Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Review: I’m Making Up for Lost Time (Season 4 Episode 4)

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 4 Episode 4, “I’m Making Up For Lost Time,” is a solid four pretzel episode. It slows down from its neck-breaking plot pace to zoom in on the reincarnation of young-Rebecca in the form of her child-star obsessed younger brother, Tucker.

Tucker is a bit of a mother-lucker, with a ton of talent. Really, Luca Padovan is so incredibly talented that he could sing songs for the entire hour and we would all be luckier for it.

The episode allows us to dig a bit deeper into Paula’s relationship with her sons and with motherhood itself, but it’s also a bit boring. That’s a natural result of getting viewers used to an action-packed hour of television. The more slow-roast pace is effective, but it’s also an adjustment.

In particular, the Nathaniel and Rebecca storyline is not well-suited for the choices on “I’m Making Up For Lost Time.” It does provide space for Rebecca’s strong declaration, about the limitations of their relationship, but it also is repeated territory.

Pravesh Cheena’s Sunil is a delight on the show who is underused as the sleuth. The Pink Panther tunes are fun and chuckle=worhty, but the competitive premise isn’t quite rich enough for these characters. At the end of the episode, I still don’t know who Sunil and Mrs. Fernandez are.

Maya and Sunil have commonalities with their experiences with survivors of suicide. Yet, we don’t have an idea of how Sunil has been impacted by the trauma he’s experienced. There is room to grow there and I hope we get a deeper dive into his character.

That is the thing about being an excellent show. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend sets the bar so high that we want each character to have the development and careful characterization that we enjoy from the leads.

It’s never not good. It’s just also not as good as it could be.

Then again, the slower pace provides an opportunity for some nuance and subtly that resonates more deeply than on other more plot-packed episodes.

I deeply appreciate the dig at the television industry that is interwoven into the episode. Rebecca comments on the fact that theater is the only place where female directors exist. The delightfully strange cameo of Tan France at the end of the episode reiterates the vocalized frustration with the misogynist lense the television industry has.

Even though it is peppered in lightly, the point is flavorful. Women directors are given shortchanged in this industry and it’s not really cool. Good point, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, good point.

I love Paula’s arc on the episode. It’s the strongest development.

Their escape room adventure reveals something very important: Paula’s motherhood is real.

Often, TV shows parenthood as either a constant after-school special or a punchline. The truth is it is weird and hard and unexpected and warm.

Paula learns that she doesn’t know her kids. Welcome to parenting. None of us know our kids all the time.

Like Paula, sometimes we take breaks to focus on ourselves and our own dreams. It is at once perfectly okay and perfectly entertaining that the Brothers Proctor are more complex and smart than Paula knew.

There is truly something refreshing and entirely new bout Paula. She is not a helicopter parent, but she’s not negligent either. She’s just real.

I am grateful that I get to see someone who reminds me of myself and how I grapple with parenting on my screen. I’m sure it isn’t in the budget, but wow would I have loved an escape room song.

I love the escape room guide.

Escape Room Guide: Like us, yelp us, kill me.

Rebecca Bunch’s journey is at the softest part of its pretzel. It makes for a very tender and delicious viewing experience. It is painful to watch her brother and Nathaniel take advantage of and manipulate her. However, it also allows Rebecca to show us how she’s grown.

There is no way Season 1 Rebecca would have called Tucker’s mom and their dad. There is no way Season 1 Rebecca would have been able to tell Nathaniel that they are not good for each other.

That is growth.

It is notable that Rebecca’s learning is helping little Tucker get to the place she is, but much earlier. They are so very related and she is helping him. That is meaningful and makes his quest for Peter Pan all the more meaningful.

I’m not sure where the show is going with Rebecca and Nathaniel, but I know that this show can be trusted. I am here for the twisted fate of these worthy characters.

Crazy Talk

• Heather casually walking into the scene for fridge treats is magic. It sets a pulse without doing much of all.
• I miss my favorites, Valencia, Darryl, and White Josh.
• Nathaniel’s, “I love Rebecca, but she’s basically a dramatic teenager,” is spot on and I love it.
• My favorite exchange in the entire episode is when Paula tells Rebecca that she probably has some more people with unfinished business. Her mom, her dad, the professor. And then also, of course, at some point we probably want to circle around to Greg. It is a brilliant way to showcase how far Rebecca has come and how far she has to go.

What did you think of this episode of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend? 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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