- I have friends, I definitely have friends.
No one can say that I do not have friends.
I have friends, I definitely have friends!
Friends, friends, friendly friends, time to meet my friends!
Written by Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna, directed by Tamra Davis. Original airdate 10/26/2015.
"In an attempt to get closer to Josh, Rebecca throws a housewarming party despite her lack of social connections in West Covina and a childhood fear of hosting parties. When Paula (Donna Lynne Champlin) finally convinces her, the party turns out to be nothing like they anticipated."
Songs:
"Face Your Fears" (sung by Donna Lynne Champlin)
- Affectionate Parody: Of a Pep-Talk Song.
- Bears Are Bad News: "A bear runs at you in the woods, don't run away."
- Cherubic Choir: Paula is joined by a choir of children with giant scissors to sing about fears.
- Face Your Fears: It's the name of the song and it's what Paula is telling Rebecca to do. Unfortunately, she also gives a lot of bad advice, like telling a bear she's not afraid of it or staying inside a burning building and taking a deep breath.
- Follow Your Heart: "Face your fears! Follow your dreams! Stare at the sun!"
- Incredibly Long Note: The song ends with Paula singing "Face your fears!" and Rebecca increasingly impatient for the song to end. Finally, Paula belts out "Feeeeeaaaaaaaars!" as one long note.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: As Paula turns towards the audience to sing, Rebecca says, "Yeah, I'm back here, sing to me."
- Nerd Glasses: Many of the children in the choir are wearing these, and also Braces of Orthodontic Overkill, and they're all wearing identical sweater vests, white shirts and ties, presumably because they are the incarnations of Rebecca's childhood nerdiness.
- Never Bring a Knife to a Gun Fight: The song is full of bad advice including this: "Now if someone pulls a gun on me, I pull out my knife"
- Pep-Talk Song: Parodied. The general theme of facing your fears is encouraging, but Paula's specific advice is incredibly bad.
- Runs with Scissors: A whole choir of children run into the room with comically over-sized scissors.
"I Have Friends" (sung by Ava Acres and Rachel Bloom)
- Affectionate Parody: Of 80s teen sitcom themes and peppy teen-pop songs in general.
- Blatant Lies: "Objectively, I can say that I have all the friends!"
- Childhood Friends: Rebecca had some, including Patty, Luanne, and Girl With Mustache.
- Department of Redundancy Department: "I have friends, I definitely have friends / Friends, friends, friendly friends, time to meet my friends!"
- Implausible Deniability: Both older and younger Rebecca insist that casual acquaintances such as "Janitor who lives in an RV behind the school" and "Grocery Store Clerk with Half an Eyelid" count as their friends.
- Theme Tune Roll Call: Both of the verses are parodies.
- Time-Shifted Actor: Ava Acres plays the young Rebecca.
"A Boy Band Made Up of Four Joshes" (sung by Vincent Rodriguez III)
- Affectionate Parody: Of Boy Bands.
- All Psychology Is Freudian: "We’ll help you understand the reasons that your mom made you sad / And why every man you date is just a stand-in for your dad." At which point Rebecca just nods.
- Parental Neglect: The Four Joshes promise to get to the bottom of Rebecca's problems due to this.
- There Are No Therapists: Subverted and parodied. The song mocks the idea of true love fixing emotional issues by imagining four Joshes who are "also a team of nationally-recognized mental health professionals trained in cognitive behavioral therapy with specialties in personality and sleep disorders... and love."
Tropes in this episode:
- Friendless Background: Rebecca had very few friends as a child and has none in West Covina as she's just moved there.
