Heartwarming / Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Season One

• In a Crosses the Line Twice way, the rapper "apologizing to some bitches" for his previous sexist behaviour at the end of the pilot. Obviously, he doesn't quite get it, seeing as he has a list titled "Bitches I Need to Apologize To," but it is kind of sweet, in its own way, to see him putting forth the effort. And he is impressively specific about the bad things he realises he's done:
  Nipsey Hussle: Ashley, I realize now that it wasn't right for me to tell you what to do with that big fat butt. You can wiggle it, or you could sit it down in a classroom and get that college degree in communications. ...Chelsea, I'm sorry I put you in a bikini made of gold coins and then made you dance on the roof of my Bentley. I realize now that metal conducts heat, and that was probably a very uncomfortable experience.
• In "I Hope Josh Comes to My Party!," Rebecca throws a house warming party where almost no one notable save Josh and Paula shows up. Josh tells her it's perfectly fine that she had so few people invited because you know, she just moved in and helps her in throwing her best party ever.
• In "I'm So Happy That Josh Is Happy", Rebecca winds up as high as a kite, halfway passed out on the lawn, and lacking the strength to dial her own phone. When she finds out that Paula is about to cheat on her husband, she jumps up and sprints to the hotel to talk her out of it. This is one of the first indications that they've become genuine friends who actually care about each other.
• It's dyfunctional and wrong in many ways, but — Paula turning up at the end of "I'm Going to the Beach With Josh and His Friends!", to take Rebecca home, after she earlier said she wouldn't. What makes it genuinely heartwarming is Rebecca finally admitting, if only to Paula, that she really does love Josh. What makes it dysfunctional is Rebecca's final line in the episode:
  Paula: Okay, honey, let's go home. Oh, you look so tired.
  Rebecca: Yeah.
  Paula: You can nap in the car.
  Rebecca: Okay.
  Paula: Don't ever lie to me again.
  Rebecca: Okay, Mama.
• Darryl tries desperately to make friends. In this episode when he meets White Josh, WhiJo approaches him first, welcomes him on the bus and is glad to talk to him. WhiJo is the first person to approach Darryl and it ends up being the start of a beautiful relationship.
  • In the same episode, Rebecca gushing about West Covina and how she’s happy for the first time in her life since she got there. Darryl says she could have trusted him with her secret reasoning for moving and not only does Josh not think she sounds crazy, but he’s glad that someone else loves the town as much as he does.
• In "I'm Back At Camp With Josh!", Rebecca starts to read Josh a love letter she wrote to him when they were 16, although being this show, it takes the form of a romantic ballad. Halfway through, Josh starts to laugh, because he thinks she's reading it to him to have a laugh about how weird they were back then. Rebecca is crushed and throws the letter away. Later in the episode, it turns out that Josh retrieved it, read the rest of it, and didn't find it funny at all, but was inspired and encouraged by how much she believed in him back then. He asks if he can keep it.
  • In the same episode, the girls at the camp are horrible to Rebecca all the way through. When she finally gets around to giving them a long-promised lecture on female empowerment, it goes disastrously wrong because she bursts into tears and admits that she's hopelessly in love with someone she can't have. Most of the girls leave, but her main tormentors rally round and sing her a Self-Empowerment Anthem, "Put Yourself First" while giving her a makeover. It backfires, because the point of the song is "Put yourself first by making yourself look sexy so that guys will like you which will make you feel empowered", but it's still sweet.
• At Darryl's party, WhiJo spends the night talking to Darryl and helps him clean up after the party. When Darryl admits he was lonely and wanted to make friends, WhiJo tells him that he has. Then he ends the night by kissing Darryl on the cheek. And Darryl is stunned when it happens but isn't angry or upset, just confused by his own feelings.
• In "That Text Was Not Meant For Josh!", Rebecca has a texting-related crisis, one that makes her look very bad. To make matters worse, it happens during an important meeting with other lawyers. Naturally, she does not want to tell them what's going on, even when they notice she's distracted. Paula, however, just tells them the truth, assuring Rebecca that she knows these people, and they won't judge. And... she's right. The other lawyers are all extremely sympathetic to Rebecca's predicament, they start panicking on her behalf, and try to help her come up with ways to fix it.
• In "Josh And I Are Going to Los Angeles!", Rebecca is filing a suit against a water company for diverting water away from the San Gabriel Valley, lowering the water pressure so much that lots of people can't get hot water. She becomes convinced that none of the plaintiffs are going to show up...but they do, and even when she loses the case, she does so with such integrity ( i.e. refusing to use stolen emails as evidence) that they give her a round of applause for sticking up for them.
• Darryl announces he's bisexual and has a crush on WhiJo outside the courthouse. When a passerby says WhiJo is out of his league, WhiJo yells, "Back off, man! He looks like Tom Selleck"!
• In "Josh Has No Idea Where I Am!", Rebecca is touched by the fact that Paula, Darryl and Josh are all obviously worrying about her, but she assumes that Greg is merely messing around with his phone. DreamGhost!Dr. Akopian freezes time so she can see what Greg was actually doing before he knew that she was okay. It turns out that he'd called every hospital in the area, because he assumed she'd at least harmed herself, if not actually attempted suicide.
• When Rebecca realises that when she tried to run away to her dad's as a kid, Naomi didn't snatch her away from him as she previously thought, but tried to convince him to let her stay with him for a few days, and she let Rebecca think she snatched her away so that she would remember her father fondly. While she's still a toxic mother, this is the first time we see a glimpse of a different side to her.
• A small one but when Paula calls Greg "super hot", Josh turns to a newly out Darryl and asks "Is Greg super hot?" Darryl's sexuality is referenced in a nonchalant and charming way.
• Rebecca's song "Oh My God I Think I Like You" is raunchy and hilarious, but still touching in how genuine and vulnerable is.
• After Rebecca passes out and goes to the hospital at the end of season one, Paula stays at her bedside and talks to her, stroking her hair and holding her hand. It's clear that, as much as Paula's tendency to view Rebecca as her surrogate daughter is Played for Laughs, she really does care very deeply for her and would be devastated if something were to happen to her.
  Paula: Doctor, what's wrong with my Cookie?!
  • Even more so: after Paula has vented her frustration and anger with Rebecca, they meet at the wedding and fall on each other with a hurricane of apologies.
• After Scott helps Paula commit a crime, their marriage is revitalized and Scott becomes a sounding board and general confidant for Paula, being fully supportive of everything she does.
• Aside from being an awesome song, "Gettin' Bi" is this for many bisexual viewers (and even some folks who've never seen the show before) because it averts No Bisexuals, actually uses the term "bisexual" ^note Many pieces of fiction will opt to go a "safer" route and avoid using the word, resulting in a lot of Ambiguously Bi characters that might not be meant to be read as such, and directly addresses and denies a lot of the negative stereotypes regarding bisexual individuals.

