Director: Jude Weng — Writer: Rachel Specter & Audrey Wauchope Aired: 1/5/17 — Season: 3 — Episode: 8 — Nielsen ratings: 0.69 Description: Rebecca wonders if history is repeating itself as Darryl embraces a newfound superpower and Paula schemes again, this time for a good cause.
It’s just, if you don’t do this, I will try to kill myself again and I’ll succeed and the note will blame you.
— Rebecca
Two weeks after her trip to Buffalo, Rebecca has been spending her nights with Nathaniel at his apartment. She is excited he considers them to be in a relationship but worries she’s repeating obsessive patterns. At her therapy session with Dr. Shin, he tells her to keep this in mind as she gets to know Nathaniel. At Whitefeather & Associates, Paula offers to help Darryl pick an egg donor from a catalog and suggests he check the viability of his sperm. That night at Nathaniel’s apartment, Rebecca gets her boyfriend to talk about his past. As a child, he was closer to the gardener Esteban than his parents, although today he has a good relationship with his mom but not his father.
At the law firm, Paula chooses donor 456H76 but the egg is unavailable. Elsewhere, Rebecca sneaks in and asks George to get her Nathaniel Senior’s schedule. Over at the Chan residence, Lourdes tells Josh to pack up his things. He is to move in with Hector and his mom and Josh’s room is to be used for a daycare service. At the same time, Rebecca tells her plans on improving Nathaniel and his father’s relationship to Dr. Shin and her therapy group, which includes Lana, Clarice, Bert and Rick. Shin and the others believe her meddling is a bad idea but Rebecca sees it as a good deed. At the park, Paula tracks donor 456H76 while Darryl is at the San Gabriel Fertility Clinic getting his specimen tested.
George is summoned to Rebecca’s house and made an unwilling accomplice to her scheme. They go to a golf course Nathaniel Senior is supposed to be and follow him when he drives off with a woman. The pair meet up with a young girl and Rebecca concludes she is Senior’s illegitimate daughter and Nathaniel’s half-sister. At the Chan residence, Josh puts off packing when he finds his old karaoke machine. Meanwhile, Paula pleads with donor 456H76 to allow her egg to be used as Darryl learns from the clinic his sperm is healthy (♫ My Sperm Is Healthy ♫). After some consideration, donor 456H76 gives her consent although Paula puts off hearing her stipulations to tell Darryl the good news.
That night, Rebecca gauges Nathaniel’s reaction to the idea of having a sibling. Across town Josh continues to procrastinate only to have his mom tell him he needs to move out now (♫ Get Your Ass Out Of My House ♫). The next day, Darryl tells Paula that the fertilization is happening. Unfortunately, donor 456H76 blackmails Paula for more money if the procedure succeeds. Otherwise she’ll tell the authorities how her anonymity clause was violated. At Sugar Face, George lies to Nathaniel about meeting a client so Rebecca can introduce him to his ‘sister’ who she also tricked into coming. Rebecca then learns the truth; the girl’s mom was Nathaniel Senior’s secretary for 30 years and he pays for her daughter’s tuition.
At the Chan residence, Josh realizes his time with Rebecca had a profound effect on him. Back at the law firm, Darryl learns the procedure failed, which relieves Paula. However, Darryl is depressed as he can’t afford another attempt for a year. That evening, Nathaniel chooses to forgive Rebecca knowing that she meant well. Despite Rebecca’s tendency to go too far, he believes her to be a positive influence on him. The next day at her therapy session, Dr. Shin warns Rebecca that even if she had good intentions she may be falling into another obsession. Rebecca realizes this may be true when she finds herself repeating statements about Nathaniel which are similar to what she used to say about Josh.
Back at the law firm, Paula learns Darryl sold all of his Native American decorations to fund another attempt at fertilization. Although Paula is hesitant, Darryl insists he needs her help when he goes through the process again. At her house, Rebecca recounts more obsessive behaviors she had with Josh and Nathaniel. She is then surprised when she has an unexpected visit from Josh. He thanks her for changing him for the better and helping him to break out of his patterns. Josh also owns up to being a coward when it comes to making hard choices, particularly when it’s the right thing to do. This spurs Rebecca to make a decision and she goes to Nathaniel’s apartment to tell him something.
