfriend airs Fridays at 8/7c on The CW.

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