Season Two

• In "Who Needs Josh When You Have A Girl Group?", Butt-Monkey office assistant Maya finally calls out Darryl on his unpleasant treatment of her, and he admits that it's not her fault: he treats her like that because she reminds him of all the things he doesn't like about himself.
  • "Hit it, M-Dog."
• Valencia selflessly handing over her (never-implemented) deeply detailed wedding plan to Rebecca and offer to help her when it's obvious that Rebecca is making a mess out her DIY wedding plan. She still does it her own way, overdoing it and managing the whole thing with an iron fist, but it's quite the Character Development since her self-absorbed, unfriendly persona in Season 1. It also is a starting point for her for her new career as event planner, right when she felt deadbeat about love and career life.
• Darryl's Best Friend song to Paula. Afterwards, she tells him he's her best male friend.
• How kindly both Paula and Darryl treat Nathaniel when he gives himself food poisoning in "Is Josh Free in Two Weeks?", with Paula offering to discreetly take him to the bathroom after his Potty Failure and Darryl offering him one of his suits and insisting that he takes a nap. Nathaniel still refuses to go home and get well, but it's the thought that counts.
• After Scott has come clean about sleeping with Tanya, and Paula has eventually forgiven him, Paula wants him to call her "Tanya" because it momentarily makes her feel like the person Scott temporarily desired over her. The next night, Scott tells her that he doesn't want to do that because he doesn't love Tanya. Paula proudly tells him to call her by her name.
• "Rebecca's Reprise". Doubles as tearjerker.
• In season 2, episode 12, when Naomi fails, yet again, to help Rebecca, how does Paula respond? By calling Naomi and demanding Naomi get it together, pay for a wedding gown for Rebecca, and overnight it. And she never tells Rebecca she did this. Paula may be ruthless and just as nutty as Rebecca sometimes, but damned if she's not a true friend.
  Sometimes moms just come through.
• Any time Nathaniel shows he really does care about Rebecca. What began as him just being attracted to her on a physical level eventually evolves into a genuine crush, which is surprisingly sweet, given what a Jerkass he is. Nathaniel and Rebecca aren't really good people, but some of their moments together really work.
  • Nathaniel's Love Epiphany is a standout.
  ...Oh my God, I think I like her.
  • Also, from the end of season two, Nathaniel flying out Rebecca's Disappeared Dad for her wedding... and promptly telling him, "Have fun flying coach, dick!" when he reveals himself to be a truly awful father.

