Final episodes of beloved television shows are always hit or miss for viewers at home. With Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, a CW hit, ending recently, viewers worried if it would leave them satisfied or angry.
The show, which was always planned to last only four seasons, ended this past Friday. The finale was able to wrap up all loose ends while at the same time leaving fans an open door for post-finale theories.
Warning: Spoilers ahead
After watching Rebecca Bunch struggle with her failed relationships and mental illness for years, most fans just wanted her to finally be “truly happy” in the finale – a phrase which has reappeared multiple times since the pilot.
Others saw this ending as one where she should be in a stable romantic relationship with one of her past partners: Josh, Greg, or Nathaniel.
Both options would have shown that Rebecca had grown from the person she was those many years ago when she quit her New York job and left everything behind to move to West Covina. However, the ending we got made the most sense for her overall story.
Throughout the four seasons of the show, Rebecca was always seeking worth and happiness through romantic relationships, first with Josh, then Greg (then Josh again, then Greg), then Nathaniel. No matter how hard she tried, something in these relationships never worked and she remained unhappy or unstable.
The only way it made sense to show her growth was to choose herself instead of a romantic relationship. Which is simply what she did.
Season four as a whole began to show that Rebecca was not satisfied with her life, not just romantically, but in her career as well. She quit her lawyer job to start her own pretzel business but did not find happiness there either. Her auditioning for the community musical was the first big step in her discovering her true life passion. It took Paula asking her about her mental musical numbers for her to realize her love of writing music and take the step for it.
It was at this point that Rebecca realized her decision over which guy to pick was not a decision at all. She needed to focus on herself, which was the first time she really did that in the whole series.
This series finale was not just a wrap to a tv show; it sent a message – which seemed to be a theme within the show itself. Rebecca, in her final speech, noted how romantic relationships should only be one aspect of her life, not the whole thing. She found true happiness in her passion for music, not in another person.