"Nathaniel Gets the Message!" is the ninth episode of the third season of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. It debuted on January 12, 2018.
Rebecca discovers the powers and limitations of altruism as a new, unexpected bromance forms between two other characters. Special episode featuring the 100th song milestone of the series.
Songs:
"Without Love You Can Save the World" (sung by: Rachel Bloom and the major cast members)
- Anti-Love Song: Love and love songs? Useless. Devote your time to altruistic causes instead!
- Hypocritical Humor: The characters sing about how they should give up on love even as they feel each other up.
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Milestone Celebration: This is Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's 100th song, and fittingly features the major characters singing a theme antithetical to most of the series — namely, that one should focus their efforts on things other than love. - Pastiche: Of new-age rock and choral rock, skirting Ambiguously Christian rock. Rachel Bloom compared it to Hair meets The Polyphonic Spree.
- Slippery Slope Fallacy: Played for laughs.Rebecca: Love's a real time suck, it really gets your mind stuck
On things that later on, you'll be like, "Why?"
Like when's he gonna text or when will I see him next?
Rebecca, Josh, and Nathaniel: Then suddenly the lakes have all gone dry
And it's all your fault!
"Fit Hot Guys Have Problems Too" (sung by: Scott Michael Foster, David Hull, and Vincent Rodriguez)
- Affectionate Parody: Of club bangers, which usually deal with wild partying and picking up women. The song's humor is that instead of those, the lyrics are only about men wanting to express their emotions.
- Echoing Acoustics: Parodied.White Josh: That we're so hot, it's insane
Nathaniel: Ane! Ane! Ane! - Female Gaze: All over the place, even as the lyrics decry it — Nathaniel and White Josh go from fully clothed to dancing in speedos (along with Josh).Don't look at us
We're not dancing for you
It's just hard to process emotions with our clothes on - Firemen Are Hot: Josh shows up as a go-go dancer dressed as a sexy fireman.White Josh: That's what you meant by volunteer fireman. Okay. Got it.
- Inelegant Blubbering: Really, White Josh and Nathaniel just want to ugly cry, and they do so in the interludes.
- So Beautiful, It's a Curse: Played for laughs. The song's message is how no one thinks White Josh and Nathaniel have any problems because they're fit and hot, but the choreography purposefully distracts from it.
Tropes in this episode:
- Brick Joke: Marty says Mr. Hernandez goes into the grocery store to buy a single peach once a week. At the poker game, Father Brah mutters about her "lucky peach."
- Call-Back: The (now seemingly resolved) love triangle between the grocery store employees is from all the way back in season one.
- Distinction Without a Difference: Rebecca's not breaking up with Nathaniel, they just can't go out or have sex or be together or do any couple-y activities.
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Ho Yay: TONS of this with Nathaniel and White Josh - Inherently Funny Words:Heather: Hehehe, weiner.
- Innocently Insensitive: Josh tells Father Brah that his new job is making him cry — but he won't tell him the job is as a stripper. Lacking that context, Brah says that it's ok to cry and, by the way, Josh looks really hot and fit lately. Josh leaves feeling even more objectified than he did before.
- Insistent Terminology: White Josh and Nathaniel weren't dumped, the breakups were mutual.
- No Sense of Humor: Ally, the grocery employee, unintentionally makes plenty of food puns but all of them go over her own head. She also reacts negatively when Rebecca points them out.
- Odd Friendship: A burgeoning one between Nathaniel and White Josh, who are starkly different people. They bond over workout equipment and their recent breakups.
- On the Rebound: After his outing with White Josh, Nathaniel goes home with a woman he knew from Stanford. However, White Josh is too legitimately heartbroken to do the same.
- Only Sane Man: Heather triumphs as this in this episode, reprimanding White Josh and Nathaniel for their behavior in the diner then rebuking Rebecca at the engagement party.
- Pet the Dog: Rebecca agrees to give Darryl one of her eggs.
- Shout-Out: When measuring body fat percentages, Nathaniel compares White Josh to Baywatch Efron, not High School Musical Efron.