Season Three

• "A Diagnosis." Rebecca's reaction to being actually diagnosed with a mental illness isn't shame, anger, or denial. It's relief, because if she knows what her illness is, she can start to recover. Of course, it's clear that Rebecca's putting a little too much faith into being diagnosed (while it can certainly help and start one on the road to recovery, it won't magically make things better, which is what Rebecca hopes for), but it's still immensely heartwarming and unique to see a lead character treat being diagnosed as a good thing. Even media that treats mentally ill characters sympathetically has an unfortunate tendency to treat the illness itself as a personal shortcoming, and seeking help for it as weakness — but not Rebecca Bunch. She acknowledges the stigma around mental illness, but she's still eager to start therapy and get help.
  • "I realize mental illness is stigmatized, but the stigma is worth it if I've realized who I'm meant to be... armed with my diagnosis."
  • Paula helps Rebecca get ready to head to therapy, and sees her off, blowing her a kiss with a big smile. She's so proud. And why wouldn't she be? After all, her best friend is finally starting on the path to recovery.
• After an episode of coming to terms with his feelings regarding his mother's suicide attempt and avoiding Rebecca, Nathaniel shows up at her house with roses and her stuffed alligator. Rebecca is genuinely moved.
  • What makes this moment further heartwarming is that the roses were picked from Nathaniel's mother's garden.
• Audra dropping round to bring Rebecca home-made tacos after hearing about Rebecca's breakdown. Even though they've been sworn rivals since childhood, she still cares about her on a human level.
• In "Nathaniel and I are Just Friends!", Dr. Akopian telling Rebecca that, having confronted her issues and learned to work on them, she is able to have a normal relationship as long as she's careful. The two things Rebecca has longed for throughout the series is love and normality, and this is her being told that she can finally have a measure of both - that she can, and deserves to, love and be loved just like anyone else. It makes it all the more heartbreaking when she doesn't dare go through with it for fear of falling back into her old habits, though.
• Almost the entire episode "Getting Over Jeff" is a much-needed spot of feel-good fuzzies: Rebecca and Nathaniel's banter at the start, Rebecca bonding with Paula's dad, said dad going Papa Wolf when he finds out who Paula's with, and finally Rebecca proudly (and physically, in the form of a scratch'n'sniff sticker) wearing her mediocrity like a badge.
  • And when Paula tells Scott that she’d choose him over any other man. After an entire series of questioning their marriage’s strength-and admitting to almost not even going through with their wedding in the first place-she realizes that she’s always wanted to stay with him.

