“When Do I Get to Spend Time with Josh?”
Do we really need a new guy this far into the season?
So far, the only antagonist of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has been Rebecca herself, fighting against her severely out of whack mind. There’s never been a true villain, but all of that changed tonight with the addition of Rebecca’s new boss, Nathaniel Plimpton (Scott Michael Foster). This delightful asshole is the ruthless, former water polo-playing son of a wealthy businessman looking to make a name for himself by uprooting and laying off the small Whitefeather firm. This fact isn’t lost on the employees, who all have their own theories about Plimpton that they share in “Who’s The New Guy.” This was by far the most meta song ever featured on the show, lyrics literally pointing out that he may have come “late in the season” to “help our terrible ratings.” It was rather delightful, even if it does hint that we may not see a third season.
This man is the embodiment of the workaholic selfishness that Rebecca moved away from New York to avoid, and he couldn’t have come at a worse time. See, Josh and Rebecca have gotten back together, for real this time. In fact, they’re so together that they danced through a visual reprise of “West Covina,” the number that started everything off. However, life isn’t going to be PJ days and waterparks under Plimpton, who has threatened to lay off several employees if the firm doesn’t hit a certain profit margin by the end of the week.
The pressure from Plimpton gave me something I’ve missed all season, Rebecca actually being a lawyer. Here, she had to prove that a graveyard was burying people on top of each other so that a country club could build on the land. Not only was this reminiscent of the cold showers arc from last season, but Rebecca had to become somebody she hates. In order to appease the reps of the country club, she had to act like the office floozy, spewing out sexist jokes and innuendos left and right. Bloom is a master of vocal cringing, and this gave her some really strong moments.
However, it was Scott Michael Foster who ran away with this episode. Plimpton is a cold individual, a smug ivy league kid who has never been told no. Foster lets that arrogance slide into every slimy word he says, but for as horrible as he may be, he’s not entirely evil. After Rebecca successfully wins the case, he decides not to lay anybody off. Nothing is personal to him; he just will not allow his business to be compromised. Also, he instantly recognizes Josh (Board Shorts McGee) for the moron that he is, and his honesty is so on point that even Rebecca gets it for a second. Sitting at dinner with Josh and his parents, Rebecca can only hear Josh blubbering on like a child, briefly breaking the spell of her new love. As somebody who has always found Josh insufferably stupid, I couldn’t help but agree with Plimpton on that one.
Watching Foster and Bloom face off adds a fresh new layer that Crazy Ex-Girlfriend had been sorely lacking. Plimpton is a character with endless possibilities. Will he soften up and form a respectful alliance with Rebecca, or will he into full-out baddie mode with a soaring villain song? We’ll have to see, but for now, his mere presence brought out the best in Rebecca Bunch. While this season has been mostly been made up of blatantly obvious if entertaining growing pains, we finally have a storyline that could reach the delirious heights of Season 1. Here’s to hoping.
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Rating: 9/10
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