- I'm the villain in my own story.
I'm in the witch in my own tale.
Though I insist
I'm the protagonist,
It's clear that my soul is up for sale.
Written by Sono Patel, directed by Erin Ehrlich. Original airdate 3/7/2016.
"Rebecca learns that Josh has conflicted feelings for her and Darryl wants to let everyone know about his newfound bisexuality. Meanwhile, Greg must figure out how to work alongside Heather post break-up."
Songs:
"Getting Bi" (sung by Pete Gardner)
- Affectionate Parody: Of Huey Lewis and the News, although the music also has a Ska flavor.
- It's All About Me: Darryl thinks Maya, the new hire suffers from this, but truthfully it's he who thinks it's all about him.
- Shout-Out: Darryl calls out for "Big Man" just before his own saxophone solo, which was the nickname of Clarence Clemons, Bruce Springsteen's saxophone player.
"I'm the Villain in My Own Story" (sung by Rachel Bloom)
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Both "I'm the bad guy in my TV show" and "Who is this song's composer?"
- Evil Laugh: A really great one, too.
- Heel Realization: Rebecca finally realizes that all the stuff she's been doing has had negative consequences.
- I'm a Humanitarian: Witch Rebecca says she's going to cook Princess Valencia and serve her to Josh's family.
- Pastiche: Of Disney villain songs, the immediate inspiration being "Poor Unfortunate Souls" from The Little Mermaid (1989).
- Princess Classic: This is how Rebecca imagines Valencia.
- Romantic Comedy: Takes a shot at them when Rebecca, who previously thought that she was a love interest in a romcom, now sees herself as the "bitch in the corner of the poster." The poster is for a movie called Just Us, starring Josh Chan and Valencia Perez.
- Villain Song
- Who Writes This Crap?!: "Who is this song's composer? It's like ridiculously sinister."
- Wicked Witch: Rebecca imagines herself as one, with a raven on her shoulder.
Tropes in this episode:
- Crippling Overspecialization: Rebecca is established as a brilliant real estate lawyer, but is shockingly clueless about her personal finances, to the point of not understanding how repossession works.Paula: I forget, sometimes, that you're so smart, and so... not.
- Dramatically Missing the Point: Rebecca has a breakdown over how no one loves her... while standing in front of a big crowd of people who have gathered to celebrate her.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Rebecca explicitly took a huge pay cut to move to West Covina, but has still been spending like she's raking it in, and never seemed to worry about money. However did she manage it? Turns out, by completely ignoring her finances until she was completely broke.
