I’ve re-watched all of George’s bits in the previous seasons, and he’s the only logical choice for a guy for Rebecca to end up dating. #CrazyExGirlfriend #TeamGeorge
This is a conclusion I’ve come to both from a fannish shipping which-guy-do-I-like-best? direction and also as a writer analyzing the show’s story structure. And if my theory is right, the creators have planned all along that Rebecca will end up dating George.
Breaking it down logically, she can’t end up with any of the guys we’ve seen her with so far. Each one is a poor match and would send a troubling message. Besides, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has never been easy to predict, and all the other guys are too predictable.
Let’s start with Josh — they have nothing in common, and the message sent by her ending up with him would be? Chase after your high school sweet heart! After years of stalking, it will work out! Toxic.
Then there’s Nathaniel — he shares Rebecca’s worst side, and he wants her. If he gets her, then it will be the culmination of HIS arc, not hers. The message? Rich handsome white guys should get a pass for a lifetime of evil if they’re good for a few months.
Now Greg… there will always be a fraction of the fanbase that will never accept New Greg as Real Greg, and the creators have to know that. But it doesn’t matter if he’s only here to prove that Rebecca & Greg can’t be together.
Here’s why Rebecca and Greg shouldn’t end up together — the message it would send is: that super toxic relationship with your ex? Give it another try! Augh. SO TOXIC.
And that’s gotta be why the creators decided to have Rebecca sleep with Greg’s dad. She can’t take that back. They can’t take that back. It’s the nail in the coffin. She and Greg can both do better.
Which brings us to George. First off, the actor has been friends with Rachel Bloom forever, so he can probably be relied on to come back and fulfill his character arc, even without a multi-year contract. Clearly, that’s important, given what happened with Original Greg.
George consistently shows up when something big, shiny & distracting is happening. His 1st partial song is when Nathaniel shows up; his next significant appearance is when Rebecca & Nathaniel kiss for the 1st time; and his 1st full song is opposite New Greg’s introduction.
No one pays attention to George & yet while he’s quietly in the background, they’ve established that he has emotional maturity, cares about others, has creative hobbies (pottery, ska), gives massages, makes food for others (sausages on the death camping trip)…
And MOST IMPORTANTLY, George is the only other character (except for Sunil) who, like Rebecca, HAS MUSIC IN HIS HEART.
This show is all about Rebecca coming to terms with who she is & she does so with music, imagined in her head. None of the other characters are doing that… except George, who makes up a song for himself getting coffee, improvises a piece of a ska song, and had a ska band.
Now, of course, since the show is all about Rebecca coming to terms with herself, it’s possible she’d end up alone, as long as she’s alone & happy. But a big part of her personal issues has to do with how relationships sweep her sense of self away; she loses herself in them.
We can’t truly see Rebecca’s healing and growth demonstrated if we don’t see her being capable of approaching a relationship without losing herself to it. And the best guy to show that with is George — he’s a great guy who’s been there all along; she just didn’t notice him.
Unlike Greg who thought he was a Nice Guy but actually had a toxic love/hate thing going, because he was busy obsessing over Rebecca while she wanted someone else, George really is a nice guy.
George is just living his life, being nice, and not hating Rebecca for not being with him. He’s the only one that’s good enough. And the message? Pay attention for the real nice guys.
Also, okay, maybe this is nothing, but George shows up to Nathaniel’s party at the end of season three with ice… just like Luke showed up to Rory’s birthday party with ice in the first season of Gilmore Girls. It may be nothing… but it feels like a reference.
Seriously, if you watch every bit with George, they all fit with this theory. Of course, only time will tell.
And the important thing is that Rebecca heals and finds happiness. But… damn, if they’ve been planning for her to date George all along, it will have been super clever, and I’ll love that.
Finally, if you enjoyed my analysis of #CrazyExGirlfriend, then you might also like my own offbeat, quirky, romance novel, “In a Dog’s World.” Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dogs-World-Mary-E-Lowd/dp/1614502374