Moving on from an ex-love or a favorite show is never easy, but sometimes you don’t have a choice. Everything needs an end. The creators of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna, know that and that’s why the show isn’t getting a fifth season.
If you haven’t seen it, I highly suggest it. The show is unlike many out there with its handling of comedy, mental health and relationships all set to music. The full series of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” is available on Netflix; I’d go watch it before continuing because there will be spoilers below.
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With at least two musical numbers per episode, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” has over 150 original songs. A few of the most popular songs are “Let’s Generalize About Men,” “Love Kernels” and “Fit Guys Have Problems Too.” The only other comedy musical show that carries the same comedic tone as “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” would be “Galavant,” a show about a knight in medieval times that only lasted two seasons. “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” has lasted four seasons, most likely due to its more realistic content.
As the title implies, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” is about a woman who is a little crazy. The show follows Rebecca Bunch, played by creator Rachel Bloom, whose body type resembles the average woman more than most shows. Rebecca is a big shot lawyer in New York, who hates her job and her life.
It’s not until she runs into an old camp boyfriend that she realizes she can have more. She can be happy. Her ex, Josh Chan, tells her all about how he’s moving back to his hometown of West Covina, California. And as the title suggests, she does something crazy. She moves across the country to be closer to him. She’ll deny it, but it is obvious that she moved for her ex-boyfriend, which leads into the musical number “West Covina.”
With her coworker Paula’s help, Rebecca continues her misguided attempts to get Josh’s attention and be closer to him despite his girlfriend, Valencia. But Josh Chan, played by Vincent Rodriguez III, isn’t the only guy in town. His childhood friend Greg, played by Santino Fontana, also shows an interest in Rebecca through a song called “Settle For Me.” But that’s just the surface of the show.
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” explores many different types of relationships. Rebecca’s boss, Darryl Whitefeather, makes a discovery about his sexuality, leading to the song “Getting Bi.” Darryl goes on to have a great relationship with another male character. His relationship, however, doesn’t last as Darryl wants a baby and his boyfriend doesn’t.
The show also explores what happens when one partner is unfaithful when Rebecca’s best friend, Paula, gets cheated on by her husband. It takes a realistic look at how a marriage can survive that and how it could happen in the first place. Through Darryl and Paula, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” addresses the issues of parenting and what it means to be a good parent, making sure to include how/where Rebecca’s parents failed her.
Rebecca’s own personal story takes a winding path. She falls in and out of relationships with Josh, Greg and eventually her new boss, Nathanial. But she’s not ok mentally. During the third season, she gets a new diagnosis following a suicide attempt; in the past she was diagnosed with depression, OCD and anxiety, but she receives a new one and of course there’s a song about it.
When she gets this diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder, she starts to work on herself. She actively takes part in her group and individual therapy and ultimately is able to overcome her fear of pills with the musical number “Antidepressants Are So Not A Big Deal.”
Her character is not the only one that experiences personal growth. Josh Chan also goes to therapy to find who he is outside of a relationship and realizes his own part in Rebecca’s actions. Greg realizes his problems with alcohol, goes to AA and attends business school. Nathanial realizes his issues with his father lead him to be angry and mean. He evolves to be a nicer person.
All three of them, however, are still in love with Rebecca. In the end she has to choose one and she makes the best choice for her. It’s the truest choice to the show.
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She chooses herself.
And the story needed to end there.
Her whole life Rebecca had been putting her mother’s wishes above her own. She had assumed that only another person’s love could make up for her father’s absence. But she was finally at a place where she had the most important love, her own and that of her good friends. Her journey to do things for herself and to love herself started with her move to West Covina and it ended with her finally following her dreams. Her fantasies. The music in her head.
All of the musical numbers in the show were little daydreams she had, and she was finally at a good place in her life where she could utilize them. There is no better way to end her journey than her following her heart.
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” was a dramedy like no other. The songs were great parodies of popular musical numbers and were just overall great hits. The characters were all well developed and explored, even the one named White Josh. It made audiences chuckle, cringe and cry. “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” also took a realistic look at some of the wild things that happen in sitcoms, explaining her impulsiveness with her disorder.
But like all good things, it needed to end. It will forever remain a quality show with quality songs. This way it wouldn’t run out of ideas or sacrifice good character development for new plot lines. Because it ended, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” can remain a great musical dramedy. It sets an example for something similar to follow.
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Even if you’re sad it is over, be happy that “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” happened. You can still watch the show on Netflix and there are over 150 songs that you can listen to on repeat, reliving some of the best moments of the show.
