Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Review: I Need Some Balance (Season 4 Episode 9)

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 4 Episode 9, “I Need Some Balance,” gets deep into an exploration of what Rebecca’s vagina needs. It is clearly a pet project, and it provides saucers full of groundbreaking representation (let it be known, all puns in this article are intended).

Even though the feline fever dream of an episode isn’t strong on every front (the songs themselves and the Darryl story are meh), the power and vision it includes make it Emmy worthy and one of my favorites.

We tip our tiny top hat to you, NPH. 

Body Poli-lick 

One of my absolute favorite things about Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is how it lets women’s bodies be real bodies. I did not realize how ready I was to lap up this lady part-focused content until Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna gave us the first season where Rebecca gets a UTI, has period sex, and has some serious diarrhea. 

It is funny. Every time it is funny. 

But, it’s not just funny, it’s also political.

Women’s bodies have been objectified for so long, relegated to doll-like status and robbed of their ability to have needs, that to recognize a person’s vagina as an actual smelling, aching, hungry, dynamic, thing is to also give those traits to the character herself.  

“I Need Some Balance,” is dedicated to the needs of Rebecca’s vagina. This brings needed balance to the landscape of TV where we are accustomed to being pelted with the needs of men’s bodies, but not women’s. 

Stay with me for a moment as I tangent a bit. I have a point, I promise. 

When I was young, I loved Home Improvement. Jill, the wife of the man-child main character Tim, was pretty much my hero.

There is this one Home Improvement scene that has always stayed with me.

Jill and Tim are getting into bed for the evening. Tim is already under the covers and as Jill goes to join him, she folds back the comforter to get in, thereby releasing a cloud of fart that was trapped in there. Tim uses one of his classic voices to say “rut-row” as he takes credit for his smelly gas. 

Jill rolls her eyes and looks annoyed. Tim lifts the comforter up again and waves with his hand in an attempt to let the fart air out on his side of the bed. The studio audience goes wild with laughter. I will admit, I laughed too. Hard, I laughed real hard. Farts are funny! 

But, it always bothered me too. I  just never felt right laughing at the scene for some reason that I could never put my claw on. 

Here is where I bring it back to Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. 

The reason I could never feel quite right laughing with abandon at the marital fart bed was that Tim’s body was the only one that could be funny. Tim could be smelly, horny, and heart-warming. Jill could not. 

This is what I saw and see, in my own life too. Men can fart, get erections, have wet dreams, or be sweaty, and be funny or even sexy because of those things.

As a woman, my body’s functions bring shame. From period blood stains to queefing, my body has been told it is an embarrassment. 

But not on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. 

“I Need Some Balance,” is the crowning example of a woman’s body being able to function and have needs and make us laugh as a result.

Importantly, the episode never shames Rebecca or her body. 

REBECCA: Three days. That’s all it will take to clear up my salty business. 

When Not A Murderer tries to guess what fish the room smells like and comes up with a litter of random possibilities, the weight of the joke falls on him, not Rebecca’s body. It is not funny because vaginas are gross. It is funny because he doesn’t realize that what he’s smelling is an unbalanced vagina, not a pescatarian dish. 

Not A Murderer’s ignorance is the source of the humor and that neutralizes the odor of shame that typically accompanies women’s bodies. Helpfully, when Not A Murderer finds out it was vaginosis creating the smell, he is cool with that. He doesn’t shame at all. 

The truth is, women are not always controlled by feelings. Sometimes women think with their clitorises.

Rebecca experiences the episode through the lens of her pussy Cats, and it is a breath of fresh, albeit fishy, air.

She is in pain for some parts, but it’s not all discomfort. Importantly, Rebecca’s journey includes longing and elation too. She gives her genitalia the whole kitten-caboodle of complexity. 

For me, I find myself able to laugh with abandon at the bodily function humor and it finally feels right. 

