2.7 Who’s That Cool Girl Josh Is Dating? The episode’s main plot was another one of those zany farces Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has pulled off so well so many times before. After internet-stalking Anna, Rebecca and Valencia decide to try a little real-world stalking, and end up accidentally running over Anna’s cat. Not-quite-caught-in-the-act, they drive Anna and Gravy to the vets, and attempt to use the opportunity to quiz her about Josh… only to find out Anna’s eyebrow salon has CCTV, which means they’ll have to break into the shop to wipe the tapes if they don’t want Anna to find it was actually them, not a Jack Sparrow impersonator, who nearly killed her beloved pet. The whole thing was basically an excuse for Rachel Bloom and Gabrielle Ruiz to bounce off one another, and for the most part, it worked pretty well. Valencia doesn’t initially seem like a great replacement for Paula, whose hacking skills made her a pretty formidable sidekick, but her kleptomania and gimlet-eyed determination meant she soon turned out to be just as terrifying in her pursuit of her obsessions as Rebecca is. Does that mean she’s another West Covina resident suffering from some of Rebecca’s rubbed-off crazy? Or was she always this ruthless, just waiting for the right partner-in-crime to come along? Given how incredibly talented she turned out to be at this stalking lark, it’s probably the latter, but either way Rebecca hasn’t been good for her. I’m not entirely sure I completely believe Bloom and co when they say that this series was always meant to be about Rebecca and Paula’s relationship. The new season two credits really suggest the theme was going to be something else, but it’s definitely a fascinating subject to explore. Last week’s most emotional moment was Paula and Rebecca finally having the argument that’s been brewing for ages, and this week, it was their amazing 80s-inspired duet. They haven’t patched things up yet – nowhere near. But the show wants us to see how similar they are, even in their pig-headed stubbornness, and to hope for reconciliation. It’s definitely a more interesting will-they-won’t-they than the endless Ross and Rachel debacle. Even so, something seemed to be missing this week. The songs were good, there were dozens of great throwaway jokes, but something was just a bit lacklustre. Maybe because the Rebecca/Paula storyline is so huge, and so emotional, some of the other stuff in this episode felt a bit like wheel-spinning. There were some great moments in the Anna plot – not least the bit where Anna revealed Josh’s take on Rebecca’s phantom pregnancy – but as much fun as it was to see Valencia’s dark side, that storyline was so much less important than the other one that it felt like it was time wasted. We’ve got a month until the next episode now, because Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is taking four weeks off over Christmas, so let’s use this time wisely and argue in the comments. What’s been your favourite song so far this season? Who should apologise first, Paula or Rebecca? And how long do you give Josh and Anna before she gets fed up and finds another skinny bearded hipster boyfriend? Read Sarah’s review of the previous episode, Who Needs Josh When You Have A Girl Group?, here.