Season Four

• After a long period of self-pity and false repentance, Rebecca decides to help the far more underprivileged women at the prison by volunteering there after she leaves jail.
• Heather & Hector’s wedding in “I'm On My Own Path”. The wedding on it’s own was sweet enough but the reason behind was even sweeter (Heather was not a fan of formal public weddings but she knew Hector really wanted one so she planned it as a surprise for him). It's extra touching when you hear the piano reprise of "The Moment is Me" when Heather walks down the aisle.
• In "I'm Making Up For Lost Time", Rebecca spends most of the time making up to Tucker for her cruel treatment of him in the past. Even when he's revealed to have lied to her and stolen her diary to gain her trust, she recognizes that he's a lost, mentally ill kid like she once was and comforts him, then arranges for him to meet a good therapist and go to theater camp next summer so he can pursue his passion without getting hurt.
  • In the same episode, when Tucker sings "In One Indescribable Instant" to Rebecca. Sure, he's not exactly sincere in his claim to love the movie, but the look of love and pride on her face as he hits the final note is priceless.
• In "I See You", Rebecca takes Darryl on a road trip to a BBQ place, on the condition that they just have fun and don't talk about emotions because she's exhausted from all the therapy she's doing and just wants to relax. Unfortunately he can't stop himself from constantly getting all emo on her, until they reach the restaurant and then have a huge fight in which she admits "You just happen to be everything I didn't want today." He is deeply hurt, but she repents and apologises to him, and he in turn apologises to her and admits that he's starving. They end up stuffing themselves with ribs and really enjoying each other's company.
• In "I'm Not The Person I Used To Be", Valencia opens up to Heather that when she was in high school and dating Josh, she was deeply in love with someone else and left a letter in that person's locker arranging to meet them so they could start a new life together, but the other person never showed up. The other person was in fact Father Brah, who didn't get the letter in high school, but finally finds it. He and Valencia meet up and, while they're both clearly affected by the thought of what might have been, they share a lovely moment, and admit that they're both very happy with the people that they're with (respectively, God and Beth).
• A very weird one in "I Can Work With You". In the middle of a party at Paula's house, Josh strips down to his briefs in the kitchen and starts taking selfies in front of the fridge. As his friends come in, one by one, every single one of them immediately sees what's happening (he's hoping to become a social media spokesman for the underwear company) and start helping him to compose the shot. It's oddly sweet that his friends all get him and want to help.
• Dr. Akopian reassuring Rebecca that antidepressants are very common and a lot of people take them, in song naturally. Since that episode came out, several fans have thanked the show for normalizing medication use in such a funny yet sensitive way, and for making them feel better when they started taking similar meds.
• When she joins a community theater production in "I'm Finding My Bliss", Rebecca finds the song she's meant to sing degrading and writes a better version, only for the Prima Donna Director to snap at her and tell her the original lyrics are far too good for someone like her to ever alter. On opening night, she's all set to sing the original song and admits to Nathaniel that she really loved her version and how she felt great making a new one. Nathaniel convinces her that her song was better, and to prove it, he goes out and decides to sing her version rather than the song he was meant to sing. Sure, it gets them both fired by the director, but Rebecca's touched and the audience loved it.
• Rebecca and Audra’s Triumphant Reprise of “JAP Battle” in “I Have To Find My Frenemy.” The same song that used to showcase their resentment towards each other is now used to showcase their friendship and it’s twice as badass.^note Although the relationship between them is now a mixture of guarded admiration and absolutely brutal passive-aggression: their rap battle is about which of them is better at complimenting the other, with a strong dollop of UST right at the end.
• All of the dates "I Have a Date Tonight":
  • Josh sets up a tent in his and Rebecca's backyard to evoke their memories of summer camp. They roast weenies over a fire, stargaze, and cuddle up together, and she wakes up practically seeing him with Love Bubbles.
  • Nathaniel sets up a picnic for Rebecca on a cliffside over a theater where he believed Michael Bublé would be performing a musical theater concert, but the theater is really hosting a funk concert that night. Rebecca doesn't mind the mistake, and she and Nathaniel dance to the music anyway.
  • Greg set out to take Rebecca on a hot-air balloon, but Greg's car has problems and they miss their takeoff. However, neither of them mind, because they get engrossed in conversation together, while his car is worked on by a mechanic.
• Heartwarming combined with Fridge Brilliance: When Rebecca decides to pursue songwriting in the finale, and you remember that she has the ability to imagine herself and others performing spectacular musical numbers in her head, you realize that not only has she found a passion that she loves, she also will be great at it.
• The season 4 theme song is the first and only theme song to never use the word "crazy." It's also the only theme that doesn't see her in relation to her mental health (her titular "craziness") or her relationships (being the titular ex-girlfriend): it's simply about "Rebecca". A nice illustration of her growth throughout the series.