The CW's "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," a show about a woman who uproots her life to move across the country for a guy she dated when she was 16, ended this month.
Going into the finale, I was worried because there were so many ways the show could go. But I think the way it went was perfect.
Warning: There will be spoilers for the show in the rest of this article.
So let's start with the love quadrangle. What I loved about this conflict is that it wasn't obvious who Rebecca would choose.
Obviously, Josh was probably the worst choice considering their history, but Nathaniel and Greg were both evolved and good fits for her.
However, it seemed like from the start, the show intentionally separated Greg from Nathaniel and Josh. Greg never had episodes titled after him, showing that Rebecca never had an unhealthy obsession with him.
Also, in the second to last episode when they were planning out the dates, there was nothing that they needed to do to "neutralize" Greg the way they had to with Nathaniel and Josh, and yet the two men would constantly talk about Greg like he was the biggest threat.
This is because Greg offered something more real, while Nathaniel and Josh were fantasies, only putting pressure on Rebecca.
I loved how the show implied this while not having Rebecca explicitly choose anyone.
And that leads into Valentine's Day one year later scene. Was the fact that Rebecca chose herself rather than a man kind of obvious? Yes. But why she chooses herself was a pleasant surprise.
I expected the whole "I need to focus on my mental health" angle again. And while I do think that taking the time to focus on mental health is important, she had already used that reason multiple times in the show. She had been doing all of the work to control her BPD, so why shouldn't she allow herself to choose someone?
I loved how she decided to take time for herself to focus on her new career path instead. Having each of the show's songs be actual songs in her mind brings the whole thing full circle in the most perfect way.
I've always hated the phrase "you can't love someone until you learn to love yourself" because I don't think it's necessarily true. But Rebecca's year-long time apart from all her life's drama wasn't about loving herself. It was about finding out who she is and pursuing her dreams.
The episode does a great job of showing that people can learn new skills and improve on old ones later in life. A lot of times, people think that you're either born with a good singing voice and musical skills or you're not, but it's simply not true! There are tons of examples of people who couldn't sing well training and getting better.
Rebecca gives all of us hope that we can work on and improve the things we're passionate about.
And her happiness shows in the last few minutes of the finale. She came to West Covina in season one looking for love and validation from a man. She found love through her friends, working on her mental health, and pursuing a career she's passionate about. And maybe romantic love can follow, but she doesn't need to obsess over anyone to be happy.
The show ending on her about to play a song she wrote was the perfect way to say goodbye since it leaves her skill level and the song she was going to perform ambiguously.
Overall, the finale was exactly what the show needed. It left all of the characters in a good place (especially Nathaniel getting a job at the zoo!!) while still giving them room to grow.
I'll miss following Rebecca's misadventures, but I couldn't be happier that she's finally found love and true happiness.