Recurring themes[]
Songs[]
Episode songs
"George's Coffee Song" Performed by: George Writers: Danny Jolle
George sings about getting a cup of coffee.
"My Sperm Is Healthy" Performed by: Darryl Whitefeather Writers: Adam Schlesinger, Jack Dolgen, Rachel Bloom
Darryl is excited to learn that his sperm was healthy and rejoices in this news with his staff.
"Get Your Ass Out Of My House" Performed by: Lourdes Chan Writers: Adam Schlesinger, Rachel Bloom, Jack Dolgen
Lourdes tells her son Josh to move out as she’s tired of him constantly relying so much on her and his father.
Continuation: This is the first Episode back from the Winter hiatus. Narratively this episode takes place only two weeks after “Getting Over Jeff.”
Backstory:
Nathaniel gives a few details about his upbringing. He’s now close to his mom but not his father and he admits they don’t know each other at all. As a child he was friends with the gardner who was named Esteban.
Plot points:
Rebecca and Nathaniel are officially dating.
Darryl is going forward with having a child without his ex-boyfriend Josh Wilson.
Josh is being asked to move out by his mother. He is to move in with Hector and his mom.
Rebecca mentions “love kernels” to Dr. Shin referencing the song of the same name from Season Two.
Rebecca mentions the feeling of “glitter exploding inside” to Dr. Shin which references a similar thing she told Paula in the Season One Episode “Josh Just Happens to Live Here!”
Rebecca tells Josh “Get your ass out of my house” referencing the song which debuted in this episode.
Relationship developments: Nathaniel casually calls Rebecca his girlfriend signifying he considers them to be in a relationship.
Rebecca, unsatisfied with Paula's ideas to build a case against Josh, turns to Nathaniel for help crafting a truly evil plan. Meanwhile, Josh finds becoming a priest is harder than he thought.
Directed by: Stuart McDonald - Written by: Dan Gregor and Doug Mand
Just as Rebecca tries to be more realistic and practical, Trent throws a wrench into her plans. At the same time Josh and Valencia reckon with their shared history.
Directed by: Audrey Wauchope - Written by: Erin Ehrlich
Rebecca, Paula, Heather and Valencia participate in a séance after a spooky discovery. Darryl takes his parenting duties to an extreme, while Nathaniel is determined to prove to his father he's the best person to run the law firm.
As Rebecca contemplates her feelings about her career, Paula is forced to deal with a big client. Josh tries to get back in the dating game, while Heather and Hector deal with insurance.
Directed by: Stuart McDonald - Written by: Elisabeth Kiernan Averick
As Rebecca contemplates her feelings about her career, Paula is forced to deal with a big client. Josh tries to get back in the dating game, while Heather and Hector deal with insurance.
Directed by: Erin Ehrlich - Written by: Ilana Pena
Heather and Valencia both have changes in their lives which leaves Rebecca reeling. Meanwhile, Paula has to adjust to some good news/bad news from her eldest son.
Rebecca gets more than she bargained for during a day out with Darryl. Josh lends a helping hand to Paula, while Heather encourages Nathaniel to be a nice person.
Directed by: Stuart McDonald - Written by: Rene Gube
Greg returns to West Covina, which forces Rebecca to question things she thought she knew about people she has loved in her life. Meanwhile, Valencia and Josh make some shocking discoveries while at their high school reunion.
Directed by: Stuart McDonald - Written by: Rene Gube
Rebecca supports Paula in her time of need despite, her own personal challenges. Emotions run high when Greg, Josh and Nathaniel have an unfortunate encounter.
Directed by: Stuart McDonald - Written by: Alden Derck & Aline Brosh McKenna
Rebecca gets a call to help her old nemesis out of a complicated situation. Meanwhile, Nathaniel, Josh and Greg attempt to deal with their competing feelings for Rebecca.
Directed by: Marty Pasetta, Jr. - Written by: Rachel Bloom, Adam Schlesinger and Jack Dolgen
Rachel Bloom and the cast of the critically acclaimed series perform live versions of fan-favorite songs with incredible staging, multimedia visuals and a live band and orchestra.
