- Where's the bathroom, where's the bathroom?
I need teo use the bathroom!
Tell me that you have a bathroom
In this hovel you call home.
I don't know which was bumpier,
The plane ride or the taxi,
All these freeways are a nightmare,
Where's my purse, I need my comb!
Written by Audrey Wauchope and Rachel Spector, directed by Steven Tsuchida. Original airdate 11/30/2015.
"It is the holidays and Rebecca's mom (guest star Tovah Feldshuh) decides to come visit her in West Covina. Old habits die hard and Rebecca, eager to please her mom, embellishes some facts about her life, which all comes crashing down at a local holiday event. Meanwhile, Greg spends Christmas Eve with his mother (guest star Mel Harris) and discovers he actually might be the problem relative."
Songs:
"Where's the Bathroom?" (sung by Tovah Feldshuh)
- All Take and No Give: Naomi complains that "I give you everything and still you just want more-more-more-more-more!" It's pretty obviously the version of the trope where the Giver is trying to control and dominate the Taker, though.
- Calling Your Bathroom Breaks:Naomi: I need to use the bathroom AGAIN!
- Jewish Complaining: Naomi makes plenty of references to being Jewish while complaining about just about everything.
- Jewish Mother: If we didn't know that Naomi was this before, the song leaves no doubt about it.
- Mistaken for Gay: At one point during the song Naomi half-convinces herself that Rebecca is gay, since it would explain her supposed "vendetta against vases."
- Oh God, with the Verbing!: Naomi responds to one of the few things Rebecca says during the song with, "Don't interrupt me! You're always with the talking!"
- Passive-Aggressive Kombat: Naomi manages to criticise just about everything about Rebecca while still claiming to be an abused, exploited Love Martyr to her.
- Patter Song: A klezmer patter song!
"California Christmastime" (sung by Rachel Bloom and the entire cast)
- Anti-Christmas Song: It's really a basic Christmas song, but just points out how Christmas-time is different in West Covina compared to most portrayals in fiction.
- Bad Santa: Not really "bad," per se, just stoned.
- Everyone Is Christian at Christmas: Rebecca sings about Christmas even though she's Jewish, but this makes sense considering she's singing specifically about how Californians celebrate Christmas and now she's a Californian.
- Mall Santa: A "really baked" one, who is also an unemployed stuntman.
- Pastiche: Of power pop Christmas singles, such as Roy Wood and Wizzard's "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day", with a strong added flavour of Cheap Trick.
- Shout-Out: "California Christmastime, / We gather 'round and sing songs by Sublime."
- Twisted Christmas: The lyrics contain references to drought, skin cancer, and porn stars with STDs.
Tropes in this episode:
- Anger Born of Worry: Rebecca's mother doesn't hate her. She loves her. She loves her so much that she worries about her constantly. Which makes it look like she hates her.
- Anti Climactic Parent: Greg builds up his mother as this evil, awful person, but when Heather meets her she's really nice and so are his half-siblings. It turns out Greg is the one with the problem.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Rebecca calls her mother out on her crappy behavior. Much to Rebecca's surprise, her mother is happy about this as it means that Rebecca is strong enough to do so.
- Christmas Episode: The subplots following Josh and Greg are focused on their Christmas plans, and at the end the whole cast comes together to sing a Christmas song.
- Crappy Holidays: Greg hates Christmas because it means he has to spend time with his despised mother.
- Drama Queen: Greg at dinner with his mother. And about dinner at his mother. He manages to complain loudly at every single thing his mother and her family does no matter what. Even Heather is baffled.
- Everyone Is Christian at Christmas: Rebecca, explicitly Jewish, has Christmas decorations up (which she disposes of before her Jewish Mother arrives). However, she does offhandedly mention her father being Catholic, so it's likely her enjoyment of Christmas is because of him.
- Hanukkah Episode: The episode's main plot deals with Rebecca hoping to impress her mom during the week of Hanukkah.
- Heel Realization: Heather helps Greg realize that his mother and step-family aren't the bad guys he imagines them to be. For years, he's been bitter and rude toward them, imagining himself to be the victim, while they've been nothing but polite and welcoming. When he finally gets this, he realizes that he's the Jerkass in this situation.
