Crazy Ex-Girlfriend – Nathaniel & I Are Just Friends

In recent weeks, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has been operating in almost real time but last week, they changed it up and tessered (can you tell I’m excited for A Wrinkle In Time in exactly one month?!) into the future.

We start out with Rebecca returning to therapy with Dr. A, who is thrilled to get her patient back and is convinced this time will be different. The supremely talented Michael Hyatt gets to show off her vocal range once more, this time with This Session Is Going To Be Different. And at first, it really does seem like Rebecca is ready to admit where she’s wrong and work on herself, to better her reactions to life events and her relationships. The only hiccup is that she is hooking up with Nathaniel. She promises it was a one time thing (well, multiple one times) and that it’s over, because he’s still with Mona.

While bad that she’s cheating, the fact that she knows she has to stop is a step above her previous behaviour. This is when the show decides to jump ahead in time and show us what happens over time when people have the best intentions but perhaps not the follow-through.

If Rebecca’s timeline moves forward, so must everyone else’s. Before we jump, WiJo is about to go on a humanitarian trip with Habitat for Humanity (or Happy Tats for Manatees if you’re Josh Chan); Valencia has just met an important party planning contact; Heather’s implantation was a success & Paula brought Sunil on at Whitefeather (actually Bunch, Whitefeather, Plimpton, Plimpton & Plimpton).

After the jump – EVERYTHING is different

• WiJo is back from his trip with a new puppy that looks just like him but that he refuses to name DogJosh. He’s finally less mopey about Darryl & looks great with a tan.
• Valencia has come out as Bi and is dating the contact from 8 months ago that she is also a bit in business with. Her business is thriving and so is her life.
• Sunil and Paula aren’t really friends anymore. Turns out Paula is seen as the office bitch – probably because she is the most qualified person in that room so she’s constantly having to hold the office together which comes off as harsh and bitchy because she’s a woman. Sunil makes her realize that she can be nicer to the employees and she apologizes to him and validates his work so at least we have them back.

While everyone’s life moved forward and I’m sure we’ll be seeing the consequences for episodes to come; this episode focuses mostly on Heather’s and Rebecca’s journeys.

Heather is killing it at Home Base HQ, she’s totally redecorated and revamped her home base home Base, adding craft cocktails and tapas. She & Hector are also still living together and thriving. The only downside in her life is that she is about to pop this baby out and she can’t wait for it to be over. She is miserable in pregnancy, hasn’t seen her feet in ages, and just wants to have the option to skateboard in the X Games. She goes through ALL the emotions and Hector keeps having to calm her down and prevent her from doing something she will regret.

Hopefully she gives birth to this Darryl/Rebecca baby soon so she can be put out of her misery.

Now onto Rebecca. She is still sleeping with Nathaniel and he is still dating Mona. So now they’ve been together 8 months and he’s been cheating on her the whole time. They’re also still pretending that every time will be the last time. That is until Rebecca realizes that this no strings arrangement is exactly what she needs and they commit to their affair.

This setup is “healthy” for Rebecca until it’s not anymore. Nathaniel brings Mona to Darryl’s baby shower, planned by Valencia and her girl. Rebecca sees them together and the whole thing becomes way too real for her! It was easy to be the other woman when Mona was just a face on Instagram, it’s harder to ignore what this is doing to her when she sees them together. Paula also notices Rebecca getting uncomfortable and immediately puts 2 and 2 together.

This brings back all of the pain she felt when Scott cheated on her and makes it hit home for Rebecca that Mona is actually being hurt by this. This leads to her breaking it off with Nathaniel in a heartbreaking scene using office supply metaphors so as to not arouse suspicions from JimTimMaya. The scene is so painful to see and is a testament to Scott & Rachel’s presence in the moment and their talent and of course the writing!

He later tells her that he wants to be with her, and that if she’s ready for that commitment, he’ll break up with Mona right away. I don’t like that he’s using Mona as a filler while waiting for the girl he actually loves & it’s making me like Nathaniel less but aside from that it’s a big moment for Rebecca, whose almost never been on this side of the romantic gesture.

Dr. Akopian advises her to go for it and take that leap. She reminds her that she’s a different person than she was with Josh and that she deserves to be loved. Rebecca confesses that she’s scared of what the relationship will do to her, the anxiety it will give her and the possibility that it sends her back into a depressive suicidal episode – all valid concerns.

Becks heads to Nathaniel’s apartment with all that knowledge in her brain and it seems like she’s ready to give it a go. She launches into a Face Your Fears reprise and breaks our hearts ALL OVER AGAIN. When the song ends and Nathaniel walks out to see why Rebecca texted him if he was home, SHE’S GONE! She wasn’t ready to face her fears and be vulnerable again, given her relationship history, so she left without talking to him.

There are only 2 episodes left before the end of this season and aaaaaaaaaah so many plots and questions! Don’t forget to watch live tonight at 8/7c on the CW.