Rating: 4/5 stars
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” opened up its third season with a big-budget musical number featuring the entire cast, except, of course, for Josh Chan (Vincent Rodriguez III, “Designated Survivor”).
Because of the shocking twist at the season two finale, Rebecca Bunch (Rachel Bloom, “Bojack Horseman”) has channeled her inner “Basic Instinct” aesthetic and plots revenge on Josh. Bloom, who won a Golden Globe for the role in 2016, brings forth a Rebecca the audience has never seen. She is angry and vengeful, yet still perfectly captures the character. Part of what makes “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” funny is Rebecca’s cringeyness and obliviousness to her actions. The episode definitely brings out that aspect of the show.
While Rebecca plans revenge, Paula (Donna Lynne Champlin, “Mother’s Day”) deals with her life after her husband’s infidelity. Paula is a great asset to the show. It is rare for a woman over 40 to have such a sexual and complex role. Not to mention, Champlin is the best vocalist on the show. In season three, Paula is going to have to deal with her unstable marriage and being a friend and motherly figure to Rebecca, a woman who is clearly undergoing mental strain.
The new episode featured two new songs, “Where’s Rebecca Bunch?” and “Let’s Generalize about Men.” The original songs are one of the things that make “Crazy ExGirlfriend” such a unique show. “Where’s Rebecca Bunch?” started up the season in a medievalesque, “Beauty and the Beast”-type opener. “Let’s Generalize about Men” was probably the highlight of the episode. Rebecca, Paula, Valencia (Gabrielle Ruiz, “Sex, Love and Salsa”) and Heather (Vella Lovell, “The Big Sick”) make wide and biased generalizations about men to make themselves feel better. The song was funny and brought awareness to how women actually do make these claims, making it relatable to audiences and socially aware, three things that the show epitomizes.
Ever since Greg left (Santino Fontana, “Sisters”), “Crazy ExGirlfriend” took a while to find its focus again. The last season, though very good, struggled midway as they tried to fix the plot. Because of the new character, Nathaniel (Scott Michael Foster, “My Dead Boyfriend”), and the layers added to Rebecca’s character, the finale of season two propelled the show in finding its voice once again and promised to bring more engaging stories.
Season three has exceeded in doing just that. The story has only gotten more complex, and showrunners Aline Brosh McKenna (“Annie”) and Bloom have brought forth a very engaging, complicated musical comedy.
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” is the least-viewed show on network TV, despite critical acclaim. The show, in theory, does not seem that great. However, the show is about deconstructing the trope of a “crazy ex-girlfriend.” What makes her crazy? Who is she? With interesting elements like musical numbers from the perspective of the characters’ minds, the show unravels what it means to be crazy and proves, as Rebecca always says, “It’s a lot more nuanced than that!”
Photo provided by The CW Television Network via YouTube.com
