In a
show populated by characters who are equal parts over-the-top and unflinchingly
real, some dismiss Josh as being simpler, more cookie-cutter, than the rest. But I have to say, I love Josh, and I think
there’s more to him than meets the eye (premise spoilers.)
But
first, of course, we have to talk about what meets the eye. Rebecca dated Josh for two months ten years
ago, and running into him on the street during a moment of emotional crisis is
enough to make her move across the country to where he lives (hence the
title.) Josh is gorgeous, cool, and
athletic, an easy-going alpha male and certified bro. He’s what Rebecca projects all of her desires
onto, and he’s characterized on occasion as both her prince and her one-man boy
band.
Actual
Josh, not Rebecca’s idea of him, naturally falls short of that
ridiculously-idealized perfection. The
initial glimpses we get of him give off the appearance of being kind of a tool,
although the show (thankfully) walks back on that aspect pretty quickly. The flaws it instead gives him end up being
more interesting to me. He’s kind of
stuck in “high-school” mode – I wouldn’t say full-on arrested development or
anything, but he’s wary of big steps toward “real” adulthood, like Valencia’s
not-so-subtle hints that she’s ready for him to propose in season 1 or his
dithering over his living situation in season 2. In a similar vein, he’s a major
conflict-avoider and has been known to go along with stuff he’s not ready
for/not cool with because he can’t pluck up the nerve to be honest about how he
feels. Plus, while it can get a little
over-magnified by the more cartoonish side of the show’s humor, I like that
he’s, well, not the sharpest knife in the drawer; it makes a nice change to see
an Asian character playing against the model-minority scholastic-overachiever
stereotype and be a little on the dim side.
So,
we’ve looked at both ends of the spectrum – what about the middle? Overall, Josh is a fun character for me. Although he’s a total bro, he’s generally a
kind, affable one. I spent the first two
episodes of the show wanting to like Josh more than I did, but he won me over
decidedly in episode 3, where he reassures Rebecca about her lackluster party
and then helps her turn it around at her request. From there, we see more of Josh’s
less-than-perfect traits, but we also see a lot of his sweetness and
warmth. He’s really genuine, a
super-appreciative guy who celebrates everything he loves. As he enthuses over Rebecca’s first crack at
a Filipino dish or throws himself wholeheartedly into impressive dance moves,
his happiness is infectious.
He’s
very sincere in his less-cheery moments as well. I like how open he is with Rebecca about his
insecurities, earnestly telling her how much it means to know she believes in
him. Because Josh is such an
on-top-of-the-world sort of effortless cool guy on paper, it’s important to see
that he has the same self-doubt as the characters who are more obvious
messes. It’s also important, given his
tendency to shy away from tough conversations in other situations, that he can
lay it all out like that when it comes to discussing his fears of inadequacy or
his emotional needs (and after that last sentence, can we remember once more
that he’s an absolute bro? This is not a character I’m used to seeing on
TV.)
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