CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND (2015-2016) TV Review

The Crazy Ex.

It’s common term used by men and women who struggle to earn peace from an ex-boyfriend, ex-girlfriend, or ex-spouse after the break up. They endure non-stop texts, phone calls, and emails. They also endure often embarrassing encounters in public places. In a nutshell, they are victims of stalking.

The hit new series, My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend , explores the point of view from the crazy ex. Her name is Rebecca Bunch. In the pilot, we find Rebecca in New York working as a highly paid real estate lawyer. She has a beautiful apartment, amazing credentials, and a concerning work ethic.

However, she also has an unhealthy relationship with her narcissistic mother and an arsenal of prescription anxiety medications. It becomes abundantly clear that she is profoundly unhappy and missing something vital in her life.

What is she missing? Why is she unhappy? What causes her to fixate on Joshua? Can Joshua even fill her void?

Any logical person could answer, no.

However, Rebecca is far from logical. In fact, she is clearly off her rocker. A logical person would also understand that the solution to her problem has nothing to do with that meaningless summer camp fling with (let’s face it) the kind of teenage boy from whom we would all strive to protect our daughters.

Let’s take a good look at Joshua:

First and foremost, he doesn’t care about Rebecca.
He didn’t care about her when he deflowered her. He didn’t care about her when he dumped her. He didn’t care about her when he left New York to reunite with his girlfriend. He didn’t care about her when she arrived to West Covina and he ignore her for 46 hours. He didn’t care about her when he asked her to lie to his girlfriend about their history. All he cares about is sex with Rebecca. That would not be a happy relationship.

He is a cheater and liar.
The first time he cheated on his girlfriend, Valencia, was at summer camp when they were teenagers. Then, he cheats on her again when he kisses Rebecca. Not to mention he emotionally cheats on her throughout the entire season. If he can so easily cheat on Valencia, then there is a high probability that he would also cheat on her in the future. That would not be a happy relationship.

He has no professional ambitions.
Even with a college education, Joshua expresses no professional passion. Sure, he has hobbies like dancing, martial arts, and surfing. However, that is not good for a career. He leaves a job in New York and spends months in West Covina unemployed. When he gets a decent job in the medical field, he leaves it to work in a television store. He probably has as little concern for his future as does Rebecca. If Rebecca does manage to win him over, she would most likely have to financially carry him. That would not be a happy relationship.

There is nothing he can offer her that she really needs. Bottom line: Assuming she wins him over, she will not be happy with him.

The grass is always greener on the other side.

It takes a special kind of low self esteem to justify attaching oneself to such a boy. Unless, of course, one has a raging narcissist for a mother, in which case I’m sure she would have chased anyone out of New York.

After watching Season 1, it becomes abundantly clear that a boyfriend (any boyfriend) is the LAST thing Rebecca needs.

She needs therapy before she has a mental breakdown.

She needs to dedicate herself to her career before her boss comes to his senses and fires her.

She needs a financial counselor before she goes bankrupt.

She needs to focus on making friends who care about her.

She needs to focus on her physical wellness.

She needs to focus on a long-term goals instead of blindly following little, frivolous signs (that in reality mean nothing).

She needs to STOP BREAKING UP INNOCENT COUPLES.

In a nutshell, she needs to focus on herself, because she has no hope succeeding in a relationship with all of her emotional, familial, and financial baggage. With Josh, Greg, Trent, or anyone else. Josh cannot and will not be her personal savior. Only she can be her savior.