Fit Hot Guys Get Representation Too

White Josh, played with ever-growing detail and excellence by David Hull, is the standout performance of the episode.

Even with the broadway ready dancing and impeccable costuming of the star-studded Cats, White Josh’s reaction to Nathaniel and Greg becoming gym-buddies reaches me more than anything else. 

His anguish is pawsitively relateable. The narration White Josh provides, so we know he knows what he should do and we know he knows how hard it is to stop the trainwreck, enhances the hilarity of his helplessness in preventing a fallout for his friends.   

It is also just so very sweet that White Josh’s reluctance to step-in comes from a place of great insight and care for his friends. He articulates for us something I’ve never heard articulated on TV before: Fit Hot Guys struggle to make friends, too. 

I love watching Greg and Nathaniel build a bond. Honestly, every second of their interactions works for me.

The only thing I don’t like is that the show didn’t find space to fit in a duet for them. Then again, I do love how furry-friend-centric the music on the episode is. 

I especially love how the two men paws when they are about to call women crazy, and instead replace it with something inclusive and empowering, like “the future is female.” The joke feels like it’s meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek and light. 

It lands so much more richly than that.

To hear positive, redeeming, empowering words makes me feel lighter and happier. It is a vision of what could be in our world if we stop bashing women and let me tell you, wow, words matter. My chest feels freer to breathe and the smile dances on my lips easily and warmly. 

Men agreeing to stop demeaning or blaming women in their language is a huge step and the episode really shows that the impact can be immediate for the audiences around us. 

I am very eager to learn how this impacts Rebecca, who we know has sung a “You Stupid Bitch,” narrative about herself in the past. How powerful will it be when she realizes that she isn’t “crazy” or a “bitch” to Nathaniel and Greg?

At this point in the series, the ship situation is wide open. Greg is ready to forgive Rebecca. Nathaniel is Nice Nathaniel now. Josh is still Josh, but now he wears undies around the house. 

I feel content regardless of how the love is levied by the end of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. That peace is a testament to the show because it means that each character has been developed such that no one is a mere part of a ship. There are whole in themselves and that is the purrfect way to close in on the finale. 

Rebencia

My burning affection for Valencia is no secret. She impresses and entertains me and “I Need Some Balance,” is no exception. 

The episode gives us quality Rebencia, Rebecca and Valencia, time. My favorite thing about this connection is how it highlights for us that women can be very different and all ways of being are equally valid. 

VALENICA: We are very different people. 

Valencia knows better than to buy 3 for $5 leggings and hop on a spin bike. But, Valencia gets yeast infections too. She just doesn’t talk about it and finds it gross. 

However, it is essential to notice that at no point does Valencia shame Rebecca for being different and handling the situation differently.

Once again, Valencia delivers that real-life wisdom that Rebecca, and we all, need. She shows us that it is okay, and even necessary, to point out difference. It is equally necessary to honor that difference by communicating honestly in the way that feels comfortable for the individual. 

I love how Valencia holds it down and gets things done while maintaining an equitable outlook on life. She even gives us a glimpse of her bisexuality by feeling that twinge of lust for Josh, who is indeed undeniably fine. 

Rebencia’s friendship is an underrated, but carefully developed relationship on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend that I hope grows even more prominent by the series finale. 

Crazy Talk

• Darryl’s story is a waste of an opportunity to explore the impact of family leave on a career. Jealous Darryl is just not that fun to watch.
• George’s super sensitive finger skin is surprisingly delightful to picture, even when it’s a bloody mess. 
• Paula would have been better served as part of team Rebecca on the episode. Or, perhaps in a separate story with Sunil. It seems a bit out of character for her to be so on board with Bert. 
• If I HAD to pick, I’m Team Nathaniel. I’m still caught up in the lusty “I Go To The Zoo.”
• The show acknowledging that Valencia has a backstory is good. Let’s get more of that. 
• Space Jam is THE JAM! That is the perfect first-date connection. 

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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